When I was a kid I worked backstage at my high school theater.
There were a lot of good old fashioned superstitions that clung to the place. One was always touching the old Shakespeare skull prop that never left the old crate by the stage left door when you walked by for good luck. Another – always wearing your theater tech shirt for the whole week before a show to guarantee a good opening night. We were a funny lot, but one thing that felt less like superstition and more like general good practice was the “kit” that each tech kid had to have on their person at all times.
It was simple. Everyone needed a mini Maglite, a c-wrench and a Leatherman multitool in a little belt clip tool holder whenever possible. Sure, the wrench rarely made it out of the theater and into the school hallways, that was a look reserved for only the most committed techie, but the flashlight and Leatherman were must-haves. They really came in handy! Lockers were a nightmare at the best of times, so having a tool to fix little bent bits on the lock or to make “custom adjustments” of your own was awesome. Eventually, after my days in high school came to a close, the flashlight went in a drawer and stayed there until the next power outage. The Leatherman, however, lived on my belt for another 5 years until I finally had to accept that I wasn’t being “handy” regularly enough to keep it on my person at all times. It was a hard choice to make, but a mostly sedentary artist carrying a multitool around everywhere just felt odd. It went into the drawer with the flashlight and it rarely saw any use from that day forward. It’s a shame, that classic old all-metal Leatherman was a near constant companion of mine for so long, I felt odd not having it with me for a while.
The Magic of a Good Tool
Let me divert this conversation for a moment to talk about “artifacts.” This is entirely a “me” thing, but I’ve always felt that some objects take on a life of their own after enough time and/or care is put into them. Our constant touch and attention and use of a daily thing breathes a sort of anima into these objects and makes them into deeply personal objects, or artifacts, as I call them. Not everyone feels this connection, some of us are sublimely unattached to our things and there is a magic in that too, but your average handyman, butcher, artist, gardener, crafter…. they know what I mean. That craft knife you’ve been using for odd projects since you first picked up the hobby, the pot you’ve been cooking stews and soups in for years and years, the pliers you’ve had on your belt since you were an apprentice, these objects gain real value beyond their material worth and in order to last long enough to hold that type of value, they have to be well made, or at least very well cared for. My old Leatherman was that. It is steeped in memories and time and even if it was in much worse shape than I remembered when I decided to go back to it, it will forever live in my home. That sturdy old tool really took me places.
So yeah, I decided not long ago to stop being weird about how it looks to be a non-handyman with a Leatherman and to return my old multitool to my belt where it belongs. Turns out it was pretty beat up. The joints were floppy, the tools were mostly slightly bent or even chipped in places and the thing only held shut when sitting in the perfect position to keep it from yawning open of its own accord. My old friend was certainly living a well-earned retirement. I put him in a place of honor on my crafting table (mostly so he could watch me work), and started shopping for the next Leatherman for my belt.
The Arc
It seems the Leatherman brand has been busy since I bought my ancient original. The site is overflowing with special editions, light weight options, hard-wearing worksite options and even customizable tools! Honestly, it was overwhelming, so I settled in for some good hard reading.
Immediately, the ARC model caught my eye. Reading into the ARC was interesting. According to the manufacturer, this is the current ultimate form of the Leatherman, built using years of customer feedback and requests, some of the best materials and featuring a very nice-looking design.
I also learned that Leatherman products, like the Arc, are popular with preppers who want to be prepared for any emergency. On looks alone, this thing wins easily. With a sleek brushed stainless steel and a black diamond hard coating on certain tools and accents, the ARC certainly looks great. It comes with a set of 8 double-sided flat profile screwdriver bits and is compatible with their durable nylon sheath that can hold the bit set and the tool.
In terms of capability, this is a fully loaded multi-tool with some great features. The tools include:
- MagnaCut® Knife Blade
- Needlenose Pliers
- Regular Pliers
- Large Bit Driver
- Diamond-coated File
- Small Bit Driver
- Wood/Metal File
- Pry Tool
- Premium Replaceable Wire Cutters
- Premium Replaceable Hard-wire Cutters
- Impact Surface
- Large Screwdriver
- Bottle Opener
- Can Opener
- Awl
- Spring-action Scissors
- Saw
- Wire Stripper
- Electrical Crimper
- Edge File
For those of you who haven’t used a multi-tool before, know that not every one of those tools is a separate fold-out item. The awl and wire stripper are all part of the same fold-out tool, the bottle opener, large flathead screwdriver and pry tool are all one piece and the wire cutters are built into the pliers. It’s an elegant design that does require a bit of knowledge to unlock, but once you figure it all out, it’s crazy easy to use.
Another really nice element here is the magnetic closure. The folding halves of the tool, as well as many of the smaller flip-outs, are held in place by a magnet when closed. Once extended and locked in place, a simple small button easily pressed with the thumb unlocks the tools and allows them to fold back into place. This makes it easy to flip much of the ARC open with one hand, which is very useful if you are, say, hanging from a ladder rung while trying to use it.
Something to know when making your choice here is that the knife blade is made from a very strong and uncommon type of metal called “MagnaCut.” It’s a complicated bit of steel to create, but it holds an edge for ages, is extremely strong and rigid, and still manages to sharpen fairly easily. It’s a very sought-after material in modern tools, so that’s a pretty big selling point.
Honestly, after reading enough about the ARC I made up my mind. It was a bit more expensive than the Wave Alpha, coming in at $305.95, but this is a “buy it for life” situation, and Leatherman has a great 25-year limited warrantee, so I figured it made sense. In use, it was everything I imagined it to be. My needs are somewhat simple as an average homeowner. I’ve used it to pull old covers off my gutters, fix bent bits on my old lawn mower, open boxes, cut wires, tighten my glasses, cut tags off clothes and a pillow case and on and on. Having it on hand has saved me a ton of time and it is definitely on its way to becoming my next artifact.
TL;DR Specs for the Speed Readers
Here are the basic specs for the Leatherman ARC
- Tool Count: 20 tools
- Primary Blade Steel: CPM MagnaCut
- Blade Length: 2.76 inches
- Closed Length: 4.25 inches
- Open Length: 6.45 inches
- Width: 1.3 inches
- Thickness: 0.68 inches
- Weight: 8.6 ounces
- Construction Materials:
- MagnaCut steel blade
- 420HC stainless steel
- 440C stainless steel
- DLC-coated components
- Needlenose pliers
- Regular pliers
- Replaceable wire cutters
- Replaceable hard-wire cutters
- Electrical crimper
- Large bit driver
- Small bit driver
- Large screwdriver
- Spring-action scissors
- Saw
- Wire stripper
- Diamond-coated file
- Wood/metal file
- Pry tool
- Awl
- Bottle opener
- Can opener
- Impact surface
To Buy or Not to Buy
If you’re the kind of person who could really use something like this, someone who does a lot of things around the house, maybe a crafter who likes to gather supplies from the world around you, someone who works in a field that makes having multiple tools on hand like this useful, then absolutrely yes, this is a no-brainer. If you don’t really think you’ll use it a lot, there are some great cheaper options on their site to consider.
George Berger
Ever since a young George was disappointed with a toy that did match up to the advertising, he became a tireless advocate for consumers. He’ll review anything that folks have to spend their hard-earned dollars on. George is grateful that he gets to use his skills as a writer and an artist to help connect with consumers and help them make the best decisions possible.
This article is for informational purposes only and reflects the author’s independent opinion. Readers should verify details directly with the manufacturer or retailer before making a purchase decision.
