March 2007

The Wave in Uganda

Dear Leatherman,

For over a month, my friends have been telling me that I need to contact you and tell you about some of the amazing experiences I've had with my Leatherman Wave multi-tool in Uganda, Africa. I've been here serving in an orphanage here in Kampala, Uganda for 4 months and I can't tell you how delighted I've been to have the Wave at my side ready for every task at hand!

Before I came here, I visited a number of different sporting goods stores and knife specialty shops in my area, searching for the perfect knife to handle Africa's challenges. At first, I was looking for a large, fixed blade that could handle anything from small branches to attacking lions (a romantic fantasy I had at the time, me killing a lion). A knife shop near my house, Merlo's Cutlery, was one of my first stops. The guy behind the counter was ex-military and he recommended a Leatherman multi-tool instead of a fixed blade. "The knife on the Leatherman is large enough to handle anything you'll be dealing with and the plethora of other tools will assist you in any circumstance as they did for me...", he said. I ended up buying the Wave from my local REI later, but I've realized that the Merlo's employee was right on target with his assessment of the Leatherman Tools.

I can't begin to imagine the number of times that I've reached over to my right hip and been glad to find my Wave ready and waiting. Not only do I use it daily (and I mean DAILY) but also my companions are always calling on me to lend it to them for a variety of tasks. We have used every single tool more than once and I haven't broken or damaged any of them despite some heavy use. Some of the jobs my Wave has completed:

Tightening various screws, opening bottled soda (most soda is in bottles here), fixing desks, sharpening axes, cutting/stripping wires, cutting athletic tape for orphans wounds, cutting various foods like coconuts, jackfruit, sugar cane, etc., fixing my door handle and a million other things! One great thing I did was using it to help make a crutch for one of the orphan boys who had an injured foot.

The most unusual jobs I've done with it is the cutting of my hair, believe it or not, twice! I actually did a fine job and my friend didn't believe that I hadn't gone to the barber and had done it myself (I don't trust the barbers here). The Wave's scissors were more than sharp enough to handle the hair and I found them to be comfortable to hold and operate. It took me over an hour to finish (my hair was quite long) but I never got tired of using the Wave even though I probably could have found some standard scissors around the orphanage.

I'll try and attach some before and after pics of my hair but Ugandan internet isn't real good so...

My Wave has had plenty of dirt, water and even my blood get on and inside of it and it continues to function just as well as the day I got it and even LOOKS GREAT! The quality of the tool and case is just amazing and I can't tell you how happy I am with it. However, there is ONE, and only one, problem I've run in to. One the same side as the scissors, there is a tiny reversible screwdriver and I found that it has a tendency to fall out and get lost. I just took it out because I haven't used it much away from home so I just keep it there.

That is the ONLY negative thing I have to say about the Wave and it is VERY minimal!

I love your tool and the concept behind it. Everyone who showed me the tool in stores was very adamant in their praise of Leatherman products and now I know why. I can assure you that I will be spreading the good news about Leatherman Tools and I hope I've encouraged you with some of my stories. If you ever ask for testimonies, I'll be at the front of the line! Thank you for your commitment to excellence.

Sincerely,

Luke N
Kampala, Uganda