BUYER BEWARE: Gerber Dime problem

J

jmflem

Joined
Feb 1, 2014
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373
This happened to me a while back but I thought I might make a thread about it now:

Two years ago on Christmas I received a Gerber Dime. I wanted the Gerber, and not the Leatherman Squirt, because most of the reviews I saw said that it was better than the Squirt; I even heard it called a "Squirt Killer". So I asked for it for Christmas and got it.

Now fast-forward to September of 2013 (the 26th to be exact). I was using the scissors of my Dime to cut some 550 cord. It cut through the cord, but then I realized that the scissors no longer sprang back into position. The spring had bent :grumpy:. So I sent it in to Gerber and about two weeks later I got a brand new Dime. Great customer service :D. After about a week of owning my new Dime, I pulled out my scissors to cut something, and before I even touched what I was going to cut I pressed down on the scissors and, guess what, they didn't return. The spring had actually cracked this time :mad:.

I never sent it in for a replacement, because the same thing would have happened again. I do not know if they have fixed this problem but beware if you are planning on getting a Dime. I've never owned a Squirt, but I'd recommend the Leatherman over the Dime if you're looking for a light duty multitool.

Have any other Dime owners had this problem?
 
Never had a problem with my Dime....because I never use it. Bought one a while ago to replace my Squirt but to me it was apparent within minutes the quality wasn't on par with the Leatherman. And so it sits somewhere on my desk while the Squirt remains on my keychain.

squirtdime.jpg
 
Same experience as jonnyt16.

Bought a Dime, played with it for about 30 seconds and just knew it was inferior to every other keychain tool I have and would never use it. Blade was about as dull as a butter knife and couldnt even cut paper, scissors stuck and didn't spring back, the fingernail notches were too deep and the tools too tight to open. Really a waste of $15 in my opinion.
 
I dont find gerber quality to be anywhere near of other manufacturers, so I generally avoid them. Im a victorinox and leatherman guy. Also like older SOGs, but gerbers I stay far away from.
 
I bought one just out of curiosity but it's only used now for the package opener tool. Stuck with the Squirt which has since been replaced with a Juice.
 
I got it because of the positive reviews online about it. Even nutnfancy really liked it. I did too, until it broke.
 
I find my dime to be a very handy little tool. I really like the box cutter/package opener. It hangs on my backpack so I can get at it easily yet it's so light I don't notice it's there. I would never use the scissors for something like para, that's what a knife is for. The scissors are meant for light duty stuff like cutting a loose thread of clothing or cutting apart a page of stickers for the kids. I think your complaint about the scissors is the same as complaining that you can't use the pliers to loosen bolts on your car, remember you need to use the right tool for the job. Having said that, the dime is no where near a leatherman in terms of fit and finish, and leatherman no where near some others. I love my leatherman MUT and Charge and they can take much more punishment but still, if you use them incorrectly, they will break.
 
I just asked my youngest daughter where was her Dime that would normally be on her key chain was, and she said it broke, and that she took one of my Squirt's to replace it...if that doesn't tell the whole story, I don't know what will.;)
 
Alnamvet68 said:
I just asked my youngest daughter where was her Dime that would normally be on her key chain was, and she said it broke, and that she took one of my Squirt's to replace it...if that doesn't tell the whole story, I don't know what will.;)
Click to expand...

This has me cracking up :D
 
spyderg said:
The scissors are meant for light duty stuff like cutting a loose thread of clothing or cutting apart a page of stickers for the kids. I think your complaint about the scissors is the same as complaining that you can't use the pliers to loosen bolts on your car, remember you need to use the right tool for the job.
Click to expand...

No, actually, it's not the same. The scissor blades didn't break; the spring did. Same thing happened to mine after four months, and it cut nothing but paper and thread. Would have happened if I just squeezed the scissors normally on occasion, without cutting anything -- consequence of shitty materials and manufacturing. Too bad Gerber cares more about marketing than quality control. The Dime was the first Gerber product I'd bought in more than ten years. Unfortunately it will be the last.
 
I bought one to replace my Style CS. I had bought my girlfriend a Squirt PS4 and loved it, but I really wanted tweezers too.

Firstly, the Dime has a better range of tools for everyday tasks than the Squirt. However, I find all the tools on the Squirt to be made much better. The knife did feel a bit blunt right out of the box on the Dime and the package opener seems to want to stay closed as long as it can. The scissors feel very weak compared to the Squirt.

I don't think it's a bad tool, though if it didn't have tweezers I would not have bought it (however, the tweezers aren't very great and may be slightly misaligned). If the Squirt had tweezers, I'd be there easily.

If it breaks even once in the first month I'm returning it and buying a Squirt. Good to know from this post what to look out for.
 
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