How it began!

[Poncho65]

The first time I ever saw a Leatherman was probably sometime in 1995. My grandma had bought a set of folding pliers for my grandpa at a yard sale for cheap. I have always loved knives and even then collected those. Something about this was different and I was very intrigued. They said Leatherman Tool on them and cam in a nice black leather sheath with Leatherman in gold lettering. I usually got them from him when I visited and played with them (never thinking to ask for some of my own?!?! ) Fast forward several years later and I had owned a few different non plier based multitools and even a couple Keychain tools but not a Leatherman.  It was in 2007 that I remembered my grandpa's pliers. He had passed the year before and I am sure my grandma hadn't thought that I would want them. I asked her for them and she went and found them. No sheath though! She said she was sure it was around and would look for it. She found it a few days later to my happiness!  I started carrying them and went online to search for information about this "Leatherman Tool". I stumbled upon a site called multitooldotorg in my search in early 2008. It seemed like a friendly atmosphere and I felt I could ask my questions. I found out it was a Leatherman PST that was made in 1994. After that I started collecting, a bit overwhelmed with the amount of models that were available but never looked back.

[Poncho65]

So, how did the story begin for you?

[CAMPBELL03]

I was a knives guy since 10years old, I grew up with Macgyver so  a swiss army knife was my reference  for a multitool, but that concept change when a good friend of mine, showme me  a  PST  (early 2001) and I wasn't shure that it was for me, I thought "is more like a Pliers with tools" , untill 10  years later I saw a Skeletool and I felt in love with that was my first  Leatherman.

Enviado desde mi MAR-LX3A mediante Tapatalk

[CAMPBELL03]

Pardon for my english if I made a mistake

Enviado desde mi MAR-LX3A mediante Tapatalk

[Poncho65]

Great story,  CAMPBELL  English is fine to me

[RF52]

It started with a SAK I got from my dad, a Vic Explorer. And growing up watching MacGyver I was always running home after school to not miss anything on the episode of the day.
Then I got a Wenger Viking from my grandfather and several Vic Classics from my dad, which I usually broke or lost.
And after a few years my dad got a PSTII as a christmas gift from his work that I eventually managed to get.
That PSTII was my work carry as a train mechanic for 6 years, and still works great!
I still have all of the tools I got from my dad and grandfather, allthough they don't see much use now.

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[Poncho65]

Great story,  RF

[Rich_SD]

Great stories, Poncho, Campbell, and RF.   

Here's my quick story.

The first time I saw a Leatherman was at the Base Exchange about 30 years ago.  I have to admit, I thought it was a ridiculous invention, and I had absolutely no interest in getting one.  Fast forward a few years, and I was given a few multitools from work.  One was a Gerber Multiplier (Mr. Pinchy) and one was a Leatherman Micra.  I fell in love with the Micra pretty quick.  I carried it with me everywhere, and it must have opened 10,000 boxes and cut miles of fingernails.   

I had purchased some Leathermans over the years (like a Wave and another Micra to keep in my car), but until this year that original Gerber and Micra were the only multitools I used.  Last May, I had a leak in my water pressure regulator, and the plumber stole my Gerber when he was in my garage installing a new one    I immediately replaced it with a Gerber MP600, but it felt a lot different than my original one.  That led me to researching multitools to find one I would like as much as my Gerber.  I think I got a Skeletool first, then a Surge, then a Center Drive, then a Wingman, and I never stopped 

[Poncho65]

Great story,  Rich  I believe I would have tracked the plumber down and had a few words with him if I had noticed anything missing 

[hsherzfeld]

My introduction to Leatherman was one of the many episodes of Survivorman in which Les Stroud used a Leatherman Wave or Charge as his primary survival tool. This was when my family finally got cable in 2010 or so; I was probably 15 at the time.

My first multitool was Gerber's Bear Grylls Compact multitool (essentially a Gerber Splice with pliers and some of the tools arranged differently).

 My first Leatherman was a Sidekick that I bought with Christmas money in 2012 (back when it was only $29.99 USD), but even then, the Wave was my dream multitool because it was the one Survivorman used. I also bought a Style PS because it was bladeless and therefore I could take it to school without getting in serious trouble.

I finally bought a Wave with high school graduation gift money.
I then found my (late) grandfather's PST at my grandmother's house, and she said I could keep it. 
I gave my Sidekick to my college roommate as a Christmas present, and I'm regretting it now that Sidekicks have doubled in price!

