I’m a lineman and use pliers on a daily basis. I just bought a Signal last week. My way of breaking them in is to shove them into the dirt a few times, and open and close them a ton of times so the dirt and sand helps smooth out any imperfections and then use WD-40 to lubricate and keep opening and closing them about a thousand more times. It took me all of half an hour to break the Signal in well enough that the pliers fall open without me having to use my fingers to open them
@@maxlvledc I love it. I’ve only had it a few days but the more I play around with it the more I appreciate the simplicity of it. It has useful tools without extras you don’t need. Plus I love the crimson red and yellow color scheme. It reminds me of a fire truck haha
My Bond was stiff just like that when I got it. I sat on the couch watching TV with some gloves on and just reefed it open and closed a bunch of times to try and sand it down inside a little. It worked enough to use it, but then after a month of work it loosened up like normal. Wish I had known this at the time... realistically it was probably reefing and twisting on stuff at work just like you did on that branch that did the trick.
I've had this issue with all the medium-sized plier heads with replaceable wire cutters, P2, P4, Rebar, Wave+, Signal, in BO and Stainless finishes. I went out of my way to get an older wave to avoid this, because I haven't found a way to keep the new pliers nice and free-moving. They seem to always lock up after you clamp hard, even after you get them loose a few dozen times. I totally agree with you, I got my first 2nd gen wave and it got me hooked, after 5 mins of using everything was buttery smooth. Now, almost every unboxing is just a little disappointing...
An easier method is to use a 0.5 micron oil soluble diamond paste and either mineral oil or WD-40. Mix up the paste with the lubricant into a slurry and slop it all over the pliers joint. Then, start operating the pliers. The diamond particles will abrade the excess metal until the tool operates smoothly. Clean the tool using WD-40 after achieving smooth operation. I don't like the idea of twisting the tool around its pivot pin. You run the risk of bending the pliers or damaging the pin.
I tried this with 1 micron diamond paste and WD-40, and It worked well. I used to have to loosen the pliers by twisting against the pivot a bit, but they would always seize up again after heavy gripping or wire cutting. I mixed 1 micron diamond paste with some WD-40 to create a thin slurry, and applied it to the pier joints. I worked the pliers for an hour or 2 while watching RU-vid, wiping off the black gunk coming out occasionally and applying more paste. Then I cleaned all the paste and metal gunk out with a bunch of WD-40 and wiped it down. Now the plers stay loose even after heavy gripping. p.s. I have a stainless Wave+
@@Jake_S_ Glad that worked for you. Wish they would do this at the factory instead of making the purchaser go through with it. I don't like the idea of twisting against a pivot because of the risk of permanently damaging the tool. They cost so much money as is...
Yes it's working, just 15 minutes with your solution and my free p2 flying now) Just in my case I have pressed polish paste brick dialux(white) with wd40 and stiffness is gone, thank you very much)
Here is an amendment to my post from 2 weeks ago. Decided to keep the Charge +. Tool pivots extremely tight. could NOT deploy implements. E-Z fix. loosen pivot screws...just a little. Pliers were almost seized. This may or may not work for you, but give it a shot. Used a high pressure, rubber tipped blow gun. (the kind at every auto repair shop) Press the rubber tip into the "crotch" and cutter side and use the high pressure air. Black gritty goo came out from the pliers pivot. I put a few drops of KANO Kroil (penetrating fluid) into the pivot and kept using the compressed air to clear out the nasty goo. Did that several times until only clear, clean oil came out. Pliers now work perfectly. Smooth, no friction and no binding. This may help someone.
@@davadoff he explained the likely dustiness and maybe one other trivial reason, yet never went on to explain the actual reason(s) he says to, “NEVER” put oil in plier heads.
Ich gebe einen Tropfen Öl auf den Zangenkopf und spiele mich so lange bis der schwarze Dreck herausrinnt. Das funktioniert immer. Leatherman baut seine Zangen eben exakt. Das Problem gibt es nur bei der Brünierung, ist aber mit etwas Öl leicht zu beheben. Grüße aus Österreich. Johannes
Hello ! My Charge Plus (stainless w/black scales) was delivered yesterday. VERY unhappy. 6th Leatherman multi tool, and older ones were perfect right out of the box. This new Charge is worthless !! ALL pivots so tight the tool can't be used. Might try to get it working. Might return it. Leatherman Quality Control department went on a permanent coffee break ! Good video. Thanks for the tip.
