Strongest plies ?

J

Jpalmer1988

Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
615
I'm looking for a new multi-tool that has the strongest plies and wirecutters. This will be going in the my shtf bag. I've been looking at Sog's, leatherman's, and victorinox's and can't decide. I figured this would be the best place to ask.
 
Most stay away from the Gerbers. The SOG is not to popular but it feels solid. As for the Leatherman or Victorianox it's a good toss up between the two. Both have really good pliers. However, I think the metal in the Leathermans is of less quality. I have hurt/ruined my wire cutters on my Wave when snipping a really thin clip. I think it's my last Leatherman product. I prefer the Victoronix Multitool for strenght, fit/finish and usefulness. I prefer the company as well as they make great knives in Europe for a long time now.

Victorionox all the way:thumbup:

......I wear their cologne too:p
 
I also prefer Victorinox overall, but I watched nutnfancy's review on youtube of one along with a supertool 300, and while he also really liked the victorinox, he did a nail cutting test, and the Victorinox pliers had a little harder time than the ST300, I'd also recommend staying away from Gerber, However I've heard that SOG pliers have are pretty strong as well, so I'd go either SOG or ST300 if plier strength is your main concern.
 
The SOG PowerLock tool has the strongest pliers and cut wire the best from what I have seen. I own and use the SwissTool, SuperTool, and several others. The SOG is the easiest to use in hard stuff.

I love the Victorinox and they work great, but they don't get used as much as the PowerLock's do.
 
I'd say SOG, Leatherman backs their products well, but aside from my grandpas old leatherman, I've never had the pliers stay tight, they always develop serious play for no good reason.
 
How big is a "shtf bag"? How about Klein pliers?

klein.jpg


Pliers/cutters are strong for many reasons including design, materials, and construction. The Vise Grip Toolbox pliers are forged rather than cast. The Wenger SwissGrip is non-folding like regular pliers (also has an anvil style rather than bypass style cutter). The SuperTool 300 has 154CM wire cutters. The SOG PowerAssist has compound leverage gears. Etc.

strongplierstopic.jpg


Without a particular purpose in mind, it's difficult to make a suggestion but I think you'll do well with any of the larger multi-tools from Leatherman, SOG, and Victorinox.

Here are some comments that I made in a related topic (mostly focused on the hardwire cutters):

supratentorial said:
Have you cut through chain-link fencing or hog wire with your Gerber?! It lacks a hardwire notch so it would be surprising that the cutters weren't damaged.

In the Super Tool 300 topic, I cut through nails with a bunch of multi-tools. Didn't test the Gerbers (but mentioned it). Back in 2001, Doug Ritter busted the Gerber carbide cutters on some piano wire so I didn't think the cutter would make it through a nail. Well...I was right! Snapped the carbide cutters rather than the nail! :(

busted-gerber.jpg


Luckily I have two more tries! Gerber's carbide cutters give you three tries (rotate them until all three sides are broken) and then you need to replace them. Leatherman's 154CM cutters can be removed and sharpened (or replaced).

When it comes to cutting hardwire, the older style Leatherman cutters perform quite well. The Leatherman Core actually cut through the nail better (photo) than the Super Tool 300 (photo), which cut part way and snapped it apart. I'd skip the carbide cutters if you cut a lot of hard wire. You might consider the Core or one of the other Leatherman multi-tools - even the Leatherman Kick can cut through a nail.

Both the Gerber carbide cutters and the Leatherman 154CM cutters have a square edge. Here's a comparison photo of the edge on the Super Tool 300 and the SOG PowerAssist.

SuperTool300-m.jpg


A square edge is more robust but the PowerAssist cutters cut more cleanly on stranded wire. Comparing the Leatherman 154CM and Gerber carbide cutters on stranded wire, the Leatherman cutters cut more cleanly and require less force. Notice that the edge cut with the Gerber is slightly smashed.

