Customer Reviews

Tool Logic SLPLY Tactical 1/2 Serrated Knife, Mini Pliers With Wire Cutters and Screw Driver Bits, Black

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, there is some disconnect between the Vine product description, the Amazon.com product description, and what this tool actually offers. There is no signaling whistle in this product. The product literature in the package makes no mention of it. Believe me, I made a total fool of myself blowing into every single nook and cranny of this thing; it was ultimately futile albeit strangely entertaining. Also, there is no bottle opener, lanyard hole or flashlight with this product; this seems to be confusion with the co-offered Tool Logic SL1M Mini Tactical Folding Straight Edge Knife With LED Flashlight and Signal Whistle, Black (whew, what a title!)

This tool is a cross between a simple solid lockback knife and a multi-tool, and Tool Logic has chosen the route of austerity, with just the basics. I like the knife, the pliers are passable, but I'm not impressed with the screwdriver.

This product offers only the following: a 2 3/4" half-serrated lockback blade; a tiny pair of spring-loaded pliers; a slot for a tiny screwdriver with a tiny regular and Philips-head bit; and another exactly the same flat/Philips bit.

Overall, the feel of the closed product is good, a little bit of heft, but not too heavy. The pocket clip is good and tight, and it feels good in the pocket. I note the three screws affixing the clip to the tool are necessarily bunched together in one spot, and there is a 3/8" tongue over the knife's lockback spring. Having carried many lockbacks over the years, I suspect that long-term use will loosen these bunched-up screws.

The knife is fine, and opens easily with one hand. There is no thumb stud, but a thumb hole instead. A one-hand close is possible, but only if finishing the close against another surface. The blade is substantial, a full 1/16" wide along its back. There is no secondary lock for the blade (as you'll find in most CRKT knives, and some others).

Opening the tool exposes the pliers. There is no locking mechanism to prevent the tool from opening if the knife blade is open. The pliers are pretty dinky, all of 1/16" wide at the tip and 3/16" wide at the very back, 15/16" deep until you reach the wire cutter. The wire cutter itself is also tiny, all of 3/16" deep. The pliers are spring-loaded, with an open spring making an audible "squink" as you work the pliers. The spring is secured at one end, and moves freely inside a small trace on the other; the spring seems exposed to me, and I believe it would only be a matter of time until it's lost (it is fully concealed when the tool is closed).

The screwdriver is dinky, too. The flat blade is only 1/8" wide. There are two bits, both the same, with the flat blade and a Philips head on the other end. The hex bit slides into the tool and is retained by a tiny spring ball. There is nothing covering or protecting the screwdriver when the tool is closed, other than the bit being below the profile of the tool's handle. The extra bit fits into a channel in the handle, and is held in place by the plastic pincer action of the tool's outside plastic housing. This bit is accessible through a thumb detent, but this also allows the extra bit to see-saw in its slot; using the see-saw motion I rocked the bit out in as few as three moves and always in less than 15. This is not really a good way to store this extra bit; I expect it will fall out and be lost very quickly.

Bottom line: This is not a bad tool, but it's not for me. It's too much to carry in to work or to keep in a pocket with a suit and tie. But it's not enough for most of my applications. If I'm going camping or working outside and expect to need basic tools, I'll clip my CRKT knife in my pocket and hang my trusty Leatherman in its worn pouch on my belt. That way I'll have all the basic tools I need, most of which this tool does not offer, and in the larger sizes I'm most likely to require. This product will find a place in my car's emergency kit.

When the tool arrived, it was not what I expected. I was first shocked to find that not both sides of the handles were black. The side of the tool that has the clip is silver (same finish as the blade.) This side does not have the same texture as its black side. The pliers are small as well as the Phillips which is about a size 0. The tool does seem to be very sturdy. There is no play in the blade, and the blade lock is very affective. This tool is a little bit easier to hold when compared to a Leatherman Skeletool CX. If you are looking for a multi tool with a knife as its primary tool, I would recommend the Buck 730 X-Tract. The knife is about a half inch longer, the pliers are larger then what is found on the SL Pliers and are still spring loaded. The Buck 730 X-Tract uses the more popular #2 Phillips. The SL Pliers is still a good tool that I would recommend to someone that is use to for example caring a Leatherman Squirt P4 and a locking blade knife. This tool gives you the option to consolidate to one tool.

