This is brilliant work and I agree that Leatherman should sell a version of this as a competitor to the SAK (hey, it's an AAK!) The manufacturing cost would be minimal since all of the tooling already exists. The great clip and locking blade would be standouts alone. (I would prefer this to the skateboard tools and the endless number of one piece models they've made lately.)
I'm just starting to come back to this forum and one of the first threads I check is this one. I have a Wingman as well and that is one hella awesome mod! Way to go!!
Not likely IMNSHO. I've applied the same heavy torque and abuse to my Wingman as I have to any of the others(other than the powerlock, never owned anything from that brand) without a problem... YMMV though I guess...
Hey, just a thought here, but what are you guys that are doing this mod doing with the pliers head that is left over? I wouldn't mind acquiring a spare Wingman/Sidekick head or two if they're not wanted or not being used for anything. I prefer the spring loaded pliers to almost all others, and with a spare to work with, I have a few mod ideas to try.
ok I'll send my Wingman to whoever wants to do this mod for me and they can send the plier sto AK Adventurer when you're done! no really...I'm serious..
I will have two pliers heads and some spare screws, etc.. shortly that you can have! I will ship them out once I have finish with the second set!
I'm going to have to do this! I orderd a handful of replacement parts for my charge and I have a s30v blade left over
This mod makes so much sense! Its elegant, and looks like it came from the factory like that! If Leatherman starts making these things, and they would be foolish not to, they should at least give you a hat tip. Like send you a few or name the tool after you. Brilliant idea. And I am a die hard SAK guy, but I would buy one of these in a hot second.
Agreed! I love the one I made after following his instructions. I would buy a few "Babola" edition tools!
When I used to do home maintenance I broke more than one pair of pliers on MTs using them hard. different brands and price points but mostly lower priced tools so you'd see why it's easy for me to assume a Wingman is made a tad cheaper than a Wave, which took the abuse, as did a Charge, or a Surge. I'd be happy to send you my two Wingman plier heads. One is broken off though.
When I was using a MT hard and frequently, the tips to my Supertool pliars broke off so easily that I gave up having them fixed. I just cut the other side flush with a dremel, ground everything smooth, and had a sort of neele-nose/lineman pliar hybrid. All that is to say, depending on where the broken head is broken, it may still be useful.
Found this video, he walks through the mod for putting the Charge TTi blade on the Sidekick. As I expected, I will need to use a bushing. There are some other mods he does here that I expect could be applied to your Single-Wing Wingman if you wanted to.
I have done something similar to this, however, I had a hiccups. I always have a pocket knife so I replaced the blade with my sharpwerks pry buddy and swapped out the can opener, file, and package opener for the flathead and Phillips from the opposite side. The part of your mod that astounds me is that I tried to put tools on the plier side pivot and they swung too loosely and wouldn't lock up due to the difference in plier lock spring, so that's it,... A pry buddy and a pair of drivers. Yours I'd much more in depth. I'm glad that all I need for work is what I finished with. I have wanted to buy a skeletool and replace the blade with the pry buddy but I fear the curvature may prohibit that
I shopped at Home Depot today and noticed that the newest iteration of the Wave is $50 more than the Wingman. Anyone know WHY with respect to the material, build quality, and functionality?
While the Wingman is a great tool for the money, the difference in quality can be felt when holding the two tools. Not knocking the Wingman or it's sibling the Sidekick which I prefer (and is usually cheaper I might add), but the Wave just feels alot more "solid" in the hand.
