Didn't think anyone else noticed the angle of the wire cutters . My first leatherman was a Rebar. It's about 8 years old.I nicked the hell out of the wire cutters cutting some wire from a foldable waste basket. Did it with the free P4 and they blew through it... that's when I inspected the cutters. The cutting edge angle on the older replacement models is almost 2x as wide, thus creating alot more pressure on the actual edge, and why they damaged... which is counter intuitive to alot of people as they think thicker edge= more durability. There is also a heat treat issue with the replacement cutters. I was cutting some tiny finishing nails with my 2 year old charge tti and damaged the hard wire portion of the cutters Did the same thing with the wave plus and they were absolutely fine. Same exact cutting profiles.
i have used Leatherman, Gerber and Victorinox multitools. Without a single exception, multitools with carbide cutters have failed when cutting hard wire. The cutters invariably break. They are just too brittle. To this day, I will neither purchase or use a multitool with carbide bits. I will be looking into a SOG multitool (unless they switch to carbide cutters). Currently my everyday multitool is a very old Gerber MP600.
I once used my wave to cut through metal fence wires for 5 hours straight putting up a fence. Didn't even ruin them just rolled the edge a bit . Bad ass tool. The hard wire cutters are great.
Your videos are great! Keep up the great work. Just bought my second Leatherman because of your channel! (Had a Wave just got a Surge). Now I need more!
TX Tool Crib still awaiting its arrival.. as soon as I bought it they all went on sale, so I’ve got the black and stainless one coming too. Going to return the black oxide only version! Can’t wait to tinker around the house! Might try to put together a coffee table with it haha
Gerber carbide cutters, what a disappointment. The old non-replaceable wire-cutter heads are so nice. SOG PL has a great plier head, too bad everything else is sub-par.
My Brigade was issued Gerber multitools prior to deployment to Afghanistan. The cut into he plier head for the replaceable cutter is a known fracture point. Out of my platoon for 40 guys about 1/3 of them had broken their Gerber plier head snap off all at the exact spot. Notice how Leather-man has a curved replaceable cutter head and not straight lines. That is because the acute angle is a weak point in the steel, whereas the curved corners of the Leatherman is to prevent this fracture point.
the Victorinox might be the only one who can cut multi-strand wire. i would be interested to see this tested with all these tools, also cutting a (single) hardwire, 2mm diameter is the most common in my country. thank you.
Great review brother, I have so many leathermans as well, I find that I carry the Wave+ more than any other. I take that back, I want a charge tti but haven’t found anyone willing to trade and I don’t want to pay that hefty price like I did for the MUT. Anyway, again great review and very in depth I know now more than I did about the differences between them and it’s the truth.
Nice video. On page 17:26 the advantage from triangle insert is it permits in field rotation of cutting edge, a desirable feature at the cost to limited back relieve. Limited because of the mounting hole location location with respect to the the insert of a certain size. Goto next size up on insert enable to a larger back relieve also open new problem on structural integrity where the insert apex will displace much structural volume on the jaw moving the weak section closer to the back of jaw.
Great review. It makes me wonder how manufacturers test their designs. I guess the like to coast on prior popularity while lowering cost and maximizing margin...
The Gerber Center Drive cuts razor sharp trough thinner cables, even very fine stranded cables. Up to 2,5mm2 (14 AWG), it works very well. Beyond that you should have another plier with you. Most (all?) European countries use 230V as standard voltage, and 1,5/2,5mm2 (16/14 awg) is what is used the most. So this works very well in the pocket, speking as an electrician :) But it did cut the awg 12 in the video like shit. A shame is does not cover a broader spectrum of cables…
Any chance you can review the leatherman signal? And also I have the centerdrive and I've found flipping down the extra bit holder so the handles can come closer together kinda makes it cut better. But still pliers have so much play that the hinge separates when cutting bigger than 12awg
I think you missed the EOD Leatherman cutters. I heard those are better. My Rebar came with the newer sharper cutters, night and day compred to the older ones. Never try to cut 1mm spring steel with Leatherman cutters. Don't ask how I know 🤣
Agreed the Surge is the best hands down. I bought the new gen surge and like it so much I bought another incase i lost one. Interchangable wire cutters are great, i bought spares for a decent price. It never leaves my side. Along with my Rick Hinderer Firetac.
