Leatherman Ratchet Driver discontinued?

.577NE

.577NE

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Feb 28, 2019
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I always thought hen's teeth are rare. So rare in fact, I have yet to see some. But I think I will see them before I see a new Leatherman Ratchet Driver for sale on the world wide web (Not the bay for three times retail).

What in the world of sports is going on, friends? Did they not deliver as advertised? Are they being redesigned? Are they discontinued?

I have become quite familiar with the word "backordered" lately :D

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They seem to backordered everywhere. Did find them for sale by a dealer on Amazon, but for $30 more than Leatherman's list price. Seems a bit pricey.
 
marantz said:
They seem to backordered everywhere. Did find them for sale by a dealer on Amazon, but for $30 more than Leatherman's list price. Seems a bit pricey.
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Thank you very much for checking as well, M marantz . I contacted Leatherman about when they would be available again; even they don't know. Ouch.

There are some available on eBay and at Amazon, at more than double retail. That is indeed quite pricey.

Good things come to those who wait ;)
 
They seemed to be pretty available in the first year or so. Grabbed one then.
Covid really messed up supply chains and costs. Probably a combination of other products selling better/having better margins and the material cost too high compared to probable sales price.
 
Ourorboros said:
They seemed to be pretty available in the first year or so. Grabbed one then.
Covid really messed up supply chains and costs. Probably a combination of other products selling better/having better margins and the material cost too high compared to probable sales price.
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I think you summed that up nicely.
 
When the ratcheting bit driver first came out I was fortunate to snag one. I have used it quite a bit and it resides in my travel tool kit with a Charge TTi. It is a great Leatherman accessory and works well with the Leatherman 2D and Wiha bits I pair with it. I really like the magnetic bit holding over the retainer ring method that they used on previous versions of the bit extendper.

I am also wanting to get some additional ratcheting bit drivers to pair with my ST300s, but will likely have to wait a while longer. I think Leatherman underestimated the demand. Hopefully, we will see more soon.

JonesE
 
JonesE said:
When the ratcheting bit driver first came out I was fortunate to snag one. I have used it quite a bit and it resides in my travel tool kit with a Charge TTi. It is a great Leatherman accessory and works well with the Leatherman 2D and Wiha bits I pair with it. I really like the magnetic bit holding over the retainer ring method that they used on previous versions of the bit extendper.

I am also wanting to get some additional ratcheting bit drivers to pair with my ST300s, but will likely have to wait a while longer. I think Leatherman underestimated the demand. Hopefully, we will see more soon.

JonesE
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Now I REALLY want one bad ;)
 
Ourorboros said:
They seemed to be pretty available in the first year or so. Grabbed one then.
Covid really messed up supply chains and costs. Probably a combination of other products selling better/having better margins and the material cost too high compared to probable sales price.
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As I recall, they were difficult to get when they first came out. I finally got around to buying one a few months ago. I'm glad I did...

They're made in Taiwan along with several other Leatherman accessories. I believe the Leatherman flat bits are made there too, and there was also a prolonged shortage of those not very long ago. I can only speculate about the reasons without knowing the details. Material shortages, low availability of cargo containers/vessels for oversea transport, geopolitical turmoil, disruption caused by global manufacturers fleeing from China to other countries, poor management of domestic transportation, etc. Take your pick, but I wouldn't keep blaming covid at this point.
 
Well, friends, the very Leatherman Ratchet Driver is available again at the store that sells recreational equipment and is incorporated :-) I just ordered three :cool:
 
.577NE said:
Well, friends, the very Leatherman Ratchet Driver is available again at the store that sells recreational equipment and is incorporated :) I just ordered three :cool:
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Replying to my own post ;)

I should have said were available again. Within a couple of hours they sold out. Sure looks like folks like them. Some buy multiples; oh the greed 😁
 
.577NE said:
Replying to my own post ;)

I should have said were available again. Within a couple of hours they sold out. Sure looks like folks like them. Some buy multiples; oh the greed 😁
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Wow! I checked it not even an hour ago after reading your previous post and they still had them. Now they're gone already. That was sure fast.
 
"I've got one for each of you...".

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I love this thing. And, listen up friends, the Wiha Sys 4 micro bit adaptor 758 will make all them finely engineered Wiha bits available to "ratchet drive till the cows come home".

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Happy days...
 
Almost a year since this topic was posted and these things are still out of stock everywhere and they are going for 120 usd on a certain auction site.

:eek:

The way Leatherman has been handling things, I would not be surprised if these did turn out to be discontinued.
 
I feel stupid. I returned one last year. Should have sold it for a profit? I'm actually going to see if they're still available where I bought/returned, but it wouldn't help most people since it's just a local retailer.

Have you tried ACE hardware?
 
.577NE said:
Wiha Sys 4 micro bit adaptor 758 will make all them finely engineered Wiha bits available to "ratchet drive till the cows come home".

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Happy days...
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I have one of those, but when I went to use it yesterday, I noticed that it had started to rust on all 6 sides and on the bottom. A warning to anyone looking to pick one or more of these up: they aren't made from stainless steel. Mine never got wet or anything. It just rusted while sitting in a pouch with other bits and tools. Thankfully I happened to have a tube of liquid cold bluing goo, so I scrubbed off the rust with a wire brush and applied two coats. I'm happy to say that it took quite well. My wiha bit adapter is now a dark brownish black color and it should be somewhat well protected from further corrosion now.

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Another little quality tool, albeit not LM made, is the 711L Flat End EDC Ratchet. It's flat end slips nicely into the bit received stub. It does not lock, but holds firmly. Reversible drive. I used it today to tighten the housing on a Jabsco water pump, where even a Klein stubby was too long to get to.

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Okay this is getting ridiculous. The lowest I can find one of these for on the auction site right now is 150 dollars, and the box looks like it was dragged over wet pavement. What is the situation with these things? I don't think anybody knows.
 
I sure am enjoying the Leatherman ratchet driver, what a handy little gadget 🎯

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