Testing Multitool Wire Cutters (more than 15 tested, Leatherman PST - Arc)
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- Let's Test ALL of the multitool cutters against this coat hanger and see what happens!!
Last Video (watch them break):
• Leatherman Arc, SHATTE...
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Maxlvledc is a channel dedicated to exploring the tools we carry every day. I will be discussing bags, flashlights, knives, multitools, pen, wallets, key organizers, pry tools, functional clothing, watches, electronics, and much more. Because I also love to modify these items, there will be videos on tools such as screwdrivers, pliers, scissor, wrenches, and power tools.
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#everydaycarry #edc #maxlvledc - Věda a technologie
I for one appreciate the sacrifice you made to commit yourself to picking small bits of metal off your shop floor for the next 3 months.
The real question is how did it get past Leatherman QC.
They shipped me a set of raptor response that were missing a screw. It seems they are lacking pretty bad.
@@JakeHabermansCZcamsI believe they would mess up a single unit but generally messing up an entire new piece is gonna hurt.
@@JakeHabermansCZcams. You can see in the ad the arc that they used in the ad is missing a screw so I guess they didn’t catch that and they’re still using it as their display model in their ad
They are too busy drinking chai tea and wearing scented beard oils.
They probably changed the steel the cutters are manufactured from.
you have a great point: Multitools are tough tools, their lives should be spent around doing tough jobs, not sitting in the pocket for flashy lifestyle. If Tim was really involved in the design and testing like he used to be in the early days, this would never get past his own QC.
Sadly, the current Leatherman design team has fallen to the EDC flashy demands and missed a huge core value: multitools should be tough for every work, by real people.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you, thanks to you I bought the Daicamping dl 30 multitool and I received it today. Amazing beast of a tool I am very pleased thank you!
Glad! Let me know how they hold up
Also just wanna say how much I appreciate the work you put into actually representing consumers. That's highly underrated just like Leatherman's stock replaceable cutters! Except their cutters deserve it right now! Hats off to you.
I try, I didn't necessarily want to be that guy...but here we are.
Great vid! I think it would be really helpful in your future multitool reviews to show this test. Along with a stranded wire cut test(some cheap multitools fail at this), test the saw, scissors, etc. Your scissors tests are the best.
Looks like I will have too from now on!
I have cut 12ga Romex with my Leatherman but damn copper is soft. It should at least cut a coat hanger for the money paid.
The video didn't drop yet but i already feel like SOG or Victorinox is going to win this 😅
While in the military, I was issued a gerber multitool, after cutting three wires, the entire mechanism failed, the plier had sprung and would no longer retract as designed...I switched to Leatherman and haven't had any issues since.
After seeing your videos; I reached out to Leatherman through their website. I asked them for a fix, but I'm waiting for a response. I did reference your videos but did not share any links. I own many of the Leatherman products some old and some fairly new. I have not run into any problems yet.
I didn’t feel this was a rant, as a lot of potential buyers are concerned about this right now.
This coming up on the ARC is pretty big. Hopefully, my faith that they’ll get this straightened out isn’t misplaced.
The S2 always comes through. I use mine pretty much everyday. While the pliers are smaller than on full-sized tool, they are better than any on similarly sized tools. It’s about the size of many swiss army knives and i can throw it in my pocket, while i carry my other usual workday gear.
I find it interesting that these cutters came out over a year ago, I checked my brother's P2 and my new surge (I have a series 1 from 06) and they both have the new style.
Why did no one in the EDC community notice until the ARC release?
@@steventhomas5865 A batch of poorly heat treated cutters?
I just checked my surge and it's dated December 21 and it came with the new style cutters.
@@steventhomas5865I just got a Wave+, dated 9/22. It looks like it has the rounded cutters too.
Thanks for making this video! The wire cutters aren’t a deal breaker for me personally as I carry a multi tool for the pliers, drivers and scissors but I get why this is definitely a big deal for most people and this getting past QC at Leatherman.
As a side note from watching all the testing: The Leatherman Bond is the clear winner over the Rev for a compact budget Leatherman.
Yep if you can live without the locking blade...or like me in the UK you can't EDC locking blades anyway so the Rev and most Leathermans aren't an option anyway.