Two years after and Leatherman not even fix on old one type of pliers head but I have the same problem on Free p2 type of pliers head 😂. As always you give a top useful information, thanks
hey thanks so much. i had this exact problem on my leatherman MUT, and your method fixed it... thought i broke it, but youre right, its most likely cause of some black oxidization/paint build up.... anyone reading this: clamp first, then focus the twist close to the joint, not the handle. (otherwise youll just bend the handles, instead of fixing the problem)
There are several videos on striking the plier head with a socket. It works and I've used it several times. It is important that you hit the correct side.
Just got my first Leatherman today. Picked up the Leatherman signal. One of the main selling points for me was how buttery smooth they looked in the reviews I watched. To my surprise once I got it I was absolutely shocked at how hard it was to open and close just about every tool on it. Not to mention all the black grease all over the tool. So far not impressed with anything on the Leatherman and starting to regret my purchase. After watching a few videos it seems like this is super common and they come extremely stiff from the factory so going to give it a little more time to try to break it in and try a few of these techniques and hopefully it'll be a lot smoother after otherwise I'm returning it and getting something for half the price that opens easier.
It's new !, they take time to break - in. The black grease will wear off too. There's a video of a US marine demonstrating it in the bush to great effect, and he has no problems.
@@paulfogarty7724yeah, for real. It’s just like new motocross boots. They’re so stiff, you can’t move your feet or ankles. A few months later and they’re great. Just lube them up and use it. I absolutely LOVE my signal. Favorite tool of all time
I guess I was lucky, my Surge broke in VERY quickly, just operating the pliers while sitting around watching TV. But they aren't black oxide coated either.
To be fair I've never had this issue with pliers without replacement cutters. I just think too many ppl would never buy another leatherman if this is how they were received
@@marshallferron well..as far as I know only Multitasker has forged plier heads...I keep saying if they would get their head out of their ass and make a edc tool it would be incredible..
The black oxide pliers on my new Surge are just fine. I'd rather they start out on the tight side since I know they'll loosen as I use them. The issue might be that the black oxide doesn't always end up the same thickness.
in general the larger plier heads seem to be mostly ok. I didn’t take very long at all to fix the ST300M, the rebar/signal plier head seems to have this issue the worst.
Many thanks Maxi, just had this problem happen with my black oxide wave. If it wasn’t for your video I would have not been able to use pliers. I never send comments but found your video helpful and informative and great PR and feedback for Leatherman. Think they maybe interested or should br. Send link to there HQ’ 😎👍.
I came across this particular video of yours some time ago. My coyote tan version was delivered yesterday and I checked right away. It was okay at first until I squeezed the pliers really hard like what you did and though the handles didn't fold, it has become significantly stiffer! Now I have to look for a branch! Hahaha! Up until now, I just bought the older, time tested models. Seems like they have fell down a notch or two on quality as well as fit and finish and like what you mentioned in your last upload, the price increase is going to make it even more difficult to justify buying products from Leatherman. Sigh... Anyway, thanks again for all this useful tips!
Folding and unfolding the pliers per se, as well as pressing on the jaws of the plier head on opposite directions for 2 nights while watching a movie didn't produce a remarkable difference. The branch/rack techique of yours only took a few minutes, however. Really works! Smooth as butter now 😄
I just watched this and,I've had this problem with all of mine. SuperTool 200, SuperTool 300, Surge, Wave and MUT. It is frustrating,But, when you get them right, they're fantastic.
TY! I had this problem with all my black oxide tools, 1st ST300M, 2nd Surge, & G10 Charge Plus. The ST was driving me mad. Used several different super lubes 🤦♂️
I have a related issue with my larger Leatherman multitools whether Wave, Supertool, or Surge, and it's worst with the Surge. That is breaking them in so the pliers easily open one-handed like the SOG does. It seems that Leatherman has purposely designed the pivot points in the Surge to make it as hard as possible to slightly loosen them so that it doesn't have to take dozens and dozens of hours of just working them to flick the pliers open quickly, easily, and painlessly.
