rockpaperink

September 4, 2012

Pocket Survival Tool

Tim Leatherman, 1983

Authors: William Lidwell, Gerry Manacsa

The Swiss Army knife is unquestionably a classic of design and the seminal multitool, but in modern use one is quickly reminded that the knife was originally designed for soldiers in the late 1800s. Still useful, but perhaps not ideally suited for practical civilian use — a limitation that would ultimately be the inspiration for the modern Leatherman multitool. Tim Leatherman comments: "My wife and I decided to travel abroad in 1975. We were young — it was one of those budget trips, and we bought an old Fiat in Amsterdam for $300. I was carrying a Boy Scout–type knife and used it for everything, from slicing bread to making adjustments to the car. But I kept wishing I had a pair of pliers! During the trip — it lasted almost nine months — I had a piece of paper in my pocket where I listed ideas for new products, things I might work on back in the U.S. It was in a hotel room in Tehran that I started sketching a pocketknife that contained pliers. Once we got back to Portland, I asked my wife if I could build it — just one for me. I told her it would only take a month, and she got a job to support us … My month turned into three years. I learned that I'm not a very good inventor. I don't have much foresight. You know Marconi, who built some of the first radios? I've heard that before he picked up a pencil, he had the entire model envisioned in his mind. I'm not that way. It took a few months just to visualize each part of the knife." The Leatherman PST is constructed of high-grade stainless steel. Folding motions are firm but smooth. The device looks and feels dependable, indestructible — the kind of tool you want in an emergency situation. The moniker "LEATHERMAN TOOL" is machine etched into the handle, a dull and superfluous branding given the refined embossment around the primary axis. Basic operation is easily discoverable through the effective use of visibility and constraints. In the folded configuration, the PST looks like a metal folding yardstick. It is small enough for the pocket, but too large and heavy to be casually carried — it is more appropriately sized for the glovebox of a car, a backpack, or hanging from a lanyard. In the opened configuration, the PST becomes a pair of needle-nose pliers. This is the base functionality of the multitool, and as pliers go, its performance is equivalent to its unifunctional cousin. The base functionality of a multitool is of critical importance, as it defines the primary functionality of the tool and determines the real estate and design affordances of its secondary functionalities. The post-industrial world is replete with small cracks and crevices filled with wires, tiny fasteners, and mechanisms of various sorts. As a base function, pliers make sense, and offer a greater range of practical applications than a knife. And, unlike the Swiss Army variety of knives, the Leatherman PST is able to leverage the real estate provided by two handles, essentially doubling the physical envelope of a knife for additional tools. The PST also leverages the handles to improve safety. When a particular tool is deployed (e.g., a blade) the handles are designed to close, preventing the tool from closing and causing injury while in use.

Alan Cooper

Technology Design One of the few multitools to find a sweet spot between quality and breadth of function. Each of the things it does, it does poorly compared to a single-function tool, but all of the things it does are good enough to make it useful. This by nature relegates it to the role of a mechanical first aid kit. If you know that you need to tighten a bolt, you'll bring along a wrench and do the job right, but until you get the correct wrench, or file, or fid, or awl, or screwdriver, the Leatherman will tide you over.

Kimberly Elam

Graphic Design

The idea of a Swiss Army knife–style multitool is irresistible. My Leatherman waits patiently in the glove compartment of my car for an emergency repair. Never mind that I know nothing about car repair — I feel safer just knowing it's there.

Jon Kolko

Interaction Design

The classic tool has evolved to meet the increasing demands of the modern-day survivalist, and is now offered in Skeletool, Charge, Core, Surge, Wave, Crunch, Blast, Fuse, and Kick varieties. But even these power-drink inspired sub-brands can't compete with the Leatherman Argentum Luxury Knife; for $40,000, you can be the belle of the deer hunt, showing off your Leatherman Argentum Charge Del Rey. But be forewarned, as even $40K won't get you the one tool our modern-day Leatherman needs to get the job done: a USB drive is not included in any of the Leatherman Pocket Survival Tools.

Rob Tannen

Human Factors

The American cousin of the Swiss Army knife — larger, less refined, but perhaps more utilitarian.

Source: DECONSTRUCTING PRODUCT DESIGN

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