The tools themselves are the same as those on the Rebar - I own one of those too - except for the pliers head. These 2 and the Supertool and of course the knifeless Rebar are the only LMs with fully profiled Phillips SDs which I like.
The replaceable wire cutters on my Rebar surpassed my expectations cutting through galvanised steel tentpegs. I haven't tried the wire cutter on my Bond yet as they are not replaceable but I reckon they would be pretty good.
Its funny that you mentioned people cutting fencing , I keep a few pet pigs so I cut 12 1/2 ga and 14ga galvanized steel wire for fencing and grounds , a few times a month using the bibury tungsten cutters with no issue. Some guy on one of the multitool forums was telling people that was wrong and that the tools cant handle that. That made me chuckle considering im planning on doing the same thing the arc , if Leatherman fixes this if not ill send it back thats an important capability of the tool imo . Thanks for the vid.
Worst spanking i had as a little kid was taking my leatherman out after getting it for my 6th bd and cutting through the chain link fencing to get to the abandoned barn on the other side.
Again, thanks for bringing this to the masses, hopefully Leatherman will do something. Maybe they already have, they just need to get ahead of it. Great content. thanks again.
I might have an explanation for you!
So, I was cranking on a hex bolt with Leatherman charge g10. It wasn't super smart, but it actually pushed down one of the wire cutters just enough to catch the pivot at the base of the plier mouth. This made the pliers super stiff, and I used a flathead to push the cutter back up and it was fine. We're talking a small distance like in the mm range. Anyway, my theory is that Leatherman was aware of this and rounded off that bottom corner piece of the cutter, so it doesn't catch there like mine did. Great video btw, I hope you'll get to the bottom of this!
I updated my leatherman surge for the replaceable cutters.
I guess I should go back to the old pier head
Great summation couldn't agree more
Awesome video! One of my hangers was too thick to cut & the rest were "standard" thickness which was 1.9 mm or .074 in thick. roughly 13 awg. Anyway my Bibury Pliers Pro chops the steel hanger 1.9 mm stuff up, but takes a little effort. The replaceable cutters have a wedge on one side and a little notch on the other to capture wire. Nice tool, $50-$60, includes bit kit and the T shank adapter. My Skeletool can't cut it with my normal everyday hand strength. My 30+ year old Klein linesman's pliers chop it up effortlessly, but you're getting a lot more lever action from the 6" long handles. Also it uses an anvil style cutter where the blades meet, where my other tools are a scissors jaw where the blades pass each other. Maybe the scissors jaw that leatherman uses is better for stranded copper wire...dunno. I know I'd be pissed if I was out nowhere trying to fix fence and my cutters broke.
Thank you very much for this!
Agreed! They have to fix this! I ordered 2 new cutter sets and I received the new cutter model. Not happy!!!
I swapped out my older P4 cutters onto my ARC. They are definitely a different design.
Seems like Daicamping DL30/Bibury still remains the best bang for the buck in 2023
I don't blame them for making a mistake. As a design engineer, I've made seemingly inconsequential changes that have come back with problems. The issue is that it reached the customer without them knowing. If you could buy 'flawed' cutters at a discount in order for them to move stock, I'm sure people would still buy them. But being ignorant of the change and or hiding it from customers isn't ok.
Any chance this is a bad batch from the vendor? Do you know if they text every batch they receive?
@@For891 This wouldn't be considered a bad batch rather than a deviation. Any deviation should have a sign-off/agreement with both parties. At least for me, all batches come in with a serial code to track them. They should undergo a batch inspection in which you'd inspect say 1% at random. If it was a new supplier you'd jump this back up to 50-100% etc. And then as part of the standard build process there should be random inspection of the final assembly which should include relevant tests. This is like the bare minimum. Even with this there can be gaps but it shows a problem with their process in my opinion.
I used to love my Wave 2nd gen up until I finally bought a Spirit X. Recently I wanted to replace a plier head in my Wave to a Wave+ version just as I did replace a cheesy 420hc blade with an S30V, but after watching this video and fiddling with my Wave once again I have to admit that Spirit is just better for me. It does what I need and it won’t rust. And there is zero breaking in or adjusting I had to do - it just works.
