subject: Leatherman - China Chromic Acid Flakes - China Caustic Soda [print this page] Tool description Tool description
These are generally chosen for 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 (except for the New Wave, Surge, and all Charge models, Skeletool and Skeletool CX which all have two-sided removable screwdriver bits)
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.
Most models of the Leatherman brand have a built-in safety mechanism that locks selected tools in the open position when fully unfolded. Different models have various methods for unlocking the tools. In older models that use "clumping" locks, 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 1998, Leatherman used its first button lock on the Crunch tool, allowing each tool to be refolded. In 1999, Leatherman began using liner locks on the blades of the Wave tool, which allowed it to be accessed without unfolding the entire tool.
The method in which the pliers are exposed is similar to that of the butterfly knife.
In 2005, Leatherman added knives to their product line including straight and serrated-edged blades. Leatherman introduced its first pruner gardening tool in 2006.
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. It 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.
Tim Leatherman formed Leatherman Tool Group to sell his creation in 1983. In 1996 the company expanded its manufacturing facility to 90,000square feet (8,400m2) from 30,000square feet (2,800m2) in 1994. Leatherman Tool Group lost a lawsuit for deceptive advertising that was overturned in 2006, but were still required to advertise in California that the company had violated laws in that state. In 2007 the company opened its first retail store, located at its manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon. Tim Leatherman was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 2007 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia in recognition for the impact that his design has made upon the cutlery industry.
See also
Gerber multitool
External links
Official website
History of Tim Leatherman (an entrepreneur)
Portland Business Journal: Leatherman learns patent lessons the hard way
References
^ Leatherman Online Media Kit
^ Leatherman Tool Group. Hoover's
^ Brock, Kathy. Once again, Leatherman Tool outgrows plant. Portland Business Journal, September 27, 1996.
^ Strom, Shelly. Leatherman gets partial victory in $18 million suit. Portland Business Journal, January 20, 2006.
^ Leatherman opens store. Portland Business Journal, April 24, 2007.
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Knifemakers
Bob Loveless Chris Reeve Ernest Emerson Ken Onion Murray Carter Phill Hartsfield William Harsey, Jr. Daniel Winkler
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Tool manufacturers
Hand tools
Bondhus Bradford Tool Industries Buck Bros. Channellock Cooper Industries (Cooper Hand Tools, Crescent, Lufkin) Cornwell Tools Danaher Corporation (Allen, Armstrong Tools, Easco Hand Tools, GearWrench, K-D Tools, Matco Tools) Disston Saw Works Eklind Emerson (RIDGID) Empire Level Estwing Felo Fiskars (Gerber) Gardner Bender Gedore Gray Tools Illinois Tools Works Hazet Ideal (Western Forge) Klein Tools Knipex Leatherman Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Lisle Newell Rubbermaid (Irwin, Lenox) Park Tool PB Swiss Pratt-Read Saltus Sandvik SK Hand Tools Snap-on (Bahco, CDI Torque Products, J.H. Williams Tool Group) Stahlwille Stanley Works (Blackhawk, Bostitch, Facom, Mac Tools, Proto, Sidchrome) Textron (Greenlee, Klauke, Paladin Tools) Thorsen Manufacturing Toptul Vaughan Manufacturing Victorinox (Wenger) Wera Tools Wiha Tools Witte Tools Wright Tool
Power tools
Altendorf Campbell Hausfeld Cooper Industries (Cooper Power Tools) Black & Decker (Delta Machinery, DeVilbiss Air Power Company, DeWalt, Porter-Cable) Bosch (Dremel, Skil, Hawera, RotoZip) Emerson (RIDGID) Fein Festool Flex-Elektrowerkzeuge Hilti Hitachi Husqvarna (McCulloch, Poulan) Ingersoll Rand Mafell Makita (Dolmar) Metabo Panasonic Paslode Stanley Works (Virax) Stihl Techtronic Industries (AEG, Homelite, Milwaukee, Ryobi)
House brands
Ace Hardware (Ace Tools) AutoZone (Duralast) Canadian Tire (Mastercraft) The Home Depot (Husky, Workforce) Lee Valley (Veritas) Lowe's (Kobalt) Sears (Craftsman)
Categories: Knife manufacturing companies | Multi-tool manufacturers | Pliers | Companies based in Portland, Oregon | Camping equipment | Companies established in 1983 | Privately held companies of the United States | Goods manufactured in the United States
