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http://sogknives.com/store/S66.html

I'm in the US, where I legally carry a visible Ti-lite in my pants, and a Ka-bar on my shoulder pack. But for air travel, I have an SOG with the knife blade removed; AFAIK, that should be legit over there, but naturally I'm not particularly familiar with UK law; maybe they'd just bust you for "possession of burglary tools" or some such BS.

Sorry, that knife isn't decent at all. I've had one of those and it's just a piece of shit. Get a good knife:

Columbia River Knife & Tool
Benchmade
SOG

These companies make about the nicest mass produced (not handmade) folders you can buy. They are a little expensive, but well worth it. The models I linked too are just personal preference.

I haven't had any problems with my gerbers, but then again, everyone uses them a little bit differently.

My first 'multitool' was the original Gerber Multitool, annodized black. You can't get it anymore, as the non-locking blades were a problem. [I don't have it, because someone borrowed it, and I never got it back -- but it held up well for many years, even through my time working on a solar car team in college.] It also had the problem that the Philips screwdriver in it was a #2, so it was useless for small screws.

My next was the SOG Power Pliers. Another nice set, but I did manage to damage the wire cutters (don't try to cut spring steel with 'em -- my own fault, really), and I had changed out some of the components, but I've never seen them offered anywhere other than AAFES, which I don't have access to anymore. I'd say this one held a blade worse than my Gerber. It also doesn't have locking blades, and is a little harder to open one handed. I really like the line cutter though, which I had put in as a replacement. Other issues is that the grip is uncomfortable when trying to use it as pliers. And, it has a #1 Phillips, which is useless on racks, but fine for computer internals. They've fixed my main gripes with the Power Lock [but not the lack of Phillips #2].

I replaced my original MultiPliers with the MultiPlier 600 -- it's not black (but they do make a black version), but it deals with the locking issues from my original. Other than that, there's not much difference.

I've used Leatherman, but I didn't see that it was vastly superior to what I already had. I do keep a Leatherman Micra on my keychain. I also have a Leatherman Squirt S4 that I was given as a gift, but it looks like crap when the enamled coating gets knicked up from your keys. (It is, however, easier on your hands, and has a Phillips #1 vs a #2).

One of my most used tools, though, isn't a knife/plier combo -- it's the Latshaw Pocket Wrench II. It's perfect for tightening down the bolks in a rack. (Especially as the rails for a Sun 220R/420R need you to tighten a nut right where the sides push in, and you can't get a normal wrench in there).

Anyway, whatever you do -- I'd suggest carrying two, preferably different types, with complimentary tool packages. Sure, sometimes you just need pliers or a screwdriver, but I find that I often need to hold a nut, while turning a screw, and so just having one would be mostly useless.

But of course -- I'm mostly just racking equipment, and installing cards and such -- the person who was an electrician, above, most likely needs different gear. [And there are also times when the full fledged item is better -- I keep a screwdriver set in my desk, because it's often faster than using a multitool]

Even better is the SOG Paratool. You can open it with one hand, and when you squeeze your palm is pressing against a flat surface, as opposed to pressing against the area where the tools are stored on the Leatherman.

Yeah, SOGs are modular, although there aren't that many items to swap between. However they have the all-important Robertson driver.

A good Canuck like Cory should be ashamed (and unhappy) of owning a multitool without a Robertson driver. Since 90% of screws sold in Canada are Robertson, it seems like any multitool without one is useless. And don't give me any crap about the Leatherman Adapter -- if I wanted to screw with adapters and stuff like that I'd just buy a screwdriver.

I really wish you stupid Americans would stop imposing your shitty screwdrivers on the rest of the world.

This ) is the best sharpening system for general use IMO. Its fast, cheap and its real hard to mess up. I sharpen my Henckel's Pro S knives with them as well as my SOG

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