Harbor Freight Gordon Multitool Teardown: How Close Is It to the Leatherman Wave?

Introduction

The Harbor Freight Gordon multitool caught a lot of attention as an inexpensive alternative in the Leatherman Wave mold, and the obvious question is what is actually going on under the hood. Taking it apart answers a lot of those questions: how it is constructed, whether the pivots are captured, what the hardware quality looks like, and, most interestingly for tinkerers, how compatible its parts are with the Leatherman Wave platform.

What the Teardown Revealed First

The first question was whether the pivots on the plier side are captured, meaning they can be unscrewed with a single screwdriver rather than needing a driver on both sides. Testing the resistance confirms it: the pivots are captured, and the whole tool comes apart with just one screwdriver. The screw size is a plain T8 Torx, whereas a Leatherman Wave requires a T10 security Torx, so budget a proper bit set either way. Long, hard wearing precision bits are worth having here, as the small Torx sizes deform easily with cheap bits.

Disassembly is straightforward for a tool with this design, though reassembly is harder than on a Wave because the plier head runs on thin bronze washers on both sides.

Hardware, Washers and Locking

Inside, the tool uses small bronze washers, including on the tool side of the frame. They are not super high quality, but they are serviceable, and ultra-thin bronze washers like these are genuinely difficult to source elsewhere, which makes the tool an interesting donor for parts.

One key difference from the Wave is the locking mechanism. The Wave uses a clever lock tab that engages when the pliers open and secures the blades, a feature that has been part of the Wave since its second generation. The Gordon does not have this, which is unsurprising at its price point. It does use a similar split spring, though, and a small spring tension washer that conforms against the pivot to maintain pressure, so you do not have to tighten everything quite as much. Thin spacer washers sit between every tool, which prevents clumping nicely.

Pivot Sizes and Cross-Compatibility

Here is the surprise. Leatherman deliberately uses obscure pivot sizes, and the plier head pivot on most Leathermans has long been 7/32 of an inch, with the opposite side at 5/32 of an inch. Measured with calipers, the Gordon’s plier head pivot matches the Wave’s size exactly, not the 5 mm metric size found on earlier Wave clones. That means spare washers and potentially replacement pivots from the Gordon can be used in Leatherman mods, opening up a wide range of possibilities for people who like to modify their tools.

The smaller pivot on the tool side is a different story. It measures 4 mm, while the Wave’s equivalent is the odd 5/32-inch size, so those two will not exchange. Tools transplanted from the Gordon into a Wave need a small modification: the lock bar engages properly, but the tool holes are slightly too small, so drilling the hole out just a touch is all it takes. The blades are close enough that a hook blade could plausibly be modified to fit a Wave platform, and the Gordon’s 5c steel is not far behind 420hc.

The plier heads themselves may even be interchangeable between the two tools, since the pivot sizes match, both use a split spring, and the plier head widths are nearly identical. That is not a guarantee, but it is quite possible. By contrast, tools from other 5 mm-pivot clones will not fit this frame, and the Gordon’s five-tool layout, titanium spare scales, and a plier head closer in design to a Surge make it something closer to a hybrid than a straight clone.

Small Design Touches Worth Noting

A few details set the Gordon apart from the Wave. The pocket clip includes a glass breaker end, something the Wave does not offer, and the clip itself appears sturdier than the Wave’s clip, which is known to break fairly often, though only time will tell how it holds up. The tool also has a hidden lanyard ring just like the Wave, and the injection-molded part has been hollowed out to reduce weight.

There is also real potential in the other direction: because the Gordon’s tool-side pivot is only slightly smaller and its lockup looks nearly identical, a Leatherman bit driver could plausibly be fitted into the Gordon frame. Tools like a Rebar could potentially accept a modified Gordon scissor as a donor part. And if Harbor Freight released an inexpensive bit kit compatible with the Leatherman bit system, it could ironically end up benefiting Leatherman, since the bit kit represents half the functionality on most Leatherman multi-tools and has historically been expensive and hard to get.

Buying Advice

If you want a solid, inexpensive multitool that works out of the box, the Gordon is a compelling budget option, and its captured T8 pivots and bronze washers make it easy to service. If you are a modder, it becomes even more interesting: matching plier-head pivot sizes, spare washers, and plausible cross-compatibility with Leatherman tools make it a useful donor and sourcing platform. If you want the refined locking mechanism, proven long-term durability, and the full Leatherman ecosystem, the Wave remains the benchmark, and it costs accordingly more.

Conclusion

The Harbor Freight Gordon multitool is far more interesting than a simple clone. Matching plier-head pivot sizes with the Leatherman Wave, thoughtful hardware like spacer washers and a spring tension washer, and a handful of unique touches such as a glass breaker clip make it genuinely useful on its own and surprisingly valuable as a source of parts for Leatherman mods. For tinkerers and budget buyers alike, it has earned a place in the conversation.