![]() ![]() Instead of pivoting each handle on the pliers, the Multi-Plier’s handles meet at a single pivot point and the pliers slide out independently and engage a locking mechanism, so that the plier’s pivot align with the handle’s pivot and you have a working tool. Rather than folding, Gerber designed and patented a sliding mechanism. The remaining space is used to store additional folding tools, such as blades and screwdrivers, that pivot from the other end of the handles when needed. Folding designs, like Tim Leatherman’s PST that kick started the multitool market in 1983, simply added a pivot to the end of each handle, allowing the handles to fold back over the pliers when not needed. ![]() There are only two practical ways to stow pliers inside a multitool folding or sliding. This makes it relevant to both multitool users and collectors alike, and even as a study in Industrial Design for manufacturers. ![]() The Multi-Plier may be old, but original models are still used and loved (or hated) by many, and it is one of the few multitool designs that has been in continuous production since the early 90’s. Why do a review on a thirty-year-old design? It really comes down to relevance. I will also compare the Multi-Plier to not only a few contemporary tools of the day, but also some modern products. In this review, I will unpack the design elements that made the original Multi-Plier such a successful product, including the compromises the Gerber designers had to make. But even with this flaw, Gerber’s sliding pliers design has endured for nearly thirty years, updated in 1998 to include locking tools (called the Multi-Lock), and still sold today as the MP600, along with Gerber’s extended multitool family. But even so, there was strong demand, and by 1995 Gerber had taken production inhouse with the final versions of these first-generation Multi-Pliers getting a needle nose option, to take the fight with Leatherman head-on.Īll these early Gerber multitools suffered from a design weakness of tight-closing handles that could result in a nasty pinched palm, leading to its nickname “Old Pinchy” or “Mr. With production of some components outsourced, the first few versions were troubled by mismatched parts, such as nail-nicks not lining up with the handle cut-outs, and poorly executed scissors that were quickly replaced with an awl. Gerber launched its first multitool, the Multi-Plier, in late 1991. A Review of the Original Gerber Multi-Plier (re-post due to image hosting issues) ![]()
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