UPDATED: Wish Leatherman offered more knife-less options

Macchina

Macchina

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Apr 7, 2006
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I travel to Asia, Europe, and big American cities often for work and tend to go completely knifeless when I do. I've needed tools at several of the places I've gone and didn't have any.
We had to set up a whole show in Germany once and our giant toolbox was padlocked and the luggage with the key in it got lost! We had a terrible time setting up the booth and a single multi-tool would have been a game changer. I'll never travel again without a bladeless multitool in my checked bag.

I'm currently building a Bond without a knife (Rebar saw in place of knife and Wave+ scissors in place of lanyard ring/small flathead) but cannot believe Leatherman doesn't offer more options than the Rebar without a knife.

I love knives, but always have one or two on me even when I carry a multitool, unless it's a Skeletool CX which does a great job of replacing a folder.

My dream would be having a very large pair of scissors offered on their main lineups in place of a blade as an option.
This could even be available only from Leatherman, but would require nothing more than a direct swap at the factory.

Even for outdoor use I'd use a Bond with a saw way more than a Bond with a knife blade.
 
I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter whether a multitool is knifeless or not because someone will still want to take it away from you anyways. It's not really about safety or whether there is a knife or not. It's really just about somebody telling you that you can't have something, or that you can't do something. That's the way I see it anyway. There is a certain type of person who only wants to boss people around and take things from others, and they tend to find their way into positions where they are allowed to do that. This is one of the main reasons why we end up with all these laws and restrictions that are inconsistent and don't make any sense. We should probably stop believing people when they try to tell us that they have to restrict us for our own good. It's not just insulting, it's actively harmful.

Anyway, whether you can have the tool is still often left up to individual discretion regardless of whether it meets rules and regulations. If they feel like it, they'll still tell you that you can't have it.
 
Guy makes a good point. I currently work at an airport. While multi tools without a blade and scissors under a certain length are allowed it’s still a toss up if you’ll be allowed through security with it. While technically you would be ok there are still some who will come up with a reason to take it away... The safest option is to just keep it in your checked bag when traveling.

If you choose to take one in your carry on luggage make sure you have the rules memorized and if possible check what the rules are at the specific airport you’re going through. Sometimes individual airports have their own rules on this stuff but could do a better job of making that clear.
 
This would definitly only go through checked baggage. I had a heck of a time getting a Leatherman Style CS through the one time I tried to carry it on. It's the size of a thumb drive with no knife whatsoever!
I would never try to carry on a Bond, it would almost certainly be taken...
 
Macchina said:
I had a heck of a time getting a Leatherman Style CS through the one time I tried to carry it on. It's the size of a thumb drive with no knife whatsoever!
Click to expand...
The Style CS is the scissor-based model and it has a small non-locking knife in one of the arms.

The Style PS is the knifeless plier-based model with a smaller pair of scissors in the arm slot.
 
Guy McVer said:
The Style CS is the scissor-based model and it has a small non-locking knife in one of the arms.

The Style PS is the knifeless plier-based model with a smaller pair of scissors in the arm slot.
Click to expand...
Lol, you’re right. It was a PS!
 
Well, I got some parts off eBay and have an awesome bladeless Leatherman Bond!
I added a saw (from Rebar) and scissors (from Wave). I was able to move the can opener from the blade handle to the screwdriver handle (by removing the lanyard loop).

Overall, very happy with my Europe-Legal multitool! Now to grab a pocket clip...

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I added a few rubber standoffs to protect the edge of the saw and scissors. Probably not needed, but I feel better about it and it keeps them perfectly flush with the top of the handle for easier opening.
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Look at how those scissors fit perfectly next to the long Phillips!
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I still wish Leatherman would do a tool designed from the start with no blade. I think they could do an awesome job on a full size pair of scissors, if designed correctly to replace the main blade.
 
Guy McVer said:
They actually do make one... it's called the Knifeless Rebar.

https://www.leatherman.com/knifeless-rebar-832299.html
Click to expand...

Agreed this is an option, but what I mean is I wish they would design a NEW tool that emphasizes the scissors instead of a blade instead of just switching in the small scissors. The knife is about 3.5" long and the scissors that replace it are about 2" long when closed with less than 1" of cutting length. They could fit nice long 3.5" scissors in there if the tool was designed around it...
 
Macchina said:
Agreed this is an option, but what I mean is I wish they would design a NEW tool that emphasizes the scissors instead of a blade instead of just switching in the small scissors. The knife is about 3.5" long and the scissors that replace it are about 2" long when closed with less than 1" of cutting length. They could fit nice long 3.5" scissors in there if the tool was designed around it...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the only full size scissors they make are on the Surge. There have been people who modded 91mm Victorinox scissors to the outside opening slot on a Wave...
 
I've seen this before. They are way better scissors. May have to look into this!
 
Macchina said:
I've seen this before. They are way better scissors. May have to look into this!
Click to expand...

Yeah, they're way better than almost every single scissors made by Leatherman with the possible exception of the Surge scissors.

but...

Guy McVer said:
Unfortunately the only full size scissors they make are on the Surge.
Click to expand...
Correction to this! I completely forgot about the Wingman. It has outside opening scissors.

You could take a Wingman and replace the knife blade with the wood saw from a Leatherman Sidekick. That looks like it might be a super easy way to make a knifeless Leatherman. The file sucks though, and the tool set is more limited, but on the plus side you'll have spring loaded pliers. Some people like that feature so much that they refuse to buy a multitool without it.
 
Bond with file replaced by saw and can opener replaced by scissors.. now that would be sweet!
 
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