I have owned a Swiss Tool (Original version) for the last 4 years. It is permanently on my belt everyday, next to my Pelican M6 LED. My main uses of it are for DIY odd-jobs around the house and in my job as a computer engineer. The tools I use most often are, in order: The serrated blade (For opening packages, especially those evil plastic clamshell things everyone is using these days), the Philips screwdriver, the large flat screwdriver (More often as a pry-bar than a screwdriver), the saw blade (Mostly in the garden), the built-in ruler, and finally the pliers themselves. (Usually for jewelry emergencies.)
When the Wave first came out I was very tempted to change due to the following features: The integrated scissors, the one-handed blade opening and the longer thinner pliers. I find the chunky Swiss Tool pliers very hard to use for anything requiring finesse.) However when I handled one I was put off by the flexible overall feel, the lack locking for every blade and the absence of a built-in ruler. In the end I put a Leatherman Micra on my main keyring instead. I find I use it about twice a year on average, usually to snip a cable tie.
I just found out about the new Wave and Charge models and got exited to have an excuse to buy a new toy. On paper it looked like I could finally get one with all the existing features I use on my Swiss Tool plus the one-handed blades and the interchangeable bit set. I also like the idea of the cutting hook on the XTi model.
I did some 'net research first, which is how I found this website. (I'm not a knife aficionado, just a pocket tool freak) Last night I found a local store with them in stock (Both the Ti, XTi and the new Wave) to have a close up look and noticed several problems I'd not seen mentioned here, so I thought I'd add them for the record:
1) As advertised the main hinges now feel much stronger and have very little flex. (On both the new Wave and the Ti/XTi) However the overall tension design of the main hinges is wrong for me. It is very loose when in the closed position, and then gets much tighter when it is 90% open, requiring 2 hands to complete the opening of the pliers or to break them down again. The Swiss Tool can be opened one-handed by simply pressing one handle end against any convenient surface. (I often use my leg.) This tension also means when the pliers are open a lot of strength is required to actually open and close them in use. Again the Swiss Tool is the opposite, the pliers are very loose when open fully allowing easy movement into position on whatever you are plying. (Is that a verb?) I guess this could be a deliberate design feature on the Leatherman so you can close them on something and have the tension hold them in place, but I don't like it. On the cosmetic side when you close the pliers they fold back without the satisfying positive snap the Swiss Tool gives you. (Oddly the new Wave I tried seemed to snap back a little more positively than the Ti/XTi)
2) As advertised the main one-handed blade now opens very smoothly and quickly (On both the new Wave and the Ti/XTi). However, in conjunction with the looseness of the main hinges, there is a safety problem here. I accidentally dropped it in the store, a distance of about 3 onto carpet. When I did this the main blade popped open about ½. As the main blade movement is so smooth and the main hinges so loose there is no mechanical tension to prevent this happening. If you happened to have an inquisitive child or pet around, or were in bare feet it could be dangerous. In contrast the Swiss Tool is totally solid when dropped, none of the internal tools move an inch. (Although due to the weight it would certainly hurt if you dropped in on a un-protected toe!)
3) The scissors have a safety problem as well. When you open them you hook the end of your thumb around the flattened handle section. However once you have them past half-way open you naturally move your thumb around so the pad of the thumb can push down on the flattened handle section to complete the opening. (Again the tension seems too high when getting the tool into their open position). The problem is that as the tool nears the final open position the flattened handle section becomes free to hinge down below the level of the fixed lower blade. The result is that, until you get used to the action, the pad of your thumb ends up pressing directly against the cutting surface of the fixed lower blade, which could cause a nasty cut.
4) It is also possible to fold the scissors back into the handle without first opening them out, making them not fit back in properly.
