Displaying items by tag: Medium Tools

The Power Plier is one of those tools that seemed to disappear from the collective conscious when it was discontinued. The predecessor to both the Pocket Power Plier and the PowerLock the Power Plier is well worth tracking down. And not just for collecting purposes; but as a great EDC tool that has some advantages over the PowerLock. Don't be mistaken, it does show it's age during use; the tools clump, implement finish is slightly lower quality than current production tools and none of the blades lock. But it has the sleek simplicity of an earlier time and the rugged functionality that the industry was born of.

When Buck teamed up with Outdoorsman Peter Whittaker to create the next line of multitools, I don’t think Buck thought they would be as popular as they ended up being. Buck was defiantly bold when they pushed forward with a design like none other; a tool where all the tools are opened with one hand. This vision and determination has gotten Buck back into the multitool market and given the tool community a product that is both of quality and totally unique. Since its release Buck has produced their original X-Tract model, the LED model (a basic X-Tract with an LED) and the FIN which adds a plain edge blade and scissors to the tool. It was only natural for Buck to take the next logical step and do what X-Tract fans have been yelling about from the start, make the X-Tract with a pocket clip.

Kobalt by Lowe’s Multitool Review
Nov 20 2008
Reason for purchase:
On the ever-present lookout for “the” tool that is perfect for all applications we once and a while comes up with issues that are unseen and another tool is necessary. It was about 2 years ago that I lent a brand new Surge to a co-worker that returned it in the most abusive manner by skidding it across the shop floor a total of about 50 feet. Then the search came to be to find the ultimate loaner tool and beater.

Fast-forward 1 year and while walking through Lowe’s I decided to look into the tool area to get a new SOG. Sitting on the shelf there was the Kobalt Multi tool. At a cost of about 15$ I decided that this would be a cool tool just to keep in the car for a beater, but found the thing to be a really useful implement.

This tool is a Bear and Son Cutlery Bear Jaws Electrician that has been rebranded by Crescent to a Toolzall Electrician Pro.

This is a 4 inch tool with a wire stipping head. The tools in it are as follow it has a serrated/plain blade combo, 2 straight screwdrivers, a phillips head screwdriver, a file, a saw, a can/bottle opener, a ruler and a lanyard ring (if you count that?) and all the tools lock and are outside opening which is a very good thing. The handles are also very comfortable to use when using the wire stripping head. Good solid tool with solid design.

The Buck X-Tract hit the multitool scene last year and made quite a splash. Buck had wanted to break out of the mold and had designed a multitool that could be operated entirely by one hand. The tool has become quite popular and a lot of that is due to the fact that the knife blade plays a major factor in the tool rather than the pliers. This year Buck decided to give the fans a one-two punch with the X-Tract line, they released not just one but two new models. The Buck X-Tract LED is simply an X-Tract with an LED placed into the side of the thermoplastic handle. The LED is not real high intensity but works well for finding your way in the dark when no other light is available. I think the LED is more of a novel idea then convenience, a lot of us usually consider a built in electronic device makes for just one more thing to go wrong with the tool. The LED is a nice idea but it's not Buck's bread and butter, the other tool they released was called the FIN. Buck took their popular X-Tract model and aimed the design towards fishermen.

If ever there was the One Tool to Rule Them All, it’s Leatherman’s Pocket (or Personal) Survival Tool, affectionately known as the PST. This was the original Leatherman production model, and the source of inspiration for all current issue multitools, and the One Tool (see?) that was single handedly responsible for resurrecting a virtually extinct niche market and bringing it to the masses.

Another member of Leatherman’s Charge family, the Ti is now discontinued, along with it’s original titanium handled sibling, the XTi . While the XTi was replaced by the ALX model, the Ti was replaced by both the AL and TTi models.

So imagine you're at a fancy dress party, and there is a big plate of hors d'oeuvres sitting on the table. But alas, there are no more forks! "Darn." You think to yourself, but you remember you have your trusty sidekick, Leatherman Flair on your belt! What can a Leatherman be any good to you at a fancy dinner party anyway? Well, let me show you.

Columbia River Knife and Tool entered the multitool world last year with the release of the ZillaTool. While it was praised for it's design and innovation many people including my self may have passed on it for it's hefty size and length. Some people said that while they liked the tool it was just to long to carry around and use with the pocket clip. While it looks like the people over at I.D. Works (the design division at CRKT that came up with the ZillaTool) were listening for this year they released a smaller more pocket friendly version of the Zillatool aptly named the ZillaTool Jr.

Gerber’s latest sliding head plier design is the Flik, which is an updated version of the MP400 design, and a more compact version of the larger, heavier duty Freehand . This tool is living proof that a multitool made in China isn’t necessarily a cheap hunk of junk!