4) Old/Rare multitool of the month: David Yellowhorse ParaTool

[J-sews]

For those familiar with custom Buck and Case knives, David Yellowhorse is a man who needs no introduction. For decades, David and more recently his son Brian have been producing custom knives that have a unique southwestern United States flavor. Many of their designs feature handles of rare desert hardwood and inlays of silver and turquoise, oftentimes with a Navajo Indian theme. These knives have quite a following, and are not generally considered 'users'.

A custom Buck 110, from the Yellowhorse LTD website






In 1995, Yellowhorse Custom Knives and SOG teamed up to produce a special batch of the then-new SOG ParaTool. Each tool came in a walnut presentation box, with a form fitted purple velvet interior.






The tools themselves were given the full Yellowhorse treatment, from top to bottom. All exterior surfaces received a mirror polish, and rounded wooden grips inlayed with turquoise, sterling silver, ironwood, coral, jet, and sugilite were added to each handle. Most striking of all, both handles were deeply acid etched, adding a unique appearance as well as an improved grip to the polished metal surfaces.








Inside, the folding blades remained the same as those of a standard ParaTool.....






....with the exception of the knife blade, which was etched Yellowhorse Custom '95 and given its own serial number.






Function-wise, the SOG S31YH operates just like any other ParaTool, with its unique folding plier head allowing it to reach objects that other plier multitools cannot.








Despite being quite the eye catcher, the Yellowhorse ParaTool did not exactly open to rave reviews. Plenty of folks back in 1995 could appreciate a beautifully decorated knife, but not many quite understood the attraction of a similarly decorated tool. As I recall, our local outdoors shop had a Yellowhorse ParaTool that sat in the display cabinet for years. The price kept dropping every few months or so, until someone finally bought it for $50. By the time I got around to being interested in fancy multitools, it was long gone. I have no idea what the original retail price for one was.




But it does make me wonder: How well would such a tool sell if it were made today?

[captain spaulding]

That Paratool is beautiful. 

[edcgear]

 

Beautifull!!

[kirk13]

Thanks for the post,very interesting!Loved the Buck,but I cant say I liked the Paratool much

[Mr. Whippy]

Hey Bob,

Do you want me to run it through the Rocking Horse Farm Testing Facility?

Beautiful

[J-sews]

Hey Bob,

Do you want me to run it through the Rocking Horse Farm Testing Facility?

Beautiful

Hmmmm.......No.

[J-sews]

Thanks for the post,very interesting!Loved the Buck,but I cant say I liked the Paratool much

I don't blame you Kirk, neither do most folks! Me, I like it because of how rare and unusual it is, but I don't really consider it to be an object of beauty or anything like that. Good looking knives and multitools are all about function over form to me, and that's not exactly the Yellowhorse philosophy

[Gareth]

Thanks for the post,very interesting!Loved the Buck,but I cant say I liked the Paratool much

I too like the look on the Buck, but think the Paratool crosses the line into 'vulgar'.  Not knocking it as a bit of MT history Bob, but it's just not my cup of tea.

[nuphoria]

It is a totally ridiculous looking thing IMO but I still really like it enjoyed seeing one again

[Grant Lamontagne]

Those handles look an awful lot like the famous Oupa Dirk Melted Soldiers:



I think one of the things I don't like about this one (I can appreciate it from a collectible standpoint, but it doesn't appeal to me) is that the fancy, decorative work looks like it's just stuck on the sides, while the decorative scales are actually part of the knife.  One gets the feeling that you could buy a strip of decorative stuff, glue them on then beat the handles with a small hammer and call it art.

I still want one though...

Def

[AHB]

That's one tarty paratool. Maybe a bit ott but when you choose to pimp a MT, you might as well go all
in.
Great looking SAK Def..

[Chako]

I periodically do a search on eBay for that tool. That is how I came across this for a price that I couldn't pass it up.



Bob, that one is definitely one for the weird books. 

[J-sews]

Thanks Dan

By the way, that buck of yours is fabulous (not for everyone obviously, but fabulous nonetheless) And it looks like your display box is the same one used with the Paratool?

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's one tarty paratool. Maybe a bit ott but when you choose to pimp a MT, you might as well go all
in.
Great looking SAK Def..

It is a pretty SAK- not mine though.  This concept was originally done by a gent name Dirk Potigier, better known as Oupa.

Def

[Bruce909]

Bob,

I find it interesting that your Yellowhorse Paratool has a riveted lanyard flipper thingy.  I thought it was well after 95 when the change was made to a rivet. 

Bruce

[J-sews]

I found that rather perplexing too Bruce. Must be they made the change to a rivet sooner than we'd thought.

[MultiMat]

$50  . I would grab one of those in a heart beat  .
I suspect they go for a tad more than $50 now days  .

'Interesting' styling on that Para 

[jojotlc]

these are works of art...no doubt..for display set piece   nice to fondle once a while.
being like Charge 25th sterling silver and its more pricier silverware.

good stuffs.. high factor
btw, with yearly CPI.. it could worth ten times now!