First Production PST

J-sews · **on:** November 24, 2006, 01:31:16 AM

Looking through the early developement history of the PST on the Leatherman website,
(http://www.leatherman.com/about-leatherman/history/default.asp)
I can see that some of the first protoypes were extremely complex. Locking pliers, ratchet bars, and exchangable plier jaws made for a tool that was expensive to produce. Too expensive. Early potential retailers that Tim Leatherman spoke to advised him to make his invention simpler, and less costly. He went back to the drawing board, and came up with the Personal Survival Tool. The rest, as they say, is history.

Most of us either do own, used to own, or are at least somewhat familiar with this first product from Leatherman. However, the very first production run PST's were a bit different from the tens of millions that came after. Following are some of the main differences. Please note that in all photos, a common PST from the late 1980's onward is on top, while an older model PST from the early 1980's is on the bottom.

The most obvious difference is the blade pivots, as can be seen in the two photos below. Standard PST's were produced with the signature Leatherman knurled screws. However, the very first tools were produced with ordinary rivets. (Note the smooth rounded edges of the rivet heads.)

Also note the differences in the logo stamping. "POCKET SURVIVAL TOOL" is clearly stamped on the early model. I don't know at what point Leatherman Company changed the name to Personal Survival Tool. And see the differences in the measuring scale along the edge? The early tool has no metric scale.

In the photo below, both tools have been unfolded. They are mostly the same. One clue to the early tool is its lack of a lanyard attachment. The little tab with a hole in it, held in place by the plier pivot screw, was not added until later.

As near as I can tell, the plier heads are forged from the same tooling dies. However, the early tool does not have the little "USA" logo cast in. More on that later.......

Here is a picture of the back side of both tools. Note the rivets on the early tool, which are mushroomed over and staked in place.

Some of the blades are different as well. The awl blade on the older tool has been machined, while the newer tool has an awl that was stamped out. Subtle differences also exist between the files. Pictured below are the knife blades of both tools. Virtually all PST's that I have seen come equipped with a clip point blade, like the top one shown below. The first PST's however, had a drop point blade.

And speaking of that drop point blade, I was somewhat shocked when I opened mine up all the way. Because there at the base, stamped clear and deep, was the words LEATHERMAN JAPAN.

Hmmm........I guess that explains why there was no "USA" logo forged into the plier head pivot!

~Bob

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #1 on:** November 24, 2006, 01:40:29 AM

Excellent information Bob! I have to ask though- you said:

Quote

As near as I can tell, the plier heads are forged from the same tooling dies

It looks to me like the heads are different, with the older model being a little more angular. Is that just the pictures or do you think the newer ones were ground into the current shape?

Interesting how the older blade looks very similar to Wenger style blade with more belly. I find that to be a better utility type shape than the clip point, so I wonder why they changed it? Could it be because the clip point is more "American" and as such folks might identify with it more?

Def

J-sews · **Reply #2 on:** November 24, 2006, 01:49:51 AM

I think the two plier heads were both produced in the same dies, but then slight differences in the final grinding and polishing cause them to no longer be identical.
It's hard to say whether these "grind differences" were intentional, or whether it is simply the variations between two different people's manual handiwork.

J-sews · **Reply #3 on:** November 24, 2006, 01:52:16 AM

Quote from: Defender on November 24, 2006, 01:40:29 AM

Interesting how the older blade looks very similar to Wenger style blade with more belly. I find that to be a better utility type shape than the clip point, so I wonder why they changed it? Could it be because the clip point is more "American" and as such folks might identify with it more?

Def

I agree with your opinion about the knife blades. I don't find clip points to be very useful at all. I think Leatherman going with the clip point was a marketing ploy.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #4 on:** November 24, 2006, 02:15:46 AM

Any other differences? You mentioned the awls being a little different, how do the sheaths stack up? Leatherman was always (in my mind anyways) one of the best for sheaths and it would be interesting to note if they did great sheaths from the very beginning or picked it up later on.

