I bought a Paul Chen MultiTasker a few years ago and find that it makes a good in-car or travelling tool.
It has the Paul Chen name but as he is better known for his high-end swords it was a farmed out piece. It’s unusual in the fact tgat it is based round shears rather than pliers. There is a thread on them at Multi tool forum They are a substantial bit of kit that you have to have the need for before you slip them into your pocket or onto your belt. It definitely needs a good oiling and general looking after to keep the shears and some other bits rust free as they are high carbon steel, the handles are chromed and quite slippery when wet.
The shears slide down into the handles to close everything up.
Available from Heinnie Haynes £9.95 in the Clearance section and a bit of a bargain at that price, anyone in the U.K. should seriously consider these as a cheap but useful multi-tool.
Paul Chen Multitasker
A solid multi tool from Paul Chen. With all the quality and design you come to expect from experienced makers. It has a diverse range of tools for almost any daily task.
Features: Large Shears / Cutters, Pliers, 2 1/2” Locking Blade with thumb stud, Saw, Removable File, Phillips Screw Driver, 2 Flat Head Screw Drivers, Can Opener, Bottle Opener. It also has a handy pocket clip so it is always to hand.
I like them as they are a bit different and definitely useful, very strong and a bit on the heavy side. The knife blade locks and the other tools are all held open or closed by strong springs. The saw works particularly well and the carbon steel knife blade takes a razor sharp edge. They are built round the Gerber sliding system.
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And from the MultiTool Forum, it looks like they were also sold by Fiskars at some point. -
I own a Wingman, Squirt PS4 and Juice Xe6, and they are all superb. I’ve been seriously looking at the Charge TTi.
As far as comparisons go, I have a Chinese made Gerber that’s a little bigger than the Squirt and the fit and finish on it is terrible, though it’s not a bad tool. I also have what’s probably a Ganzo that I got from Home Despot a few years ago. It’s not a bad multi-tool either, but side-by-side there’s just no comparison. Some people swear by the SOGs but I have yet to own one. Even my cheap Wingman is made in Portland, OR.
In my opinion the only real competition to Leatherman is Victorinox. I just got a black Tinker and it’s the bomb-dot-com as the kids say.
Ordered the Paul Chen Multi tasker,and a Snugpak Response for work,garden and landscape,thanks 8Steve88.Postage to EU is £6 flat rate,which I think is good.Didn't know Paul Chen,but Fiskars is known quality.
The reason I don’t usually carry Chinese multi-tools is that the softer steel usually makes for an inferior screwdriver which tends to strip screws. Day to day I don’t notice much difference with the softer steel on pocket knives, but I sure notice the difference with some of the other tools such as the Philips screwdriver. So at any given time there might be Chinese steel in my pocket, but not a multi-tool. Though I understand some of these factories are starting to make better tools.
I probably use the Wingman the most, just because it’s the best beater. Mine cost 20 bucks and I have been most abusive towards it, and it just keeps on taking the abuse. My son liked it so we got one for him. Both the design and implementation are superb.
Heinnie Haynes is well known for it’s customer service, any problems they’ll take anything back no quibble, nice to know.
The Paul Chen is a nice difference in that it uses shears not pliers as the basis for the tool. I’ve got to admit to scratching my head a bit the first time I tried to open it up. :bigsmile: Keep everything oiled and it should last years. The file is a loose item but is fairly secure clipped into it’s place. They do get bloody cold in the winter though.
I have only (my second) original Leatherman. I am very impressed with the sharpness of the blades. They are among the very few I have that I didn’t have to sharpen before I first used them.
I also have, four Camillus US military knives, made before Leathermans came out. Three are stainless with rounded corners, and one is the old type with rustable steel blades, brass liners and stainless handles like the one I had from the second grade. The rough rectangular stainless rounded and polished well with a grinder and polisher they had at the antenna company I worked for. One of the all stainless ones is cut down to two blades to fit in a pocket without making a bulge. It has the knife blade and the screwdriver, bottle opener blade. They started both on the same end, so it came out a bit hard to open.
I also have a German army knife. It is a bit bigger but lighter weight, with aluminum spacers and gray-green plastic handles. Clearly designed to save weight instead of space. It has a cork screw.
Well said, the craftsmanship on a Spirit is top notch. Almost to the point were one doesn’t want to use it for its intended purposes…. Leathermans just like being thrown around and take abuse, like an old Chevy 350…plus outside access blades have become an absolute necessity, I don’t like everything out there… I’ve been spoiled for to long.