All of this is really sad, because I do respect Leatherman as an ingenious company that started it all. I just wish they’d keep caring more about the tools they produce. Just as they did long ago.
Leatherman: "buuuut we thought QC is - Quickly Completed... Right?"
Right after watching this, my wife was putting together a Halloween costume, that needed wire support. I used my Juice S2 to cut and shape coat hanger wire to use. Perfect!
Honestly since owning my new Arc I've had zero issues with my cutters,I've not cut coat hanger with it yet,I don't really have any metal one laying around the house,but I plan on trying an seeing if it passes my tests,also will be ordering new cutters just to be sure,if it works well then I just a pair for backup.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time and doing all the testing! I agree with you 100 percent. Leatherman has been asleep for the last several years and very lazy from top to bottom. Their not running their business properly from engineering, production, to sales & marketing! For example…. Why doesn’t Leatherman have the ratchet in stock? I can’t even remember the last time the ratchet was in stock. What are new products being shipped and not tested / QCed? It’s sad to see Leatherman continue to fall flat on their faces.
0797 on my supertool, had no idea that was stamped there, thanks!
The Blackfire! 😮
Have 2 of them
I have a Rebar which I really love that has the same cutters. Didn't know they would fail like that. I was considering upgrading to a Wave or an Arc.... but not until this business is settled
Your correct. Lol, you had me laughing when you showed how one will have to be careful when using the new cutter design 😭
I like how you mentioned that sure the hard cutters will work if you are careful and slot the wire directly into the notch., but like you said, no one does that! Open pliers, push wire to bottom, cut.
Also can be an issue for any multitool with replaceable cutters, even old ones. Because if the cutters on my Wave happen to break after using them for so long, ordering a new set would make the tool worse.
It would be interesting to know what Leatherman was thinking when they changed the design and if the gap has any sense. Especially because the cable stripper is on the awl.
My P4 is from this year and has the gap also at the wire cutter.
Thanks for your videos and I am curious about news.
My biggest fear is that they say this design was on purpose and we have to learn how to use it properly aka not just mindlessly put wire in their and squeeze.
No 2:55 release time for the algorithm😂
Remembering when the surge first came out i used that rickety thing for a while until i realized they made some updates that fixed all of its issues
I really hope Leatherman gets sent rhese videos and are made aware of the issue , and rhen do the right thing by acknowledging the problem , going back to the old design and send everyone a pair of new cutters .
Just hoping they'll make it easy to claim them on their website or something ...
please always include Roxon Phantom too. They are popular for budget multitool now
One of the reasons I personally preferred the seperate cutters is they should be easier to heat treat to higher hardness, appears it can go the wrong way. I guess still better than jacking up the heat treat and replacing the whole plier head.
Glad I have my Wave (non plus)
I love how this video also reaffirms Gerber's poor quality tools. I'd love to see some updated comparisons on Gerber multi tools.
My Knifeless Rebar has the same cutters but mine never broke. I had to cut thick wire yet, but I do have to cut thick wire every so often. I got mine February this year. I hope they fix this issue. 😢
You will be finding those hanger pieces for years
Haha, true
Do you know if that blackfyre multitool is/will be available anywhere? I think it was discontinued but I very much liked the design.
Yeah!!! I was thinking the same... I looked EVERYWHERE... Nada. That was an incredible well made tool for any price and it was cheap. I do know that Blackfire is a subsidiary of Klein and Klein has other multis, not as good.
I have happened to come across some hardened wires to cut when I had just purchased PST and once with Surge with replaceable cutters. I had pressed really hard on them and those hardened wires made dents in the wire cutters.But on Surge it was not the hard wire cutter but the soft wire cutter that I stupidly used.
I've read some other postings where people had ordered the replacement cutters and they were the rounded edge like those on the Arc. we can only hope LM pulls the bad stock and either changes back to their old supplier and figures their shit out pretty quick.
I ordered the arc but with this issue I’m going to return them. No way should cutters break on a 240$ multi tool.
Holy shit I just pulled out my leatherman charge+ I got a year ago and it has the new cutter design fml.
