u/Tapria

TL;DR - Of course I’d like to have more. But I can’t justify having multiple at the moment. When I had a collection, each one was a burden
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I tried a bunch of models & I liked them all for different reasons. But I can only use one at a time. & I have expenses to consider. After learning my preferences, I started looking for a knife that could perform a majority of my daily tasks

📋 Criteria:
- USA or Taichung
- Lightweight
- Corrosion resistant
- High visibility
- Can be held in various grips
- Around 3-4 inch blade
- Easy maintenance
- Usable with gloves
- Premium steel
- Had to be in or similar to the native family of designs
- Price was not a factor bc I’d rather have one good one than 5 mediocre ones

🧐 After doing research - I chose the Chief. I love the Native 5 so this was a safe bet. Within the first day, I already knew it was a keeper

I’m the type to customize everything. This time I didn’t feel the need. But Ive done some minor adjustments:

- Ceramic rod to smooth out the spine
- Sanded inner edge of FRN
- Changed clip orientation
- Tune up

📦 I cut plastic, cardboard, stripped copper & harsh materials that I shouldn’t

Naturally, I was expecting some dulling but the edge still remains sharp. I’ve seen people say that nobody could identify a steel unless it was written on the blade

I’ve cut many things with all types of different knives. Magnacut glides through material with barely any pressure. The difference is noticeable. My friend, who is indifferent to tools, used it & said:

“This thing is crazy sharp”

I would highly recommend the Chief

Edit: One time this knife slipped out of my pocket & got caught on fabric behind my truck seat. I didn’t understand why it wouldn’t close so I slammed my door multiple times on it. Afterwards - no bends or cracks in the FRN
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If I could afford it, I’d buy:
Manix 2 LW SPY27
Sage 5 Salt Magnacut Black TiCN
Caribbean LC200N
Smock REX121
Kapara S30V
Canis S30V
Smallfly 2 S30V
Chaparral LW CTS-XHP
Stretch 2 K390
Paramilitary 2 (any version)
Native 5 LW (any version)
Shaman (any version)
& countless others

TL; DR - Modding is fun. The Charge is my favorite bc it has a wide variety of customization options. I can’t afford the real Earth G10 model. Instead, I gradually modified as much as I could until I was satisfied
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📖 INFORMATION
Difficulty - Intermediate

🧰 Recommend Tools:
🥽 Safety Glasses
🧤 Gloves
🔧 Parse Wrench Set - MultiPartsStore on Etsy
🌀Thread Locker
🥢Tweezers
⚡️Dremel with Grinding Bits
🪛 Dowels or Small Screwdriver
🍽️ Ceramic Stone
💉 Food Grade Mineral Oil
🧻 Microfiber Rag
🗜️ Vice or Locking Pliers

💰Parts List / Estimated Cost💰
❌ Excluding Shipping & Taxes ❌

💵 $99.00 _ Black Oxide LM Charge + from eBay

💵 $24.99 _ Black Oxide LM Kick (Donor Plier Head) from eBay

💵 $17.99 _ Black Oxide LM Rebar Awl from MultiPartsStore

💵 $49.00 _ Full Set of Scale Tools from Kristen Van Patten
📎 https://www.kristenvanpatten.com/

💵 $14.91 _ Heavaluefit Pocket Clip from eBay

💵 $75.00 _ G10 Scales from G10CustomDesignsShop on Etsy

💵 $29.99 _ Rocktol S35VN Blade from Rocktol accessories shop
⬆️ This blade needs to be ground down at the back of the pivot
⚠️ GO SLOW - if you remove too much, your blade will not lock up correctly

🪙 Total = Approximately $310.88
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🗣️ COMMENTARY

The Wave is the best selling multi-tool of all time. Therefore, the platform has a large mod base. The Charge benefits from this bc its the same platform

Also - with the addition of spacers & handle scales, we now have 2 more parts to customize. This is why there are so many versions

As a knife nerd, this appeals to me because it allows variety. For the collectors, there is a fun challenge to hunt down some limited editions. I can explore different blade steels & handle materials, and color combinations

Here’s a list of various options 🤔

🛠️ Handle Materials:
Aluminum
Titanium
G10
Wood
Carbon Fiber

🔪 Blade Steels:
154CM
S30V
Damascus
Compatible with Wave Alpha Magnacut
Compatible with Wave Plus 420HC

The only way I could improve this further would be to get a custom S35VN serrated blade & get the Batch 002 Darkside adjustable plier head

Thanks for reading my post. Have a good one

TL;DR - In essence, every multi-tool is a compromise. LM is aiming for the toolsets that would satisfy most people’s needs. You’re unlikely to get exactly what you want unless modifications are made
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To make this, I combined elements from 3 of my favorite LMs

Charge
Wave (Gen 2)
Surge (Gen 1)

I love the Surge. When I carried it, I felt like I could repair anything lol. But it was too heavy for regular use. I gravitated more towards the Wave platform because of the lighter weight. I pocket carry so I don’t need the t-shank adapter. I love having an awl w/ sowing eyelet.

