Leatherman Disappointment

[Steady]

Well I now know where Mazowe is. Good luck getting your wave down to Cape Town and back.

[mullerza]

Thanks! Yes, they are replaceable, but I cut 1.6mm soft wire (bind draad)... how many times will I have to replace them? I have been using Leatherman multitools for serious work for about 16years now, and I have sung their praises... I honestly wouldn't complain if it wasn't necessary. There's something wrong here.

As others pointed out it probably was bad heat treatment for a batch, give them the chance to fix it, everybody makes mistakes. If it happens again then you have ground to complain about the product quality.

[JoshMos]

Looks like they got the heat treatment wrong. It looks like a replaceable insert so you should be able to replace the cutting edge or even make your own if you cant get them. Quite a clever design to be able to replace it . Ive never owned one but some thought was put into a tool that is meant to be a tool and not a cheap throw away gimmick.

Possibly? I've since had a reply from Leatherman, and they have asked for an address to send a new set of wire cutters. As I pointed out to them though, if this was the first time I cut wire with them and they look like that then how many times will they have to replace my wire cutters? I also explained to them that I am genuinely worried that their product is declining in quality for some reason and they need to look into it. Maybe it's an isolated incident, but I have heard of others who are not all that imprssed with their quality these days... in fact, only yesterday I was speaking with a colleague who is looking at Victorinox now as a possible alternative.

Leatherman is great with the warranty and how they are always keen to repair or replace, but for us in remote areas this is difficult, and if this is the quality they are now producing they will have to alter that policy as they will never keep up. It simply isn't convenient (or profitable) - just produce a quality product as they did before and be done with it!

[JoshMos]

Well I now know where Mazowe is. Good luck getting your wave down to Cape Town and back.

Ha ha! Exactly... thanks!

[JoshMos]

The obvious question is whether this is in fact a genuine Leatherman.
There are cheap fake imitations circulating.

It's a good question to ask - mine is definitely genuine, bought from a reputable store, in the box with all the other bits and pieces, papers etc. and it just has the look and feel of a genuine Leatherman, until I cut this little piece of wire...

[Chrispzim]

I hear you Joshmos. I have 2 Supertools. Have had one about 20 years now and the other I confiscated from a vendor who was trying to hawk it around for a few dollars.
So I also need to send both of mine for some attention, but for us in Zim it's a nightmare. Even more so for you from Mazoe, farther away from runners etc. I have been waiting for a reliable friend to go holidaying in the Cape so I can twist their arm but so far no luck.
It's a real concern if Leatherman are going to drop quality. I only hope they address the issue.
As I said I have worn my almost every day since I got it. It goes on the belt before the cell phone goes in the pocket. A must have in my job.
I hope you get something sorted out. Will keep an eye on this thread to see how you progress.
Please post further info or updates as they occur.

[PRA]

I got married wearing my Leatherman.

Yup - can never be too careful.

[JoshMos]

I hear you Joshmos. I have 2 Supertools. Have had one about 20 years now and the other I confiscated from a vendor who was trying to hawk it around for a few dollars.
So I also need to send both of mine for some attention, but for us in Zim it's a nightmare. Even more so for you from Mazoe, farther away from runners etc. I have been waiting for a reliable friend to go holidaying in the Cape so I can twist their arm but so far no luck.
It's a real concern if Leatherman are going to drop quality. I only hope they address the issue.
As I said I have worn my almost every day since I got it. It goes on the belt before the cell phone goes in the pocket. A must have in my job.
I hope you get something sorted out. Will keep an eye on this thread to see how you progress.
Please post further info or updates as they occur.

Thanks for this Chrispzim. I'll try keep everyone posted on this thread how things develop. I am now thinking to send my old Surge down to Cape Town (as you say with a friend or something) while using this one that I now have - the Surge was a little big but incredible, so if I can get that one sorted I'll be very chuffed! Cheers

[JoshMos]

Yup - can never be too careful.

Ha ha, just in case... always be prepared for every eventuality!

[Bulletjie-3]

Are the replacement ones of beter quality?

[JoshMos]

As others pointed out it probably was bad heat treatment for a batch, give them the chance to fix it, everybody makes mistakes. If it happens again then you have ground to complain about the product quality.

Ja, I hear you. Thanks for this! Let's see what comes of it. Here is an excerpt from the email I received back from Leatherman (in quotes): "The wire cutters are made of 154cm, which should hold their edge longer than the incorporated 420HC wire cutters, however the harder steel can be a bit more brittle." Anyway, let's see...

[JoshMos]

Are the replacement ones of beter quality?

I don't know yet. For now I am going to use the removable wire cutters from my old Surge.

[DustGypsy]

My Core only worked hard for 6 months, still in perfect shape and should last the rest of my life.
Skeletool has been carried a lot but lightly used, ditto for it.......just wish I had one with the 154CM blade.
The Micra was a Microsoft promotional gift at an MS Office launch years ago, and that little thing has seen so much use, almost daily, and still good as new.

Dipped my toes in the water a few years ago with a Rebar, handles never lined up and just couldn't make peace with it, gave it away.
Going by online reviews their new products are not going in the right direction, and I could never understand how their warranty was financially viable.
I know people that just hammered these things, took them to Cymot (Midas) to be repaired or replaced if too far gone.
Those days are gone, and I would appreciate it much more if the warranty covered defects, and you could buy replacement parts at a reasonable price.

[hunter26]

In the words of wise old timers... Use the correct tool for the job. Those Leathermans are just the Yanks version of Swiss army knives...

[K-9]

My first few leathermans had lifetime warrantees. They always fixed and returned, the same repaired tools.

Then they changed it on "all new leathermans" to a 25-year warrantee…...

This is where the trouble started.

Now you send your lifetime warrantee tool to them for a repair – they don’t repair them, they now replace it with a new tool, but now with a 25-year warrantee!!! And the quality is not as good.

Some accountant did his calculations and said this lifetime warrantee will bite us in the future, we need to stop the lifetime warrantee.

[Petri Oosthuizen]

I've always had SUPER service from Awesome Tools themselves.
Even managed to break a blade (kid you not) years back in Koringkorrelbaai, send the the damaged tool (ENTIRELY my fault), they replaced it - Free of Charge.
So.......SUPER impressed with them.
I'm 200% sure they'll sort you out with this.

[Tony Weaver]

In the words of wise old timers... Use the correct tool for the job. Those Leathermans are just the Yanks version of Swiss army knives...

You've clearly never owned a Leatherman.

[Hedgehog]

Thanks! Yes, they are replaceable, but I cut 1.6mm soft wire (bind draad)... how many times will I have to replace them? I have been using Leatherman multitools for serious work for about 16years now, and I have sung their praises... I honestly wouldn't complain if it wasn't necessary. There's something wrong here.

I think having one bad example does not now make them all bad. Nothing wrong with mine (and I have the same model)

Surely you can comment like this only once the replacement is found to be of the same quality.

[hunter26]

You've clearly never owned a Leatherman.

Could never afford one, maybe one day

[Poen]

My Leatherman Wave is more than 20 years old, and still functions as new. It is the model that takes the hexagon screwdriver bits accessory, and stays on my belt when camping. I took it to Awesome Tools once, and they "reconditioned" it within a few minutes whilst waiting. Brilliant service at no charge.