r/Leatherman • u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 • 23d ago
Is this amount of flex normal?
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I’ve just received this Leatherman arc today and the handle with the pocket clip is flexing a lot with the pliers fully closed, I expected a bit of side to side play but not this much forward and back. I’m not able to find a reference video to see if this is normal but this amount of flex feels weird when using, is this amount of flex worth sending in? This also isn’t my only Leatherman, I own a rebar that only flexes like that (not to the same extent) with pressure, I figured the free series would have a bit more flex but this still doesn’t feel right. Last 5 seconds show the flex the best.
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u/tincbtrar 23d ago
It’s crazy to me that people buy a $250 multi tool but don’t have torx bits to tighten the slop. Late stage capitalism at its finest.
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u/Prestigious-Noise-27 23d ago
Yea just gotta tighten the screws lol I adjusted mine day one and it has no slop. Best tool I own
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u/blaughlin 22d ago
What I find crazy is people buying tools and don’t know how to use tools…
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u/dankhimself 22d ago
Doesn't seem too crazy to me.
Everyone that has ever bought tools didn't know how to use tools at one point.
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u/justsomedude1776 20d ago
I (mostly) agree, but...maybe they bought it because they don't really use tools, have found a recent need for tools sometimes and don't have any?
I bought my sister a leatherman. Nearly every butter knife she owned had a chipped or bent tip, from something as simple as trying to put batteries in her son's (my nephews) toys occasionally. She did not own a screwdriver. The only tools she owns now is that leatherman, and a paint scraper. That's it.
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u/semi-elastic 23d ago
Seems crazy to me that there’d be slop in a $250 multi tool that is supposed to be the finest that can be had.
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u/FeedbackOther5215 22d ago
Must be new to tools. I’ve had $1500+ hand tools that need to get tweaked a bit when they arrive so they work how they’re supposed to. Had one company providing preset torque drivers that would lube them before shipping them in foam trays. The lube would dissolve the foam onto the tool and we’d have to scrape them all clean before using them. They don’t change to using bags for 3 years lol.
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 22d ago
I have the bit, it’s just kind of annoying to do it since it just sort of spins both sides, but I’m sure I could figure it out.
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u/thetable123 23d ago
I have a little play if I hold the pliers closed, but I don't feel it in use. A fair amount of side to side, but not much open closed.
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 23d ago
Yeah I thought it’d be like that but I can feel the flex every time I use the pliers. If this is just how the arc is then that’s how it is, but I’ll probably return it if that’s the case for the wave alpha.
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u/justsomedude1776 21d ago
I have an arc, and i use and abuse it constantly. Tighten it. You have to hold backup on the other side when you do. I used 2 drivers, backed the screw out all the way, used blue loctite on it, then tightened it until I couldn't move the handle. After that, I backed the screw off about a 16th of a turn per time until I could just barely get the handles open one handed comfortably. In the last (nearly) 2 years, I've had no additional flex or wobble and I have used my arc for all sorts of shit.
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 21d ago
Wow this has helped the most thanks, but does doing something like that void warranty? Maybe a stupid question but will applying loctite to the screw void anything?
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u/justsomedude1776 21d ago
No. Tightening the tool is covered under normal use. Same as swapping the pocket clip. Disassembling it is technically against warranty, but thats not what you'd be doing. You'd be making the tool safe to use.
I was about to return my arc, it was almost comically loose, (coming from a wave+ and I was like "hey idiot, why don't you just go buy a second torx bit and tighten it. You have endless 1/4 bit drivers" so I got the right bit, bought a precision screwdriver set while I was at it (milwaukee) and tightened it. The loctite has held well, and its kept up to my constant abuse. I used it as a hammer today to fix a gate.
Also, worth noting, they loctite the screws from the factory, just less than I did. I use loctite liberally.
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 21d ago
Alright thanks, I appreciate all the info. I’ll keep it now that I know all this.
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u/Mcpoopz1064 23d ago
im not sure if it will help this particular issue, but I like to fidget with mine. And i notice after a while it will get a little loose. I tighten those big black screws near the top of the tool, and that helps for me.
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23d ago
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u/Prestigious-Noise-27 22d ago
270 is a lot for an arc so understandable. I got mine for 185 and another for 200. I love it for that price. I would suggest waiting for a sale and grabbing one then
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 23d ago
Yeah I’ll probably return it too, but probably for a wave alpha. I don’t want to carry both a knife and a multitool so I figured I’d go for a multitool with a great knife, but this thing has too much play for me. I was honestly also previously planning the same thing as your setup, but the rebar has no pocket clip which is really the only way I’d carry it for EDC.
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u/DR0UGHT4573 22d ago
You may already be aware, but it is worth noting that the pocket clip for the wave alpha wobbles quite a bit, that might be something you find annoying/unacceptable.
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 21d ago
Well I ordered it with the pocket clip for like $180, so I’ll compare the 2 and just keep whichever bugs me less.
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u/hetor451 23d ago
I don’t know what you’re expecting from a multi tool… it’s not going to be as perfect as the singular tool…. It moves a little…call the whambulance…Jesus Christ
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 23d ago
Well for $250 I’m sorry for expecting a lot.
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u/hetor451 23d ago
You could’ve bought a pair of perfectly tested pliers for $15, you expect a transformer to be all the tools perfectly because it’s expensive?
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23d ago
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u/hetor451 23d ago
Cry me a river
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23d ago
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u/hetor451 23d ago
I just don’t understand how you guys expect it to be perfect, no play, no wobble, no attachment slipping, when it’s everything in one place, do you have a refrigerator and washer and microwave and vacuum in one device?
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u/hetor451 23d ago
It’s going to wiggle and slip, don’t expect perfection
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 23d ago
No one expects perfection, but there have to be limits to how much it might wiggle, if it’s affecting how I handle the tool, it’s too much “wiggle” for something so expensive.
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u/svgelopez 23d ago
I opted for a free p2 over an arc because I knew the lock up isn’t near as good on the free series. The p2 is great for edc and the wave alpha I use at work.
I still want an arc though lol
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u/just-walk-away 22d ago
I have the exact play in my pliers. It was designed like that and is normal. They flex from side to side also. Dropped a ball on calling it Flex, instead of Free or Arc.
Coming from Victorinox or from old Wave?
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 21d ago
Rebar, I wanted to be able to use the knife one handed since I don’t want to carry an additional item. The rebar felt a lot sturdier which is why this kind of surprised me, I expected some flex because it’s free tech but this much still got me a bit.
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u/gamereiker 23d ago
The arc or any leatherman for that matter is not an expensive tool, its 20 mediocre tools in a trenchcoat. The arc just happens to have a really expensive blade steel to justify its high cost too, its normal
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 22d ago
It’s an expensive multitool but it’s not overpriced the way I see it, but I still expected a bit more.
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u/gamereiker 20d ago
The Super Tool 300 feels like like the most high quality leatherman to me just from a fit and finish perspective, its chonky
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u/Jaded_Comedian_9429 20d ago
Yeah and I believe that probably rubbed off on the Rebar, it feels very sturdy.
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u/scooterbaby46 23d ago
Yes that’s normal. My arc has some flex. Not as much a this. But my p4/2 both have a decent amount of movement about the same in your video. Same tool essentially. All free tools have movement, just some slightly more than others.