# Gerber vs Leatherman



## LibertasVeritas (Jun 14, 2014)

So my old Gerber has finally been relegated to the box of broken shit I'll probably never fix/throw away.  I'm in the market for a new multiplier, and I want some opinions on the Gerber Diesel (probably made by communists) and the Leatherman Wave.  I've only even owned a Gerber, but the last one I bought had a nice little "Made in the USA" etched into it, and from what I understand, those are non-existent these days.  Looking at the Leatherman Wave, but sadly I have no experience with this brand.  Anybody have some input?  My final purchase will be every day use on a flight line.


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## AWP (Jun 14, 2014)

I've owned or were issued....5 different types I believe. The only one I bought was a Leatherman Wave. My dad gave me an original Leatherman for Christmas in 1993. Then I have a Gerber, SOG, and a Kershaw I think.

I have ONE complaint about my Wave, one which won't apply to 90% of this board anyway: the sheath sucks. Get an aftermarker pouch for it. If you're already doing that anyway, then you're good.

Some people like the one-handed opening of the Gerber, but I've taken a Dremel and polished the "scrapy bits" on both Leatherman tools I own so that I can flip them like a butterfly knife or whatever.

If I have to buy another tool it will be a Leatherman. The orignal from '93? I broke the very tip off the knife trying to pry open a battery box in '94. It is still going strong. The SOG's design is cumbersome, particularly the tools. The Kershaw's vice grip feature is cool...and that's it; it is also the largest of the 5. The Gerber is fine, nothing really wrong with it. I think my wife carries it in her car and it is well over a decade old, but I'll only buy a Leatherman. They've been bombproof for two decades and I have no complaints...minus the ratty-ass sheath/ pouch.


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## LibertasVeritas (Jun 14, 2014)

Freefalling said:


> I've owned or were issued....5 different types I believe. The only one I bought was a Leatherman Wave. My dad gave me an original Leatherman for Christmas in 1993. Then I have a Gerber, SOG, and a Kershaw I think.
> 
> I have ONE complaint about my Wave, one which won't apply to 90% of this board anyway: the sheath sucks. Get an aftermarker pouch for it. If you're already doing that anyway, then you're good.
> 
> ...


Much appreciated.  I've read a lot of good stuff about them, but before I go dropping 120+ on the tool and sheath, I want some good intel.


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## AWP (Jun 14, 2014)

De nada. FWIW, I own several Gerber knives, so it isn't a quality issue with them or anything. The Leatherman fits well, works when I need it, and I never cared for Gerber's "deployment method" for the pliers. I guess if you use more than anything that could be a consideration. I use the blade and tools more than the pliers/ wire cutters, so Gerber's main selling point doesn't apply to me.

I think I paid 70 for my Wave a few years ago. I'm not sure what they run now.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jun 14, 2014)

Gerber or SOG.

My $.02


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## LibertasVeritas (Jun 14, 2014)

I know all about the quality of the old Gerbers.  I bought my last one in 99, and it lasted until this year.  I've just been told that Gerber recently moved manufacturing overseas, so naturally I'm skeptical.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Jun 14, 2014)

I don't really care where its made so long as the tool works. I've broken a few Gerber's but I am not easy on stuff. My last multi tool was a SOG and if I hadn't lost it I have no doubt it would still be working fine. To each their own though, I stand by gerber and SOG.


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## DA SWO (Jun 15, 2014)

I took my WAVE with me when I retired.  Bought two more since then (TSA got one, and I just wanted two in case they stopped production).


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## Ranger Psych (Jun 15, 2014)

Fuck gerbers with a rusty fucking boat anchor attached to a NHRA alcohol car with a 1/4 mile piece of chain.

They break. All the time. Even with standard, regular use. I have a diesel. It resides in my truck's center console, and is busted as shit. 

Every other gerber I have had or have been around SAVE ONE (Gerber Hinderer firefighting/rescue knife, not made out of the usual gerber steel), has had shit break. Warranty may be great, but it doesn't do you a fat lot of good when it's busted and you're working at 0030 trying to unfuck something that needs unfucking NOW.

Victorinox Swisstool. 

Ergonomic design, 2 blade access outside like a normal knife, pilers that will plier the fuck out of anything you could ever want to plier, and nothing will break on it.


