- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,259
I'm a Leatherman guy. I have dozens of them, and short of a couple of Gerber tools, a LM of some flavor has been on my hip or in my pocket nearly every day for the last 20 years. They are kind of the bar against which I judge other tools in terms of utility and innovation. That said, having "lost" my Wave due to leaving it on a shelf while opening boxes while I was working at Target circa 2002, I have wanted to fill that hole for just a bit over 21 years, but I have never felt the need to plunk down any money on a new one. My wife bought me a Surge as a wedding gift in 2005, and I honestly found that most days I preferred a SuperTool 200/Core/SuperTool300/Rebar over the Surge. It wasn't until the P4 came out that I really went back to an EDC with external blades.
Flash forward to today. My P4 is MIA somewhere in my house. I tried carrying a LM Bond over the last near-year, but after the blade popping up and cutting me no less than 5 times, I'm kinda done with it and went back to the Rebar since I can't remember where I saw my P4 last...it may be still be in the vacation luggage. Anyway, excuse for a new tool time!
I have my eye on a Charge TTi or maybe a GOAT, but I'm not really prepared to plunk down $170+ for something I don't NEED right after the holidays as I have a birthday next month or fathers day or whatever
. Enter a random amazon gift card from christmas for $25 and a $10 business credit on my account. After watching a few videos on budget based tools, I figured I would try one to see if it was total garbage or not. I ended up settling on a tool under the name "Rocktol". I'm not sure who actually makes it, but it seems to check off all the Wave boxes. It's a "high end" tool coming in at $49. However, they had a $15 off "coupon" plus my gift card and credit and prime shipping. I spent about $2 in tax. I figured that I will either find it surprisingly passable and toss it in my truck once I buy a new nicer tool in a few months or just wreck it over time and learn a very inexpensive lesson about getting what you pay for. So how does it stack up fresh out of the box? Well...
First some non-measured specs:
The Rocktol tool is basically an OG Wave in terms of having built in cutters, and it does not have the micro driver instead opting to go with a very fragile mini flathead. Also, the proprietary LM bit driver has been replace with a basic 1/4" driver. The good and the bad being that it is obviously wider to incorporate that however it means no more hunting for LM bits if you have a cheap tool box kicking around somewhere. It also feels heavier. I don't remember how the Wave felt, but this one feels like it gives the Surge a run for it's money in the chonkiness department. I'm sure it's made from some 3 series alphabet steel, but it feels pretty solid. Another thing they did was a "titanium coating" that gives the tool a dull matte grey finish. All of the tools are polished well enough with a bit of machining marks and flash scars that can be seen if you look close enough. Nothing that should impact function. The tool seems to open just fine. Stiff but not stiffer than a new LM tool. It's held together with standard torque screws, so one could tinker on it pretty easily. I can't tell, but it appears that it does not have any washers between the external blades and frame. If they are in there, they are tiny and certainly not PB. Smooth enough to open with one hand, but a Sebenza they are not.
General fit and finish are fine. Nothing to write home about with a few flaws and scratches from the factory, but this is a $50 tool competing with a $120 tool that cost me $2 out of pocket. I'm not going to dogpile on it too much. The locks work fine. The internal tools clump, but I wasn't crying in my beer about that 15 years ago and it has never bothered me. The wire cutters seem to work OK. I haven't put them to any extreme testing, and I don't know how hard they are. I don't cut a lot of heavy gauge stuff anyway. The light cutters snipped through a twist tie easily and the crimper seems to mash well enough. The jaw pivot is a tad on the tight side. If i try and open them up fully, the handle disengages before the jaws open completely. I'm missing about 1/16 of an inch of travel. Not huge, but i can press them open wider with my thumbs. They maybe loosen up in time. The diamond file seems to work fine with the coating applied evenly. I don't use a file often, but it looks like it would work. The saw is SUPER aggressive. Not great for precision, but I think it would gnaw through soft wood in short order.
So what do I not like? Eh, it's not a LM. I'm not one who will die on the "Don't Buy China!" hill, but even though the patents have lapsed it's still not a tool I am proud to carry. It does 90% of things just as well as a LM if not more, and the FnF are great for the pricepoint. It still feels a little icky. The other thing, the main thing, the thing that has me chuckling that the universe has a sense of irony...this thing wants to cut me. I bought it to replace the Bond that I really don't care for as the blade has too much play and will pop out and snag your finger if you aren't careful. However, the detent on the plain blade doesn't line up, so when you snap the pliers jaws together with gusto, the tip of the blade will lift about 1/8". Not as bad as the Bond, but still annoying. I went ahead and cranked the pivot tighter. I makes it harder to thumb out the blade but it keeps it tucked away better. I may try switching the plain and serrated blades. If the serrated blade pops up a bit, there is no tip to gitcha. We'll see if I care enough to get around to it.
Finally, the liner locks over travel like mother-trucker. They don't even attempt to engage the tang in such a way as to wear in, They simply rest against the screw holding the tool together. it's not a big issue, but I figured i would note it.
