Broke my Leatherman today.

I won a raffle in 2008 I think.

The first prize was a gift card which I used to buy the most expensive leatherman that was available in the store at the time.

I have used it so much and still somehow taken way too good care of it. Never abused the blades. I bet the tool I have used the most have been the pliers and the screwdriver.

The leather holster that I used occasionally looks still almost like new.

Cutting hot dog buns for kids when out and about, fixing my bike…

F for respect 🫡

    • LemmyFeed@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      8·
      5 days ago

      I’m amazed companies still have such long warranties and haven’t enshitified yet. I have a Carhartt jacket that had the zipper seam come out and they covered repairing it under their warranty.

      • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
        3·
        4 days ago

        Let me throw in a sequel.

        Circulon has done me well. I “broke” a pot

        Hardly any questions they sent me a replacement

        Sorry I’m a person who cooks so they are both dirty as I’m always working on something… but seriously there are a very few brands that are good companies that are worth it. And learherman and Circulon have held their promises.

      • NihilSineNefas@lemmy.world
        2·
        4 days ago

        I had a similar one with Turboflame, had sat on a shelf with a broken piezo for 10 years, sent an email out asking how much spares were and they posted a pair of piezo sparks for free.

  • LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    60·
    5 days ago

    Had the exact same thing happen to me. Got it fixed under warranty no questions asked. Never happened again (even tho I use it nearly every day)

        • WolfmanEightySix@piefed.socialEnglish
          3·
          5 days ago

          I’ve only had a long nosed pair break roughly 15mm from the end. Was only using the to remove a painted on junction box cover.

        • Bluewing@lemmy.world
          1·
          4 days ago

          Slip-joint pliers are MUCH more difficult to break because they are forged rather than metal injection molded like multi-tools are.

          Have have done evil things to forged pliers that would have scared the bee-jeebus out of God himself. At worst, I just bent the handles, which I just hammered back into the roughly correct place. Or not, because I didn’t care at that moment.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        10·
        5 days ago

        It’s almost certainly the most likely failure point. It’s where the two parts thin to overlap each other, but still aren’t overlapping, and also it’s undergoing a lot of force if you put any vertical torque on it.

        I’m no engineer, or expert, or someone who’s ever had this happen, but it seems like a pretty expected failure mode. Everything else is much thicker and more durable.

        • Bluewing@lemmy.world
          3·
          4 days ago

          The jaws are made by metal injection molding, MIM for short. It’s a good way to make some pretty complex shapes repeatedly and relatively cheaply. And they are also ready to use as is for many items and the rest, just minor secondary operations are needed.

          Lot’s of metal items around you are made by MIM. And it’s great for those things. But while it’s “good enough” for your multi-tool jaws most of the time, it’s not a process that is as tough as a forged tool. There some stress riser areas in those jaws. Look at the sharper corners. An easy way to break those jaws is to grab something hard out at the very tips of the jaws and squeeze hard.

          Multi-tools are a fine tool to carry for an emergency when nothing better is available. Or the job at hand is just a quick light task. Anything else, go get the proper tool.

  • Dicska@lemmy.world
    10·
    4 days ago

    My loss isn’t even comparable to yours, but I can only feel sympathy. For the past 4+ years I’ve only had two mugs. I had the mug, which I got from my brother and his GF, and a plain black gag gift mug that’s been sitting in my cupboard until yesterday.

    Around the same time you posted, this happened:

  • kreekybonez@sh.itjust.works
    222·
    5 days ago

    just remember kids: the multi tool is only appropriate when no other tool is available

    I see people abuse these things at work all the time, and I’m baffled that they refuse to just carry the correct tool, when they know what repeatable actions they take throughout the day.

    • 𝕲𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍🔻𝕯𝖃 (he/him)@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      5 days ago

      Which is why my EDC includes actual pliers and an actual knife and multiple wrenches and shears, tape measure, speed square, box tape, masking tape, safety glasses, spider key, and you know what my hips hurt.

      None of the above was a joke.

      • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        4 days ago

        Also both a small and a large adjustable spanner. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been glad I had the adjustable because it was the only spanner I had on me.

        I would rather have a ratchet set, but 2 pieces versus 30 for the same job is hard to choose the 30 (even tho if you do it wrong the adjustable will strip your bolts)

        • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
          5·
          4 days ago

          You’re talking about a crescent wrench yeah? If you can’t get it to move using a thin shop rag for some traction, then it’s time to go dig up the exact fit socket, or channelocks with the cloth to avoid bite marks.

