Leatherman

Tim Leatherman created the first pliers-based multi-tool after a 1975 budget trip to Europe, where he and his wife Chau dealt with leaky hotel plumbing and constant repairs on their unreliable Fiat. He spent three years building a working prototype and another three and a half years collecting rejection letters before partnering with college friend Steve Berliner. In spring 1983, they received their first order for five hundred units from Cabela's and launched the PST.

The company has manufactured its multi-tools in Portland since 1983. They test their designs in the Pacific Northwest, from the Cascade Mountains to the Oregon coast and the high desert to the east. The Leatherman Garage division develops experimental products and limited releases, iterating through prototypes to push what the company can engineer before bringing new tools to market.