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Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryManufacturing
FoundedJuly 1983[1]
Headquarters
Portland, Oregon
,
USA
Key people
Tim Leatherman (Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder)
Steve Berliner (Secretary/Treasurer and Co-Founder)
Jake Nichol (President & CEO)
ProductsMulti-tools
Folding knives
Number of employees
430[1]
Websiteleatherman.com
Leatherman Pocket Survival Tool
A Leatherman Wave with all tools unfolded
Leatherman Super Tool and belt holster
Leatherman Surge
Leatherman Micra, both open and closed

Leatherman is the trade name for the line of multitools and knives manufactured and marketed by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon, USA. The company was founded in July of 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market his idea of a capable, easily-portable hand tool with multiple functions. That same year Leatherman sold the first multitool, which was called the PST (Pocket Survival Tool). The company has been in business more than 29 years and is directing new design effort toward specialized markets such as military and emergency medical applications in addition to fine tuning their core concepts and evolving the multitool.

Company history

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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 their repeatedly malfunctioning car and leaky hotel plumbing.[2][3] He spent several years perfecting the "Mr. Crunch" prototype and received his first U.S. patent (4,238,862) in 1980.[4] 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.[3]


Leatherman sold nearly 30,000 tools in 1984, fueling additional product development and both rapid company growth as well as manufacturing capacity.[5]Today, Leatherman’s only manufacturing facility is located in Portland, Oregon where they have successfully met peak production goals of 17,000 tools per week for seasonal sale needs.


Almost ten percent of the manufacturing facility area is concerned with the repairing and rebuilding of any tool that needs it, either domestically, or sent from distributors from around the world. Their system is to replace and return any tool sent in with an equivalent item, reducing the time the time the owner is without the tool, unless they request the same physical tool due to sentimental reasons.


In 2007 the company opened its first retail store, located at its manufacturing facility, that has since relocated to a retail store at cascade station near the facility.[3] 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.[6]


Folding knives were introduced into the Leatherman product line in 2005. In 2011 the Leatherman Tool Group acquired German light manufacturer, LED Lenser. The brand and companies are run separately, but are both under the Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. umbrella. The company 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. As of February 2011, Leatherman produced 50 products sold in 82 countries, with U.S. market share estimated at 55 percent.[1]

Product line

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Leatherman’s primary product group is multi-tools. They also make 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 12.5 ounce (335 g) Surge to 0.81 ounce (23 g) Style.

Leatherman currently produces folding knives under the Crater series. 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
PST Full-sized 1983 2004
PST II Full-sized 1996 2004
Wave Full-sized 1998 -
Sideclip Full-sized 1998 2004
Crunch Full-sized 1999 -
Flair Full-sized 1999 2004
Pulse Full-sized 2000 2004
Blast Full-sized 2004 -
Surge Full-sized 2005 -
Core Full-sized 2005 2009
Kick Full-sized 2004 2012
Fuse Full-sized 2004 2012
Charge Ti Full-sized 2004 2008
Charge XTi Full-sized 2004 2008
Charge AL Full-sized 2007 -
Charge ALX Full-sized 2007 -
Charge TTi Full-sized 2007 -
Super Tool Full-sized 1994 2001
Super Tool 200 Full-sized 2001 2005
Super Tool 300 Full-sized 2009 -
ST3 EOD Full-sized 2010 -
Skeletool Full-sized 2007 -
Skeletool CX Full-sized 2007 -
Wingman Full-sized 2011 -
Sidekick Full-sized 2011 -
MUT Military Duty 2010 -
MUT EOD Military Duty 2010 -
Mini Tool Pocket 1986 2004
Freestyle Pocket 2009 -
Freestyle CX Pocket 2009 -
Juice KF4 Pocket 2001 2005
Juice C2 Pocket 2001 -
Juice S2 Pocket 2001 -
Juice Cs4 Pocket 2001 -
Juice Xe6 Pocket 2001 -
Juice Pro Pocket 2002 2003
Juice SC2 Pocket 2003 2005
Micra Keychain 1996 -
Squirt P4 Keychain 2002 2010
Squirt S4 Keychain 2002 2010
Squirt E4 Keychain 2003 2010
Squirt ES4 Keychain 2010 -
Squirt PS4 Keychain 2010 -
Style Keychain 2010 -
Style CS Keychain 2010 -
Rebar Full-sized 2012 -

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Leatherman Media". Leatherman Tool Group. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
  2. ^ Monroe, Bill. The Oregonian, December 10, 1981.
  3. ^ a b c "Making History". Leatherman Tool Group. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  4. ^ US patent 4238862, Timothy S. Leatherman, "Pocket multiple tool", issued 1980-12-16 
  5. ^ Brock, Kathy. Once again, Leatherman Tool outgrows plant. Portland Business Journal, September 27, 1996.
  6. ^ "Hall of Fame." Blade Magazine. July 31, 2007.
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