I have had something in the region of 50 Leatherman Sideclips pass through my hands in the last couple of years as I have organised forum group buys and internet auction sales, but there was a particular version of the Sideclip that eluded me up until recently….
The original Sideclip was finished with a “matt” (bead-blasted) effect, which whilst attractive and providing good grip, was notoriously prone to rusting and corrosion. It appears that Leatherman Tool Group attempted to remedy this by finishing the handles with a high polish in the later models. It’s possible that the “shiny” finish was less prone to holding moisture, thereby minimising the opportunity for rusting to take place.
Strangely however, the polished variation of the Sideclip does not seem to have been in production for very long at all, in fact they are something of a rarity, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my friend Poncho for allowing me prise his away from him!
The Sideclip has long been one of my favourite Leatherman tools, due its slim profile. There is no better multitool that I have come across for carrying in a suit breast pocket for example, and the polished finish makes it aesthetically pleasing too.
I’m jealous! I’d love to have a pocket clip for mine.
Hmm. Maybe Leatherman decided to borrow from Victorinox’s SwissTool with the polished finish and then discovered it cost more than they were willing to spend without charging more for the tool, assuming it cost the same as the bead blasted version. If they were charging more, maybe people weren’t willing to pay more for what looked to them like the same tool.
Could you give me any pointers on how to polish my own matt version sideclip, I managed to keep most if not all the rust off it but due to the age of the MT now it is an ongoing battle.
regards
Ray