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## Muppet (Jun 15, 2014)

I am a Leatherman man. I own many. I was issued a Gerber at Bragg in 95. Broke first year in. Bought and still have a original Leatherman PST and it is in my collection / brag bag now. I have L-man wave, surge, crunch, OHT (my EDC now) and others. I have a few Gerber's and attempted to re-gain trust but I think they are junk also. I use the leather surge case for my OHT /works well.

I second @Ranger Psych on the Swiss Tool also. I EDC a Leatherman OHT and Swiss Cyber Tool my wife got me for x-mas a few years ago (makes me feel close to her ). So, I say Leatherman. I know people that carry SOG's and they like them / I have no contact yet. I know 1 paramedic that carries a Swiss Tool and he likes it. If you like Leatherman, go Wave. Not too big. Surge is gianormas! Super Tool 300, Rebar are good ones also...Oh! I forgot. Leatherman wingman. Has pocket clip like a folding knife. I don't like those E.M.S. bat belts with 4000 things on so I can carry a wingman in one pocket and Benchmade griptilian in other pocket.

F.M.


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## pardus (Jun 15, 2014)

My issued Gerber broke (wire cutter tooth) after less than 5 mths of no use. My Leatherman Sideclip is still my daily carry tool after 15 years...


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## CQB (Jun 15, 2014)

Thanks @Ranger Psych, I third that! I have a small Gerber folding on me most days but for work it's Victorinox. Pliers & Phillips head are always what you tend to need at 0fuck hundred. I think I bought mine about '95, & it's still shows no sign of quitting.


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## Ranger Psych (Jun 15, 2014)

You can open deadbolts with the chisel blade on the victorinox. Don't ask.


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## Muppet (Jun 15, 2014)

Ranger Psych said:


> You can open deadbolts with the chisel blade on the victorinox. Don't ask.



Fucking Macgyver...

F.M.


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## Viper1 (Jun 15, 2014)

I've had a Gerber EOD tool for a couple years...the one with the blasting cap crimpers and awl punch.  Great tool, until it broke at the plier head. I mailed it in with a letter and e-mail to Gerber and they replaced it, gave me a new sheath as well.  Good as new but I only use it for demo training tasks/weapons maintenance now.

I now carry a leatherman and a Victorinox soldier knife.  Love them both.


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## hoepoe (Jun 15, 2014)

Depends how heavy your use is. I have a Swisstool for heavier work, a SOG as a spare (older model, less features) and my day to day carry which i use often is a Leatherman Skeletool.

http://toolguyd.com/leatherman-skeletool-cx-review/


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## racing_kitty (Jun 15, 2014)

I've had both the Gerber and SOG EOD tools. The SOG won me over by a thin margin only because of the means of deploying the pliers was not as aggravating as with the Gerber.


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## Raksasa Kotor (Jun 15, 2014)

Another guy in the busted Gerber club - so I switched to Leatherman and never looked back.

In the past 18 years I have had three Leatherman tools. The first, one of the original Supertools, was lost in the field. The second one saw daily use for eight years and now has a dedicated spot on my workbench - it was only retired from daily carry because I wanted a Wave with interchangeable bits. The Wave has seen daily use for the past seven years and is still going strong.

So yeah - Leatherman.


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## hoepoe (Jun 15, 2014)

Raksasa Kotor said:


> ....The first, one of the original Supertools, was lost in the field. ...


 Hahaha, me too. Mine is probably sitting where i lost it in the Jerusalem mountains (hills really).

H


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## xGenoSiide (Jun 15, 2014)

I use the Leatherman Skeletool personally as an everyday tool as it works for me but have also had the Wave and a couple Gerbers.  I will echo the majority and say fuck Gerber. Never had a problem with Leatherman.


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## compforce (Jun 15, 2014)

EDC is Leatherman Skeletool (issued by Group).  I went through three broken RFI Gerbers and then started giving them away as gifts to friends and family every time I was given more.  I swear the military has a love affair with those things, I had at least 8 given to me during RFIs.  Civvies love them as gifts and they tend to just go in the glove compartment for emergency use.


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## Ranger Psych (Jun 15, 2014)

Well, I have already mentioned what you can go do with a Gerber. Sounding on an elephant penis is one of many alternative uses that any model from that manufacturer would be good for.

My first major tool was a leatherman supertool.
I actually started carrying 2 tools after a short period of time, one super tool and one Crunch (Crunch is vise grips for pliers) and having the Crunch helped with some of the tasks that earned me my first Arcom downrange. Couldn't have accomplished the welding I was trying to do without it.

