Leatherman

On a budget trip to Europe in 1975, Tim Leatherman and his wife Chau continually encountered problems with leaking pipes at hotels and roadside repairs of their temperamental Fiat. Tim realized the need for a pliers-based, multi-functional tool. "I had brought a scout knife and used it for everything from cutting bread to fixing the car. But I always wished I had a pair of pliers!"

When Tim returned to the USA, he brought back the idea of a "multitool", some sketches he had made on the trip, and set to work.

When Tim started on the prototype for this new tool, he assumed it would take him a month. Instead, it took the next three years to build the prototype he had envisioned and apply for a patent. With the patent application and prototype in hand, he began to sell his idea. Unfortunately, none of the companies he approached were interested. For another three and a half years, Tim received one rejection letter after another. Until he teamed up with his college friend, Steve Berliner, and in the spring of 1983, they received their first order for 500 tools from Cabela's and launched the first Leatherman tool, PST.

Read more about Leatherman here