Leatherman Disappointment

[Fred56]

Where exactly do you see this? I do not see it on any of my LM's.


I have 2 Leathermans:

the 1st one is Leatherman "Tool" (complete with USA trademark number and "Portland" stamped on the side).
This one was my late brother's LM which he bought in the 1970's or 1980's. Not sure when or where he got it.

the 2nd Leatherman is mine, a "Wingman" and it has nothing stamped anywhere.
Still have its receipt (CapeUnion Mart). Bought in the early 2010's.

On the "Tool" check on the side where file is.

[Steady]

The date stamp on my Skeletool tells me they had it in stock for a few years before I bought it!

[GroenHoender]

I only own a couple of Waves, and the date stamp is small but clearly visible inside the handle that houses the can opener and Phillips screw bit.
Edit: The photo is of a Skeletool. I am trying to find a photo showing the date on a Wingman.

i searched long and hard, even Google'd it for both my "Tool" and "Wingman" and could not find any.


On the Leatherman "Tool", I could only get a "5" (number 5) at the bottom of the Philips screw (think the rest is inside/underneath the frame which means I have to completely take it apart but not planning to do that).

On my "Wingman" I found nothing. Except for a "plus" symbol on the side of the Philips screw. Google sources says date stamp is on the inside of the pliers handles, or on in inside where the scissors resides. But still, nothing.

Again, according to Google the first production runs of each Leatherman model does not contain stamps. It only appears on the next series of runs.
But that is internet for you...not entirely sure if it is accurate.

[Dwayne P]

I have booked my in at Awesome tools for Service/Replace.
Knife minor service, Wingman might require some new parts. Wire cutter/Stripper moetoe, Some odd bits also worn a bit.
Apparently cost roughly R150 at most.

Will report back as soon as I receive it back.

Must say since last service, I felt the blade goes blunt quicker (inferior quality?) and the Wingman jaws different, with a clear gap between cutters evident not long after service(must say it was years back)

[GroenHoender]

On the "Tool" check on the side where file is.

I've been really going over that "Tool" with both a magnifying glass and a light - there is no date stamp everywhere except for the trademark number, Portland name and the ruler markings on both handles.

[Fred56]

I've been really going over that "Tool" with both a magnifying glass and a light - there is no date stamp everywhere except for the trademark number, Portland name and the ruler markings on both handles.

On my its right under the phillips driver, I had to clean the area to see it. Basically on top of the ruler but under it if you get my drift.

[jfh]

I have booked my in at Awesome tools for Service/Replace.
Knife minor service, Wingman might require some new parts. Wire cutter/Stripper moetoe, Some odd bits also worn a bit.
Apparently cost roughly R150 at most.

Will report back as soon as I receive it back.

Must say since last service, I felt the blade goes blunt quicker (inferior quality?) and the Wingman jaws different, with a clear gap between cutters evident not long after service(must say it was years back)

The Wingman wire cutters have never touched. I bought one of the first ones and before that I researched it.

But it will cut most wire unless it's very thin.
It's now it's SWAMBOLite's tool.

My Wave is falling apart. I use it all the time and was serviced about 6 years ago.

[GroenHoender]

On my its right under the phillips driver, I had to clean the area to see it. Basically on top of the ruler but under it if you get my drift.

Finally found it! Right where you said it would be. Thank you, sir!

At first I could not see it due to the metal rubbing on part of the number. That was a very very faint metal stamping with very thin lines. Barely saw it, thanks to some shadow and light reflection.

Plus I had to angle the light to see the number which is "0690". That seems to make my Leatherman Tool to be manufactured in June 1990.

Now for the "Wingman".....

[Dwayne P]

The Wingman wire cutters have never touched. I bought one of the first ones and before that I researched it.

But it will cut most wire unless it's very thin.
It's now it's SWAMBOLite's tool.

My Wave is falling apart. I use it all the time and was serviced about 6 years ago.

