Recommendation? Mini multi-tool

B

BeyondTheBox

Joined
Apr 13, 2016
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Looking for a smallish multi-tool. Something I can fit in my fifth pocket. Leaning toward a SAK, executive size, but wanted to see if there's something I'm overlooking that I should consider.

Maybe something that uses higher quality steel?
 
SAKs are all solid in that role. I regularly carry the Classic, Minichamp, or Cadet in my watch pocket.

Multitools that work well in that role also would be the Leatherman Squirt and Style. The Gerber Dime is actually pretty solid as well. Those are the ones I’ve stuck with anyway.
 
Not sure if my leatherman juice would fit in the 5th pocket but it's great. Hard to imagine the smaller squirt isn't well made as well.
 
stonproject said:
I think the boker city tools use better blade steel
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I was excited to look into these, but they're all so very thick. The one major appeal to SAKs are their relative thinness, even with the extra tools. But thank you so much for the suggestion.
 
You really need to define what tools are critical to you.

For me, the Skeletool is perfect. It won't fit in my watch pocket, but it has a pair of pliers that I find really useful, along with a Phillips and standard screwdriver. If it wasn't that big, the pliers would be worthless. I like it because it's slim enough to easily slip in my offhand pocket and go unnoticed until it's needed.
 
Twindog said:
You really need to define what tools are critical to you.

For me, the Skeletool is perfect. It won't fit in my watch pocket, but it has a pair of pliers that I find really useful, along with a Phillips and standard screwdriver. If it wasn't that big, the pliers would be worthless. I like it because it's slim enough to easily slip in my offhand pocket and go unnoticed until it's needed.
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None are critical, but I like the scissors and nail file of the Executive SAK.

And it seems their steel is on par with the Boker City Tools anyway, X55CrMo14 and 12C27 bring pretty much equal in all categories. The Leathermans use 420HC, which seems to me to be a negligible difference as well. So I'll probably just get the SAK because it's thinner and has two blades.
 
My regular pocket carry is the Leatherman Micra. The scissors are powerful enough to cut through zip ties. I keep mine sharp with a DMT credit card sharpener and the scissors push cut wrapping paper. The tool selection handles 90% of my day to day stuff. Opening just one arm makes a sort-of t-handle driver which is capable of delivering much more torque than any SAK. Opening one arm fully gives a full hand hold when using the knife blade.

IMO, no other pocket tools comes close.

For backpacking, I carry the PS4 Squirt for the pliers but the Micra is a better tool for me for EDC
 
The Micra is a good little multi-tool if your primary use is with a scissors.

I generally don't worry too much about guarantees, but with multi-tools I think they may be important because we break them if we put too much stress on them. Vic has a good guarantee, but generally I would never make a claim unless the knife is just junk.
 
I keep going back and forth and just can't seem to let go of the Executive SAK. I'm pretty sure that's what I'll go with at this point. But I truly appreciate all the assistance and suggestions.

As for the scissors, I just want them for the occasional hangnail or ripped nail, to quickly trim and then the file to refine the edges. Honestly I love the knife and it's features, other than the worthless toothpick and tweezers. I just wish it had a bit thicker of a blade spine and used even slightly better steel, but 12C27 and the X55... steels used over yonder are relatively sufficient. At least enough so for me.

Thanks again fellers!
 
Micra. Best scissors. I don’t go anywhere without one. For pliers, I find the roughly parallel jaws of the 4 1/2” Channellocks more useful than any pliers found on a multitool. Pictured below with a pretty comprehensive pocket kit that is lighter and takes less space than a multi.

886F406C-734F-4932-82DF-E59A61DAABB1.jpeg
 
BeyondTheBox, I wouldn't get too excited about the SAK choice. I do find the tweezers and toothpicks useful at times. They certainly aren't perfect, but in a pinch, they will get the job done and be ready for the next time. You can always buy another model to try out. It is not a big deal. If you don't find the toothpicks or tweezers useful, just carry an alox model.