Have that same problem with a silver rebar, that I bought when it came out. AFAIK all Leathermans with that edged plier head have this problem. Leatherman doesn't seem to care though, since the rebar went into production 10 Years ago... Edit: Actually I've just tried it again. The problem is gone now, so it seems to set in after a while...
So I tried this fix on my black oxide rebar and it works great on until I give a tight squeeze and it goes back to crap. I can easily twist it to drop open but goes back when clamped. I tryed it a dozen times. Any suggestions? Thanks.
This idea works very well to fix it, but I found it's best to clamp onto something much thinner...like a 1/4 to 3/8" copper rod...then twist as I showed
I have the exact same problem as this guy. I can torque the handles to loosen up the pliers, but after a good squeeze, the pliers are tight again. Then I have to apply torque to the handles again to make them drop shut again. It’s a never ending cycle. Looking for a more permanent fix… I tried the torquing on the branch trick from this video, but weirdly, that only made the plier head tighter again (I’ve got a Wave+ btw). Maybe I’ll try the diamond paste wd40 trick the one guy mentioned. Or should I just send it back to Leatherman? No guarantee they’ll fix the problem, right?
It's not only the black oxide - I have this issue on the Heritage PST (!), Wave Plus, Free P4, Charge G10. Every Leatherman I've bought. Unbelievable. They *know* it's an issue and just keep shipping them.
why is putting lube on the plier to loosen em up so devastatingly bad i dont understand lol i put a drop of mineral oil on my new leathermans and start working that drop in and after like 200 open and closes and it works like a charm of course the only black oxide leratherman i have is the super tool 300m so still listen to him lol
if you put lube on the tool while working it, the metal wont wear smooth as fast (will take many many more cycles). and that is what makes it run better over time. What you are basically doing is forcing wear inside the plier.
I wonder if it would be worth trying a bit of degreaser on it before doing anything after all they may put some lubricant on it in the factory. The thing is that oil will make a sloppy joint less sloppy so if the tolerance is a bit too tight to begin with then removing factory applied oil might just do the trick.
I have a black oxide Wave+ with the exact problem after crimp or a force squeeze. My fast approach to loose it up, is to grab a 3/4 rope or rag and and put it the the opposite side of the plier head, just at the joint of the handles, squeeze the hard as I can. They will be loose as butter until the next hard squeeze. Really a bummer. I own other leatherman pliers and this is the only one that sticks (the only black oxide too)
Started having that issue with my non black oxide leatherman surge after trying to cut a screw. Decided to start doing real pliers + some knife based multitool. Lighter than the Leatherman surge with more versatility as far as edc goes. Just got the leatherman crunch and the thickness of the joint is almost as thick as normal pliers, and twice as thick as the joint on the surge, so it probably won't have the same issue. I think their next multitool should be a crunch with outside access tools.
@@maxlvledc No clue, it was a pretty small one like a standard size screw (maybe 1/8?), but I think it was a crazy hard one that I had no business cutting. The surge cut it with no damage to the cutters, but the joint got messed up, so it started sticking when you squeezed the pliers together, and made them annoying to use. There's some other stuff I've done with the surge that made me question the integrity of the joint that normal pliers would have no issues doing. right now my favorite edc type pliers are the knipex 08 21 145, and the crunch.
