I got my wife a new Leatherman Micra for christmas as she is always reaching for a pair of scissors. She has been very happy with it and after seeing how often she used her Micra, I decided I’d look for a cheap second-hand one for when I needed something a little smaller or something I can leave in a bag, car, on the bus, etc.
Anyway, I was on eBay, scrolling past rusty Micras for $15-20. I finally came across a great deal when I found a lot of 10 TSA confiscated Micras. They were advertised as “dirty”, but otherwise looked to be in OK shape. I decided I would take the chance and for the cost of 2 new Micras I was hoping to be able to salvage half of them to use as gifts or spares. When the package arrived, I found the seller had thrown in a couple extras. The tools were pretty dirty but after a short soak in a bath of dish soap and water, a quick scrub with an old toothbrush, and scrubbing with a toothpick most were ready for some oil. A couple others spent a couple hours in a vinegar solution which freed up some sticky scissors and some difficult tools, but one tool had a lot of rust on one side though the scissors and knife still work.
As you can see in the pictures, the bare stainless steel tools basically look like new. The paint was mostly gone from the 3 painted metal tools and only lost more paint during cleaning. Maybe, I’ll scrape the rest of the paint off. The plastic shells on the brightly colored tools have some grime between the plastic shell and the bare tool. I haven’t decided if I want to risk mangling the screws to disassemble them enough to clean them out. The green “BP” tool is the newest (0902) and has a colored metal case around the bare tool rather than plastic or painted stainless steel.
by sine-wave