My Leatherman pliers won’t open. Argh!

Leatherman make great quality multi-tools right? And they pride themselves on making multi-tools that stand the test of time. Tools you can pass down to your children and maybe even your children’s children’s children. They are so confident of their product that they have a 25-year repair or replace warranty. It’s apparently not just a marketing gimmick either – 95% of the multi-tools that customers send back under the warranty are covered by Leatherman.

That’s pretty impressive in today’s throwaway and planned obsolescence world but it doesn’t mean they don’t have quality issues sometimes. One of the most common complaints with multi-tools in general, and yes Leatherman too, is that the pliers won’t open. The pliers are probably one of the most often used tools on multi-tools so it’s not something you want to ignore and you’ll probably want to fix it as soon as you can.

There are a number of reasons for your pliers not opening or being hard to open. Here are 4 tips for getting your pliers working again.

4 TIPS TO GET YOUR PLIERS WORKING AGAIN

Tip 1: Clean out any dust, dirt or rust

Have a good hard look for anything foreign around your pliers’ pivot points. The pivot should be clear and free of any dirt, dust or corrosion. Wipe the plier head with a damp cloth then another wipe with a clean lint free cloth. While you’re there, why not open up all the tools and give them a good wipe down too. You can use Q tips to get into all the nooks and crannies and hard to reach places. Some people go a bit further to get their multi-tool clean and rust free by using some type of solvent. But be careful, people have different experiences with using solvents and oils. Sometimes they have made the problem worse than it was before. In the end, just cleaning your pliers is probably only going to help if your pliers are stiff to open and use. If your pliers won’t open at all, you’re going to need to look further.

I haven’t had to use any of these products myself yet but here’s what people have said about their results:

    • Brake cleaner then Marvel oil – didn’t help.
      Remington RemOil
    • 3 in 1 oil – didn’t help
    • Mineral oil – didn’t really help
    • Vegetable oil – eventually went sticky then rancid, smelled and didn’t work, same for bacon fat!
    • Cleaned lightly with WD40 then oiled with a good gun oil – helped a little
    • Graphite or silicon because they aren’t dust or lint magnets – helped a little
  • Soaked in mineral spirits for a week in a plastic bag, dried out and then oiled with machine oil – helped a little
Tip 2: Disassemble and regrease your pliers

You can do this once you have the right tool bit. Most pliers pivot bolts will have the unusual hex head called a Torx Plus #10 Tamper Resistant. It’s probably not going to be in your set of security bits because they are 6 point bits and the pivot bolt is 5 point with a security post in the middle. So you might have to get on the inter webs and search around to find one for sale. Because they are specialized heads, you might have to pay a premium to get one from a brand like ZDMAK. Once you’ve got the right bit, carefully disassemble the pivot, clean it and lightly regrease it. You can also use some Loctite. You’ll want to tighten it enough so that there is no slop in the pliers and can be opened and closed smoothly but if you tighten it too much you’ll be back where you started.

Tip 3: Check the plier’s cutting surfaces

The wire cutting steel of most multi-tools are usually softer than a regular pair of dedicated wire cutters. This means you can damage the edges of your wire cutters. If the edges are damaged they could be binding or rubbing against each other which can make them really hard to open and hard to use as well. The fix is easy if you have replaceable wire cutters. If you don’t, you can make them open and close easily by filing off the edges that are rubbing against each other. Look very closely at the edges or use a magnifying glass to check the edges aren’t catching. Make sure you clean away any metal fillings after you’ve finished.

Tip 4: Do the work

This last tip is either going to be your least favorite or your favorite. Let me explain – it doesn’t cost anything, it’s simple but it takes some time and effort. Most of the tools in your multi-tool are going to be a bit stiff and tight when you first get them out of the package. It’s just the way they are. They will usually free up and get a lot smoother to use once you give them a bit of “work”. Working your multi-tool means either using it for it’s intended purpose or just opening and closing the tools repeatedly to loosen them up and free them. Why not keep your hands busy while you’re on the sofa binge watching re-runs of MacGyver?

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If you’ve tried these 4 tips and your pliers won’t open, you can use it as a great excuse for buying another multi-tool or if it’s a Leatherman and it’s less than 25 year’s old, you can send it back under warranty!