LTG-Gerber-cutters.jpg


Victorinox and SOG also make very capable multi-tools (some of my favorites). Someone posted some nice photos of his results with the Victorinox SwissTool : http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694833 The cutters on the Victorinox SwissTool and SwissTool Spirit tend to mash through stranded wire than cutting it. Here's a photo showing the SwissTool Spirit jammed on stranded wire. I could actually suspend the SwissTool Spirit by the wire!

lamp_cord_st_spirit.jpg


But the Victorinox cutters are quite capable when it comes to hardwire. One thing to consider is that the hardwire notches on Victorinox & SOG multi-tools are a little smaller than the notches on the Core and some of the other Leatherman multi-tools.

hardwire-notches.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Powerlock all the way. You can EASILY cut coins in half. Not really a useful skill :), but it's not so easy to do with any other MT that I've tried.
 
I've been really happy with the SuperTool300, but I would imagine like was previously stated, any of the big three (vic, leather, sog) tools would serve you well.
 
SOG or Leatherman Crunch. Crunch has folding vise-grip pliers, but they're not as versatile as regular multitool pliers and are a little awkward. Look at YouTube for video demonstrations.

Here was the kicker for me: I carry a dedicated knife always. Usually even two or three. If I didn't, I would have gotten the Leatherman Charge or Surge but I figured since I already have a knife, the pliers would be the most important thing to me, so I got a SOG. Couldn't be happier after I added a ClipDraw pocketclip and popped off the one handle flap (have that side toward your palm).

Also, from what I can tell looking at pictures, the newer SOG pliers are the biggest and pointiest.
 
i have found that the SOG has the most powerful wirecutters, however the swisstool wins it for me in overall plier strength. I actually snapped half of the sog plier head off when i was in a rush and twisted the tips around each other. While i don't think that blunt nosed pliers would come in handy as much as needle nose does, i think that the swisstool combines the best of both worlds. I have broken nuts free twisting with the plier tips on either side and they have yet to deform or bend in any way. These were jobs that would have required i put down my leatherman or SOG and gotten a dedicated set of pliers.

so, if you are looking for conventional use strength, SOG would likely win it, but if you plan on using the tool in your shtf bag for.. well.. shtf circumstances, then i think the swisstool might be a better fit.
 
Kronos said:
i have found that the SOG has the most powerful wirecutters, however the swisstool wins it for me in overall plier strength. I actually snapped half of the sog plier head off when i was in a rush and twisted the tips around each other. While i don't think that blunt nosed pliers would come in handy as much as needle nose does, i think that the swisstool combines the best of both worlds. I have broken nuts free twisting with the plier tips on either side and they have yet to deform or bend in any way. These were jobs that would have required i put down my leatherman or SOG and gotten a dedicated set of pliers.

so, if you are looking for conventional use strength, SOG would likely win it, but if you plan on using the tool in your shtf bag for.. well.. shtf circumstances, then i think the swisstool might be a better fit.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting anecdote - when "shtf" I suppose anything goes but a wrench should be used to unfasten nuts. Even in an emergency, damaging the fastener could make a bad situation even worse. I usually have a toolbox in the car but a plier wrench or an adjustable wrench might be something to keep in the glove compartment if you don't usually have tools handy.

I haven't heard many reports about broken SOG pliers (or Victorinox pliers for that matter). I've many more broken Leatherman pliers on Ebay but Leatherman also probably sells more plier-type multi-tools. For the normal use of the pliers (... or even for some abuses), I wouldn't have any reservations about Leatherman, SOG, or Victorinox.

pliersvswrench.jpg
 
supratentorial said:
That's an interesting anecdote - when "shtf" I suppose anything goes but a wrench should be used to unfasten nuts. Even in an emergency, damaging the fastener could make a bad situation even worse. I usually have a toolbox in the car but a plier wrench or an adjustable wrench might be something to keep in the glove compartment if you don't usually have tools handy.
Click to expand...

Spydiewrench for the car maybe?
 
I used to break various good quality needle nose pliers on a regular basis in a factory job I had back in the 90s. They simply were squeezed hard many times a day, not twisted or used in some unorthodox manner. They never bent or deformed. They simply snapped without warning. My employer was perfectly comfortable replacing them as fast as I broke them. But this experience did teach me of the limitations of the tools.

The only type I have not broken are forged slip joint pliers.

If you really need the strongest, I'd suggest you get a dedicated pair rather than a multitool. For actually turning nuts, those Knipex pliers seem to win raves from the folks I know that use them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top