5) As others have mention the mini watchmaker screwdriver tool is poorly implemented. Unlike some other people I would actually want a tool like this, as I quite often have to use a set of watchmaker screwdrivers. This tool could have been greatly improved by simply making these bits use the same base as the full-size bits in the new Leatherman tools. Either they can use a solid piece that tapers out from the base to the long thin end section (Which would also greatly improve their strength), or they could use a regular bit base with the existing bit permanently embedded in it. (I guess a third-party could make such a bit set for the new models if they wanted.) The other obvious thing they could have done is attached a piece of plastic to the center of the thin shank making it easier to handle and easier to find if you drop it on a carpeted floor (SAK use little plastic tags like this on then end of their excellent tweezer insert tool) The bigger problem would be in actually using it though. Traditional watchmaker screwdrivers have a rotating nut on the end that you can press into your palm whilst rapidly rotating the main body with your fingertips. Rotating this (relatively) big tool whilst keeping the bit on the screw would definitely be a challenge. To be fair though the off-center Philips screwdrive in the Swiss Tool has always been awkward to use for anything other than a very short thread screw.
6) The ruler is on both the wrong side of the tool and the wrong edge. With the Swiss Tool you can unfold the tool halfway and use the entire length of the ruler directly against whatever you need to measure. With the Leatherman design the pliers are sticking up in the middle of the ruler section when you do this. Also the ruler is along the inside edge rather than the outside edge so you cannot place it directly against the surface to be measured.
7) Overall weight Maybe there are a lot of you that carry your pocket tools actually in your pockets, so are concerned about the weight. Personally I am the opposite. I carry mine in the belt pouch and never notice the weight at all. I prefer a heavier tool, my Swiss Tool can be used as a small hammer if necessary. Id love to see an fold-out hammer on a pocket tool if possible. As such I see little use for the Titanium handle sections except for cosmetic reasons. I also dont like the complex layered construction of the Wave or Ti, the Swiss Tool still feels more solid overall.
8) Marketing Personally I think Leatherman have made a big mistake with their naming scheme as stores and online resellers not familiar with them have no way of telling the new and old Wave apart. At first glance all that seems to have changed is the packaging. The new Wave should have been positively marked to differentiate it from the old one, as it has some significant differences. Wave 2 would have been fine. They did this with the SuperTool/SuperTool 200 so why not the Wave?
So I guess I will not be making the move to the Leatherman. Ill wait until the Swiss Spirit is available here, but from the photos online it seems to have no pointed main blade, which I dont like (I guess this might be an attempt to avoid security restrictions on lock knives sold in European countries by removing the offensive capability of the main blade.) Maybe a US model will restore this?
BTW If anyone is interested and gets in quick I noticed my local SportMart here in California has 25% of all Leatherman tools until today (12/16/04). They did not have the Charge in stock, but had the new Wave at $69.99, so it would be about $54 plus CA sales tax.
Just my $0.02, YMMV.
When the Wave first came out I was very tempted to change due to the following features: The integrated scissors, the one-handed blade opening and the longer thinner pliers. I find the chunky Swiss Tool pliers very hard to use for anything requiring finesse.) However when I handled one I was put off by the flexible overall feel, the lack locking for every blade and the absence of a built-in ruler. In the end I put a Leatherman Micra on my main keyring instead. I find I use it about twice a year on average, usually to snip a cable tie.
I just found out about the new Wave and Charge models and got exited to have an excuse to buy a new toy. On paper it looked like I could finally get one with all the existing features I use on my Swiss Tool plus the one-handed blades and the interchangeable bit set. I also like the idea of the cutting hook on the XTi model.
I did some 'net research first, which is how I found this website. (I'm not a knife aficionado, just a pocket tool freak) Last night I found a local store with them in stock (Both the Ti, XTi and the new Wave) to have a close up look and noticed several problems I'd not seen mentioned here, so I thought I'd add them for the record:
1) As advertised the main hinges now feel much stronger and have very little flex. (On both the new Wave and the Ti/XTi) However the overall tension design of the main hinges is wrong for me. It is very loose when in the closed position, and then gets much tighter when it is 90% open, requiring 2 hands to complete the opening of the pliers or to break them down again. The Swiss Tool can be opened one-handed by simply pressing one handle end against any convenient surface. (I often use my leg.) This tension also means when the pliers are open a lot of strength is required to actually open and close them in use. Again the Swiss Tool is the opposite, the pliers are very loose when open fully allowing easy movement into position on whatever you are plying. (Is that a verb?) I guess this could be a deliberate design feature on the Leatherman so you can close them on something and have the tension hold them in place, but I don't like it. On the cosmetic side when you close the pliers they fold back without the satisfying positive snap the Swiss Tool gives you. (Oddly the new Wave I tried seemed to snap back a little more positively than the Ti/XTi)
2) As advertised the main one-handed blade now opens very smoothly and quickly (On both the new Wave and the Ti/XTi). However, in conjunction with the looseness of the main hinges, there is a safety problem here. I accidentally dropped it in the store, a distance of about 3 onto carpet. When I did this the main blade popped open about ½. As the main blade movement is so smooth and the main hinges so loose there is no mechanical tension to prevent this happening. If you happened to have an inquisitive child or pet around, or were in bare feet it could be dangerous. In contrast the Swiss Tool is totally solid when dropped, none of the internal tools move an inch. (Although due to the weight it would certainly hurt if you dropped in on a un-protected toe!)
