A modest Proposal [for a new Atwood Multitool]

[foxy]

This wont be cheap and I havnt asked Peter if he has the time, equipment, or interest in such a project, but hopefully this thread will get a ton of posts and spark an interest in Mr. Atwood :) Peter is going to hate me for putting him on the spot especially since I dont know him, but its for a good cause, lol.

I really dont like cheap crappy tools. Even middle weight tools like the Leatherman Micra are too "Cheap" for heavy duty emergency survival use. Sure it works fine for day to day use and you can replace it for $20 at Target if it breaks (while you wait a few weeks for the warranty to send you a new one, which I have done with 2 broken Micras, free new replacement, no questions asked) - BUT I want something super heavy duty for those rare emergencies where you dont have the luxury of it breaking.

How about a titanium version of a micra sized multitool - most likely in the $200 to $300 range due to difficulties in machining titanium. Not exactly a replica of a Micra, but something to that effect that members here would all have input on the design process.

$200 to $300 sounds like a lot (and thats just an estimate based on my own guess) but if Peter did make such a tool - all titanium except for the blade which would be high quality steel - once you all see the pics, everyone would want one.

Id be willing to offer up a $100 deposit because Peter probably needs new tools to do the machining - and Id be willing to wait 6 months for it to be completed.

One idea off the cusp is to have the tools fairly easy to change out (unlike the micra that are locktite in and the leatherman large tools with security heads) - esp the knife blade so that if you go on an airplane or someplace that its not allowed, you can still bring it.

Since its my idea I get dibs on the first one ;D

[Lunal_Tic]

Sounds like you need to pony up for a better multi tool in the first place. The right tool for the right job. Micra sized tools are not intended for "super heavy duty" that's just a fact of life.

I'm thinking that a hand made Ti multi tool is going to be comfortably over $300 but hey dreams are good. ;D

-LT

[foxy]

Yes, I imagine a full sized titanium multitool custom made would probably be $600 to $1000, but I do not carry a full sized multi tool on my person and am not interested in carrying one EDC (although I do own several, a LM Wave, LM Charge, Vic Swiss Tool). I am a simplistic lightweight EDC kind of guy and would like a mini tool sized like a micra that would be very high quality. I carry very little EDC - a Atwood Titanium Keyton, AAA Arclight, BSA minikeychain flint, small sebenza or mini strider integral lock folder and thats all. I carried a micra for a short while but the low quality, relatively high weight and breakage, just made me lose interest.

[deeker]

If you are breaking small Leatherman tools frequently, you need to use larger ones.

I wouldn't be inclined to pay $600 for a Ti-tool. I can deal fine with the few ounces extra weight and use a mass-produced, $20-$40 tool. I understand the attraction to custom pieces and the high toys, though. I'd love to see pictures of one!

Maybe Leatherman is the company to be asking for something like this? They have the technology, the parts, equipment and customer base to support the number of sales required to make this project feasible.

That will give Mr. Atwood time to make little tools for me... and others, too. :P

[pipedreams]

Not interested.

todd

[foxy]

If you are breaking small Leatherman tools frequently, you need to use larger ones.

I wouldn't be inclined to pay $600 for a Ti-tool. I can deal fine with the few ounces extra weight and use a mass-produced, $20-$40 tool. I understand the attraction to custom pieces and the high toys, though. I'd love to see pictures of one!



I didnt say $600 I said $200 to $300 - the $600 would be what a full sized custom tool might go for. I think very few would drop $600

As for breaking them frequently, if you read my initial post, it was for emergency survival situations I could theoretically walk around with a 40lbs Survival pack everywhere I go, but I choose to limit myself to the basics in the lightest and strongest package available. The $20 micra doesnt cut it for durability and the $80 Charge doesnt cut it for size/weight. I appreciate that most reading this wont be interested in spending $200 to $300 on a minitool but please only post constructively.

[deeker]

Sorry, I should have used gentler words. There was no hostility intended my post; constructive criticism... maybe. :fingered:

Your first post indicates you have broken a couple of Micras, therefore I suggested a larger, hopefully more durable model. I missed the bit about a full-sized custom being $600 as opposed to a smaller-sized tool. Still $200-$300 is a lot for many people. If the size and weight jump between current LM models is too large, that's fine - personal preferance. No offense intended or taken. In ememgency survival there aren't many second chances. For me, bigger would be better. You have to find what works for you.

[parnass]

... I could theoretically walk around with a 40lbs Survival pack everywhere I go, but I choose to limit myself to the basics in the lightest and strongest package available. The $20 micra doesnt cut it for durability and the $80 Charge doesnt cut it for size/weight. ....


While I wouldn't want to spend much over $50 for a multitool, I am in complete agreement that there's an unmet need for significantly lighter weight tools which are as strong and versatile as today's full size stainless steel versions. I have some great multitools which are too heavy when carried with other EDC items.