I find it a lot easier with the leatherman cutters to cut with the wire in the stripping part. Mainly becauae it doesnt slip out and I dont have to think about the wire placement, I just push it in against the inside. Is this not reccomended? Ive been cutting for a year without much dulling that I can feel
I have the power assist and it doesn’t cut even close to my Surge but then again I wasn’t cutting wire I was cutting metal bands or steel antenna whips
your test was just fine for soft wire , but the steel sharp angle cutters will eventually dull out when cutting coat hangers or small nails and then will be useless for cutting anything unless you can replace them. my gerber centerdrive cuts through a little smaller wire than yours just fine but will cut through hangers and small relief head nails just fine but you must use the notch on the cutters for this that is what it is for ,the flat surface is for soft wire. my point is the tungsten carbide being harder than steel will not dull but it may crack if cutting too large steel item but not copper and they are replaceable. the notch is sharper more angle to cut through harder items.
With the Leathermans, could the P2/4 perform better because it's got a US made plier head (and presumable replaceable cutters) compared to the non-US made plier heads in the other Leathermans? You can see that the replaceable cutters look different, perhaps made in US vs outside the US ?
Wire cutters are same as the wave, although pliers are slightly different in terms of thickness, but that shouldn't really effect the results too much.
Help me out here.... the SOG Power..... something.... uh. I need (assistance)... one moment! Oh yes the SOG Power Assist! Hahaha I tried helping. Little late and a dollar short it seems. Oh well.
Sorry, not worth watching this video. Cutting soft electric wire (copper) is no challenge for any kind of wire-cutters, you can do it even with brass. Although it might be your most common work it says near nothing about the quality. Especially the HM-inserts are a waste of money on copper or brass wire (or mild steel like coat-hangers you mentioned in another video). Do some cutting through welding rods, bicycle spokes, or ultimately piano wire and the differences will show up clearly. It seems to me that you don't know much about wire cutters - although they are named "cutters" in reality they are shears, so they don't need a sharp edge on top - in fact that would make them weak and fail on really hard stuff. Shears need to be perfectly flat, have a strong joint and the least amount of space between the two parts. They need to bypass each other smoothly with less than a hair of space, even under high pressure. Measure the space the recessed parts leave open when the plier is closed (relief) and you know the max capacity your wire"cutter" is designed for.
take a small woodblock and cut the electric wire with the knife blade, even chinese junk will work near perfect. As I said, any expensive multi-tool like Leatherman's, Gerber, SOG or what else is a complete waste of money on that.
Excelente comentario. Concuerdo totalmente con usted y de hecho se me hizo extraño que fuera el único en mencionarlo; es evidente que esos cortadores de carburo no son para ocuparlos en cables de cobre.
True that wire could be cut with household scissors ✂ try cutting a cable (bike shift or brake) and they all will fail. The Leatherman surge claims it has a cale cutter but it fails to cut a simple bike cable.
![Cutting Ø 2.0 mm stranded cable : Leatherman SURGE [MT VOD]](/img/n.gif)
This has to be around $800-$900 in multi-tools...about the equivalent of 1 Snap-On screwdriver
These are, by far, the best tool reviews i've seen. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, I hope others feel the same way.
Didn't think anyone else noticed the angle of the wire cutters .
My first leatherman was a Rebar. It's about 8 years old.I nicked the hell out of the wire cutters cutting some wire from a foldable waste basket.
Did it with the free P4 and they blew through it... that's when I inspected the cutters. The cutting edge angle on the older replacement models is almost 2x as wide, thus creating alot more pressure on the actual edge, and why they damaged... which is counter intuitive to alot of people as they think thicker edge= more durability.
There is also a heat treat issue with the replacement cutters. I was cutting some tiny finishing nails with my 2 year old charge tti and damaged the hard wire portion of the cutters
Did the same thing with the wave plus and they were absolutely fine.
Same exact cutting profiles.
Leatherman Surge, The Best All Around Tool Hands Down!!!!
I am of the same opinion.
i have used Leatherman, Gerber and Victorinox multitools. Without a single exception, multitools with carbide cutters have failed when cutting hard wire. The cutters invariably break. They are just too brittle. To this day, I will neither purchase or use a multitool with carbide bits. I will be looking into a SOG multitool (unless they switch to carbide cutters). Currently my everyday multitool is a very old Gerber MP600.
