Leatherman Wave Counterfeit?

Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
55
I bought a Leatherman Wave thru eBay and it arrived yesterday. I was shocked at the poor quality compared to other Leatherman tools I have handled and my immediate suspicion was that it was a cheap Chinese fake. This is the first Wave I have seen so I am looking to compare notes with those who have this model.

In general the tool opens and closes rough and difficult, especially on one of the handles. I broke fingernails trying to get some of the tools open and the knife blade, which supposedly can be opened with one hand, is almost impossible to open with two. The blade itself strikes me as chintzy.

I thought that the pivot pins could be loosened but when I tried this what had appeared to be Torx screws turned out apparently to be stamped rivets. What looks like a Torx hole is inconsistent in size from pin to pin and has a small tit sticking up in the middle of it which would keep a Torx wrench from fitting into the hole.

This is the main question I am asking. Can the pivot pins on the handles of a Wave be adjusted or removed, and if so are they Torx screws? If not, do they look like what I described and could they be adjusted with a different tool?

Also there is an empty space to the outside of the large bit driver which looks like either a tool is missing or there is supposed to be a spacer or lanyard ring or something in there. Is that normal?

I gave everything a shot of Tuf-Glide which didn't make any difference. This came in a nylon sheath and appears to be new but there was no box or papers. The name "Leatherman" is stamped all over it but no indication where it was made. I have contacted the seller but have not had a reply yet.

Are Leatherman counterfeits known to exist? If it is a genuine Leatherman, does the factory stand behind its products? Would much appreciate any input or advice. Thanks.
 
Could you post a photo of the Leatherman Wave that you won on Ebay? There are cheap knock offs of the old Leatherman Wave but I'm unaware of any knock offs of the new Wave. I've never seen a knock off that is stamped with the Leatherman logo. Also, Leatherman tools are stamped with the date of manufacture inside the handles.

Leatherman uses torx security screws to prevent tampering with their multi-tools. Older tools use a five point security screw and newer tools use a six point security screw. I've seen some Leatherman multi-tools with a combination of five and six star security screws. Six point torx security bits can be purchased at Sears and Ace Hardware. The five point security bits are more difficult to obtain. Chadstoolbox.com sells them but you'll need to write a professional letter to them in order to obtain them.

But if you are unhappy with the quality of the Leatherman Wave, I'd suggest sending it back to Leatherman. They should stand behind their products.
 
photo of the location of the manufacture date:
lm-manufacture-date.jpg


photo of the six point torx security screw:
lm-security.jpg


stock photo of the five point torx security screw:
lm-security-5point.jpg
 
Supratentorial~

Thanks, that is very helpful. Yes, the pivot screws on mine look just like those in your pictures and they are six point. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to use them. Security for what? Maybe job security for the people who make and sell the special tools. Doesn't seem like they would be any less prone to working loose. Thanks for the tip on where to get the tools. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

And the numbers on mine are 0706 which presumably means the tool was made a year ago. I likely wouldn't have found them on my own or known what they meant if I had.

So it looks like mine is a genuine Leatherman that went thru quality control on either Monday morning or Friday afternoon. In a way it's almost worse that this came out of the Leatherman factory but at least it may be salvageable by thowing some more money at it.

I guess I'll see if I can dig up an e-mail address for Leatherman and see what they have to say. Thanks again for your help.
 
Poking around the Leatherman.com site I ran across the information that those screws are cemented as well as being user-unfriendly. As far as I can see even if I bought the special tools I would still have problems. They do make the whole process of fixing it sound relatively painless once getting past the trouble and expense of sending the tool to them. They recommend using UPS which is not easy to do out here in the boonies, but if I'm reading between the lines correctly tools sent by mail tend to go astray.

After deciding to go with a higher end Leatherman I spent a lot of time looking for the best deal I could find. Right now I'm thinking I would have been ahead if I had bought a good pair of pliers and a decent SAK. Since I'm in this far I guess I'll go the rest of the way.
 
There's a bit of lock tite on the screws but I've disassembled/reassembled several Leatherman multi-tools without much problem. The ones with knurled screws are much more difficult to undo without damaging the fasteners but the security torx screws are quite simple to undo. Heating the screws with a soldering iron will loosen the grip of the lock tite and make things easier for you.

It is important to note that the pins aren't completely round. There are reliefs in the handles, pins, and washers which are designed to minimize tool clumping. Since both ends have a torx head it's difficult to tell which part is the pin and which part is the screw. During disassembly, if you turn the pin, you could strip the pin and the handle. Although its possible that some tools are assembled differently, it may be helpful to know that on my Leatherman Wave (and Charge), the torx screws were located on the sides with the file and saw.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with carrying a good pair of pliers and a knife instead. Multi-tools are convenient tools but they are seldom the best tool for the job.
 
I've carried several Leatherman tools for years including the Wave I have now and I wouldn't be without one. They have a website http://www.leatherman.com/ and 800 847-8665. I'd give them a call. It could be a counterfeit. I've seen very clever ones of other objects.
 
Please let us know what Leatherman says. I'm curious about a real-world test of their warranty.
 
Back
Top