article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message leatherman tool group inc. type private industry manufacturing founded july 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 07 1 headquarters portland oregon usa key people timothy s. leatherman chairman of the board and co founder steve berliner secretary treasurer and co founder benjamin rivera president ceo products multi tools folding knives number of employees 525 1 website leatherman.com leatherman pocket survival tool a leatherman sidekick tool showing on board tools a leatherman wave with all tools unfolded leatherman super tool and belt holster leatherman surge leatherman micra both open and closed pieces leatherman tread leatherman is a brand of multitools and knives made by leatherman tool group of portland oregon us . the company was founded in july 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 . contents 1 company history 2 products 3 see also 4 references 5 external links company history edit 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 by the end of 2001 the company had sales of 100 million annually and had sold more than 20 million tools . 6 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 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 the cascade station shopping center near the facility and cascades max station in northeast portland . 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 . 7 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 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 update leatherman produced 50 products sold in 82 countries with u.s. market share estimated at 55 percent . 1 leatherman has a sponsorship deal with major league soccer team portland timbers . they are the shirt sponsor for the team s mascot timber joey . products edit 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 12.5 ounce 335 g surge to 0.81 ounce 23 g style . 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 tools pst full sized 1983 2004 14 pst ii full sized 1996 2004 15 wave original full sized 1998 2004 16 wave new full sized 2004 9999 17 wave damascus ltd ed unknown 0000 unknown 0000 unknown 3 sideclip full sized 1998 2004 12 crunch heavy duty 1999 9999 15 flair full sized 1999 2004 16 pulse full sized 2000 2004 15 blast full sized 2004 2012 16 surge original heavy duty 2005 2013 21 surge new heavy duty 2013 9999 21 core full sized 2005 2009 19 kick full sized 2004 2012 10 fuse full sized 2004 2012 13 charge ti full sized 2004 2008 17 charge xti full sized 2004 2008 16 charge al full sized 2007 9999 17 charge alx full sized 2007 9999 18 charge tti full sized 2007 9999 19 super tool heavy duty 1994 2001 18 super tool 200 heavy duty 2001 2005 18 super tool 300 heavy duty 2009 9999 19 super tool 300 eod full sized 2010 9999 19 skeletool pocket 2007 9999 7 skeletool cx pocket 2007 9999 7 skeletool sx pocket 2013 9999 7 skeletool rx pocket 2016 9999 7 wingman full sized 2011 9999 14 sidekick full sized 2011 9999 14 mut heavy military duty 2010 9999 16 mut eod heavy military duty 2010 9999 15 mini tool pocket 1986 2004 10 freestyle pocket 2009 9999 5 freestyle cx pocket 2009 2012 5 juice kf4 pocket 2001 2005 16 juice c2 pocket 2001 9999 12 juice s2 pocket 2001 9999 12 juice cs4 pocket 2001 9999 15 juice xe6 pocket 2001 9999 18 juice pro pocket 2002 2003 15 juice sc2 pocket 2003 2005 12 juice sx new pocket 2014 9999 11 juice sx original pocket 2013 2014 11 micra keychain 1996 9999 10 squirt p4 keychain 2002 2010 10 squirt s4 keychain 2002 2010 10 squirt e4 keychain 2003 2010 10 squirt es4 keychain 2010 9999 9 squirt ps4 keychain 2010 9999 9 style keychain 2010 9999 5 style cs keychain 2010 9999 6 style ps keychain 2012 9999 8 rebar full sized 2012 9999 17 oht heavy military duty 2012 9999 16 raptor ems duty 2013 9999 6 leap pocket 2014 9999 13 rev full sized 2015 9999 14 tread wearable 2015 9999 29 tread qm1 wearable tbd 9999 9999 signal heavy duty 2015 9999 19 z rex full sized 0000 unknown 0000 unknown 4 genus unknown 0000 unknown 0000 unknown 9 vista unknown 2006 2009 9 hybrid unknown 2006 2009 11 see also edit gerber multitool victorinox wenger references edit a b c leatherman media . leatherman tool group . retrieved 2015 05 05 . monroe bill . the oregonian december 10 1981 . a b c making history . leatherman tool group . retrieved 2011 02 08 . us patent 4238862 timothy s. leatherman pocket multiple tool issued 1980 12 16 brock kathy . once again leatherman tool outgrows plant . portland business journal september 27 1996 . leatherman tool group inc. history . funding universe . retrieved 4 december 2015 . hall of fame . blade magazine . july 31 2007 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to leatherman . official website portland business journal leatherman learns patent lessons the hard way v t e oregon based companies nyse listed greenbrier companies lithia motors nike nw natural portland general electric nasdaq listed columbia sportswear electro scientific industries erickson inc. fei flir lattice mentor graphics radisys rentrak schnitzer steel umpqua holdings private companies a dec banfield consumer cellular esco franz bakery hoffman construction infocus kindercare education laika leupold & stevens les schwab the old spaghetti factory parr lumber plaid pantry reser s fine foods roseburg forest products shari s vigor industrial other bi mart tillamook creamery western family foods list of companies based in oregon v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku sark scalpel seax sgian dubh sharpfinger shiv sliding knife 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