Thank you for great review.
Here's me, looking at my leatherman P4 like a proud father
I once used my wave to cut through metal fence wires for 5 hours straight putting up a fence. Didn't even ruin them just rolled the edge a bit . Bad ass tool. The hard wire cutters are great.
Your videos are great! Keep up the great work. Just bought my second Leatherman because of your channel! (Had a Wave just got a Surge). Now I need more!
Thank you. How do you like the Surge?
TX Tool Crib still awaiting its arrival.. as soon as I bought it they all went on sale, so I’ve got the black and stainless one coming too. Going to return the black oxide only version! Can’t wait to tinker around the house! Might try to put together a coffee table with it haha
Thanks for taking the time to jaw with us!
Kevola Absolutely! Thank you for taking the time to watch my video.
Great review, but 2.5mm hard wire performance would be much more useful.
Fantastic review!!
Thank you very much.
Another great vid. 👍🏻
Thank you.
Test it against a chainlink fence
great video, you're a great reviewer...Next time when it's this layered time step the video so folks can go to the section they want.
Good idea!
Gerber carbide cutters, what a disappointment. The old non-replaceable wire-cutter heads are so nice.
SOG PL has a great plier head, too bad everything else is sub-par.
I wish Gerber would make a change to those carbide cutters for sure, they are definitely lacking. I feel much the same way about the SOG lineup.
My Brigade was issued Gerber multitools prior to deployment to Afghanistan. The cut into he plier head for the replaceable cutter is a known fracture point. Out of my platoon for 40 guys about 1/3 of them had broken their Gerber plier head snap off all at the exact spot. Notice how Leather-man has a curved replaceable cutter head and not straight lines. That is because the acute angle is a weak point in the steel, whereas the curved corners of the Leatherman is to prevent this fracture point.
the Victorinox might be the only one who can cut multi-strand wire. i would be interested to see this tested with all these tools, also cutting a (single) hardwire, 2mm diameter is the most common in my country.
thank you.
Great review brother, I have so many leathermans as well, I find that I carry the Wave+ more than any other. I take that back, I want a charge tti but haven’t found anyone willing to trade and I don’t want to pay that hefty price like I did for the MUT. Anyway, again great review and very in depth I know now more than I did about the differences between them and it’s the truth.
Thank you very much, and thank you for watching.
Nice video.
On page 17:26 the advantage from triangle insert is it permits in field rotation of cutting edge, a desirable feature at the cost to limited back relieve.
Limited because of the mounting hole location location with respect to the the insert of a certain size. Goto next size up on insert enable to a larger back relieve also open new problem on structural integrity where the insert apex will displace much structural volume on the jaw moving the weak section closer to the back of jaw.
Double braided barb wire is the ultimate Soldier multi-tool test.
Great review. It makes me wonder how manufacturers test their designs. I guess the like to coast on prior popularity while lowering cost and maximizing margin...
A question for which I don’t have an answer for unfortunately.
Thanks again bro!
Yes sir.
Surge is King!
i wonder how these compare in cutting steel wire, copper is not a big deal tbh
The Gerber Center Drive cuts razor sharp trough thinner cables, even very fine stranded cables.
Up to 2,5mm2 (14 AWG), it works very well. Beyond that you should have another plier with you.
Most (all?) European countries use 230V as standard voltage, and 1,5/2,5mm2 (16/14 awg) is what is used the most. So this works very well in the pocket, speking as an electrician :)
But it did cut the awg 12 in the video like shit. A shame is does not cover a broader spectrum of cables…
Any chance you can review the leatherman signal? And also I have the centerdrive and I've found flipping down the extra bit holder so the handles can come closer together kinda makes it cut better. But still pliers have so much play that the hinge separates when cutting bigger than 12awg
I will be reviewing the Signal.
I think you missed the EOD Leatherman cutters. I heard those are better. My Rebar came with the newer sharper cutters, night and day compred to the older ones.
Never try to cut 1mm spring steel with Leatherman cutters. Don't ask how I know 🤣
Agreed the Surge is the best hands down. I bought the new gen surge and like it so much I bought another incase i lost one. Interchangable wire cutters are great, i bought spares for a decent price. It never leaves my side. Along with my Rick Hinderer Firetac.