Following that, I bounced between leatherman models until I handled a Victorinox at the outdoors shop in Columbus I got my bike,  just on a whim of "Swiss army knives kicked ass in boy scouts, lets see what this shit's all about".

Here's what happened:

From there on, I had victorinox as my primary tool. Like I said, you have 2 blades and 2 other tools at your disposal without having to open up the thing. The steel is stainless tool steel that is tolerant of abuse. It will give before it snaps, unlike Gerber steel where it's just going to shatter if you look at it wrong.


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## AWP (Jun 15, 2014)

Ranger Psych said:


> Sounding on an elephant penis ...


 
Nicely done.


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## racing_kitty (Jun 15, 2014)

Ranger Psych said:


> Here's what happened:View attachment 11016




Your GIF has earned the official RK Seal of Approval!


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## Ranger Psych (Jun 15, 2014)

racing_kitty said:


> Your GIF has earned the official RK SEAL of Approval!
> 
> View attachment 11018




A TROPHY!


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## Ooh-Rah (Jun 15, 2014)

Big time "plus" for the Leatherman Skeletool. I've beat the shit out of mine and it still works like new.


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## Muppet (Jun 15, 2014)

This is the most educational thread I have fucking ever seen!

F.M.


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## Viper1 (Jun 15, 2014)

compforce said:


> EDC is Leatherman Skeletool (issued by Group).  I went through three broken RFI Gerbers and then started giving them away as gifts to friends and family every time I was given more.  I swear the military has a love affair with those things, I had at least 8 given to me during RFIs.  Civvies love them as gifts and they tend to just go in the glove compartment for emergency use.



I agree here.  The RFI Gerbers were straight up garbage.  The RFI Gerber seat belt cutting tool though...that thing worked in a pinch!


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## medicchick (Jun 15, 2014)

The results so far (quick glance over while eating so not scientific)


 Leatherman -  10

Fuck Gerber -  6

Swisstool-  4

Sog - 3

Gerber - 1


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## Mac_NZ (Jun 15, 2014)

I've broken Gerbers and Leathermans, I've had the same Victorinox Swisstool for 8+ years and it's still soaking up abuse.


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## pardus (Jun 16, 2014)

Well I guess I'm going to see a Victorinox Swisstool in my future.

What model did you guys get?


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## Mac_NZ (Jun 16, 2014)

Mine is the Aussie issue one, black finish but it's a Swisstool I


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## hoepoe (Jun 16, 2014)

pardus said:


> Well I guess I'm going to see a Victorinox Swisstool in my future.
> 
> What model did you guys get?


I've got this (Cordura pouch). Had it for at least 10 years. Broke the file by using it not as a file and was replaced no problem. 
https://www.victorinox.com/ch/produ...L;jsessionid=2FB1BE911693E822A4EC9FE8114D3ADA


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## CQB (Jun 16, 2014)

Yep, that's the guy.


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## RetPara (Jun 19, 2014)

I had a Gerber from late 80's on to a couple of years ago.  It broke.  Sent it to Gerber for repair.  They didn't make that model anymore and had no parts.  So they sent me a new one, actually an upgrade since it had the crimping pliers.



For no charge....


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## HALO99 (Jun 21, 2014)

I carried a gerber multi-tool in '02 to '03. It didn't hold up well.
EDC'ed a Leatherman Wave in '05 to '13.  Right now i carry a Leatherman Charge, which i bought cheap from a surplus store but still in good condition.  Its got improved features (154cm steel blade) plus a seatbelt cutter. I miss the "scissors" of the Wave model though.  All in all, a great and useful multi-tool for my daily use.  I like the Leatherman.


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## billarch (Dec 29, 2014)

I have a Leatherman Skeletool. It is a good basic, no frills tool for light to moderate duty work. You just have to be careful not to over torque it too much. I also have a Wave and it is much more robust. My two cents.


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## Muppet (Dec 30, 2014)

I EDC this right now, top pic. Leatherman OHT. Works like a Gerber but as we all know now, Gerber sucks cock. The second is a Leatherman Raptor. Same design as the old trauma shears. I bought a pair cause I am a gear nerd but for real busy EMS where we get blood, vomit and shit, seems like a giant pain in the ass. Getting skagatch (Italian jargon for dirt or shit), would prove hard to really clean. They are auto-clavable but who the fuck has an auto-clave at home...

F.M.


