?fresh_42 said:
You could use another Swiss army knife?symbolipoint said:
Correct on both questions. There are several different Leatherman multitool models, with different mixes of tools inside. I've owned several over the years, but have settled on the Wave model for the past 5+ years because of the mix of tools inside. I'm pretty sure I only use my bare thumb to open the exterior knives/file and the interior accessories. I use it mutilple times daily (I work in a lab), and it saves me time and steps when I don't have to walk back across the lab to my toolbox to fetch a tool that I have on my belt...symbolipoint said:
?ergospherical said:
Interesting. Would a thin coin work? For me it would be a dime (ten US cents), but I don't have a Swiss Army Knife handy to try that on...symbolipoint said:
I need to re-think this. Your Gerber - same way? Not need finger nail put into a notch on some feature to open the featue? The features on the Gerber to be some of or all of nail file, scissors, reamer/awl, bottle opener, can opener, some other folding tools? Reason I need to ask this way is that the Victorinoxes available here are not as unfoldable handles the way your Leatherman appears. Instead, one has a set of layers with some things which are to be unfolded from the handle; the handle itself does not fold.berkeman said:Correct on both questions. There are several different Leatherman multitool models, with different mixes of tools inside. I've owned several over the years, but have settled on the Wave model for the past 5+ years because of the mix of tools inside. I'm pretty sure I only use my bare thumb to open the exterior knives/file and the interior accessories. I use it mutilple times daily (I work in a lab), and it saves me time and steps when I don't have to walk back across the lab to my toolbox to fetch a tool that I have on my belt...
My Gerber pocketknife is just a 2.2" pocketknife, with no other tools. It opens with one hand using only my thumb and middle fingertip.symbolipoint said:
The Leatherman multitools have exterior knives/file that fold out from the body (using only your thumb), and interior tools that you unfold it to get access to (and which exposes a handy pliers tool). The advantage of a Swiss Army Knife over the Leatherman is that the Swiss Army Knife is about half the size, so you can carry it in your (bulging) pocket. You need to wear the 4" Leatherman in the included leather pouch on your belt. But the Leatherman tools are much more robust than the ones inside Swiss Army Knifes that I've used in the past, which can be a consideration if you use the tools daily like I do.symbolipoint said:
I checked their website, and I see now that they do have a Multitool, but it does look like it takes a fingernail (or a dime?) to open all of the interior tools.symbolipoint said:
I know it kind of kills the spirit of the swiss army thing, but some bottle openers works just fine.symbolipoint said:
I know some mountaineers who do specific exercises to strengthen their finger-nails for just this reason.symbolipoint said:
They seem to have changed the blade lock from my Wave: is it still simple to unlock (intentionally) one-handed and pretty much impossible to do so unintentionally?berkeman said:
If you mean "unlock" to close the blades, then yeah it's a 1-handed operation for me. I think I have the original Wave, not any newer versions, so I'm not familiar with any changes to the design.pbuk said:
Ah, the picture you posted appears to have locks on the back of the knife: I assume we both have the original design like this:berkeman said:
Where do you see a view of the new Wave that has a different blade locking mechanism? I didn't find any good views of that at the page I linked to, but it looks like the locking notches are still in the same place in this partially open view:pbuk said:
I keep a mini Swiss army knife on my keychain, which includes a knife, scissors and nail file/flathead, which would work.symbolipoint said:
In the first image in your post #5 I assumed that the ridged levers on the back of the knife were blade locks. From the image in your later post it looks as though they are locks for the inner tools which would be an improvement.berkeman said:
Yeah, looks like the lock is the same. The notch on the top/back of the knife is the stop, not part of the lock per se.pbuk said:
Which ones? Both inside sides of my Wave open with just an index fingertip for me...Jarvis323 said:
berkeman said:
Yeah, just clean it and lightly oil it and dry it all off. Mine has been easy to open everything for many years, and I think I've only oiled it all and dried it once or twice.Jarvis323 said:
Yes, and I find the easist way to do this is with a thumbnail in the grooves near the pivot (top right in your first picture); although this obiously requires more torque there is less friction (because they all move together) and greater contact area in a much deeper and wider groove.Jarvis323 said:
There could be several reasons why your fingernail is not able to open the tools on a Swiss Army Knife. One possibility is that your fingernail is not strong enough or long enough to provide enough leverage to open the tools. Another reason could be that the tools on your knife are too tight and require more force to open, which may be difficult for your fingernail to handle.
Yes, you can use other objects such as a coin, a key, or even the edge of another tool on the Swiss Army Knife to open the tools. However, be careful not to damage the tools or your chosen object in the process.
It is possible that using your fingernail to open the tools on a Swiss Army Knife may cause damage to your nail, especially if the tools are tight and require a lot of force to open. It is important to be cautious and not put too much pressure on your nail to avoid any potential damage.
There is no sure-fire way to make your fingernails tougher, but you can try strengthening them by using nail strengtheners or taking biotin supplements. However, it is always best to use a tool or object instead of your fingernail to open the tools on a Swiss Army Knife.
Yes, there are alternative methods for opening the tools on a Swiss Army Knife if your fingernail is not tough enough. You can use a multi-tool, a pocket knife, or a small screwdriver to open the tools. You can also ask someone else with stronger fingernails or use a small pair of pliers to open the tools.