  • Bluewing@lemmy.world
    8·
    4 days ago

    Yeah, those jaws are a weak point on Leatherman multi-tools and all multi-tools in general. The jaws are made by MIM, Metal Injection Molding.

    Lots of common parts are MIM all around you and they last nearly forever. But they can never be as tough as a forged part. Just cheaper.

    Either repair this one or buy a new one. Personally, I’d buy a new smaller tool like the Skeletool and fix the old one too.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    14·
    5 days ago

    OP breaking a Leatherman is like getting fired on your day off.

    “Goddamn! You’ve got to be one stupid motherfucker to get fired on your day off.”

    :)

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
    15·
    5 days ago

    I have to ask what you were doing to make this possible … pliers, even cheap ones tend to take a lot of force in order for them to break like this.

    I’m thinking you either tried to grip a solid iron bar as hard as possible and even put weight or force behind it … or it got stepped on, crushed, hit or run over by something heavy.

    I’ve broken pliers before and it was only ever a time when I was using way too much force than reasonable … or I just ran over it with a truck or tractor.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
        6·
        5 days ago

        Maybe but it’s got me interested … the more I look at it, the more I realize that if the break happened due to unusual force, you’d think that the handle and pins would have gone first because the ends of that pliers are usually hardened steel. If there were a lot of force applied to the handles, it would have bent the handles or sheered the pins where the retractable handles pivot.

        The only other thing I could think of it was that he was trying to cut heavy gauge wire that was way too big for this tool. The way the wire cutters are designed is the same as any other … it’s just to metal blades pressed next to one another. If you place a large wire in there that is too big and dense for the wire cutters, the blades will press down and because they can’t cut into the wire, the blades start spreading out laterally. Pliers are meant to be strong with vertical force on the plier biting surface … you can see it with all the solid metal around the base. But it isn’t strong if the blades start moving laterally - here you can also see that there isn’t as much metal to keep it from moving outwards.

        So the more I look at it … the more I’m guessing he was trying to cut heavy gauge wire … or trying to use the wire cutter surface to cut something solid … if that were the case, the plier mouth would have stopped moving towards each other and instead start spreading outwards … which is a weak point and caused the break.

        And you’re right, if there was a subtle weakness or crack in the metal that corresponded with that kind of force, it would have been that much easier to break.

        I love this sub … dull men’s club … where I can waste time over analyzing a broken pair of pliers rather than doing the actual work I am supposed to be doing right now. Hope you are well.

        • ZAP@sopuli.xyzOP
          8·
          5 days ago

          I think what you described is pretty much what happened only difference being I was not using the wire cutters.

          I have taken good care of the cutters and only cut thinner wires with it.

          Nevertheless this time I was in a bit tight place trying to bend the screw back and forth a few times and I think the snappening happened in a similar manner as you described: later movement of the pliers.

          I know deep down that it was a user error and it adds to the disappointment.

          • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
            3·
            5 days ago

            I know the feeling … I’ve lost several pocket knives and fold out survival knives to using them in ways they weren’t designed … and like I said, I’ve broken pliers and a bunch of other tools in the past. It sucks to have to lose a favourite tool … but at the same time, it gives you time and space to start looking for your next favourite tool. The search will add to your collection … and after a few years, what it collection it will be!

          • over_clox@lemmy.world
            2·
            5 days ago

            Hey OP, have you looked very closely at the break point? Like, does half of the break fracture look corroded and the other half look like fresh break metal?

            If so, that’s basically obvious signs of an aging stress crack that was unfortunately destined to give out eventually anyways.

            :(

    • ZAP@sopuli.xyzOP
      11·
      5 days ago

      A screw was protruding into a hole I did not want it to protrude.

      It was an M5 A2 stainless steel screw and they usually snap easily. When bent a few times with pliers.

      Done it before, have the t-shirt. This time leatherman lost.

      I know I was reckless and alas with a pair of sturdier pliers I achieved my goal.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
        7·
        5 days ago

        That makes sense … and since you’ve done it several times before, it probably weakened your pliers over time. Any time you bite into something with pliers and use the wire cutters and you have to use a bit more force than usual, you are pushing the two plier blades outward not towards each other.

        That is why I was curious as to why they broke … if you had tried gripping something with so much force that it broke one of the plier jaws - the jaw or the handle would have been bent out of shape first before the jaw would break … (ask me how I know because I’ve done it before with a pair of vice grips)

        But if you tried using the wire cutters and put force behind it while trying to cut something solid like a screw, then you are no longer pushing the plier jaws together, you are moving them laterally outwards … and if you do that enough times, eventually the jaws will break … (ask me how I know that because the more I analyze all this, the more I remember that I have broken pliers and wire cutters this way before)