Well hello there.
For the better part of my adult life I have carried some form of pocket knife. My first Leatherman was purchased when I was still in Junior High School using Marlboro miles that were collected from under the bleachers at the local raceway and stealing the packs from my father and older sisters friends. I thought I was so cool. Obviously when you are that young you can’t carry it every where. But I loved playing with it when I was home and in my parents garage. As an adult that knife was carried on my waste up until 2013 when my father bought be a new one engraved one with my name and year. My original Marlboro edition Leatherman is still around. It’s kept out in the shop for just in case purposes.
A year later my sister got a deal on Black Friday for a Kobalt Multitool and knife set and purchased them for my brothers and I. We all carried that set for a brief time. Admittedly I was the first one to go back to my tried and true Leatherman(sorry sis) and my brothers followed suit not much later.
As I have been doing some cleaning in the shop I found the Kobalt set and decided I would try and carry it for a day. Having that separate knife in the pouch was a bit of a selling point and admittedly I don’t remember why I gave up on it so quickly. On a typical day I use my multitool only a hand full of times. Usually for the pliers in a pinch or the knife. But occasionally if I am out in the garden or just away from my tools the screw drivers will get a work out.
I decided I really wanted to put the Kobalt kit to the test. So If I needed a screwdriver I went straight for the multitool instead of the tool chest. With that said I know the limitations of the Leatherman and that was the standard I attempted to hold the Kobalt to.
The Phillips head screw driver on this thing is less than ideal. I’m not sure what kind of screw heads they intended this for. But they certainly did not have it designed by anyone who has ever dealt with a common #2 Phillips head screw.
I had to open an amazon package. As I am sure you may know these are not the hardest things to open. I first went for the blade on the multitool. By my own neglect the blade was not very sharp so I will not hold that against the tool. But the feel of the tool in the hand when using the knife was less than ideal. I cut the second half of the box tape with the small knife included. The small knife was very comfortable in the hand and cut beautifully. The blade was a little small for my taste but more than suitable for the job.
After using the knife something in my head said try the saw. Upon opening the saw I discovered that the blades had begun to rust. I’m not really sure what from. No other parts of the tool show any signs of rust. But the teeth of the saw had developed surface rust. The saw was surprisingly sharp and cut wonderfully. I would have to say it cut better than the one on my Leatherman.
After carrying it for the day I must admit I was not completely dissatisfied. However, when I woke up in the morning I ripped it off my belt and went back to the tried and true Leatherman.
I hear the Gerber tools rival the Leatherman. Perhaps I can give that a shot one day. But for now I will stick with the Leatherman and if asked I would recommend them to anyone.