Perhaps they should include an instruction booklet? The product does not match Amazon's description page. There is no LED flashlight and if you can figure out how to use it as a whistle let me know. There is a cut out oval in the blade which can be used as a "bottle opener" but that might not be obvious to everyone (and it doesn't work very well).

The packaging claims "Easy One-Hand Open/Close" of the blade. I would not recommend using only one hand. I also dislike that to close the blade, releasing the blade lock requires putting your fingers in the path of the blade. A standard switchblade is far safer to use.

This product clearly lacks quality and ease of use, in order to combine a blade, screwdriver and pliers. The only tool which works well in this product is the pliers.

A belt clip is included but I would advise against clipping this on your belt as the blade easily opens on it's own and that could be seriously dangerous if you were hiking and slipped.

The screwdriver bits are very small, okay for very small work, but for delicate work you wouldn't want to use a clunky tool like this. They aren't small enough for delicate work like tightening screws in your eyeglasses. So all in all, the screwdriver bits are a fairly useless "small" but not tiny size. It would be rare to find a job appropriate for the bit size of this tool.

The Amazon page description also says: "Special Features: Serrated Blade Magnesium Alloy Firestarter (Replaceable) Load Signal Whistle Tweezer and Toothpick" - What firestarter? What whistle? What tweezer? What toothpick?

This tool has a nice feel but quality is lacking.

The knife - I've always secretly wanted to sport a "tactical" style knife. And this one can slip into your pants pocket, with the multi-tool functionality as an excuse to have it in the first place. Its initial appearance certainly makes a good impression. The "Zytel" (aka plastic) handle also fit comfortably in my relatively large hand. The blade locks into place securely with an audible click, and can be ..carefully.. manipulated outward and inward, with one hand, courtesy of the thumb-hole. The stubby blade, half serrated and half smooth, looks.. mean.

Now to the disappointment.

The pliers - small in size, they require substantial effort to coerce the jaw tips to close completely. If you are using small pliers, presumably you are doing something that requires a little more delicacy than bending metal scraps. Unfortunately, the spring chosen for the "spring-loaded" jaws gets deformed once the jaw tips touch, making the subsequent operating action less than smooth, as the coils bind against one another.

The screwdriver - the sizes of the Phillips and std. tips, as stated in an earlier review, are fairly small. Additional criticism arrives with the choice of material for the bits themselves - thin chrome plating over crudely machined steel - these won't endure much actual use. But don't worry about that, since the exposed, poorly designed storage slot for the "spare" bit will ensure that the size you need will be laying on the ground somewhere behind you - as it was several times today, for me.

I felt a sharp burr on one torx-screw head that would have been resting against my pants, had I used the incredibly stiff, commercial-grade, belt clip. Closer inspection revealed that someone (or an assembly robot) mis-fit the driver and mangled the head. It wasn't stripped, but nearly, requiring a light filing to smooth it out. My focus now intensified, and revealed a subtle design flaw and some sloppy housekeeping.

First, the design flaw. I noticed a very small nick, midway down the knife's sharpened edge. Apparently, the "stop" which should support the stored blade at the base/unsharpened section, was instead allowing the knife section, one third of the way down from the tip, to just barely make contact with an inner structural brace, which dinged the edge.

While looking for the cause of the nick, I saw that all the innards of the multi-tool had a coating of dust, lint and other material adhering to the greased surfaces. I'm betting the torx-screw mangling resulted in this particular unit spending a few days in a reject bin, collecting any settled and airborne detritus. Eventually, the "technician" who was batting clean-up that week tightened the damaged screw, gave the piece the Quality Assurance "A-OK", and tossed it onto the ready-for-packing pile. He/she couldn't blow out the crud with a few quick blasts of compressed air? I sincerely doubt every multi-tool shipped has these issues, but this was a Monday morning effort if there ever was one.


PROS: small size; style points for satin finish on metal blade/frame and tactical-style knife blade; easy, single-handed manipulation of knife blade.

CONS: blade "stop" doesn't adequately protect knife edge; cheap driver bits; some finish quality issues; weak storage slot for spare screwdriver bit; the following components/functionality listed in the product description are missing: LED light/batteries, bottle opener, signal whistle.

SUMMARY: not for practically-minded boy scouts (they should stick with Victorinox products), but the knife blade satisfies the inner-Rambo of poseurs.. like me.

First, I have to admit that I'm kind of a knife guy. I love good knives with quality steel - and I carry my Benchmade with me pretty much everywhere. As with a lot of knife guys, I also appreciate good multi-tools and own quite a few.