My next big Leatherman purchase was a Wave+ in 2018. Then a Blast in 2020. Then a pair of OG Waves in 2021. Then a Bond in 2021. Then a Curl in 2021 (thank you, U.S. Government stimulus check!) This buying spree just happened to coincide with my joining this forum. 

After that big wave (ha ha!) of multitool purchasing and now that I've discovered multitool perfection (aka the Curl modded with a Wave's saw blade replacing the file), my collecting has slowed down and shifted more to SAKs. 

[Adam5]

If memory serves me correctly, the first MT I ever saw besides cheap SAK clones was the PST with the improved plier head. I bought one from Home Depot sometime from 1999 to 2001. It came with a nylon sheath. After about a year of edc, I lost the PST under a house.

I could not afford to replace the PST, so I went through 2 or 3 cheap PST knock-offs. Eventually I was able to but a Suspension that I pocket carried for years. I must have lost the first Suspension, because I bought another one while at my current job. 2 or 3 years ago I also bought a Klein hybrid MT, but I found it to be too bulky to pocket carry and it does  not come with a sheath. So the Suspension remained my edc MT.

After years of barely getting by, my financial situation has markedly improved. Enough so my wife and I could afford to get ourselves Christmas gifts. I searched Amazon looking for ideas on what to get. I noticed that there were MTs other than the Klein being marketed towards electricians. In the process of obtaining additional information I found this den of enablers. Next thing I know, I have bought so many MTs in the past year that I am embrassed to tell even you guys how many 

[Poncho65]

Great stories hsherz and Adam

Adam, I think most of us know how you feel a bit I have way more than I know what to do with and have collected slowly over the years because of finances at times as well

[ReamerPunch]

My father had given me a knock-off Huntsman he found in a parking lot. This would have been around 1997. It was a good knock-off, and I had no idea what Victorinox was back then.
Fast forward to 2015. I wanted a good edc screwdriver, so I started looking around. I found out what Victorinox was, I realized I had a knock-off, and ordered a Fieldmaster. It was great, but then I thought, "SwissChamp? What's that like?" and ordered it. It was also great. I also discovered Leatherman, so I ordered a Micra. I liked it a lot, so I ordered a Wingman. It was not great, so I ordered a Rebar. It was very great.
Then I thought I'd learn more, so I started watching reviews on the tube, and I also discovered MTO.
And it went on from there. Now I have a healthy assortment of tools.
And, it took five years, but the solution to the edc screwdriver came in the form of a mini ratchet, that rides on my wallet, and two bit carrying sleeves and an extension, in the coin pocket.

[Rich_SD]

Great stories, hsherzfeld, Adam, and RP 

I found this den of enablers. Next thing I know, I have bought so many MTs in the past year that I am embrassed to tell even you guys how many 

Haha!  So true!

[dmattaponi]

In 1995 I was a graduate assistant helping to run an archaeology field school, and a friend of mine introduced me to the multitool.  He used it to touch up sharpen his trowel.  The metric ruler was helpful when measuring our 10cm level interval unit excavations (and other metric measurements on the prehistoric site we were working on).  Not to mention the knife, pliers, and wire cutters were helpful.  After watching and admiring his for a while, I bought my first multitool, a Gerber Multiplier.  I loved the tool (although it bit me pretty quickly so I learned to be careful with it).  Used it until it came up missing about 12 years later.  Bought my first Leatherman in 2006.

I’ll admit though that my favorite multitool for use in archaeology became the Victorinox Swisschamp…mostly for the scissors, and the magnifying glass (as my eyes aged).  The SAK converted a lot of students (of the millennial age) to the usefulness of something other than the cell phone in their pocket in later field schools, that is until I finally gave it away to a favorite assistant of my own in 2017. Even so, a Leatherman or two was always kept handy.


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[kottskrapa]

Growing up my mother had a small fixedblade in her purse and my dad had a spartan and I don't remember how old I was but I don't think I had turned 10 yet but I got a spartan of my own. I was proud as one can be.

Me and a friend was playing in the woods and I had my spartan and a friend had a PST he had gotten from his dad. At least I think it was, it was mid 90s

I lost that spartan and a friend of my dad gave me a used sportsman and I had that on me for many years up to my mid 20s when my now wife asked me if I had any pliers on me. I didn't but did not want to be in that situation again so I started to look around. I bought a juice s2, then a OG wave, some other VIC's, a style ps, ended up here and down the rabbit hole it was.

