While I was out fishing with SB, he saw I was carrying one of my Leatherman multitools, all great products in my opinion. Seeing I was fumbling, he whipped his pliers out and said, if I was going to try to fit in and spend any time on the water, I should probably get a pair of these, and showed my his Danco pliers.

As I reached for it, I saw it was attached with a lanyard that stretched to about 3 feet, and was attached to the belt sheath via
“It’s always ready”, he stated, then smiled at me, “as long as you can keep your pants up.” I was hoping that was in reference to my having lost some weight, not a shot at my wardrobe.a snap clip. SB unhooked it, allowed me to look it over, then went on to expand on why it was such a great product.

He continued, “The jaws are replaceable, as are the cutters. And the cutters WILL cut through braid, I know you use that a lot. Add in the fact that they are made of aircraft aluminum right here in Stuart, and you have a must-have for anyone wanting to be on the local waters.” He pointed across the water to Sewells Point, “The owner’s live over there, I think”.

We were fishing right in their back yard 🙂

The next weekend, when I stopped in to pick up some live shrimp to feed to the sheepshead, I saw a pair at the local bait store, so I picked them up.

“Are these any good?”, I asked the old salt running the cash register with one hand, smoking a cigarette with the other.

“Yeah. Nothin’ better out there”, was his gruff reply.

Fine. I bought them.

Wish I’d have done so years ago. As great an all-around multi-tool that the Leatherman are, these are a specialty tool made for fishing, and in salt water. Spring-loaded, crafted from high grade aluminum, they appear to be cut from a solid piece, not cast. The jaws are replaceable, made from titanium coated stainless steel. The cutter jaws cut mono, flourocarbon, braid and even paracord(!) like it was butter, and I’ve yet to dull mine, amazing as many times as I’ve cut paracord with them.

The sheath is nylon, with a grommeted drain hole at the bottom, and a spring steel belt clip on the back. A second grommet is located on the top, with a rubberized-plastic coil lanyard to keep it from falling overboard, at least without you attached.

I have two minor issues with them though. The first was easily resolved. The lanyard is attached to the handle via a split ring, and every time I would pull it out, the cutters ended up on the wrong side for me to use. To fix this issue, I simple moved the split ring and lanyard to the other handle. Perfect!

The second issue is the aluminum can get slippery when covered in water, blood, and/or fish slime. I’d like to get some sort of rubberized grip, or possibly have it bead-blasted to give it more grip.

I believe I paid around $32. I’ve since seen them as low as $27. Either is a fairly hefty price, at fist glance. However, when you figure I paid double that for some multitools, and they will NOT stand up to the saltwater abuse, you start to realize they are a good value. Add in the fact that the parts that can wear out are designed to be replaced with a few screwdriver and a hex wrench. Spiffy!

For those of you that fish but do not yet own a pair of these (or something similar), I’m going to say take a CLOSE look at one the next chance you get, and think it through. It IS a handy tool, quick-draw, cuts any fishing line (and then some) you throw at it, all parts that wear out are replaceable, and it is almost impervious to saltwater corrosion.

FloridaHillbilly says, “Go getcha one!”

Oh, also, “Thanks, SB!”

“Again!”

Peace,

db