The Leatherman Free K4

[allenC]

This is awesome!

Don't get me wrong...I love my Leatherman Wave.
And if you find yourself needing pliers more often than not, then the Wave is your friend.
But, honestly, I don't find myself needing pliers very often.
Nor do I find myself often needing a wood saw or a metal file.
Which is why I found myself carrying my Vic Climber most of the time.
The Climber has a very nice complement of tools that I do actually use...the blades, the awl, the scissors, the bottle opener/flat-tip driver, the can opener/cross-tip driver, and the tweezers and tooth pick.
But the main blade is a little lacking in some ways...
It takes two hands to deploy.
It does not lock.
And it is also a bit short and thin.

Enter the Leatherman Free K4.

The first thing you will notice is the thickness and the overall bulk of the knife.
But this is not a bad thing.
The handle fills the hand in a nice way...like a Buck 112.
And it feels like you're holding a KNIFE, not holding a multi-tool.
Like the larger Vics, it's more of a knife with some tools rather than a tool with a knife.
Like the Vic Climber, it has the tools that I actually use on a daily or weekly basis...a very nice blade, scissors, flat-tip driver/pry bar, cross-tip driver/bottle opener, awl/reamer/fine tip driver.
No tweezers or tooth-pick...but I always have a Vic Classic on my key ring anyhow.

I really like the blade shape and grind (thick stock but with a thin hollow grind, reminiscent of the Buck 110 or 112).

This should be the U.S. military standard issued knife IMO.

 

[comis]

I got a chance to play with the LM Free K4 and T4 in a store, and K4 is what I walked away with. I agree with you what I like most about K4 is first and foremost it is a knife, and then the add on tools are bonus to me. The positioning of T4 in the lineup is slightly confusing to me, to me, kinda felt like a broken P4 handle or too much like a SAK wannabe. YMMV.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

The K line is in the running for Fathers Day for me. It's a bit niche for my tastes as I always seem to need a pliers based tool for work, and I usually have a dedicated folder on me as well, but the P4 can do the work of both while the folder cannot.

However, the K series makes sense. Good size blade and a couple of tools to back up the unexpected needs. I could see it as handy on a hike or just weekend warrior stuff.