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Tuesday, 14 March 2006 13:09

Meyerco Paradox Review

Most mulitools in the market today are pretty much carbon copies of each other, granted there are some that are totally ingenious and ground breaking in overall design. But they all have the same thing in common; the tools are all implements (tools ex: screwdrivers, file, knife, scissors, etc) are based around a pair of pliers. Meyerco USA with the help of renowned knife artist and designer Blackie Collins have designed what is just the opposite of the now traditional multitool.

plier mode

Meyerco Paradox

The Meyerco Paradox is the world's first tool based around a knife. The knife features a plastic handle with a thumbhole for a four-inch knife that can be plain edged or 50/50 serrations and made of AUS-8 steel. The knife operates very smoothly and has a very strong liner lock on it. Being AUS-8 it's edge holding properties are probably about as well as most knives for the same value on the market today, course we all know what it comes down to is heat treating. The true dazzle of this knife is the hidden retractable and spring-loaded needle nose pliers.

Meyerco Paradox

You access the pliers by pulling on the 1/4 bit holder, which can be pulled from the indent on the top of the knife. You simply pull out the handle of the pliers and rotate them around into the fully open position and your ready for action. Now I must say that the idea of fully retractable needle nose pliers with a bit adapter all in a four inch tactical knife is an awesome idea, however overall construction and quality fall short in our expectations. The pliers with built in wire cutters are not as strong as say a Leatherman tool, maybe they can't even pass as being as strong as something I could buy from the local dollar store. The plier teeth wear easy and there is too much play in the tool head and the wire cutters cannot even cut small wires. When you use to using decent cutters you scratch your head as to how something like this could make it out on the market. I don't think the pliers are even steel, they appear to be a type of milled aluminum.

Anyways moving along we have the 1/4 bit adapter, once again a wonderful idea but like the pliers it's lacking in several areas. In order to use the bit adapter you have to open them up along with the pliers from the knife handle so they are at a 45-degree angle from the handle. This again is a great idea, the way the bit holder works it should give the user a decent amount of torque but when you twist that hard the stress on the joint to which it is held to the knife is defiantly know, would be a pitty to break a tool simply by tightening a screw. The bit adapter itself only uses double ended bits and comes with just one featuring a Phillips on one end and a straight on the other. The problem with using double ended bits is it reduces the functionality of the bit holder and since it can only hold those styles your kind of limited.

As you can see the Paradox is mixed emotion tool, good in some aspects and not so good in others. Great product idea but low cost and poor quality construction take this wonderful idea and kill it. I applaud Blackie Collins for his creativity but he should have had it developed by Kershaw perhaps instead of Meyerco. Maybe a 154 CM blade, mircarta handles, titanium pliers with high-grade single sided 1/4 inch bits would truly make this tool great. On a scale of one to ten I give it a two just for effort. If your looking for a tool, steer clear of this one but if you're a collector and like novelty then go for it, this one can be picked up on the net for about $10.

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