At one time, I was a huge fan of Leatherman as their multi-tool invention blew the conventional SAK away. Unfortunately, I think Tim and his tree-hugging buddies have most recently forgotten that form follows function, and they need to wake up and smell the java. It pains me to say that the Leatherman Core I have just recently purchased is absolute crap:
1. Cheapo and THICK plastic inserts in the handle are a cheap way to bolster the physical integrity of the handles. Because the edges are rounded, the sides of the handles needed some sort of buffer so tool blade movement won’t be hindered; however, the thick plastic adds unnecessary bulk to the tool, making the Core thick as hell compared to other tools even though no new, additional tool blades are introduced.
2. The craplastic inserts are directly connected to the plier head and act as the area of friction at both pivots. I will bet you money that the plastic will wear down a lot faster than if steel was used straight-up at the pivots. In one or two years, you’ll have yourself a nice pair of $50 Bruce Lee nunchucks.
3. The worst part is that you KNOW Leatherman didn’t have to use plastic. They could’ve thickened the steel, at little to no cost in weight. Look at the Super Tool 200, it contains the same tool blades as the Core but has no plastic and still maintains perfect structural integrity and isn’t heavier! The usage of plastic in the Core is the absolute worst part of the tool – you might as well buy that cheap Chinese stuff from Home Depot. I can’t emphasize the craplastic problem enough.
4. The tools still clump even though Leatherman says they fixed the problem.
5. The button lock’s spring is a one-inch long slice of steel that was cut away from the handle. Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap.
6. Design flaws: if you remove the medium screwdriver and close the handles, the plier head will get stuck in the gap where the medium screwdriver was between two other screwdrivers, leaving you to endlessly pull and tug at the plier head when re-opening the tool to reveal a plier head full of sparkly scratches.
7. Even after the pliers have been redesigned, a slight squeeze of the handles will still show bending near the tips of the pliers. Weak stuff.
8. The Core reaks of substandard construction. The steel grinding is poorly done, likely because Leathermans are now essentially made in China (the difference being that the crappy parts are put together in the USA to eventually become a crappy product anyway). If you look closely at the steal, you see plenty of grind marks, and the finish is rough as heck. Tools with better construction (ie. Swiss Tool) have a smoother finish, a hallmark of excellent engineering and steel refinement. Note that I am not referring to the polished handles of the Swiss Tool; if you take a close look and rub at the plier heads of both the Core and Swiss Tool, you’ll know what I mean.
9. Construction, aside from the steel grinding quality, is hastily done. The Phillips screwdriver must’ve been casted in a mold, but never refined through a grinding or smoothing machine because the sides of the screwdriver have the kinds of circles and lines that you see on plastic products. The look of the screwdriver is reminiscent of a piece from a 1990’s K’Nex toy set.
10. Another sign that Leatherman is cheapening: The parts they use are clearly coming out of a “common parts bin” because the plier head’s pivots have the same little ridges that are used to activate the Surge’s outside blade lock, even though the Core has no such outside blades. Guess what? Leatherman isn’t even designing their products uniquely from each other anymore- they’re just different parts connected in different combinations to fool the common idiot that goes for Leatherman because of the brand. I liked K'Nex, but 16 K'Nex pieces didn't cost $50.
The Core is the absolute cheapest POS I have ever seen come out of Leatherman. If the Swiss Tool is a Mercedes or Lexus, the Core is a Hyundai. Cores are unworthy of being Super Tool successors; they deserve to be melted down into liquid and donated to Victorinox so they can make more Swiss Tools. The Core isn’t worth 10% of what is charged for it, and if you see it at a store, RUN.
I’d like to give two cents on the Surge/Wave as well: Everybody loves the one-handed opening knife blades, but they are actually terrible in design. First, the hole in the blades weakens the knife because the force that would be applied to the knife would be unevenly distributed. It can easily break at the point where the hole is. Second, the hole itself isn’t well polished, is cast at a ninety-degree angle, making it easy for you to cut your fingers when trying to use it. Third, adding two things to pivot on the plier pivots makes everything uneven, which is why you see that the Surge/Wave come with loose handles and some knives operate smoother than others. Adding insult to injury, the Leatherman has to correct their terrible steel polishing quality by adding washers to smooth the movements of the blades, meaning that there’s even more potential for uneven surfaces in the pivot, exacerbating all the problems mentioned in the previous sentence.