Still don't have so many Leatherman tools and right now I'm using a modded rebar that does everything I want from it

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[Chako]

My father and I were fairly inseparable. We had a fantastic relationship. During High School, I wanted to try archery. Before I knew it, both of us bought cheap second hand bows and joined the local archery club. That led to us buying a pair of American Camper multi-tools to help us pull arrows in trees and to field maintain our equipment. This would be in the early to mid 90s. By the late 90's my father bought himself a Schrade ST1 Tough Tool  as something he liked to wear at home on weekends. After a while, I wanted to emulate him somewhat and couldn't afford the Schrade, so I got myself a Coleman Prolock. That would be my second multi-tool, but the first I would wear everywhere I went. When the Leatherman Pulse came out, my father retired the Schrade and got himself a Pulse. During this time, I was quite happy with my American Camper in the archery box, and my Coleman Prolock.

In 2008, my father lost his battle with cancer. I put off cleaning his room for a month or so. When it was time for me to do so, I found around 20 or so multi-tools stashed all over his bedroom. At the time, I put them all together and thought it might be a nice gesture to collect multi-tools in his honour. Every time I thought of my father, he always had a knife or multi-tool strapped on his belt. Thus began my research of what I already had from him. I found MT.O quickly enough as a source of information. I then started to acquire more tools. At first I did not know of the forums here. I found those sometime in 2009. I joined quickly enough and started to combine my love of photography with my newfound love of multi-tools. When I first started, I thought I would only need to get 4 Leathermans and be done with it. I was so very wrong. It has been a great journey, tinged with a sad start, but I have made a lot of new friends that I would have never made. I still honour my father with my collection. I guess we all have our own reasons for collecting/using. 

This was my father's dress tool. I call it that because once he retired the Schrade, this was always what he wore off work.

IMG_0256A by Chako, on Flickr

Prior to all of this, my father gave me a Hobo knife when we went camping back in 1980 if memory serves me correctly. I was upgrade in grade 9 with a Ruko folder that was made in Japan. I did not start with Victorinox until I was a member here in good standing and wanted to participate in the Swiss forums.

[Fireman]

When I was a kid, my uncle gave me a Japanese Wonder Knife.  Being a kid, I thought it was awesome. 



Later on I bought a Vic Climber, but after I got on the FD I saw a Leatherman PST thought it might be a better work tool.  I carried that PST or a Paratool every work day for the rest of my career.  I used it a lot during overhaul to cut window screens or partially burnt mattresses and furniture.  It was also my loaner to anyone who asked, "Can I borrow your knife?"  Even then I asked what they were going to do with it.     You can't trust another fireman not to break something. 

Disclaimer: I also used it to cut a piece of twine and the knifeless friend who was holding said twine.  He must have twitched or something, because my aim is usually pretty good. 

[SurgeUk]

What a great thread 

For me it all started back when I joined the Boy Scouts (1977-ish) and continued from there. I had my Grandfathers knife then which, thinking about it, was probably a 40's/50's type scout knife folder and a sheath knife (both have long since gone) He also gifted my his proper leather scout belt (complete with belt hooks) and his leather woggle, also lost in the sands of time

From there I had the usual suspect rip off SAKs bought in cheap tourist type shops at places like Windsor Castle and Safari Park or Costal Towns on holidays and school trips etc. I also had what I know know to be a rip off Buck 110 bought from a newspaper ad' back in the early 80's followed by various knives and daggers bought in markets in the early 80's and, do you know what? I loved them all 

I got my first proper SAK type (that I recall  ) from my own money in about '84-85 and that would have been a GAK, which again went MIA  I joined the Army a few years later and was issued a PST, I have no idea what year it was made? and it was lost on excercise in early '88. About a year later I had a Mini  but it was stolen 

Fast forward a couple of years/decades and I had a ParaTool (stolen) followed by a Wave, Charge Tti (given away) Gerber Pro-Scout & Surge (issued and still carried) All these have been accompanied by other LM's and SAKs (OHT, Skeletool CX, Juice CS4 and Spartans and a Climber or two)

Then I found this place and well, you know...

[SteveC]

Long story short is that back in the early 1990's a coworker of mine had a PST. I saw how handy it was and decided to get one for myself. I carried it for work for 20 years until coming here to read about a Rebar as a replacement. I decided to join and the rest is history 

[gadgetman7]

I started with one of those old sheet metal multitools that had a small knife, fingernail file and bottle opener/ screwdriver when I was 7 or 8 years old.  I loved that cheap little tool and used it until my dad gave up on trying to sharpen the blade while trying to teach me how to do it.

