Which do you prefer, SAK or Leatherman?

Have both SAKs and Leathermans (or is it Leathermen?). For everyday carry, much prefer a SAK. Have a basic old Spartan on me most days. The Leathermen lives in my car & home toolboxes :D
 
I go for the SAK overwhelmingly.

Most times I reach into my pocket, its for a pocket knife to cut something. A package, mail, twine, whatever. Sometimes I need a screw driver, Phillips most times. Once in a while I need a bottle opener or a light pry tool. Then, once in a very very great while, I may need a pliers. The plier are just not needed that often, and while I like the little Leatherman squirt, its kind of faded for me in the grand scheme of things.

A basic SAK like a pioneer, cadet, recruit, is far more useful to me on a daily basis than a plier tool. I like the idea of a pocket knife with a few tools on it, over a pliers with some tools and a knife blade on it.
 
I genuinely prefer SAK because of its consistency of tool quality and compactness, and I don't really need the pliers on a day-to-day basis. But if you want pliers and OH knife blade opening, I can see why LM would be more favorable.
 
comis said:
I genuinely prefer SAK because of its consistency of tool quality and compactness, and I don't really need the pliers on a day-to-day basis. But if you want pliers and OH knife blade opening, I can see why LM would be more favorable.
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You touch on a huge point that I love about SAK's; the very high level of quality control and consistency in manufacture. I can fly someplace and stop at the first big box store and buy a Victorinox recruit or classic, and its going to be just like the one I left at home. The worry about a defective SAK is way, way lower than almost any other pocketknife I can pick up on the go. I can always count on the refinement and finish of the Victorinox tools to always work just as they are designed to. And the tools are capable way more than what they are designed to do. Like the Vic can opener is a great hook to pull the big cotter pin the retained the trailer hitch in the frame, or lifting a pot off the campfire.

The recruit is one of my favorite vacation pocket knives because they are all of 17.95 at the local sports store, can be mailed to where I'm going, and when I leave, I gift it off to the airport shuttle driver or grounds keeper at the place I stay. Because of the iconic red handles and silver cross, they are recognized instantly as a Swiss Army Knife and the new owner is overjoyed at the un-expected gift.

SAK's rule!
 
If I had to choose one or the other I'd definitely take a SAK. There a great design, small and functional. I think part of a great design is affordability. So anyone, even with the tightest budget can get a handy tool.
SAK all the way.
 
When I retired 12 years ago I went to work part time for the local school system in Facilities Maint. ( I grew up in the construction trades) so I started carrying a Leatherman (Original) I had for years but I found out I NEVER used it. I always had a better tool in my tool bag. Now am fully retired and carry Pioneer always and a pair of needle nose pliers in may back pack and rarely need other tools.
 
Very different; a SAK comes sharp but isn’t robust. It’s very portable too. More for occasional jobs and opening wine!

A Leatherman is a proper tool; I have a Rebar and a Charge Tti; both will take a lot of abuse, particularly the Charge with its S30V blade.
But hardly any have a wine bottle opener!
 
Personally I much prefer a Leatherman over any given SAK, though I do love my Tinker dearly, and as such it resides in my bag as a backup. The current carry is the Rebar, which suits my daily and occasional needs fairly efficiently.

I guess the main reason I prefer Leatherman would be because of the awesome pliers, in addition to having a saw blade, file, wire cutters... Not necessarily tools I use every single day, but I'm happy to have them when I need them. The actual knife blade in either tool doesn't really factor in any decision making between the two, as I normally have at least one dedicated folding knife with me as well.
 
Polzeyboy said:
Very different; a SAK comes sharp but isn’t robust. It’s very portable too. More for occasional jobs and opening wine!

