Leatherman is an American brand of multi-tool made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman 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 graduate of Oregon State University, and his business partner, Steve Berliner, formed Leatherman Tool Group in 1983.

Leatherman was inspired to design a "Boy Scout knife with pliers" while he and his wife traveled Europe and the Middle East in 1975, often attempting to use a simple pocketknife to repair both their aged and repeatedly malfunctioning Italian Fiat 600 car (bought in Amsterdam for $300) and leaky hotel plumbing.Monroe, Bill. The Oregonian, December 10, 1981. 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 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, which has since relocated to a retail store at the Cascade Station shopping center near the facility and Cascades MAX Station 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."Hall of Fame." Blade Magazine. July 31, 2007.

In 2011, the Leatherman Tool Group acquired German light manufacturer, Ledlenser. 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 team Portland Timbers. 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 blades), screwdrivers (flat, Phillips), saws, wire cutters and strippers, electrical crimper, bottle opener, and can opener. 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/bottle opener) to four (blade, carabiner/bottle opener, flat, and Phillips screwdrivers).

Name Type Debut Retired # ToolsArc Full-sized 2023 — 20 Blast Full-sized 2004 2012 16 Bolster - Costco Exclusive Full-sized 2021 13 Bond Full-sized 2021 14 Charge Ti Full-sized 2004 2008 17 Charge XTi Full-sized 2004 2008 16 Charge XTi 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2013 2013 16 Charge AL Full-sized 2007 2018 17 Charge ALX Full-sized 2007 2018 18 Charge TTi Full-sized 2007 2018 19 Charge TTi (Year-of-Monkey Limited Edition) Full-sized 2016 2016 19 Charge+ Full-sized 2018 19 Charge+ G10 Special Edition (Red / Orange / Earth) Full-sized 2018 19 Charge+ Limited Edition Forest Camo Full-sized 2018 retired 19 Charge+ Limited Edition Woodland Camo Full-sized 2018 retired 19 Charge+ TTi Full-sized 2018 19 Charge+ TTi Damascus Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 19 Charge+ Damascus Carbon Fibre Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 19 Charge+ Damascus Wood Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 19 Charge+ 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 19 Charge+ Tom Sachs NASA-themed Limited Edition Full-sized 2021 2021 23 Core Full-sized 2005 2009 19 Crunch Heavy-Duty 1999 2023 15 Curl Full-sized 2021 15 Darkside - Leatherman Garage Batch 002 Limited Edition Full-sized 2022 2022 21 Flair Full-sized 1999 2004 16 Free K2 Pocketknife 2019 8 Free K2X Pocketknife 2019 8 Free K4 Pocketknife 2019 9 Free K4X Pocketknife 2019 9 Free T2 Pocket 2019 8 Free T4 Pocket 2019 2025 12 Free P2 Full-sized 2019 2025 19 Free P4 Full-sized 2019 2025 21 Fuse Full-sized 2004 2012 13 Freestyle Pocket 2009 retired 5 Freestyle CX Pocket 2009 2012 5 Juice KF4 Pocket 2001 2005 16 Juice C2 Pocket 2001 2006 12 Juice S2 Pocket 2001 2006 12 Juice CS4 Pocket 2001 2006 15 Juice XE6 Pocket 2001 2006 18 Juice Pro Ltd Ed Costco Pocket 2002 2003 23 Juice SC2 Pocket 2003 2005 12 Juice SX – Original Pocket 2013 2014 11 Juice SX – New Pocket 2014 2019 11 Kick Full-sized 2004 2012 12 Leap Pocket 2014 2014 13 Micra Keychain 1996 10 Micra 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Keychain 2013 2013 10 Micra 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Keychain 2018 2018 10 Mini Tool Pocket 1986 2004 10 Mr. Crunch Limited Edition Full-sized 2022 2022 21 MUT (Military Utility Tool) Heavy Duty / Firearms 2010 16 MUT EOD (Military Utility Tool Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Heavy Duty / Firearms 2010 2021 15 OHT (One-Handed Tool) Heavy-Duty 2012 2022 16 PST (Pocket Survival Tool) Full-sized 1983 2004 14 PST II (Pocket Survival Tool II) Full-sized 1996 2004 15 The Collector's Edition PST (Pocket Survival Tool) 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 14 Pulse Full-sized 2000 2004 15 Raptor Rescue EMS Duty 2013 6 Raptor Rescue Glow-in-the-Dark Limited Edition (Purple / Gold) EMS Duty ? retired 6 Raptor Response EMS Duty 2021 4 Rebar Full-sized 2012 17 Rev Full-sized 2015 14 Sideclip Full-sized 1998 2004 12 Sidekick Full-sized 2011 14 Signal Heavy-Duty / Camping 2015 19 Signal TOPO Limited Edition Heavy-Duty / Camping ? 19 Signal Black & Silver Limited Edition Heavy-Duty / Camping ? 19 Skeletool Pocket 2007 7 Skeletool CX Pocket 2007 7 Skeletool KB Pocketknife 2017 2 Skeletool KBx Pocketknife 2017 2 Skeletool RX Pocket 2016 7 Skeletool SX Pocket 2013 retired 7 Skeletool Damasteel Limited Edition Pocket ? retired 7 Skeletool TOPO Limited Edition Pocket ? 7 Skeletool Black & Silver Limited Edition Pocket ? 7 Squirt E4 Keychain 2003 2010 10 Squirt ES4 Keychain 2010 2021 9 Squirt P4 Keychain 2002 2010 10 Squirt PS4 Keychain 2010 9 Squirt S4 Keychain 2002 2010 10 Style Keychain 2010 2014 5 Style CS Keychain 2010 2021 6 Style PS Keychain 2012 8 Super Tool Heavy-Duty 1994 2001 18 Super Tool 200 Heavy-Duty 2001 2005 18 Super Tool 300 Heavy-Duty 2009 19 Super Tool 300 EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Heavy Duty / Firearm 2010 19 Super Tool 300 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Heavy-Duty 2013 2013 19 Super Tool 300M Heavy Duty / Firearm ? 18 Surge – Original Heavy-Duty 2005 2013 21 Surge – New Heavy-Duty 2013 21 Surge New Black & Silver Limited Edition Heavy-Duty ? 21 Tread Wearable 2015 2021 29 Tread Metric Wearable 2015 2021 29 Tread LT Wearable 2015 2021 29 Tread Tempo Wearable ? retired ? Tread Tempo Black & Silver Limited Edition Wearable ? retired ? Tread Tempo LT Wearable ? retired ? Tread Tempo LT Black & Silver Limited Edition Wearable ? retired ? Tread QM1 Wearable TBD Wave – Original Full-sized 1998 2004 16 Wave – New Full-sized 2004 2018 17 Wave - 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2003 2003 17 Wave - 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2008 2008 17 Wave – Damascus Ltd Ed Full-sized 2009 2009 17 Wave+ Full-sized 2018 18 Wave+ Black & Silver Limited Edition Full-sized ? 18 Wave+ The Houston Home Inspector Limited Edition Full-sized ? retired 18 Wave+ 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Full-sized 2018 2018 18 Wingman Full-sized 2011 14 Wingman Black & Silver Limited Edition Full-sized ? retired 14 Genus Heavy-Duty / Gardening 2007 2009 9 Vista Full-sized / Gardening 2006 2009 9 Hybrid Full-sized / Gardening 2006 2009 11 Z-Rex Full-sized 2012 2019 4

Gallery

See also Gerber multitool Swiss Army knife Victorinox Wenger

References

External links

Portland Business Journal: Leatherman learns patent lessons the hard way