I replaced my wire cutters with the EOD version on my Super Surge build. A bit of modification, but I love them.
Awesome
Thanks.
I find it a lot easier with the leatherman cutters to cut with the wire in the stripping part. Mainly becauae it doesnt slip out and I dont have to think about the wire placement, I just push it in against the inside. Is this not reccomended? Ive been cutting for a year without much dulling that I can feel
Doesn't the surge have a specific cutting tool for stranded wire in between the handles?
I have the power assist and it doesn’t cut even close to my Surge but then again I wasn’t cutting wire I was cutting metal bands or steel antenna whips
your test was just fine for soft wire , but the steel sharp angle cutters will eventually dull out when cutting coat hangers or small nails and then will be useless for cutting anything unless you can replace them. my gerber centerdrive cuts through a little smaller wire than yours just fine but will cut through hangers and small relief head nails just fine but you must use the notch on the cutters for this that is what it is for ,the flat surface is for soft wire. my point is the tungsten carbide being harder than steel will not dull but it may crack if cutting too large steel item but not copper and they are replaceable. the notch is sharper more angle to cut through harder items.
With the Leathermans, could the P2/4 perform better because it's got a US made plier head (and presumable replaceable cutters) compared to the non-US made plier heads in the other Leathermans?
You can see that the replaceable cutters look different, perhaps made in US vs outside the US ?
Surge with EOD cutters is the best then?
Leatherman for the win
Well in this case, I think SOG comes out on top.
No Rebar? :(
It's more popular than most of those.
I knew I was forgetting one that I wanted to include. Sorry about that.
It would perform very similar to the wave
Wire cutters are same as the wave, although pliers are slightly different in terms of thickness, but that shouldn't really effect the results too much.
What about solid wire like 16gauge why not show more than stranded and also what happens over time to ones without replacement blades.
swisstool and gerber with carbide cutter edges were damaged
Put the free cutters Into your surge because leatherman updated there cutters with the free line and any multi tool made in and after 2019
Just recently ordered a new set of cutters. Appreciate it.
Happy to help. Your the reason I bought a surge after having a wave for a year.😂😂happy to return the spending favor 😂😂
How is mp600 with replaceble cutters?
I don’t for sure. I don’t own an MP600 with the replaceable cutters.
anything with outboard tools when closed is good. i like leatherman free p4.
Have you played around with swapping cutters between Leatherman's, P2/4 => Surge or wave?
I have, even modified the EOD cutters to fit into my Super Surge.
Help me out here.... the SOG Power..... something.... uh. I need (assistance)... one moment! Oh yes the SOG Power Assist! Hahaha I tried helping. Little late and a dollar short it seems. Oh well.
Lol, I appreciate you trying to help.
Sorry, not worth watching this video. Cutting soft electric wire (copper) is no challenge for any kind of wire-cutters, you can do it even with brass. Although it might be your most common work it says near nothing about the quality. Especially the HM-inserts are a waste of money on copper or brass wire (or mild steel like coat-hangers you mentioned in another video).
Do some cutting through welding rods, bicycle spokes, or ultimately piano wire and the differences will show up clearly.
It seems to me that you don't know much about wire cutters - although they are named "cutters" in reality they are shears, so they don't need a sharp edge on top - in fact that would make them weak and fail on really hard stuff. Shears need to be perfectly flat, have a strong joint and the least amount of space between the two parts. They need to bypass each other smoothly with less than a hair of space, even under high pressure. Measure the space the recessed parts leave open when the plier is closed (relief) and you know the max capacity your wire"cutter" is designed for.
Sorry it wasn’t up to your standards. I chose this test because it will be the most common use for cutters in my experience.
take a small woodblock and cut the electric wire with the knife blade, even chinese junk will work near perfect. As I said, any expensive multi-tool like Leatherman's, Gerber, SOG or what else is a complete waste of money on that.
Excelente comentario. Concuerdo totalmente con usted y de hecho se me hizo extraño que fuera el único en mencionarlo; es evidente que esos cortadores de carburo no son para ocuparlos en cables de cobre.
True that wire could be cut with household scissors ✂ try cutting a cable (bike shift or brake) and they all will fail. The Leatherman surge claims it has a cale cutter but it fails to cut a simple bike cable.