Leatherman and Gerber multi-tool knockoffs

Wow....very, very nice. Cool

That Gerber knife reminds me of my Rambo knife in Alaska which I used everytime I went hunting. I had to sell it along with everything else before moving here. Cry

I like the Ganzo best. It has a rather thick blade (3.8 mm max) which is marked "440C" - still a good steel and should hold the edge better than 8Cr13MoV. The handle has just the right length for my hands. The only "con" is the rather hard clip. It's almost impossible to lose it by accident, but it is hard to clip in your pocket and will eventually damage any fabric.

The 909 is also very good. And it has a very good clip - optimal balance between flexibility and firmness, but the blade finish is semi-mirror (well, that's just my personal preference) and the thumb pin is only on the left side, so it is a little bit complicated to open it with the left hand. I am right handed but I prefer being able to operate my tools equally with both hands. The excellent handle (the steel liner opposite to the locking liner has four large holes obviously with no other purpose than weight reduction, very unusual in this price range) is ok sizewise for me (I have EU-size 8 ) but if you have significantly larger hands or are wearing gloves it can be too short. Blade thickness is 2.8 mm max.

Both blades feature flat grind.

I have an old Spyderco Military imported from the US in the 90's (cause there were no plain edge models available in Europe by then) which is still one of my favorite edc and it has a much superior steel BUT the build quality is not a bit better compared to the Ganzo or the SRM which cost both together less than 1/10 of the Spyderco.

Sorry for repeating myself: Damn!

Thanks for your first impressions.... I'm happy that I ordered some of the 900 series knives... that 763 looks too small in comparison.... and I have EU-size 10 hands... that Ganzo looks really tempting...

Isn't 8Cr13MoV a higher steel (harder) than 440C and should hold an edge better or am I thinking wrong?

I read somewhere else:

Chinese 440A is technically 5CR15MOV steel,

Chinese 440C is technically 7CR17MOV steel.

Chinese AUS6 is technically 5CR13MOV steel.

Chinese AUS8 is technically 8CR13MOV steel.

Chinese AUS8A is technically 8CR14MOV steel.

According to the (german ;) ) Stahlschluessel 440C is specified by

C: 0.95-1.2%, Cr: 16-18%, Mo: 0,75%, Mn: 1.0%, Si: 1.0%

8Cr13MoV contains by definition

C: 0.80%, Cr: 13%, Mo: 0,15%, , V: 0.1%, Mn: 0.4%, Si: 0.5%, P: 0.02%.

I believe that most china-made "440C" blades are really 9Cr18MoV steel which comes close but is still not the same

It is true that 8Cr13MoV can be hardened to a higher HRC (usually 58-60) than 440C (around 58), but the 440C contains more Chrome and Molybdenum which together with the (higher) Carbon form more carbides. Properly heat treated (you want them to be small) these are to a large part responsible for the edge holding capability of a blade. The problem is that the carbides are too small to influence the normally used Rockwell hardness test distinctly, so a harder steel does not automatically mean better edge holding.

However, I am sure you will love your new toys tools!

:beer:

Thanks for the explanation... but then I wonder why even Buck, Kershaw and Spyderco use this steel... purely costs?

Some of this posts in a interesting thread imply that most "Chinese 440C" isn't actual 440C ... now I don't know what to believe... here in Germany we have a long steel tradition, but much gets outsourced to China these days ...

Isn't 8Cr13MoV a higher steel (harder) than 440C and should hold an edge better or am I thinking wrong?

hardness is mostly defined by the heat treatment.

for example plain spring steel (1095) can go from about 40 to 63 rockwell

Also in a 1 to 1 test it is impossible to find diffrences in edge retention between for example 440A and 440C or AUS6 and AUS8 (same knife brand same edge)

Some of the Sanrenmu blades were tested on an other forum and the hardness was 59-60 (ok for smaller blades/to hard for larger blades)

Absolutely, and the question is -why not? American knife companies decided a while ago that they needed low cost, foreign-made knives to compete with counterfeits and knockoffs coming out of China with their names on them, and one of the biggest costs for a knife is the steel (the other is the maintenance costs for machining).

I've had a LOT of experience with 8Cr13MoV steel and it's quite good - not as good as say, VG-10, or 154CM, or S30V steel, but a single machined blank of those steels costs as much as a good quality, lifetime warranty foreign made Kershaw knife from a retail store.

8Cr13MoV is also miles and away better than the alternatives at the price point, steels like Sandvik 12c27, 440A, 420J2 or AUS 4 steel, or Gerber's crappy mystery steel.

apparently, Lowe does a very nice very cheap tool for 10-15 USD.

No luck for those outside of the US, though.

The new Ganzo multi-tool looks nice, Ganzo quality and locking tools, the model number is G301.

I have seen it on Taobao.com for 260 Chinese Yuan (~40 Dollars) + shipping.

My Mammut-Tool arrived that I ordered some time ago. Built quality is of cause not on the same level as my Leatherman Juice S2 or the Victorinox Swisstool CS plus from a friend, but considering the price paid (10.80$ ~ 8,11€) it is at reasonable quality. All metal parts are de-burred so that it is comfortable to hold. Most surprising is the solid lock on the external tools (knives,saw,file). The big pliers alone justify the purchase... pretty happy with it so far... time will tell if it holds up against my initial impressions. The friend with the Swisstool ordered the Gerberfake as a backup MT and I will take a look at that too.

Cool, I'd like to see what he thinks of the Gerber fake as well. I'm very happy with my Mammut.

I tried the can opener on the Mammut this evening and it works pretty good, even when it looks a bit flimsy compared to the Victorinox-style ones. The thumbstuds on the blades are too long for my taste, but it fits good in the padded Ganzo pouches that I ordered from exduct along with some knives, much better than the one that came with the MT.

Took a look at that Gerberfake and I have to say that it is inferior in almost every respect to the Mammut.

Pliers on the Gerberfake are wobbly and rattle horizontal and vertically- both in open and closed position

Pike is very dangerous and you can easily hurt yourself accidentally with it, bad choice to copy this special MT

outer locking activation plate is plastic and isn't very trustworthy, the actual lock is metal, but when the activation plate is broken that doesn't help.

Overall very poor built quality on that Gerberfake, it lets me appreciate my Mammut even more.

Hey all, after doing some reading and research, an inexpensive multitool company to look at may be Tekut. They're a Chinese maker and they OEM for a lot of store and American brands, including Coast. Coast offers lifetime warranties on all of their multitools, so Tekut does know how to do quality.

jekostas, at least one Tekut multitool has landed at DX some time ago. It was $20+ afair.

EDIT:

A small one with a stupid led ($14.90): http://www.dealextreme.com/p/70737

A bigger one ($23.30): http://www.dealextreme.com/p/70667

The big one also features "a stupid LED" . Seems to be their motto - all MTs ... now with stupid LEDs. Get your stupid LED now... if you have one with a clever LED, it ain't an original Tekut...

It has a stupid LED, but also a clever one that illuminates your work. Is your mind blown?

Looks familiar ? But $23 !

http://www.priceangels.com/9-in-1_Multifunctional_Stainless_Steel_Toolkit_with_Pincer_Pliers_p28662.html

Just get it from that one ebay supplier at $12.

This one on Ali Express
looks very similar to the Huohou 19 in 1 at Banggood or the Bibury 18 in 1 on Amazon. They’re probably all made in the same factory. Build like a tank. Not too expensive. Must resist… Or I will be in multitools too :person_facepalming: