Multi-Tool
Use & Care
A multi-tool earns its place only if you can open it, lock it and close it without getting bitten. Here is how to use the main tools properly and keep the whole thing working.
One tool out at a time. Fold each tool away before you open the next, and keep your fingers out of the handle when anything is closing.
Know Your Tool
Spend five minutes at the kitchen table opening every tool once, before you need any of them in a hurry.
Pliers-Style
The two handles swing apart to bring out the pliers. Every other tool folds out of the handles, a bit like the blades of a pocket knife.
Tools That Lock
- On many multi-tools each tool clicks and locks when it is fully open
- Find the release before you use it. It is usually a small lever or tab on the handle
- Some tools do not lock at all. Treat those as able to fold at any time
Open and Close
Most multi-tool cuts happen while closing it, not while using it.
Open One Tool
- 1 Hold the closed tool by the outside of its handles
- 2 Pull out one tool by its thumbnail groove until it stops
- 3 If it locks, listen and feel for the click
- 4 With fingers clear, press gently on the back of the tool. It should not move
Close It Safely
- 1 Press the lock release, if your tool has one
- 2 Fold the tool down with your fingers on its blunt back, never across the handle
- 3 Fold everything away before you close the handles
- 4 Close the handles slowly. The gap between them pinches hard
Pliers and Wire Cutters
Different parts of the jaws do different jobs.
Grip
- Use the tips for small things: fish hooks, splinters, bent pins
- Use the toothed section further back for nuts and anything round
- Squeeze near the ends of the handles, and keep the skin of your palm out from between them
Cut Wire
- Cut in the cutter at the base of the jaws, close to the pivot, never with the tips
- Hard wire, like fencing wire, goes only in the hard-wire notch if your tool has one
- Point the wire down and look away as it cuts. The cut end flies
- Never cut live electrical wire
Blade, Saw and Drivers
Small tools work well when you let them work at their own pace.
Blade
- Cut away from your body and away from your other hand
- Fold it away the moment the cut is done
- Keep it sharp. See Sharpening and Blade Care
Saw
- Long, light strokes, and let the teeth do the cutting
- Keep the blade straight in the cut. Forcing or twisting it bends or snaps it
- Hold the wood still with your other hand well back from the cut
Drivers
- Pick the driver that fills the screw head
- Keep the tool in line with the screw and push in firmly as you turn
- A driver that slips chews up the screw and then your knuckles. Stop and reseat it
Clean, Dry, Oil
Grit in the joints and moisture in the handles are what wear a multi-tool out.
Clean
- Open every tool and pick out sand and lint with a toothpick or a wooden skewer
- Wash it in warm water with a little dish soap, then rinse
- After salt water, rinse in fresh water the same day
Dry
- Shake it out and dry it with every tool open
- Leave it open in a warm, airy spot until the joints are dry inside
- Never put it away damp in its pouch
Oil
- One drop of light oil on each pivot
- Open and close each tool a few times to work it in, then wipe off the extra
- Use food-safe oil if the tool touches food
What It Is Not For
A multi-tool is the tool you have with you, not the strongest tool for the job.
Do
- Reach for the full-size tool when you have one
- Stop using it if a lock slips or a tool wobbles when open
- Carry it closed, in its pouch
- Check the rules before you carry it in public. See Carry and the Law
Don't
- Don't pry or lever with the blade or the plier tips
- Don't hammer with it, or hit it with a hammer
- Don't slide a pipe over the handles for more leverage
- Don't take it apart. The screws are set at the factory and it usually ends the warranty
The Tool You Have With You
Multi-tools, multi-pliers and the sharpeners that keep them working.
More From Know Your Gear
This guide is general information only. Multi-tools differ, so always follow the instructions that came with yours. Laws on carrying bladed tools differ between states and territories, so check the rules where you live. In a life-threatening emergency, call Triple Zero (000).