1. Cheapo and THICK plastic inserts in the handle are a cheap way to bolster the physical integrity of the handles. Because the edges are rounded, the sides of the handles needed some sort of buffer so tool blade movement won’t be hindered; however, the thick plastic adds unnecessary bulk to the tool, making the Core thick as hell compared to other tools even though no new, additional tool blades are introduced.
2. The craplastic inserts are directly connected to the plier head and act as the area of friction at both pivots. I will bet you money that the plastic will wear down a lot faster than if steel was used straight-up at the pivots. In one or two years, you’ll have yourself a nice pair of $50 Bruce Lee nunchucks.
3. The worst part is that you KNOW Leatherman didn’t have to use plastic. They could’ve thickened the steel, at little to no cost in weight. Look at the Super Tool 200, it contains the same tool blades as the Core but has no plastic and still maintains perfect structural integrity and isn’t heavier! The usage of plastic in the Core is the absolute worst part of the tool – you might as well buy that cheap Chinese stuff from Home Depot. I can’t emphasize the craplastic problem enough.
4. The tools still clump even though Leatherman says they fixed the problem.
5. The button lock’s spring is a one-inch long slice of steel that was cut away from the handle. Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap.
6. Design flaws: if you remove the medium screwdriver and close the handles, the plier head will get stuck in the gap where the medium screwdriver was between two other screwdrivers, leaving you to endlessly pull and tug at the plier head when re-opening the tool to reveal a plier head full of sparkly scratches.
7. Even after the pliers have been redesigned, a slight squeeze of the handles will still show bending near the tips of the pliers. Weak stuff.
8. The Core reaks of substandard construction. The steel grinding is poorly done, likely because Leathermans are now essentially made in China (the difference being that the crappy parts are put together in the USA to eventually become a crappy product anyway). If you look closely at the steal, you see plenty of grind marks, and the finish is rough as heck. Tools with better construction (ie. Swiss Tool) have a smoother finish, a hallmark of excellent engineering and steel refinement. Note that I am not referring to the polished handles of the Swiss Tool; if you take a close look and rub at the plier heads of both the Core and Swiss Tool, you’ll know what I mean.
9. Construction, aside from the steel grinding quality, is hastily done. The Phillips screwdriver must’ve been casted in a mold, but never refined through a grinding or smoothing machine because the sides of the screwdriver have the kinds of circles and lines that you see on plastic products. The look of the screwdriver is reminiscent of a piece from a 1990’s K’Nex toy set.
10. Another sign that Leatherman is cheapening: The parts they use are clearly coming out of a “common parts bin” because the plier head’s pivots have the same little ridges that are used to activate the Surge’s outside blade lock, even though the Core has no such outside blades. Guess what? Leatherman isn’t even designing their products uniquely from each other anymore- they’re just different parts connected in different combinations to fool the common idiot that goes for Leatherman because of the brand. I liked K'Nex, but 16 K'Nex pieces didn't cost $50.
The Core is the absolute cheapest POS I have ever seen come out of Leatherman. If the Swiss Tool is a Mercedes or Lexus, the Core is a Hyundai. Cores are unworthy of being Super Tool successors; they deserve to be melted down into liquid and donated to Victorinox so they can make more Swiss Tools. The Core isn’t worth 10% of what is charged for it, and if you see it at a store, RUN.
I’d like to give two cents on the Surge/Wave as well: Everybody loves the one-handed opening knife blades, but they are actually terrible in design. First, the hole in the blades weakens the knife because the force that would be applied to the knife would be unevenly distributed. It can easily break at the point where the hole is. Second, the hole itself isn’t well polished, is cast at a ninety-degree angle, making it easy for you to cut your fingers when trying to use it. Third, adding two things to pivot on the plier pivots makes everything uneven, which is why you see that the Surge/Wave come with loose handles and some knives operate smoother than others. Adding insult to injury, the Leatherman has to correct their terrible steel polishing quality by adding washers to smooth the movements of the blades, meaning that there’s even more potential for uneven surfaces in the pivot, exacerbating all the problems mentioned in the previous sentence.
I bought a new Wave. Very nice tool except the jaws kept getting stuck in between the other tools when i tried to close the tool. I thought it was an isolated thing as I have had multiple tools from Leatherman over the years with NO probs. So I gave it to my buddy who didn't care if it was sticking or not. I bought a Surge