With my fuse or Bond I've never felt the need for replaceable cutters and I've abused the hell out if my Fuse, I used my Fuse like I stole it ( because I kind of did ) and never had an issue with anything except the scissors.
Very good video, thinking there is no actual "upgrade" to the older leathermans. They seem to improve in one area but cut more corners in another.
I use my re ar to cut chain link with no issue. Never had an issue with the replaceable cutters
Hi, Dom...At least the REV cut better than the Rebar....😊Never had problems cutting with the REV....Also, I have a OG PST....Why would I want a Bond?😊
Leatherman better fix this problem and give out free cutters.
I wouldn't have been interested to see how the surge held up, do you think it would be the same as the ARC? Thanks for sharing.
Depends if it had old or new cutters...mine are the good ones.
@@maxlvledc cheers sog pliers would cut like hot knife through butter.
In what are made the wire cutters on the Arc? It says "premium steel" which usually means "bullshit" and if I recall correctly it was some 420Hc on other models (Wave/Surge) but isn't that kind of an abberation to use some low-end steel instead of carbide tungstene for wire cutters?
Used to be 154cm, but they stopped that.
I never tried cutting hard stuff with my GOAT but I’m very upset that it can’t cut any soft wire or a zip tie
Crazy Leatherman Arc failed this!
Since everyone gets a trophy. We should give Leatherman a round of applause for trying.
Lols, wont save them...but I was trying to be equitable
than that means it is an issue with the at . it was shipped with it and most people aren’t buying extra wire cutters.
Just got a wave plus around a month ago and mine has the rounded cutters that form a gap beneath the cutters but my Surge I've had for 2 years and my rebar from 4 years ago both have overlapping flatter edges without the gap. Not sure what Leatherman is thinking but they need to bring back the old flatter cutters unless their goal is for consumers to constantly buy new cutters so they have a constant influx of cash flow. Not cool Leatherman!
I just broke my cutters on my wave+ yesterday, cutting fencing
That has NEVER happend to me before the change...like never. did it have new style cutters?
Just grabbed a hanger and cut it to pieces with my $40 muitiforce lol 👍😃✌️effortlessly
Yep lols!
@@maxlvledc love your content, wasn’t being a smart ass lol 👍😃✌️🇺🇸💪
First time I used the cutters on my Leatherman Wave+ was actually to cut a coat hanger. First cut, cutters broke.
This is super insightful. I daily carry a Free P2 and I always wondered why it sucked at cutting wire - and why I had to line it up just perfectly above the bottom of the jaws like you showed. Turns out I’ve got the same design. I guess I can buy new cutters? What’s the best route to go here?
I think new cutters are identical.
Im happy with the cutting of the Surge. I cut 2 or 3 mm screws (pins from pedals) and 3 mm cable strand, part of a larger crane cable strand.
Im also very happy with the cutter of the Squirt Ps4. Im not satisfied at all with the very lame cutter of the Gerber Dime. The only good tool on Dime is the cap opener.
Edit: the pliers and cutter of the SOG PowerPint is also bad, not in terms of capabilities but in terms of usage, it pinch my skin. Very incomfortable tool with that closing from behind system!
New surge sadly will have these new cutters.
@@maxlvledc thanks for the info. Ill try to use the Knipex Cobolt S when possible instead of the Surge. Or maybe the cutter behind the pliers of the Surge, i never tried it on screws or anything really hard.
Very interested to know where these are replaceable cutters are made? Usually the case when you outsource.
Tool made in USA, cutters made in CHINA
Never understood why consumers were so happy about replaceable cutters. They are weak and weaken the plier head. I have a few side cutters, none of which are replaceable, from a range of brands and have yet to have one break. For Leatherman, what was once a Leatherman-paid warranty issue is now a consumer-paid maintenance issue. Still, people seem to love it?
Multitool plier heads are cast..so it makes a lot more sense than in forged tools.
Throw in the Gerber MP600 (it has replaceable cutters) next
Same as Centerdrive, so no need.
@@maxlvledc Thanks Bro!
@@maxlvledcif i'm being honest... My MP600, with the same cutters, will cut better than my centerdrive.
