Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2776 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Leatherman
• Model: 68010101K
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25" h x .75" w x 4.00" l, .60 pounds

Features

• Crunch pocket multi-tool made for demanding professionals and do-it-yourselfers
• All interior blades lock for optimal safety and power
• Features locking pliers that spread wide enough to clamp 1-Inch pipe
• Includes serrated knife, file, Phillips screwdriver, 3 slotted screwdrivers, bottle opener, wire cutters, hard-wire cutters, ruler, lanyard attachment, wire stripper, and hex bit driver
• Leatherman's 25-year limited warranty

Amazon.com Product Description

The Crunch folds down to just 4 inches, but it packs a full range of useful tools that are ready for work.

Leatherman's Hardy Crunch Multitool

Made for the most demanding professionals and do-it-yourselfers, Leatherman’s Crunch multi-purpose tool features locking pliers that spread wide enough to clamp a 1-inch pipe, but it folds up into a tidy 4-inch, 6-ounce package for convenient storage in a pocket or bag. Remove the adjusting screw and you'll find a 1/4-inch hex-bit adapter built right in. The pliers lock into position like vise grips, leaving both hands free for other work, and all the interior blades lock too, for optimal safety and power.

Key User Features

To open the interior blades, all you have to do is partially open the handles and use the nail nick to rotate the selected blade out and into the ready position. Extend the blades fully to engage the locks, and to release a locked blade, simply push the lock release button located on the outside of the handle.

The regular and hard-wire cutters are located in the plier jaws. The hard-wire cutter is the small notch at the base of the wire cutting area. The regular wire cutters are ideal for softer wire grades, and the hard-wire cutters are great for sturdier materials like fish hooks.

The Crunch is made from 100-percent high-grade stainless steel, and it can be cleaned, dried, and re-oiled periodically -- which is recommended, especially after it's used in a damp environment.

The Crunch can clamp pipe up to 1 inch in diameter.

Leatherman makes a full range of complementary accessories and add-ons for this and other Leatherman products.

Multitool Capabilities:

• Leatherman crunch
• Locking pliers
• Wire cutters
• Hard-wire cutters
• Serrated knife
• Metal/wood file
• Ruler (inch/metric)
• Bottle opener
• Small screwdriver
• Medium screwdriver
• Large screwdriver
• Phillips screwdriver (#1/#2)
• Hex bit driver
• Wire stripper
• Lanyard attachment

Optional Accessories (not included)

Replace that worn sheath you've had on your belt all these years. Or show that you're part of the Leatherman World with a new T-shirt or cap. Leatherman makes a wide variety of complementary accessories for this Crunch and many other Leatherman products.

Warranty

All Leatherman products are covered by a 25-year limited warranty. If within 25 years from the purchase date of your genuine Leatherman tool you find any defect in material or workmanship, you can count on the manufacturer to make it right with fast warranty service. To obtain warranty service, return your tool to Leatherman Tool Group. Depending on the tool defect, they will decide whether to repair your tool or replace it with a product of equal or greater value. No variations, upgrades or refunds are offered.

The Leatherman Tool Group and its History of Quality

In 1975, Leatherman Tool Group founder Tim Leatherman was inspired by leaky pipes and a cranky car on a budget trip to Europe -- and thus the idea for his first pocket survival tool was conceived. Since then, Leatherman has become an internationally recognized company with hundreds of employees and a wide variety of durable, versatile, stylish products. Created with bold designs and truly rugged construction, Leatherman products are a perfect addition for tool kits, emergency sets, and glove compartments everywhere.

From the Manufacturer
Leatherman 68010101K Crunch Pocket Multi-Tool with Leather Sheath

From the Manufacturer
Made for the most demanding professionals and do-it-yourselfers, Leatherman’s Crunch multi-purpose tool features locking pliers that spread wide enough to clamp 1-inch pipe, then fold up for convenient pocket storage. Pliers lock into position like vise grips leaving both hands free for other work. All interior blades lock as well for optimal safety and power. The tool houses a serrated knife, file, Phillips screwdriver, three slotted screwdrivers and a bottle opener. Each tool blade opens individually, locks positively in place, and is quickly unlocked by a push-button mechanism. Other features include wire cutters, hard-wire cutters, a ruler, a lanyard attachment, a wire stripper, and a ¼-inch hex bit driver built right into the end of one handle. All this in a 6-ounce tool that folds down to four inches—the same length as the original Leatherman PST.

FEATURES

• Serrated knife
• File
• Phillips screwdriver
• Three slotted screwdrivers
• Bottle opener
• Wire cutters
• Hard-wire cutters
• Ruler
• Lanyard attachment
• Wire stripper
• ¼-inch hex bit driver

What's in the Box

• Crunch Locking Jaw Multi-Tool
• Leather Sheath

SPECIFICATIONS

• Clamping capacity: 1 inch

Customer Reviews

It's unique, it's useful, and it's unbad.
When I found out Leatherman makes a tool with locking pliers, I had to have one. So I bought one. Impressions follow:

1. Usually things are larger than I expect, but this one was smaller than I expected. Maybe it's just the fact that I've used big, bulky Vise-Grips all my life, but I really expected this tool to be hefty. It's not bad that it's small, and the plier jaws open nice and wide despite their small size, but I'm nonetheless surprised that it's no bigger than my Wave, even when open.

