Bret
Yoda
Offline
As a rule I’m not in the habit of promoting a product, but on occasion I find a product that has served me well and feel the need to share.
We might call’em “Utility”, “All in Ones” or even “Multi-tools”. But whatever the name they have for the most part taken the place of the age old folding lock blade knifes. Not counting the times I had a Marine KA-BAR affixed to my flight vest - for years I used to carry & was a huge fan of my trusty Buck *110* locker. Sure I had a Swiss Army utility knife once, but I never coveted it like the old Buck knife.
Fast forward like so many I fell victim to the Multi-tool trend & actually purchased one of the first generation Leathermen Tools soon after they first hit the market. But was soon disappointed with the overall quality and chucked it reverting back to Bucks. However unbeknownst to me during those years of denial there was a Multi tool revolution with other manufactures jumping in the fray as well. And as is often the case in market places where competition is tough between manufactures – the Multi-tool saw a drastic improvement with even more options & flavors depending on its intended use.
As a surprise a friend gave me a Gerber multi-tool as a gift. Impressed but not 100% satisfied with it's overall design, I started trying a couple other manufactures – but remembering my displeasure with Leathermen’s first product I stayed away. But one Christmas by way of gift from my mother this time, I was re-introduced to one of their products. It was called “The Wave” & as I thanked my mom inspecting the fancy shinny new fangled device, I remember clearly saying to myself that “this won’t last 6 months”.
Well here it is 8 some odd years later and as hard as I tried I just couldn’t destroy it. It served me well through two different jobs & around the house and was always my first go-to tool when I needed something fast. In fact must have used it almost every day in my line of work and must say that my multi-tool probably handled about 60 to 70% of my needs without ever having to open my expensive field engineer’s issued tool box.
But the Sad news is I just finally broke down & forced my loyal Leathermen into retirement it this afternoon having purchased a second Leathermen Wave. There was a formal retirement ceremony this afternoon and I placed my old Wave (still serviceable but showing her age) in an honored place next to my old Buck in my Grandfather’s old wooden desk. Touching & poignant - I think I actually got a little misty as I closed the drawer.
Anyway inspecting the new “Wave” I can say that the boys at Leathermen haven’t been resting on their laurels because the new Wave has a number improvements over the basic old design. I hope I get as much use out of it as I did my first.
We might call’em “Utility”, “All in Ones” or even “Multi-tools”. But whatever the name they have for the most part taken the place of the age old folding lock blade knifes. Not counting the times I had a Marine KA-BAR affixed to my flight vest - for years I used to carry & was a huge fan of my trusty Buck *110* locker. Sure I had a Swiss Army utility knife once, but I never coveted it like the old Buck knife.
Fast forward like so many I fell victim to the Multi-tool trend & actually purchased one of the first generation Leathermen Tools soon after they first hit the market. But was soon disappointed with the overall quality and chucked it reverting back to Bucks. However unbeknownst to me during those years of denial there was a Multi tool revolution with other manufactures jumping in the fray as well. And as is often the case in market places where competition is tough between manufactures – the Multi-tool saw a drastic improvement with even more options & flavors depending on its intended use.
As a surprise a friend gave me a Gerber multi-tool as a gift. Impressed but not 100% satisfied with it's overall design, I started trying a couple other manufactures – but remembering my displeasure with Leathermen’s first product I stayed away. But one Christmas by way of gift from my mother this time, I was re-introduced to one of their products. It was called “The Wave” & as I thanked my mom inspecting the fancy shinny new fangled device, I remember clearly saying to myself that “this won’t last 6 months”.
Well here it is 8 some odd years later and as hard as I tried I just couldn’t destroy it. It served me well through two different jobs & around the house and was always my first go-to tool when I needed something fast. In fact must have used it almost every day in my line of work and must say that my multi-tool probably handled about 60 to 70% of my needs without ever having to open my expensive field engineer’s issued tool box.
But the Sad news is I just finally broke down & forced my loyal Leathermen into retirement it this afternoon having purchased a second Leathermen Wave. There was a formal retirement ceremony this afternoon and I placed my old Wave (still serviceable but showing her age) in an honored place next to my old Buck in my Grandfather’s old wooden desk. Touching & poignant - I think I actually got a little misty as I closed the drawer.
Anyway inspecting the new “Wave” I can say that the boys at Leathermen haven’t been resting on their laurels because the new Wave has a number improvements over the basic old design. I hope I get as much use out of it as I did my first.