Def

J-sews · **Reply #5 on:** November 24, 2006, 02:46:28 AM

Quote from: Defender on November 24, 2006, 02:15:46 AM

Any other differences? You mentioned the awls being a little different, how do the sheaths stack up? Leatherman was always (in my mind anyways) one of the best for sheaths and it would be interesting to note if they did great sheaths from the very beginning or picked it up later on.

Def

Bummer, I don't have the original sheath for the early PST.

Regarding the difference between awl blades, you can see below that the early tool had an awl that was machined with a milling cutter (slow, expensive) and ground to sharpness, while the later tool had an awl that was simply stamped out (fast, less expensive) and ground.

colubrid · **Reply #6 on:** November 24, 2006, 04:28:59 AM

WOW! This is a really cool post.

Thanks J-Sews!!!!!!!!!!!!!

prime77 · **Reply #7 on:** November 24, 2006, 06:45:15 AM

Quote from: colubrid on November 24, 2006, 04:28:59 AM

WOW! This is a really cool post.

Thanks J-Sews!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree, You can find this information no where else

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2006, 12:27:29 PM

Exactly- this is the kind of stuff Multitool.org was designed for!

Def

Lion · **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2006, 02:31:49 PM

Great post.

Leo

J-sews · **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2006, 02:12:31 AM

Thanks gentlemen, I'm glad you found it interesting.
(Actually, I'm gladdest that I'm not the ONLY one who finds this stuff interesting!)

~Bob

prime77 · **Reply #11 on:** May 10, 2007, 11:49:56 PM

Bob maybe you can help me out, I found this PST at a pawn shop today and I remembered this post. It's different from the other 2 PSTs I have. The blade is different and one side of the tool has no LEATHERMAN stamping on it. You really can't tell from the pic but the blade on the one I got today is a different shape from the other ones I have. I have read about older PSTs called "saber" PSTs because of the this shaped blade. Both tools are stamped 4/95. Is this a rarer PST or just a regular older model?

James

J-sews · **Reply #12 on:** May 11, 2007, 02:47:58 AM

A little background: A few years ago I became aware of the "original" PST that this thread referred to earlier. (No lanyard attachment, rivets instead of screws.) As a collector, I of course simply HAD to have one! I closely checked photographs of every single used Leatherman PST that came up on eBay for almost a year! (Yes I know, it's a pathetic life I lead!

) After looking at many hundreds of old PST's, I finally found the original model pictured in this thread.

So anyhow, looking at all those hundreds of fanned-out Leathermans, I noted the two different clip-point shapes you have. Neither seemed to be rarer than the other. The big, sweeping clip point seems to be on tools from the mid-80's to the mid-90's. The slightly stubbier clip-point seems to be on tools from the mid-90's onward. (Just a theory of course. I looked at hundreds of PST's, but I obviously wasn't able to check all of the date codes!) Ironic that you have both of the common blade shapes on tools built in the same month/year.

And I don't know when the "leatherman" logo started getting stamped on the backside. My "late 1980's" model does not have a logo on the back either. (See the 4th photo in this thread.)

Sorry for the disappointing news Prime. I think your two PST versions are simply from different production runs.

Bob

prime77 · **Reply #13 on:** May 11, 2007, 03:21:22 AM

Thanks Bob, I'm not disappointed with the my new PST. It's in perfect condition and I didn't pay allot at all for it. Even if it's a small amount different from the other ones I have it makes it a good addition to my LM collection. I knew it wasn't one of the "original" PSTs when I saw it thanks to this thread.

J-sews · **Reply #14 on:** May 11, 2007, 03:55:13 AM

PM sent.

inkster · **Reply #15 on:** May 13, 2007, 05:03:13 AM

I'll take 2 of each......................... thanks

prime77 · **Reply #16 on:** May 24, 2007, 11:59:39 PM

With Bobs help I was able to track down an older version PST. It's slightly different than Bobs PST. The one I got has rivets and not the LM screws, but not mushroomed over on the back side like Bobs. It has the small lanyard attachment on the plier pivot. The front of the tool is stamped with a large LEATHERMAN, and the drop point blade is marked Leatherman not Leatherman, JAPAN. Thanks Bob for pointing me in the right direction.

James