[foxy]

Your first post indicates you have broken a couple of Micras, therefore I suggested a larger, hopefully more durable model. I missed the bit about a full-sized custom being $600 as opposed to a smaller-sized tool. Still $200-$300 is a lot for many people. If the size and weight jump between current LM models is too large, that's fine - personal preferance. No offense intended or taken. In ememgency survival there aren't many second chances. For me, bigger would be better. You have to find what works for you.


LOL thanks for the poke :)

Sure bigger would be better but I know for me I will never EDC a large multi tool to the gym for instance and due to my part time job, I am in the gym 5 to 6 nights a week doing personal training. If some sh** went down and I absolutely needed something durable, it would have to be something the size/weight of a micra because I wont be carrying a LM Charge or other to the gym. $200 to $300 isnt really a lot compared to a lot of the stuff people are showing here. Its not going to be something everyone buys, but if you look at some of the EDC pics shown here, theres easily $500 to $3,000 worth of stuff in a lot of those pics.

[xDANx]

One thing you need to remember is, Peter Atwood is only one person.

[Peter Atwood]

I've already given this idea a lot of thought over the past few years. I'd like to see a more stripped down tool with extra heavy duty premium steel blade/prytool, bottle opener and maybe a couple of other functions. I'd rather see a tool with less features that was built like a tank and worked well than one with many features, none of which are high quality.

My comment in regard to Leatherman tools to take just one example would be to say that when you look at that tool you are looking at millions of dollars in engineering, machining and production costs. There is no way a small time maker could make something like that without it costing thousands. You want a fancy folding tool with multiple functions that is a work of art? Try Richard Rogers. His Horseman's slip joint at Blade two years ago was flabbergasting.

[7k7k99]

This wont be cheap and I havnt asked Peter if he has the time, equipment, or interest in such a project, but hopefully this thread will get a ton of posts and spark an interest in Mr. Atwood ..........

why does Peter have to do it? sometimes if you want a better mousetrap, you have to build it yourself. why not put your inspiration into action? you might be the next millionaire.

[Superdave1]

And Mr.Atwood could give it a lifetime transferable guarantee!!! I'll take one maybe two! :smitten:
Interchangeble tools....
Sweet!

[RyanMalpiede]

Or as you know ... you can just start taking the best pieces of multitools apart and try jerry rigging them together. ;)

Leatherman Keyman

http://members.aol.com/dissengaged/keyman.jpg

Next project a larger Bear Keyman

http://vu.univision.com/products/fullsize/503/3002503.jpg

OR if I feel spunky and want to throw caution to the win ... a Ti Keyman

http://leatherman.ultragreen.ru/catalog/150/leatherman_ti_2.jpg

[ZenEngineer]

you can just start taking the best pieces of multitools apart and try jerry rigging them together

I'd like to see an aftermarket place established to offer replacement parts or upgraded parts for production multitools. Right now it seems the only way I can get a better knife blade to replace the one in my beloved Wave (old model) is to make it myself. I don't have time for that learning curve.

[pipedreams]

Aftermarket parts would be awesome, but I suspect the we gadget nuts would probably be just about the only folks interested. Most of the market is happy with inexpensive off the shelf multi's.

todd

[Brangdon]

Foxy, can you spec it out in more detail? Do you envisage something with joints? What tools would it have? Pliers? Scissors? Woodsaw?

I've also asked Peter to make me a custom piece, but mine is much closer to what he is already doing. It's a kind of Keyton with bottle-opener. I want something that doesn't have a blade, for legal reasons (I am based in the UK). I would be interested in other features that could be added to the single-chunk-of-metal approach.

One nice feature would be a point that could be used to break the glass of a car passenger window, as an escape tool. Maybe a basic Prybaby is capable of that, I've not tried it.

[Gadget Guy]

Aftermarket parts would be awesome, but I suspect the we gadget nuts would probably be just about the only folks interested.* Most of the market is happy with inexpensive off the shelf multi's.

todd


Very true! People want cheap junk that they can buy over and over. Ask them to pay for a quality item, forget about it! :(

GG

[thesurefire]

Very true! People want cheap junk that they can buy over and over. Ask them to pay for a quality item, forget about it!* :(

GG


In my day's I’ve broken 2 little SAKs and Leatherman Micra. Breaking the Micra involved doing something over the top stupid, but it had to be done. I used the micra's scissors to cut about 1000 feet of a pretty heavy gauge wire into 50 foot sections, they were destroyed after that. I needed the right tool for the job, but I didn’t have it. I didn’t have time to go get it, so I had to improvise. If I had been carrying a 500 dollar tool, I would have had to do the same thing, and I would have messed the tool up just as badly, it just would have cost more to replace.

To me there’s a point when price and quality meet an equilibrium, and for the different tools I use that’s where I choose to spend the majority of my money.