What are the odds Leatherman actually addresses this and provides better cutters to those who can provide proof of purchase?
No idea
Nice video. Here in Sweden the Arc is 350$ so it feels absurd to have this problem. Do you know if MUT EOD cutters fit the arc?
Havent tested them out that much yet but i really think GOAT tools came up with a good solution for how to maximize usage on the cutters with their rotating kind.
Technically yes if you modify them.
I have a wave plus that is about a year old and it has the same cutters as the arc I just got. Is there a way to buy the old cutter replacements? Leatherman website seems to only have one cutter replacement blade for all the models.
not sure. I think we are all SOL.
This is something that has plagued the Center Drive for years now and I still hear it all the time. The cutters are trash, garbage material etc. The cutters were never meant to cut anything denser than concertina wire. Most soldiers are typically cutting zip ties, C-wire, Det-cord and nylon. Then people say “well then it’s no good for tradesmen” and I dare to say it was never made for tradesmen or shop workers in the first place. Unless regular tools come with coyote tan molle compliant sheaths? I’m pretty sure it was made for servicemen not tradesmen.
Hey, Max, what do you think about the idea of looking into the available powerbanks that use a removable battery (eg [but by NO MEANS limited to] 18650): Stand alone units, as well as flashlight/powerbank combos. This would make for a great video, owing particularly to your always insightful comparisons and recommendations. Thanks, CS.
PS--Would it be preferable to send enquiries of this nature to your email instead?
This is fine, it's a cool idea!
Yes good
@@maxlvledcsounds cool to me 👍
Yeah.... my experience with the GOAT differs massively from yours.
Just this second tried same on coathanger in UK (maybe different steel, maybe I'm puny) & no way I could cut it single handed. Didn't bother trying with 2.
'94 PST breezed through it, as did Mossy Oak (£18 delivered) & even LM Skeletool-bit surprised about that.
I don't even bring out Rebar & Swiss Tool to compare any more, the (definitely not) GOAT doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath, but out of interest tried Rebar & no issue whatsoever, new design cutters, just aligned properly as per Ink&Iron
IMO GOAT is most over-hyped piece of junk I can remember in a while, & it's not just the wire cutters.
You should have compared it with an older rebar with older replaceable cutters to make a perfect comparison. Or used that ST300 with the older replaceable cutters. It would be made a better picture for your point.
But great video
True, and I had one too...
Made a lot of excuses for Leatherman. I’ll take my Swiss tool over any Leatherman I’ve been carrying my Swiss tool of over 25 or so years.
I agree 100% I cut fence wire all the time with my Victornox Spirits non replaceable cutters and they still cut and look great!
Yep, vic does hard wire very well.
I have broken a plier jaw on too many SwissTools to think they are quality. Junk. To be fair, I was not cutting wire, at the time. Usually twisting wire, or turning a nut/bollt. Regardless, I was not extering a lot of force. Victorinox warrantied the tool, then again, and again, and again... Over 5 years of warranty repairs and replacements on Victorinox junk. I'm glad you mznaged to carry your Victorinix for 25 or whatever years. Have you ever used it? Vicgorinox makes fragile stuff meant for working on dollhouses, maybe, or keeping in a drawer.
@googleuser6635 really?!?! Your the first one I've ever heard breaking them multiple time turning nuts. We're you doing it by hand?
@@maxlvledc Yep. No cheater bar. Victorinox had me send them pics, then the tools. Acgually, maybe pics was only the first time. At least once, thry replaced the tool, because I sent one in with scissors, but got one back without, then had to wait for the scissors version to be back in stock.
I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one on this, because Victorinox was looking into this. They ended up changing the design of the plier head.
I'm not a muscle-bound brute, either.
I understand why you're doubting me. Heck, people doubted the cutters breaking on your Arc.
If it makes you feel bettee, I have had the jaw break on lots of diagonal cutters and a pair of flush cutters. It seemed to have to do with placement of the item to be cut. So, I changed brands of tool.
Where did you get that multi-tool roll from? I'm looking for one.
It's from Knafs.com
Thank You!!@@maxlvledc
I have a Surge Titanium and shattered first set with fencing wire and second set have defined indentations from cutting 0.9mm welding wire which is pathetic. I'm currently using a Olight multi which is only $20 it's been cutting welding wire for the last 12months.