My favorite things about the Charge are the upgraded blade steels & the serrated blade w/ gut hook. I swapped the 420HC with 154CM

My favorite thing about the Wave is that the frame handles are 1 piece. As opposed to the Charge which has spacers & scales. I work in all sorts of conditions so once in a while I have to do a complete disassembly to clean it. When I first started modding, I took a Charge completely apart and that was a nightmare to put back together. It felt like 2x more parts than the Wave. Charge is still my GOAT tho.

Out of all the full sized plier heads from LM - I like the standard head without replaceable cutters. I’ve never broken the new style heads but I feel more confident in the older ones because less material is removed.

Side-note: I’ve seen people on here say that you can’t replace the can opener with the awl bc the awl is thicker. Knowing that - I grinded down a Rebar awl. Once it was in, it was loose so now I have to put a washer in. I don’t know for sure, but I think you could do a direct replacement.

TL;DR - You can’t go wrong with either of these. Especially in the FRN versions. Good contenders for a 1 knife collection.

🔵 SPY27 Sage 5 LW

My first compression lock knife. Action was perfect right out of the box. SPY27 is an awesome steel. I was attracted to the idea of a knife company formulating its own steel. I didn’t sharpen it much. Once & a while I do a few passes on ceramic then leather.

I’ve seen some sages that come out of the box with a defect that makes the tip protrude past the handle. This issue can also be accidentally created by over sharpening. I knew all of that before I bought it. Luckily mine was perfect.

These were part of the 1st few spyders I bought. I wasn’t sure what to get but I found out that the entire sage line was supposed to be an accumulation of all the knife knowledge the company has learned over the years. & ppl always praise the Taiwan Taichung factory. Now I know why. Ergos were great. Pocket clip was sturdy but sometimes I had a hard time removing it from my pocket. I know some people don’t like the spoon / hour glass clip but I’ll tell you what - that little bit of exposed handle makes deployment effortless.

I didn’t have to sand down the FRN because it comes chamfered all around by default. But I did touch up the thumb hole & spine with a ceramic rod

One neat little detail is the maze style pattern engraved into the Spyderco logo

🌸 S30V Native 5 LW

The most comfortable thing I’ve ever held. No lie, upon 1st holding it I said to myself out loud - “incredible”. Since there is no hump / thumb ramp, I could use any grip with no issue. S30V is awesome but I learned how to sharpen on this knife so that’s why it looks like that.

The action was stiff at first. This was before I knew how to tune so all I did was use it for a couple of months. After that, I could spydie-flick. This is bc over time, there’s a section of steel that smooths over on the spine of the pivot hole.

Lockback is my favorite lock mechanism. Easy to use with thick gloves. The snap sound is satisfying. Ambidextrous. It’s a good gift for the women in your life bc you can operate this knife even if you have long nails.

Easy to maintain. I took it apart and, aside from screws, it was literally just the blade, 2 handle halves & the clip. It doesn’t even have washers. While it was apart, I sanded the FRN.

I know I just said the spoon clip is good but on a smaller knife - it makes it feel loose in the pocket. Went with the MXG Ti clip. I have stock clip right side tip down on the Chief.

✅ In conclusion - both of these are awesome. Both have a good amount of aftermarket parts for mods.

FRN is my favorite handle material because it feels the same in all weather conditions. In the winter, my Milwaukee fastback feels like an ice cube. The texture is good because it won’t slip out of your hands when you’re washing it. & the knives that have FRN are usually the more affordable ones.

TL;DR - If you have enough $$$ then go for it. But otherwise, you’re better off buying a spare of the LM that you use everyday

The LM Crunch is an amazing tool (for the right person). I can’t blame anyone for overpaying because I did too. Now that I’ve used it and carried it, I understand why it was discontinued.

The Crunch is kinda like the OHT. A niche / specialized tool that caters to a certain demographic. To my knowledge, Leatherman only has 1 factory in America & outsources some plier heads to a Mexican factory.

I’ve done some industrial construction work. I’ve seen 20 sq foot machines that do one specific task all day. Most of the tools on the Crunch are only on the Crunch. So you’d need a bunch of equipment and space to make parts for a niche tool.

Let’s compare that to the combination tool that has the bottle opener, can opener, & wire stripper. That implement is on the Wave, Charge, Kick, Fuse, Blast, Signal etc …

In similar fashion - the Rebar and Wave plier head can fit into the Curl, Bond etc …

The Crunch had a good 20+ year run. Best believe if it sold as many units as the Wave - LM would’ve made a Crunch Plus+ & maybe even a Crunch Tti.

New version looks cool but I have no interest. Honestly, if the Crunch was never discontinued & still available in hardware stores, I would’ve never bought it. That’s why I sold mine. I payed my Electric bill lmao

I enjoy the slip joint more than the locking tools. One less step to close the tool up. The tension is plenty strong enough to do a majority of tasks.

I sanded down the plastic inserts for added comfort

I wish more LMs had pocket clip options. Especially for the vintage / “box” frames.

My entire collection is modded. Be on the lookout for my next posts 👀

RIP LM Charge