Mine had a small gap, was able to cut thin (0.5-1mm) wire, now it does not even want to cut anything under 1.4mm

[Alan Exton]

Only 2 things. Either the material used was not correctly heat-treated during manufacture in which case Leatherman must repair or replace.
Secondly the wire that you cut was not mild steel binding wire, but high tensile fencing wire that is harsh on any cutter.

[Tulawaka]

Good day to All,

I recently purchased a new Leatherman, a Charge + Titanium. This is probably the 10th Leatherman I have owned over the years, everywhere I go I sing Leatherman's praises.

Honestly, I am in the bush a lot and my Leatherman works hard, it does real work and I rely on it as an essential tool, one which you will rarely see me without (I got married wearing my Leatherman). I have used my Leatherman to do jobs that I suppose some can only imagine and I think they are brilliant pieces of equipment... until recently.

I bought this most recent Leatherman as my last one finally had to be retired after years of good service. My only gripe (until now) was that I have nowhere nearby to have my multitool serviced or repaired.

My complaint is this; recently I was on a job in the field and I was cutting some 1.6mm tying wire (the very soft wire) with my new Leatherman, imagine my absolute shock when after only the 3rd or 4th cut I noticed the wire cutters looked like old teeth that had been chewing on rocks for a lifetime! Seriously, what rubbish steel has Leatherman used to make these cutters? I'm not even trying to be funny here, I am extremely disappointed. It gives me serious concerns about the integrity of the entire tool, not to mention Leatherman as a company... I feel like maybe they are going the way of so many companies that finally fail due to cutting corners and compromising on quality in order to increase profit margins!

I've tried emailing Leatherman but with no joy. My point with posting this here is to find out who I can complain to in the hopes this can be resolved. I am really concerned that another quality product is not one any more!? Buyers beware!

Please see pictures attached.

Good day,
I just read your post and no surprise as I have travelled a lot thru Africa and have heard many stories and this is why from the get go over 30 years ago I chose Swiss Tool and have never been disappointed especially with the wire cutters. The best advice I can give is to contact Stan at Cutlery distributors group who are the owners of Sharp Edge Sharp Shooter in the Sandton City mall in Joburg. They are the importers in SA. He has never had a Swiss Tool fail but has seen failures with Leatherman.
I am sure they will sort you out. Look at contact details on their website.
Hope this is useful?

Cheers Trevor

[Japanese Jimny]

I have a Leatherman Kick with date stamp 1205 on the one side and 0106 on the other side. My Leatherman Micra has 0106 on both sides. I bought them both in 2007 and have had no hassles. They seemed to be good quality then.

[cruiser]

These are the guys, send your old one with the new one and both will come back with anything broken or worn replaced free of charge

Can vouch for Awesome Tools... Great Service

[JoshMos]

Only 2 things. Either the material used was not correctly heat-treated during manufacture in which case Leatherman must repair or replace.
Secondly the wire that you cut was not mild steel binding wire, but high tensile fencing wire that is harsh on any cutter.

Hi Alan,
Thanks! Definitely soft wire, we use it to tie our nets to cables when catching impala in nets, anything thicker (or HT steel wire) is too hard to tie short pieces bare hand and can also hurt the animals...

[JoshMos]

Did you have to pay for the service/repair on your Leatherman?

I enquired at our local co-op and was told they send it to Awesometools and when it's done they send a bill.
Apparently one guy got a +/-R1k bill.

This is new to me as in the past I used to just drop it off and collect later, no charge.

Hi,
No, I did not pay - I only paid for postage/courier and presume a handling fee. I think it was R250 total to the guys at Mia's. I'm more than happy with that!

[Dwayne P]

Quite suprised. Send both my Wingman & C33X folding knife in on 28th. Received Wingman 3rd and Knife today. Each carried a cost of R149.99 ea for service and repairs.

After initial quoted lead time of 3 weeks.

Wingman now feels like it should.