This product seems to want to play in the space between a knife and a multi-tool. The problem with that is it doesn't fill either role very well. That's not to say that it isn't a useful tool in some cases - but it's hard to imagine that this will have a broad appeal. In my case, I've found this to be a reasonable addition to my range bag (Although I'm still saving for a Leatherman MUT).


Having said all that, here are the things I like about this tool:

1) The knife blade is supposedly made from AUS8A steel. That's a good steel for a knife in this price range, but I'm also a bit skeptical since nothing on the packaging indicates it is AUS8A and it's not imprinted on the blade either.

2) I'm not a big fan of liner locks, but the liner lock on this knife is definitely adequate for any use I'll put it too. It's actually better than a lot of the liner locks I've seen on higher priced knives.

3) The plyers aren't very big, but they're a handy size to have in a range bag. They are also spring loaded and include a small wire cutter section.

4) There are 2 philips and 2 flat screwdriver bits that can be swapped out. None of them are very big; but, once again, they're a good size for a range bag.

5) The tool has a nice thin profile - just over 3/8" without the clip. The included pocket clip makes it clear that this is meant to be carried.


Here are the things I don't like:

1) The knife blade itself is 2 1/2" long, and over half that length is allocated to the serrated edge. In my opinion, that doesn't leave enough space for the normal edge. I hate sharpening blades that are designed like this.

2) The knife blade is only sharpened on one side. This is typical of cheap knives - but it still bugs me.

3) The initial edge on the knife blade isn't that great - even considering that it's only been sharpened on one side.

4) The extra screwdriver bits aren't held very securely in the handle. I suspect I'll lose them at some point.


There are a few things that just seem a little odd:

1) The knife handle is black on one side and silver on the other. I have no idea what made them design it this way - but it's a bit disorienting.

2) The product description says there is an LED light included - but I think that was a typo.


Overall, I wouldn't recommend this tool as either an every-day carry knife or a multi-tool replacement. On the other hand, it is a nice little tool for throwing into a range bag if you don't want to fork over the cash for a real multi-tool - my suspicion is that many people probably have niche uses for a handy little tool like this.

I always liked these kind of multi-purpose tools; they are so handy to carry around in the pocket or on your belt. I found this model to be nicely made, have a sharp blade, feel good in the hand, and to look nice. The device unfolds on the small end to produce a screwdriver and small pliers. The other unfold produces the knife. The blade has only one edge; I'm more used to blades with the edge running down both sides of the blade, but I suppose it doesn't make that much difference.

Note that there is NO flashlight built in, contrary to the product description; or at least I couldn't find one!

Pro:
I liked the packaging. OK, that seems a bit trite, but I really hate it when they supply plastic packaging that is sharper than the knife blade! This one comes in an easy-to-open package.

The knife has one black side and one stainless steel side. It is a bit unusual, but nice looking. The clip is on the silver side, so when worn, it shows black.

The rivets and other construction details are very nice and strong.

The blade is very sharp, and has some teeth in the lower part.

The pliers have an actual spring, which makes them a pleasure to use, and include the usual small
cutting edge for cutting wires.

The screwdriver has interchangeable heads; two flat head, two phillips head, held in place with a small spring loaded ball.

Con-
The interchangeable heads for the screwdriver present the main flaw. Where does one store the head that is not being used? The answer in this case is a small indentation on what would be the bottom of the knife when it is used as a knife. The head snaps in and is quite secure when I first saw the knife, but once I got it out, it became apparent that it is not very secure; I could not find a way to make it really "snap" in. I fell pretty sure that eventually it will fall out. I can't find a way to get it as secure as when I first handled the knife. Maybe with care it will be OK.

Summary: Pick the screwdriver head you will use most and leave that one in the handle - the other may well be gone soon. However, the overall quality of construction, the sharp blade, and good design make this a highly recommended buy.

Although it has less gadgets and add-ons than many other knives available, the Tool Logic SL Plier knife has more than enough features for the novice who just needs something to help out with any given job. From its compact design to its ease of use, the knife fits the bill for anyone who doesn't need something big or intimidating and just wants to be prepared for unforeseen situations while camping or hiking.

Any potential buyer should be aware ahead of time that Amazon's product description is incorrect, as of the time this review was written. This particular knife does not include a flashlight, signal whistle, or bottle opener as described. It does include pliers and both flat-head and Phillips style screwdriver bits, however.