In closing, the Rocktol tool is a Wave alternative for those on a budget when aren't concerned with COO. It's not a LM by any stretch as it's pretty clear that they are a budget tools, if nicer in FnF than most. I won't go out of my way to recommend it over the LM, but if all one has is $50, I would buy this tool over the Bond any day that ends in Y. Nothing binds up in the tool or seems overly sloppy, and barring the weak detent on the plain edge, I really can't fault anything about the tool over a few cosmetic issues. I would never say it is as good as LM. I certainly don't feel that I will be as well taken care of from a warranty prospective. However, if all you have is 50 beans in the jar, then that is all you have. You can do way worse. So while the Rocktol isn't an heirloom tool, for now, I wouldn't hesitate to abuse it doing weekend chores around the house.
Flash forward to today. My P4 is MIA somewhere in my house. I tried carrying a LM Bond over the last near-year, but after the blade popping up and cutting me no less than 5 times, I'm kinda done with it and went back to the Rebar since I can't remember where I saw my P4 last...it may be still be in the vacation luggage. Anyway, excuse for a new tool time!
I have my eye on a Charge TTi or maybe a GOAT, but I'm not really prepared to plunk down $170+ for something I don't NEED right after the holidays as I have a birthday next month or fathers day or whatever
. Enter a random amazon gift card from christmas for $25 and a $10 business credit on my account. After watching a few videos on budget based tools, I figured I would try one to see if it was total garbage or not. I ended up settling on a tool under the name "Rocktol". I'm not sure who actually makes it, but it seems to check off all the Wave boxes. It's a "high end" tool coming in at $49. However, they had a $15 off "coupon" plus my gift card and credit and prime shipping. I spent about $2 in tax. I figured that I will either find it surprisingly passable and toss it in my truck once I buy a new nicer tool in a few months or just wreck it over time and learn a very inexpensive lesson about getting what you pay for. So how does it stack up fresh out of the box? Well...First some non-measured specs:
The Rocktol tool is basically an OG Wave in terms of having built in cutters, and it does not have the micro driver instead opting to go with a very fragile mini flathead. Also, the proprietary LM bit driver has been replace with a basic 1/4" driver. The good and the bad being that it is obviously wider to incorporate that however it means no more hunting for LM bits if you have a cheap tool box kicking around somewhere. It also feels heavier. I don't remember how the Wave felt, but this one feels like it gives the Surge a run for it's money in the chonkiness department. I'm sure it's made from some 3 series alphabet steel, but it feels pretty solid. Another thing they did was a "titanium coating" that gives the tool a dull matte grey finish. All of the tools are polished well enough with a bit of machining marks and flash scars that can be seen if you look close enough. Nothing that should impact function. The tool seems to open just fine. Stiff but not stiffer than a new LM tool. It's held together with standard torque screws, so one could tinker on it pretty easily. I can't tell, but it appears that it does not have any washers between the external blades and frame. If they are in there, they are tiny and certainly not PB. Smooth enough to open with one hand, but a Sebenza they are not
.
General fit and finish are fine. Nothing to write home about with a few flaws and scratches from the factory, but this is a $50 tool competing with a $120 tool that cost me $2 out of pocket. I'm not going to dogpile on it too much. The locks work fine. The internal tools clump, but I wasn't crying in my beer about that 15 years ago and it has never bothered me. The wire cutters seem to work OK. I haven't put them to any extreme testing, and I don't know how hard they are. I don't cut a lot of heavy gauge stuff anyway. The light cutters snipped through a twist tie easily and the crimper seems to mash well enough. The jaw pivot is a tad on the tight side. If i try and open them up fully, the handle disengages before the jaws open completely. I'm missing about 1/16 of an inch of travel. Not huge, but i can press them open wider with my thumbs. They maybe loosen up in time. The diamond file seems to work fine with the coating applied evenly. I don't use a file often, but it looks like it would work. The saw is SUPER aggressive. Not great for precision, but I think it would gnaw through soft wood in short order.
So what do I not like? Eh, it's not a LM. I'm not one who will die on the "Don't Buy China!" hill, but even though the patents have lapsed it's still not a tool I am proud to carry. It does 90% of things just as well as a LM if not more, and the FnF are great for the pricepoint. It still feels a little icky. The other thing, the main thing, the thing that has me chuckling that the universe has a sense of irony...this thing wants to cut me. I bought it to replace the Bond that I really don't care for as the blade has too much play and will pop out and snag your finger if you aren't careful. However, the detent on the plain blade doesn't line up, so when you snap the pliers jaws together with gusto, the tip of the blade will lift about 1/8". Not as bad as the Bond, but still annoying. I went ahead and cranked the pivot tighter. I makes it harder to thumb out the blade but it keeps it tucked away better. I may try switching the plain and serrated blades. If the serrated blade pops up a bit, there is no tip to gitcha. We'll see if I care enough to get around to it.
In closing, the Rocktol tool is a Wave alternative for those on a budget when aren't concerned with COO. It's not a LM by any stretch as it's pretty clear that they are a budget tools, if nicer in FnF than most. I won't go out of my way to recommend it over the LM, but if all one has is $50, I would buy this tool over the Bond any day that ends in Y. Nothing binds up in the tool or seems overly sloppy, and barring the weak detent on the plain edge, I really can't fault anything about the tool over a few cosmetic issues. I would never say it is as good as LM. I certainly don't feel that I will be as well taken care of from a warranty prospective. However, if all you have is 50 beans in the jar, then that is all you have. You can do way worse. So while the Rocktol isn't an heirloom tool, for now, I wouldn't hesitate to abuse it doing weekend chores around the house.