2. It's not as hard to prepare for use as I had expected. Yes, you have to unfold the plier jaws, and yes, you have to clip the handle into place on the jaws; but, considering that with ANY locking plier you will have to stand there and adjust the force screw until the jaws clamp down with just the right amount of force anyway, the extra "assembly" needed to use the pliers isn't significant.

3. The craftsmanship isn't as good as I expected. Everything is plenty strong, but the fit and finish isn't up to par with the newer, "post-Wave" tools. The plier jaws aren't the exact same width, the folding tool lock is hard to push and doesn't give a lot of feedback, the folding tools themselves flop around a bit, the hinge on the jaws is just a little too tight, the folded-sheet-metal handle is just a tiny bit too wide for the stuff it holds and so it got crimped a little when the rivets were driven into place, etc. It's not crappy by any means, but it doesn't have that laser-cut, precision-machined feel that my Wave has.

Three stars for doing what it says it does without having any noticeable weaknesses. If they improved the design spec so everything fits just right, it would get four stars. If it were the tool of my dreams with everything I want and nothing I don't, it would get five.

-- UPDATE 5/15/2008 --

I've had my Crunch now for several months, and I feel compelled to bump my review up a notch. Why? Well, it isn't because I've come to appreciate the not-quite-perfect fit and finish of the tool -- that still bugs me a little bit. Rather, it's because over the past few months I've discovered that the Crunch is THE most useful multi-tool ever created.

I took a gamble when I bought my Crunch, because I had serious doubts about how useful a mini-size lockjaw plier could be, even when combined with a token assortment of tools. All I can say is, "boy was I wrong". If anything, the small size of the lockjaws make them even more useful than full-size Vise-Grips, because they can be used in so many more places than Vise-Grips can. Also, given that multi-tools tend to have crappy leverage compared to full-size pliers, the ability to clamp the lockjaws onto something and then focus all your attention on moving the thing instead of keeping the jaws from slipping is unspeakably convenient.

I was initially concerned by the relatively small selection of fold-out tools that the Crunch has, compared to other multi-tools...but to be honest, most other multi-tools just have 50 slightly-different sizes of flathead screwdrivers anyway, when all you'll ever need is one. Well, the Crunch has three, two of which are combined with a can opener and a metal file, which means that there's really only one flathead screwdriver worth mentioning. So there's no unnecessary duplicity there. Meanwhile, the knife and the crosshead screwdriver are predictably indispensable, and the metal file is handy from time to time. So all told, the tools that the Crunch has are more than adequate.

My complaints about the fit-and-finish of the Crunch still stand; Leatherman could do a better job of making everything fit together just right, and I wish they'd put in the time to do so. But that said, the Crunch is definitely THE Leatherman to buy if you're actually going to use it for real work.

If you can only carry one....
If you can only carry one tool with you, the Leatherman Crunch would have to be first choice. Shortly after I received mine for Christmas one year (from my kids), we were traveling across northern Arizona. It was Friday afternoon, we were at least 100 miles from any measureable civilization and one of the front brake calipers came loose. It made a lot of noise as it banged against the front wheel. We pulled over and the Crunch was invaluable to re-attach the caliper as the bolts that attached the caliper were a proprietary bolt with a large Torx type head that was rounded on the outside. No other tool (other that the dedicated GM tool) would have been able to grip the rounded outside of this bolt. Five stars isn't really enough!!!

I like it better than the original PST.
The Crunch is a very rugged quality tool. It lacks an eyeglass screwdriver, but does have three straight blade screwdrivers plus a Phillips driver. I like the locking feature on the screwdrivers and knife blade, and the plier handles do not cut into your fingers like the open handle PST does. A bit more time is required to open the Crunch and get it ready to use as a plier than is the case with the PST. The angle of the one handle on the pliers is awkward to grasp comfortably. I like having a socket for hex bits, but am concerned it would be easy to lose the adjusting screw when removing it to access the socket. I did not think I would like the serrated knife blade, but find it ideal for stripping small wires. (One reviewer said it is difficult to sharpen. The trick to sharpening serrated blades is to hone the flat side of the blade lightly at a very shallow angle.) Because I sometimes want a needle nose plier, I will carry my PST, too. The Leatherman cases are dry and hard. I always apply a leather treatment oil repeatedly until they are softer. I did not need a Crunch, but have always been enamored by them. A gift certificate from my brother allowed me to do something frivolous that I do not regret and that is becoming very practical.