On 2003/8/22 10:51 PM, "Robert" wrote:


I made the mistake of buying the Gerber type PST.

Your experience is opposite to mine. I have received a couple of different
Leatherman tools as gifts and they quickly went into my drawer for stuff
that I don't use but am not ready to dispose of. Then I bought a Gerber 400
and have used it just about daily for several years.

The metal was porous and
quickly began to rust in our salty environment.

I don't live near salt water but we have plenty of humidity. The brushed
stainless on my Gerber shows no signs of corrosion or stain.

My boss broke the pliers on
his Gerber. Mine pinched the *&% out my hand. Very poor quality and
design.

For my use, the design of the Gerber is much better. It fits my hands, has
the tools that I use most. The pliers work much better than the Leatherman
tools that I tried. I have never pinched my hand.

I gave it away.

I would have traded a nearly new Leatherman for a spare Gerber. Too bad we
didn't cross paths then.

Still as shiny as the day I got it. No hint of rust, never had any part of
it fail.

I would say the same for my Gerber.

I really like the design of the pliers. The narrow nose and the wire cutters
work make it as useful as a set of regular pliers and it is always on my
hip. The one-handed operation of the pliers makes this very convenient. But
I don't expect them to replace a wrench for gripping nuts and bolts. I
wouldn't use full size pliers for that either.

The scissors are the second most used part, followed closely by the Phillips
screwdriver. Both are much better designed than similar parts of the
Leatherman. I really appreciate the locking mechanism on all the blades.

The only aspect of the Gerber's design that I don't care for is the knife
blade. None of the multitools that I have seen have a decent blade. But I
carry a SpiderCo lock blade for any serious cutting and reserve the Gerber's
blade for the occasional delicate.

different strokes ....