3) The scissors have a safety problem as well. When you open them you hook the end of your thumb around the flattened handle section. However once you have them past half-way open you naturally move your thumb around so the pad of the thumb can push down on the flattened handle section to complete the opening. (Again the tension seems too high when getting the tool into their open position). The problem is that as the tool nears the final open position the flattened handle section becomes free to hinge down below the level of the fixed lower blade. The result is that, until you get used to the action, the pad of your thumb ends up pressing directly against the cutting surface of the fixed lower blade, which could cause a nasty cut.
4) It is also possible to fold the scissors back into the handle without first opening them out, making them not fit back in properly.
5) As others have mention the mini watchmaker screwdriver tool is poorly implemented. Unlike some other people I would actually want a tool like this, as I quite often have to use a set of watchmaker screwdrivers. This tool could have been greatly improved by simply making these bits use the same base as the full-size bits in the new Leatherman tools. Either they can use a solid piece that tapers out from the base to the long thin end section (Which would also greatly improve their strength), or they could use a regular bit base with the existing bit permanently embedded in it. (I guess a third-party could make such a bit set for the new models if they wanted.) The other obvious thing they could have done is attached a piece of plastic to the center of the thin shank making it easier to handle and easier to find if you drop it on a carpeted floor (SAK use little plastic tags like this on then end of their excellent tweezer insert tool) The bigger problem would be in actually using it though. Traditional watchmaker screwdrivers have a rotating nut on the end that you can press into your palm whilst rapidly rotating the main body with your fingertips. Rotating this (relatively) big tool whilst keeping the bit on the screw would definitely be a challenge. To be fair though the off-center Philips screwdrive in the Swiss Tool has always been awkward to use for anything other than a very short thread screw.
6) The ruler is on both the wrong side of the tool and the wrong edge. With the Swiss Tool you can unfold the tool halfway and use the entire length of the ruler directly against whatever you need to measure. With the Leatherman design the pliers are sticking up in the middle of the ruler section when you do this. Also the ruler is along the inside edge rather than the outside edge so you cannot place it directly against the surface to be measured.
7) Overall weight Maybe there are a lot of you that carry your pocket tools actually in your pockets, so are concerned about the weight. Personally I am the opposite. I carry mine in the belt pouch and never notice the weight at all. I prefer a heavier tool, my Swiss Tool can be used as a small hammer if necessary. Id love to see an fold-out hammer on a pocket tool if possible. As such I see little use for the Titanium handle sections except for cosmetic reasons. I also dont like the complex layered construction of the Wave or Ti, the Swiss Tool still feels more solid overall.
8) Marketing Personally I think Leatherman have made a big mistake with their naming scheme as stores and online resellers not familiar with them have no way of telling the new and old Wave apart. At first glance all that seems to have changed is the packaging. The new Wave should have been positively marked to differentiate it from the old one, as it has some significant differences. Wave 2 would have been fine. They did this with the SuperTool/SuperTool 200 so why not the Wave?
So I guess I will not be making the move to the Leatherman. Ill wait until the Swiss Spirit is available here, but from the photos online it seems to have no pointed main blade, which I dont like (I guess this might be an attempt to avoid security restrictions on lock knives sold in European countries by removing the offensive capability of the main blade.) Maybe a US model will restore this?
BTW If anyone is interested and gets in quick I noticed my local SportMart here in California has 25% of all Leatherman tools until today (12/16/04). They did not have the Charge in stock, but had the new Wave at $69.99, so it would be about $54 plus CA sales tax.
Just my $0.02, YMMV.