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## Ranger Psych (Dec 30, 2014)

That's why they expect you to buy a couple sets and make sweet love to someone owning one at a hospital. I looked at the raptor and laughed... how much they wanted for what it does? I'd rather buy more beer.


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## x SF med (Dec 30, 2014)

Ranger Psych said:


> That's why they expect you to buy a couple sets and make sweet love to someone owning one at a hospital. I looked at the raptor and laughed... how much they wanted for what it does? I'd rather buy more beer.




a set of plain trauma shears, a leatherman, my sebenza (or whatever carry knife I decide on that day) and some ingenuity in where they are placed...  If I need an O2 wrench, I'll pull out my American Kami titanium Combat Spork (yes, it is real and I own one)  if I don't have it, well, that's another use for the leatherman....  I don't need to spend another $80 on a hard to clean pair of shears that require a PhD to manipulate.

+2 on the beer idea.

eta link to American Kami.... browse around.....  lots of sharp pointies as well as sporks.


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## pardus (Dec 31, 2014)

x SF med said:


> a set of plain trauma shears, a leatherman, my sebenza (or whatever carry knife I decide on that day) and some ingenuity in where they are placed...  If I need an O2 wrench, I'll pull out my American Kami titanium Combat Spork (yes, it is real and I own one)  if I don't have it, well, that's another use for the leatherman....  *I don't need to spend another $80 on a hard to clean pair of shears that require a PhD to manipulate.*
> 
> +2 on the beer idea.
> 
> eta link to American Kami.... browse around.....  lots of sharp pointies as well as sporks.



Yet you spent $44 on a spoon... They come for free in MREs, I could've sent you one.


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## x SF med (Dec 31, 2014)

pardus said:


> Yet you spent $44 on a spoon... They come for free in MREs, I could've sent you one.



I did not spend $44 on a spork...  DJ sent one as a gift, laser engraved with an SF crest and my first ODA #...  I knows people....

Maybe I shouldn't post pics of my Spartan-George V-14, it would just piss you off ....   cut a deal on that one, it was used....   by Blade magazine, for the cover photo a couple of months ago, and yes I have supporting documentation.


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## pardus (Dec 31, 2014)

x SF med said:


> I did not spend $44 on a spork...  DJ sent one as a gift, laser engraved with an SF crest and my first ODA #...  I knows people....
> 
> Maybe I shouldn't post pics of my Spartan-George V-14, it would just piss you off ....   cut a deal on that one, it was used....   by Blade magazine, for the cover photo a couple of months ago, and yes I have supporting documentation.



Good. I just don't get the appeal of sporks.
The V-14 is nice. I'll stick with my F&S though.


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## x SF med (Dec 31, 2014)

pardus said:


> Good. I just don't get the appeal of sporks.
> The V-14 is nice. I'll stick with my F&S though.



the spork is great for certain stuff.... and the handle is long enough to make it useful.

You need to get out her for a visit....   I also got an ate up Gerber mkII, that I need to rejuve, that is going to be a huge project for me.


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## busdriver (Dec 31, 2014)

I'll second or third or whatever we're on with the Leatherman Skeletool.  I certainly don't beat my stuff up like you guys do, but I like the fact that it's only what I need.  Pliers, check.  Knife, check.  Flat and Phillips head screw driver in small and medium size, check.  Anything else, nope.  The nope bit is the best part in my opinion.


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## Blizzard (Jan 23, 2015)

My next Leatherman:
http://www.leatherman.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-leatherman-Site/en_US/Blog-ShowPost/?p=705

Buying it strictly for the MacGyver-ness of it.


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## Muppet (Jan 24, 2015)

Blizzard said:


> My next Leatherman:
> http://www.leatherman.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-leatherman-Site/en_US/Blog-ShowPost/?p=705
> 
> Buying it strictly for the MacGyver-ness of it.



I like it cause I am  gear nerd but $150. Not sure there. That thing better pleasure me in ways I have never experienced...

F.M.


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## MikeDelta (Oct 5, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> Fuck gerbers with a rusty fucking boat anchor attached to a NHRA alcohol car with a 1/4 mile piece of chain.
> 
> They break. All the time. Even with standard, regular use. I have a diesel. It resides in my truck's center console, and is busted as shit.
> 
> ...



@xGenoSiide Victorinox is great, also have the Leatherman MUT. It was specifically designed for military/LE use. Has a crimper for caps, wire cutters and tools specific to the M4/AR weapons platforms


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