Leatherman Sidekick - closeup of internal tools

Leatherman is an American brand of

multi-tool A multi-tool (or multitool) is a hand tool that combines several individual functions in a single unit. The smallest are credit-card or key sized units designed for carrying in a wallet or on a keyring, but others are designed to be carried ...

made by Leatherman Tool Group of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The company was founded in July 1983 by

Timothy S. Leatherman Timothy S. Leatherman (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, and the founder and Shareholder of Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.. Biography Leatherman graduated from Oregon State University in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical eng ...

and Steve Berliner in order to market the former's idea of a capable, easily portable hand tool with multiple functions. That same year, Leatherman Tool Group sold its first Multi-Tool, which was called the PST (Pocket Survival Tool).

Company history

Timothy S. Leatherman, a 1970

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

graduate of

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, and his business partner, Steve Berliner, formed Leatherman Tool Group in 1983. Leatherman was inspired to design a "

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

knife with

pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...

" while he and his wife traveled Europe and the Middle East in 1975, often attempting to use a simple

pocketknife A pocketknife (also spelled as pocket knife) is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives, folding knives, Everyday carry, EDC knife, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may a ...

to repair both their aged and repeatedly malfunctioning Italian

Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 (, ) is a small, rear-engined city car and Economy car, economy family car made by Italian carmaker Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. The 60 ...

car (bought in Amsterdam for $300) and leaky hotel plumbing. He spent several years perfecting the "Mr. Crunch" prototype and received his first U.S. patent (4,238,862) in 1980. After additional refinement, Leatherman's first product was introduced in 1983 as the Pocket Survival Tool (PST) and initially sold through Early Winters' and

Cabela's Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain was founded by Richard N. Cabela and Jim Cabela in 1961. Cabela's was acquired by Springfield, Mi ...

mail-order catalogs. Leatherman sold nearly 30,000 tools in 1984, fueling additional product development, and rapid growth both in the company and manufacturing capacity. By the end of 2001, the company had sales of $100 million annually and had sold more than 20 million tools. Folding knives were introduced into the Leatherman product line in 2005. In 2007, the company opened its first retail store, located at its manufacturing facility, that has since relocated to a retail store at the

Cascade Station Cascade Station is a mixed-use development of a shopping center, office buildings, and hotels located in Northeast Portland, Oregon, along Airport Way and I-205, near Portland International Airport. It features of office space, 1,200 hotel ...

shopping center near the facility and

Cascades MAX Station Cascades is a light rail train station in the MAX Light Rail system. It is served by the Red Line and is located in Portland, Oregon; it is the third stop north on the Airport MAX section. When the line first opened, trains paused here in ord ...

in Northeast Portland, Oregon. The same year, Tim Leatherman was inducted into the ''Blade'' magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in recognition of his design impact on the cutlery history. In 2011, the Leatherman Tool Group acquired German light manufacturer,

Ledlenser Ledlenser GmbH & Co. KG is a German technology company that specialises in the manufacturing of portable lighting products (especially LED forehead and hand flashlights & inspection lamps). It is based in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Soli ...

. The brands and companies were run separately, under the Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. umbrella. Leatherman Tool Group also manufactures a line of multi-tools designed specifically for military and law enforcement personnel, as well as accessories for carrying and expanding the function of its tools. , Leatherman produced 50 products sold in 82 countries, with U.S. market share estimated at 55 percent. Leatherman has a sponsorship deal with the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. Specifically, the company is the shirt sponsor for the team's mascot, "Timber Joey".

Products

Leatherman's primary products are multi-tools and knives. Most Leatherman multi-tools are built around a pair of pliers, with up to 21 additional tools stored in the handles, including knives (straight and

serrated blade Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied pr ...

s), screwdrivers (flat, Phillips), saws,

wire cutters Diagonal pliers (also known as wire cutters or diagonal cutting pliers, or under many regional names) are pliers intended for the cutting of wire or small stock, rather than grabbing or turning. The plane defined by the cutting edges of the jaw ...

and

strippers A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

, electrical

crimper Crimp or crimping may refer to: *Crimp (climbing), a small hold with little surface area *Crimp (gambling), a bent corner of a card to facilitate cheating *Crimp (joining), a deformity in metal or food dough used to make a joint. Commonly used to ...

bottle opener A bottle opener is a device that enables the removal of metal bottle caps from glass bottles. More generally, it might be thought to include corkscrews used to remove cork or plastic stoppers from wine bottles. A metal bottle cap is affixed ...

, and

can opener A can opener (North American and Australian English) or tin opener (British English) is a mechanical device used to open metal tin cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the ...

. Most models have a built-in safety mechanism that locks the active tool in the open position when fully unfolded. Models range in weight from the 0.81 ounce (23 g) Style to the 12.5 ounce (335 g) Surge. Leatherman currently produces folding knives under the Crater name. Models range from two tools (knife blade and

carabiner A carabiner or karabiner (), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notabl ...

/bottle opener) to four (blade, carabiner/bottle opener, flat, and Phillips screwdrivers).

Gallery

File:Leatherman-Squirt-P4.jpg, Leatherman Squirt P4 File:Leatherman-Fuse.jpg, Leatherman Fuse File:Leatherman-Juice-KF4.jpg, Leatherman Juice KF4 File:Leatherman-Leap.jpg, Leatherman Leap File:Leatherman-Micra.jpg, Leatherman Micra File:Leatherman-Mini-Tool.jpg, Leatherman Mini-Tool File:Leatherman-Skeletool-CX.jpg, Leatherman Skeletool CX File:Leatherman-Crunch.jpg, Leatherman Crunch

References

External links

*
Portland Business Journal: Leatherman learns patent lessons the hard way
{{Tool manufacturers Knife manufacturing companies Multi-tool manufacturers Pliers Camping equipment Manufacturing companies established in 1983 Privately held companies based in Oregon Manufacturing companies based in Portland, Oregon Goods manufactured in the United States 1983 establishments in Oregon American brands Tool manufacturing companies of the United States

Company history

Products

Gallery

See also

References

External links