The included pliers are smaller than a standard tool would be, but definitely sturdy enough to handle most jobs. Likewise the screwdriver bits are solid and won't fall off easily, but will only come in handy with small screws in tighter spaces. The blade itself is sharp and easy to open or close. While the package doesn't include any instructions on how to unfold the knife or unlock the blade, it really only takes a few minutes to figure out how it all works. A belt clip on the side rounds out the extras, making it easy to carry around.

Anyone looking for a compact knife with a few basic features could definitely do worse, but with the incorrect description a buyer needs to be aware in advance that they aren't getting everything that's advertised.

Sometimes a little savings doesn't make up for a relative drop in quality. In my experience this holds true for the Tool Logic SLPLY. While I know it's not trying to be a true copy of the ubiquitous Leatherman (there's greater focus on the blade and less on the accompanying tools), the fact of the matter is that both occupy the same functional sphere. So I forgive how much smaller (and flimsier) the pliers are, and I can get over just how small (bordering on unusably small, for typical screws) the screw heads are. What's harder to swallow is how the main focus of the tool (the knife itself) is just poorly executed. Most notably is the locking mechanism, which requires two hands and some real effort with the tip or side of your thumb in order to disengage the lock in order to close the blade. Don't misunderstand, a locking mechanism should be safety first, and convenience second, but disengaging the lock isn't a matter of convenience -- it's just plain difficult.

Construction is underwhelming. The tool doesn't feel 'safe' or sturdy. Maybe I've been spoiled by my Leatherman 830850 Skeletool CX Multitool, and it's not at all lost on me that you can have two of these for less than the cost of one of those. But there are cheaper Leathermans (such as the Leatherman 830032 Blast Multitool with Leather Sheath, and they're still going to be more solidly constructed, more functional, longer lasting, and safer (at least in terms of feel).

I came away disappointed, and couldn't recommend this over the marginally costlier options above.

This is my first small knife that I've owned since I was a kid and went camping all the time. I go off-roading in my Jeep a lot and usually carry a ton of tools with me. One of my last trips we were in need of some kind of knife yet no one had one. Luckily, wire cutters worked but I realized that a basic tool like a knife should be kept in everyone's vehicle.

When I received this knif, I was a little disappointed in the fact that the black handle is only on one side. the other side is silver and does not provide the same type of grip. Not a big deal but it makes the overall appearance a bit odd to me.

the blade itself is nice. I don't have a lot to compare it to with today's utility knoves but it looks to be maybe a mid grade blade. Not cheap by any means but I doubt it will last forever. The built in wire cutters "may" be usefull in cutting small items (I will probably use it for zip ties if I can't get the knife to cut through them). The screwdriver and bits are utterly useless to me based on how it is setup as well as the size of the bits. Probably good for small jobs but this wouldn't last 5 minutes with stuff I would use it for.

When I ordered this, it had a LED flashlight and whistle features in the description. Mine did not come with them. I assume the description is wrong and it was meant to go with one of the other 2 or 3 versions of this knife I saw. Kind of disappointed in the lack of flashlight as those are always very handy to have.

Overall, this will probably get used but mostly the knife portion only. If you are looking for something to accompany you on a hunting trip or a major camping trip, look elsewhere!

I love good knives, especially multi-purpose tools. I have a pretty good collection of them now from companies like Leatherman, SOG, Victorinox and Gerber.

The things I look for in a knife or multi-tool are build quality, materials, design and ergonomics. I was initially impressed with the look of this multi-tool, but after playing with it for a short time, began to realize that it falls short on a couple of key areas.

The knife's attractive when viewed from one side, but the other side is bare metal. This may have been done to save costs, but it makes it a bit slippery to hold and takes away from its appearance. The knife blade opens easily with a thumb and locks securely. It's possible to close the knife blade one handed as well (assuming average dexterity).

I was less impressed with the pliers. They're adequate for the purpose, but the screwdriver bit pokes out from the end of the handle and jabs your hand. One could remove the bit from the screwdriver, but that should be unnecessary.

The screwdriver itself works and has several different tips, but they're not fold out tips, instead, it's a removable tip that plugs into a socket. with the other tip being stored in an EXTREMELY poorly designed retainer clip on the outside of the tool. I've had the extra tip come loose inside my pocket before and it's getting looser over time.

Bottom line: Nice try. Go back to the drawing board and make something with better ergonomics and fewer cheap workarounds.