How old is the leatherman tool

To lead the high-quality compact multi-purpose tool market by providing the best value for our customers, being the most innovative, and continuously improving while meeting our financial goals, providing a rewarding work environment and operating legally and ethically. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. Since that time, the company has expanded its offerings to include nearly two dozen different hand-held multi-tools that sell in 70 countries around the world.

The idea that led to the formation of the Leatherman Tool Group occurred to Tim Leatherman during his honeymoon. After leaving Saigon, where he married in , Leatherman and his wife spent ten months touring Europe in a used Fiat that they bought for three hundred dollars.

Staying in ramshackle lodgings and working on his sometimes temperamental car, Leatherman conceived of what later became the Pocket Survival Tool and, in a Tehran hotel, he made his first cardboard model. A native of Oregon, Leatherman had received a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University in , after which he held a variety of jobs, including positions as an English teacher and a helicopter mechanic. He returned to Portland, Oregon, with his wife in June after researching how to develop, patent, and market a new product at the Library of Congress.

The two agreed that he would spend the next three months designing the tool and calling on potential customers. Instead of months, it took Leatherman until late to develop the tool he wanted, a five-ounce, four-inch stainless steel tool that came with large and small screwdrivers, a file, scissors, a can opener, punch, ruler, knife blades, and pliers that popped out when the tool was opened.

He began by modifying pliers, working with basic hand tools in his garage. In , he received a patent on his "Mr. He even pitched his idea to 23 of the largest purchasing organizations in the country, from the U. No one was interested. The knife companies thought it was a tool; the tool companies thought it was a knife," he is quoted as saying on the company's Web site.

Leatherman continued to refine his design with the help of Steve Berliner, a college friend whose father owned and operated a machine shop, Simplicity Tool Co.

The two originally saw their invention as an industrial product to be sold directly to large companies--standard equipment to be carried by telephone technicians, for example. Language English English. Update cancel. Be a Leatherman Insider. This field is required.

Remove Product? He had brought a pocketknife along for the journey, but it lacked the tools he needed to keep the unreliable car on the road. But I kept wishing I had a pair of pliers! Leatherman Library In , Tim told Fortune Small Business that when the Leathermans made it back to Oregon, he asked Chau if he could build a tool for himself, a task he reckoned would take a month.

She agreed and got a job to keep the couple afloat. As it turned out, that estimate turned out to be a bit optimistic. Even though Tim Leatherman had eventually set out to create a tool for his personal use, he realized there could be a market for his invention. For a time, Gerber was our heat-treater for our knife blades. But from heat-treating that component, they were able to calculate our volume and watch it rise and rise, which prompted them to see the big demand and ultimately create their own multi-tool and become a competitor.

Once we were in business and things were growing rapidly, I wish we had found a way to increase our production faster. Demand was so high that we were struggling to keep up, which allowed time for competitors to come in.

I remember when K-mart came up to us during the Shot Show and asked to be a customer. We had to tell them that we will ship six months after the order is placed. Tell us what the immediate future at Leatherman will bring, and then any hints on a five-year outlook or plan.

Our five-year plan is to continue to evolve as demands for preparedness evolves. In that case, a Leatherman will need to have the relevant tool s for the job. Our goal is to always give you the tools you need to be prepared for the unexpected. Hands-free lighting is a necessity for all sorts of outdoor activities. Here, we line up the best headlamps of the year.

Tim Leatherman, Mr. Top Trending on GearJunkie.