For other uses, see Leatherman (disambiguation).

Leatherman is a trademark for a line of multi-function hand tools produced by the Leatherman Tool Group. The tools are more sturdy and usually slightly larger than a Swiss Army knife of similar functionality, each generally including a knife, pliers, screwdriver and assorted other devices.

Description of tool

These are generally chosen for infrequently needed repair work in light of the following qualities:

• compact and light (suitable to wear in a belt holster in some applications)
• constructed as a single piece with various moving parts, so one component is not lost while using another
• when collapsed for storage, relatively smooth and blunt compared to the equivalent discrete tools, thus reducing frequency of damage to items stored along with it.

Some models of the Leatherman brand (but not all) have a built in safety mechanism that locks selected tools in the open position when fully unfolded. Different models have different methods for unlocking the tools. In some, one of the other tools has to be partly unfolded to release the first one; if all the tools of this model were to be fully unfolded simultaneously, then an external tool might be needed to unlock them. In other models, there is an unlock button that allows the tool to be re-folded.

A line of similar multi-tools employing a different opening mechanism is also made by Gerber.

The method in which the pliers are exposed is similar to that of the balisong/butterfly knife.

Company history

The Leatherman Tool Group was founded by Timothy S. Leatherman, a 1970 graduate of Oregon State University, who majored in mechanical engineering. According to a December 10 1981 column written by Bill Monroe in the Oregonian, Leatherman came up with the idea of a "Boy Scout knife with pliers" during a 1975 driving tour of Europe with his wife, when he was unable to use his pocket knife to fix his repeatedly malfunctioning car.

Leatherman spent several years perfecting his prototype, getting his first patent in 1980. He also spent those early years refining his sales model. He originally expected that industrial companies with large staffs of technicians would be his target customer, but attempts to sell the tool to companies such as AT&T failed. In was only after following the advice of a contact at the Early Winters catalog company to simplify his product that sales began to grow. It was mail-order catalog companies such as Early Winters and Cabela's that gave Leatherman his first significant sales.

Leatherman formed Leatherman Tool Group to sell his creation in 1983.

External links

• Leatherman Tool Group official website
• In praise of Leatherman Tools, a December 2001 article from Popular Mechanics, with a photo of a prototype
• Short biography of Timothy S. Leatherman, from an OSU Academy of Distinguished Engineers web page

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