A Leatherman is a proper tool; I have a Rebar and a Charge Tti; both will take a lot of abuse, particularly the Charge with its S30V blade.
But hardly any have a wine bottle opener!
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I always keep a Vic with a corkscrew in my wife's toiletry bag. It's actually a Waiter model. I also keep a Camper in my truck and a Spartan in her car's glove box. I learned the lesson of not having a SAK with a corkscrew handy the hard way over a decade ago when we threw my father in law a surprise 60th birthday party...and didn't have a way to open the wine! Luckily there was Wal Mart close by, but still. I had my Boker Tech tool with me as a minimalist knife/tool while my wife and I were at a friend's wedding a couple of years ago. We had an impromptu drink down by the lake. We bought as decent a bottle of wine as you could find at the little grocery store, and got plastic solo cups from the communal kitchen where we were staying. I had the Boker with the corkscrew on me, so we could get the bottle open and we drank via "candle light" provided by a zippo lighter I left burn next to us. It was a lot of fun. Having the right tool makes the spontaneous possible.

The_Iron_Joe said:
Personally I much prefer a Leatherman over any given SAK, though I do love my Tinker dearly, and as such it resides in my bag as a backup. The current carry is the Rebar, which suits my daily and occasional needs fairly efficiently.

I guess the main reason I prefer Leatherman would be because of the awesome pliers, in addition to having a saw blade, file, wire cutters... Not necessarily tools I use every single day, but I'm happy to have them when I need them. The actual knife blade in either tool doesn't really factor in any decision making between the two, as I normally have at least one dedicated folding knife with me as well.
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I love the Rebar. It was my most often carried tool before I got the P4. It very well may be the best compromise of tool set and size of the LM lineup. Some might not like the lack of scissors, but I never missed them. It just has the most common tools I need to get pretty much any weekend task done in a robust but lightweight package. The only time I carried something different was when I knew I was going to be out on the jobsite all day and would just pack the ST300 instead. That whole family of tools is a great workman's line.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I always keep a Vic with a corkscrew in my wife's toiletry bag. It's actually a Waiter model. I also keep a Camper in my truck and a Spartan in her car's glove box. I learned the lesson of not having a SAK with a corkscrew handy the hard way over a decade ago when we threw my father in law a surprise 60th birthday party...and didn't have a way to open the wine! Luckily there was Wal Mart close by, but still. I had my Boker Tech tool with me as a minimalist knife/tool while my wife and I were at a friend's wedding a couple of years ago. We had an impromptu drink down by the lake. We bought as decent a bottle of wine as you could find at the little grocery store, and got plastic solo cups from the communal kitchen where we were staying. I had the Boker with the corkscrew on me, so we could get the bottle open and we drank via "candle light" provided by a zippo lighter I left burn next to us. It was a lot of fun. Having the right tool makes the spontaneous possible.



I love the Rebar. It was my most often carried tool before I got the P4. It very well may be the best compromise of tool set and size of the LM lineup. Some might not like the lack of scissors, but I never missed them. It just has the most common tools I need to get pretty much any weekend task done in a robust but lightweight package. The only time I carried something different was when I knew I was going to be out on the jobsite all day and would just pack the ST300 instead. That whole family of tools is a great workman's line.
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I agree, especially with the part about not missing the scissors! The only other tool that somewhat competes with the Rebar for me would probably be the Wave+.
 
I like them both/all and when not wearing a suit & tie or very lightweight pants I carry both - sometimes along with an EDC folder as well.

That being said, there have actually been days, even when not on a mechanical mission/task, that I have used the LM pliers more than a blade.
 
Definitely prefer a SAK, the field master is probably my favorite. I personally have never had a need for a leather man, I always have pliers close by ( garage, truck,etc)
 
Basically, depends on how heavy on I want to carry. Usually, the Swiss Army is more-than-adequate as a back-up to a larger-folder I EDC.

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The Leatherman Wave Plus is my choice, when a 'multi' is called for:

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In the city we need a SAK more than a multitool clamp. So I always have a SAK in my pocket that gets forgotten. I also have several Leathermans but I rarely use them.
 
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