@@iamfuckingyourwaifuandther2743 replace those cutters on the surge. Imo, everytime I've seen anyone use a leatherman as they would a normal pliers or normal knife, they end up breaking it or something along the lines of what you just did. I'd recommend not using any multi tool that is a leatherman or similar as a "real tool" or at least as a tool a person who abuses their tools uses. I used an x cut knipex to try to cut a hardened nail, and it chipped a cutting edge. Right tool for the right job, unfortunately, as good as leatherman can be, for me it's a backup and I treat is a such
@@urjnlegend The cutters are perfectly fine, not a scratch, or dent on them. The amount of force needed to cut through the screw started causing the joint of the pliers to split, and it must have damaged/bent something, so it sticks whenever you close it. Still usable, just annoying. Not sure why you wouldn't use leatherman as a real tool. You can still send it in for warranty if it becomes unusable. Also what do you use back up pliers for? If they are just sitting in your pocket all day, you might as well have the knipex pliers in your pocket instead. You can buy specific pliers that are much better than the leatherman ones for specialty tasks you might do once and a while. Depending on which ones you use they can range from 2oz-4oz and you can use them as full sized pliers, whereas a leatherman tool is going to range from 5-11oz, won't sit flat in your pocket, and you can't use them like full sized pliers unless you are using the crunch. If you are wanting the extra tools with them I think both leatherman and victorinox make pocket knives that range between 2.3-3.2oz that have a lot of tools on them, and assuming your main pliers have a cutter you can pair it with one of the knipex pliers below, and still end up under 6oz which is better than all of the leatherman tools besides the pst(out of production) and the skeletool, but you get better pliers, and a bigger toolset. You also get one hand access to everything. The knipex pliers I'm referencing are: 87 00 100 86 03 125 08 21 145 87 01 125
I’ve had the issue as well on the Signal and Rebar. Oddly, I have three black oxide Surges and none of them had the issue. I suspect the larger pliers head has something to do with it.
9/16" socket and a 1/4" punch a 21 Oz estwing hammer and 1 swing do not swing 2 x only once there is a video on RU-vid explaining it better than I just did works great ( or did on my wave black oxide ) an it's super smooth
Same problem with my Surge inox, and Charge TTi. However my Rebar inox works well. All of them are brand new. Difficult to understand in other way that Leatherman QC is worse and worse...
Anyone tried using moly paste to essentially polish/burnish both metal surfaces? I was thinking maybe jamming toothpaste with extra baking soda poured in to make a gritty mess maybe sand, then start grinding and crunching away till theynl frelnbetter or you've pulverized the abrasive clean blow out test repeat?
I wish I had seen this video earlier :(. I recieved Wave plus few days ago as my birthday present and when I squeeze the pliers hard, they lock and then handles are closing rather than opening the plier head. And I don't even have the black version. I thought that if I put some oil into the plier's pivot, it would help. Well, it did, at first. But after a while the problem actually got even worse :(. Had I seen this video earlier, I could have saved myself some trouble.
Out of 5 leatherman i owned 3 where total failures, 1 usable but needed work and one great (old wave) out of 4 swisstools (2 spirit) every one worked buttery smooth, no molesting wild plants needed... but seriously, any tips for stipid stiff open handles? can break these on my surge only with lots of force, the swisstool makes click click click done.
I tried this method with my new Surge, It did loosen up the jaws, but now it has a bit of side to side play on the pliers. Does your tools develop play after using this method? If so is there any way to remedy the play? Thx.
hmm, hard to say. I hestitate to reccomend a little re-peening..but thats what may be necessary...just be careful. a little side to side wont affect its function.
@@maxlvledc Yeah, it doesn't really affect the function as of right now, but if it gets any worse, I might send it in for warranty. I just got this Surge three days ago, so this is not really confidence inducing. Anyway, have you encountered any similar issue after using the method in your video?
The best way to fix the plier head is to create as much friction inside the pivot as possible to remove the build up of black oxide or metal that has been over peened. By not having the lubricant it makes this happen much faster.
@@maxlvledc got you, you're shaving the inside to make it 'looser" only thing the lube would do is protect it, but make it harder in this case to loosen, thanks dude
I think the perfect thing actually would be a 1/4 inch copper rod rather than a wooden branch..its both soft enough and thin enough for this to work really well.
@@appleztooranges ummmm, best scissors? Out of curiosity...how many multitool scissors have u tried? Also what do you usually use the scissors for? (This would really help me understand)
@@maxlvledc I own over 20 multitools. Leatherman surge, 2 Leatherman waves, wingman, ps4, micra, rebar, skeletol, few gerbers, 1 sog multitool,my crunch, etc...My favorite hand down is the Leatherman wave + crunch!