For my ninth birthday I got a Victorinox Tinker. I carried that knife everyday for four years. (We could carry pocket knives in school then.) Then I got a Victorinox Supertinker for my thirteenth birthday. I loved the scissors and carried it through high school and college.

I saw the Leatherman PST but didn’t think much about it but an engineer friend had one and raved about it. I bought a PST in 1990. At first I thought it was too big but used it to move once. After that experience I never looked back.

I became a Leatherman collector and have most of the models since but I am missing the Flair and some of the knives. I love the utility and always have one either on me or near me. My favorite is still the Charge though.

About 6 years ago I had just lost another Micra and my wife gave me a Victorinox Minichamp for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. I put it in my pocket more out of courtesy but found out that this tiny tool was perfect for EDC along side a folder or Leatherman. I started looking at Victorinox again and am now a collector of all sizes of them as well.

I found Multitool forums a few years ago but haven’t really been keeping up here until lately. I don’t respond as often as I should but will try to do better. By the way, Chako, you have a beautiful collection!


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[Poncho65]

Awesome stories everybody 

Love hearing how people got into MTs and how peeps ended up here

[Chako]

Thank you gadgetman7. 

Incidentally gadgetman was my high school nickname. I got it due to being the first at my school to get a Casio calculator watch. ,

[gadgetman7]

It was/is a nickname I got from Search and Rescue…


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[Barry Rowland]

I found a PST at work that no one knew anything about.  My Dad had one, which I lost, and was thrilled to find this one.  I wanted to learn more about them, and did a search which led me to MTO.  It was the best search I ever made!  The folks here are first class all the way! 

[Poncho65]

And we are glad you found us, Barry

[Barry Rowland]

  Buddy!!

[Aloha]

Terrific thread. 

I enjoy reading all the responses so thank you for posting. 

I had a Buck 110 at about 12-13.  It was quickly taken from me by my father.  I had always been interested in knives but didn't really buy or carry much till about 20 when I had a Buck 110 knock off.  I used it for work as a warehouse worker opening lots of boxes.  I only ever carried it at work.  Fast forward many years, I bought a CNC ( cheap and cheerful ) for work.  It served me well for a long time till I gave it to an employee.  I picked up another from a box store and for what I needed it served me well yet again till I gave it away to another employee.  I cannot recall either brand.

During the holidays I saw a deal for a Wingman or Sidekick plus Style.  I picked up the Wingman and gave the Style to a friend.  I could tell the quality was nicer and it was my first Leatherman.  I went back and picked up the Sidekick and I think another Wingman.  I went to another store and picked up a Wenger Esquire and Victorinox Recruit. 

After using my Wingman I decided to look into the other offerings from Leatherman. I saw that the Wave and Surge which both seemed to be wonderful tools.  I decided to look online for reviews which brought me here to MTO 

I had no clue there were so many others buying and learning about these tools and a whole lot more.  What really got me was the modding and pictures of collections.  Chako comes to mind since he always takes such nice pictures and has such a wonderful collection.  As I began to look at everything I thought it would be fun to collect the retired Leatherman tools, down the rabbit hole I went. 
       

[Poncho65]

Great story,  Aloha It really is neat to see how people made their way here and how they started using and or collecting 

[pa_strunk]

My story is much like all of yours. My first knife was a Kutmaster "Purina" knife. Promotional item my grandfather received from sales at his ranch and feed supply store. One of my most cherished items to this very day. However, I can specifically blame one particular boy scout for setting my hobby into overdrive. Basically I went to summer camp around age 12 at Camp Simpson with many scouts from all over the region. While sitting under a pavilion on a hot afternoon I see a fellow scout handling two brand new swiss champs. One with red scales and the other with black. Can still remember how all the tools glistened in the sun light just like it was yesterday. After working up some courage I asked him if I could check one out and he told me "NO" emphatically. Keep in mind, both of my parents were simple teachers and could not afford such things, but I promised myself someday I will buy any swiss knife I like. That Christmas my grandmother bought me a super tinker model and that was SAK #1. After scouts I joined the US Army. 4th generation and my daughter is the 5th generation to serve. Any soldier knows you need your tools, because the ones Uncle Sam provides will not always get the job done. Still in the USAR and still hording SAKs and MTs like they are going out of style. Why this forum is so good for all of us.