Swiss Army Knife vs Leatherman vs Victorinox vs SOG Multitools
Leatherman vs Swiss army knife
Whether to choose a Leatherman multitool or a Swiss army knife, depends on what you have in mind for this instrument – are you going to use it for your everyday job, or for occasional use when going hunting, hiking or for other purposes. Naturally, you need to think about the tools which you need, and those which you almost never use.
The Victorinox Swiss army knife is probably the most popular multitool in the world, with its history of more than 130 years. It comes in various sizes and combinations of tools. The standard one has 2 blades (large and small), can and bottle openers, scissors, screwdriver bits, wood and metal saws and file, corkscrew, hook, tweezers, toothpick, wood chisel and a reamer with sewing eye.
The standard Leatherman multitool has: plyers which are spring loaded, one large blade plus a serrated blade, the wood and metal saws and file, scissors, screwdrivers, reamer, chisel, hard wire cutter, crate opener, can opener, ruler, lanyard hole, wire crimper, bender, stripper, lock release and built in firesteel.
The advantage of the Leatherman is the plyers, which the majority of Swiss army knives lack. Also, on average the blade of the Swiss army knife is much smaller than the main blade of Leatherman’s multitools, so it seems that Leatherman is a better choice than the Swiss Army knife as far as functionality is concerned. On the other hand, the knives are much lighter and compact than the multitools.
Leatherman vs Victorinox
Victorinox is probably the most popular pocket knife-multitool manufacturer in the world. Everybody knows what a Swiss army knife is. Victorinox was first established in 1884 by Carl Elsner. In 1897, the first Swiss army knife was patented. Later on, the company was named Victorinox in the name of the owner’s mother Victoria, and Inox – the term for stainless steel. Today, the company is managed by the 4th generation of the Elsner family and has a wide selection of various products, including: cutlery, watches, travel gear, apparel, fragrances, apart from the wide variety of Swiss army knives.
Leatherman is a pioneer in the production of pure multitools. It was established in 1983 – a century later than Victorinox in Portland, Oregon. Today, the company has grown, and its products include: multi-tools, pockettools, knives and various accessories for them. Leatherman offers a lifetime warranty for its products.
Leatherman vs SOG
Both Leatherman and SOG are well-known, established names in the specialized knife and multi-tool industry, and they both were established in about the same time in the 1980’s. While the multitool first made by Tim Leatherman was inspired by a boy scout knife, but with plyers, the first SOG was inspired by a US Special Ops combat knife. Today, SOG is the top choice for US Navy Seals. As for the multitools of these two producers, the popular Leatherman Wave and the well-known SOG PowerLock are similar and yet have their difference. The Wave has 17 tools and the PowerLock has 18. The SOG is cheaper than the Leatherman multitool. They are both made of stainless steel but the SOG weighs 9.6 oz. and is 4.6 inches closed while the Wave is only 8.5 oz. and 4 inches long when closed.
The Leatherman Wave is more suitable for people who are looking for a compact pocket knife but with extra tools, while the PowerLock is more suitable for actual professional handymen, electricians and others.
The Wave has a benefit of having an accessible knife blade which can be opened with one hand without opening the entire multitool.