I wonder if you can find third party replacement cutters that don't have the notch. have you checked if the knockoffs can have theirs swapped? Also, have you checked that your ARC ones were tight? If they're loose at all (even if held in with thread lock) they're going to flex in ways that might make them crack. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't get fully screwed in, my signal came with some loose ones, but no threadlocker so I assumed it was REI's and not Leatherman's fault in my case.
They were tight for sure
@@maxlvledc having seen other reviews now, I wonder if the bit of side to side flex of the pivot is the issue, making the cutters collide or something
Try using the rebar cutter blades on the arc and redoing the cut test with the arc. If it survives then I guess that batch of cutter blades that shipped with the arc were no good.
Great idea!
my curl cuts through a coat hanger like butta! :)
My Wave+ dated 2021 has the exact same cutter radius as my ARC cutter radius. So this geometry is not new to the ARC.
2021! That's earliest I've heard so far!
Bet SOG will win the showdown
??? Nah, mostly they are not that good, but powerpind has no issue with the hanger.
They can't even touch the PST 2.
Sog have a couple good designs for multi tools but their quality is trash
Gerber is known for major wire cutter failures.
100%
Replace the carbide cutters with the HSS cutters from Little Machine Shop and failures are eliminated.
Hows garage 005 cuts the hanger??
This video saved me $225 .00.
I'll stick with my p4 for now.
I could not cut the same hanger type with my GOAT cutters... Easy work for Victorinox, SOG, and the Gerber Dual drive. Also I am going to assume it is easy work for the Leatherman Signal (which I will test shortly). But the GOAT, and I tried! No go.
Just curious if anyone else had a similar experience.
Very little relief edge
@@maxlvledc Yeah! After you said I looked at the cutters... You are correct.
I hope you were wearing safety glasses. I was squinting ever time I heard the snap. Haha. On another note, I have a wave with a loose plier pivot, and it doesn’t cut very well. What’s the best way to tighten that up?
Send it to leatherman
I can say from experience that my Rebars replaceable cutters literally crumbled on the first use like they weren't even heat treated... got it last year. Id be interested to see if a set of replacement cutters wouldnt be any better. Wonder if they dont just give us shit cutters on new tools just so we'll go out and give Leatherman yet even /more/ money just to have a 'complete' multitool.
Will the cutters from a DL30 fit the ARC
not sure, need to test this.
I loaned someone a Leatherman ~15 years ago or so … they tried to cut through a coat hanger and chipped the crap out of it.
well...either the handger was harden steel ( there are some like that) or you have a defective Leatherman. I've NEVER had one break on something so miniscule. I've cut nails with my Leatherman tools.
My arc comes tomorrow. Should i test cut with it??? I mean first thing out of the box...
I don't know about that..
If you decide to do it, try not inserting the wire all the way to the end of the cutter, then at least you’ll have an idea if the problem lies in the heat treat or the radiused corner design. 👍🏻
This is blowing my mind. This is stupid. I guess I need to get my S2 out if I have to cut hard wire.
Leatherman Arc be like : not to hard please my tooth are smooth xD
Lols!
The arc wire cutter compared with other previous LMs really something wrong. With plier jaw fully closed, the cutter blade actually didn't reach other side. Instead it it just stop half way. I have LM rebar to compare.
What a shame😢. I’ve always thought my surge cutters beat my center drive and my spirit X hands down. I was looking forward to the arc… now it’s not worth the price
My 2006 Leatherman Wave just returned from warranty repair (rusted pliers and tools). They cleaned up most of the rust and replaced the plier head with the new replaceable hardwire cutters. I was happy, until I realized that the cutters have this flawed design with the radiused bottom. I hope Leatherman fixes this soon by issuing redesigned cutters.
You are using the soft cutters on the leatherman. There are hardened cutters on the leatherman that are used the cut bigger stuff
How does it cut with the wave/charge head?
I'm not sure, but it looks like they will cut on the wav/charge head. They seem too small for all other plier sizes.
Cuts fine with orders style cutters...the new ones will all have these cutters however