I have a Ps4 on each set of car keys that I use. I use them far more often than I would have ever believed before I started doing this a couple years ago.
 
A worthless statement of personal aesthetic taste that is as personal and irrelevant to the tastes of others as personal tastes in beer (Harpoon IPA), bourbon (Wild Turkey), coffee (French roast), or guns (6.5x55)...

I find the the Leatherman Micra beautiful in a brutal engineering efficiency sort of way. Obviously, it isn't a pretty tool. Not like the Buck 110 or Opinel 9 that I often pair with it. Both of those knives are simply pretty to look at and there is none of that prettiness in the Micra. The Alox SAK like the Executive are, no question, very, very pretty.

But I find myself coon fingering and pondering the Micra for hours on end. It's a job hazard as I sit through mind numbing meetings at work and I need to hold something in my hand so that my brain doesn't short circuit.

The thing about the Micra is that every single bit of the design is functional. There is not a single wasted design element for the sake of prettiness. There is not a single bit of metal that isn't 100% functional for the purpose it was designed for. There is no a bit of wasted space - Tim Leatherman squeezed the absolute maximum amount of functional tools in the smallest possible package. The PS4 Squirt is certainly cooler looking and I carry one backpacking due to it's lightweight and the pliers... but the scales are purely aesthetic fluff. In contrast, the Micra's stainless shell frame is utterly devoid of any added ornament.

This brutally lean aesthetic isn't just posturing. It's an absurdly durable tool. I carried Vic Classics for years and got about 2 years of them before the scales busted off or the joints loosened up or the scissor spring busted (replaceable). I can't count the number of times when I've configured the Micra as a t-handled screwdriver, shrugged and wondered if this at last would be the time I would be able to bust the tool by giving too much torque. I've not been able to yet. I'm not saying they're indestructible - they are - anything is. But the actual durability of the tool - for me and my tastes - just adds to the brutal beauty of the tool.

I buy them bulk off of eBay and gift them like candy. I've never had anybody say, "Wow, that's cool looking." But, I've had many people come back and say, "I'm still carrying that thing in my pocket after 2 years."

Anyway, to the OP... these tools are cheap in the scheme of things. I recommend getting them all and trying them. My tastes have zero to do with your tastes.
 
BeyondTheBox said:
None are critical, but I like the scissors and nail file of the Executive SAK.

...
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I went around this mulberry bush a number of times before I finally settled on a SAK Classic and Leatherman Brewzer. The SAK I carry loose in pocket and the Brewzer is on my key chain. I found the smaller multi-tools to be lacking. They were just bulky enough to be a little cumbersome in the pocket but for me didn't provide enough utility to justify the size. In my own daily needs I rarely am far from tools and I keep full sized multi-tools in my vehicles. I was sort of on a scale-down endeavor and when I was honest with myself, I realized I rarely used the actual tools on the various small multi-tools I was trying and carrying. And, the scissors on two different Leatherman's dulled so fast it was ridiculous.

What I did realize is that I love having a small pair of scissors handy (stray beard hair, unruly eye brow hair, string on the shirt, finger nails, etc.), I love having a nail file handy (especially if I trimmed them with the little scissors) and I freaking love having that plastic toothpick handy! I can't tell you how many times I reach for those three tools. You could take the knife blade out of the Classic and I wouldn't even notice.

The Brewzer handles bottle opening, prying, etc. and then whatever pocket knife I'm carrying.

I played around with pens, even the tiny little SAK one's, different flashlights, all of it and just came to the conclusion that I rarely ever used those things let alone needed them.

I matched all this up with these Foster Grant 2x reading glasses that fold all the way down (in half, telescopic earpieces, etc.) into a 3" plastic case that, with the removal of several other items I didn't really need, fits well in my pocket. Paired up with a cell phone and I never feel like I'm lacking.

I know others have different needs but like I said, when I really paid attention and was honest, that's what I came up with and it has been working well for a long time.
 
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