Tim Leatherman Quotes

104 Tim Leatherman Quotes (Timothy S Leatherman; Leatherman Tool Group; The original American multi-tool.)

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[On telling his wife he thought it would take maybe one month to design and make the first Leatherman tool but it ending up taking three years.] There’s a fine line between perseverance and failure to accept reality.
Tim Leatherman

I did not fear failure at all because every time I failed I was maybe disappointed but I was learning…
Tim Leatherman

[In June 2002.] I guess if there is one word to describe me, it would be persistent.
Tim Leatherman

I kept wishing I had a pair of pliers!
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] I just wanted one tool for myself.
Tim Leatherman

Since my name is on every tool we make, I still feel a responsibility for the quality of each one we sell.
Tim Leatherman

I’m Tim Leatherman the co-founder of the Leatherman Tool Group Incorporated.
Tim Leatherman

[Tool for success #1.] Let catalogs and stores be your design consultants - they know what sells.
Tim Leatherman

[Tool for success #2.] When setting product deadlines, allot extra time for ideas to evolve.
Tim Leatherman

[Tool for success #3.] Don't allow potential customers to ignore you - bombard them with calls and letters.
Tim Leatherman



[In November 2001.] We always learn as we go along.
Tim Leatherman

You should do something you feel passionate about and believe in the thing you decide to do.
Tim Leatherman

Be willing to continue to educate yourself.
Tim Leatherman

[On setting up a business.] Learn to start small and grow.
Tim Leatherman

Every failure was a teaching moment that taught me something.
Tim Leatherman

[In June 2002.] The business I am in is preparedness. If you think of it like that, there are plenty of opportunities for the future.
Tim Leatherman

It was an overnight success after eight years of trying.
Tim Leatherman

[On giving all new Leatherman employees a personally engraved set of Leatherman tools when they first join Leatherman as a constant reminder of what the employee should be trying to accomplish in their job.] If they want to know how they’re doing, they just have to pull out their own tools to check the quality.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 1993 on copiers.] We're just a small company with a couple of products. We can't afford not to go after knockoffs.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 1993.] When someone buys a knockoff they think they're buying ours. When it turns out to be a piece of junk from China, they return it to us for warranty saying they're not satisfied. That hurts us - and we don't know how many times people have bought imitations and haven't complained.
Tim Leatherman



[In November 1993.] I might demand damages from a large company with resources, but only demand cessation of copying from a smaller company.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 1993.] It's a matter of your company's life. You have to do this.
Tim Leatherman

[In March 1997.] It was a low-budget trip and I wound up doing a lot of work on our rental car and hotel plumbing. My only tool, a Boy Scout knife, would have been more useful with pliers built in. So I started thinking along those lines.
Tim Leatherman

[In October 1997 on winning a Cooper Industries Inc trademark violation.] This is a very exciting day for us because it's the first time we received a court decision.
Tim Leatherman

[In January 1999 on the locking pliers feature.] We've been working on this concept for many years. I really like the idea of clamping and locking the pliers in position, leaving both hands free to continue working. I think our customers will be surprised how useful this feature really is.
Tim Leatherman

[In January 1999.] I was trying to build a pocket tool that met not only my needs, but the needs of others as well. I always thought there might be a business in this thing.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] What I came up with in my mind was a knife with a pair of pliers, but the market saw it as a pair of pliers with a knife - that's the idea that really took off.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] There were really three main challenges. First, was the design itself. Starting in 1975, it took three years to design and construct what in my mind was a marketable tool. Then there was the sales obstacle. After the three years of design work, it took another five years and more changes to the tool design before finding a customer. The third challenge was production, which began in late 1983, with 200 tools produced.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] We feel there are three main types of people that are Leatherman customers: the outdoor recreationist, including hikers, campers, boaters, bird watchers, etc., the professional user, including plumbers, electricians, firemen, soldiers, EMTs, etc., and do-it-yourselfers, who use our tools to do projects at home.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] My job now gives me a chance to grow, learn, develop new skills. It's fun and exciting!
Tim Leatherman



[In December 1999.] A few years ago a couple of people in sales came in with a small block of wood and said, ‘Within this size constraint, put in anything and everything possible.’ We gave it to one of our engineers, a brilliant young designer, and it ended up being a scissors tool. I resisted for a while, because I felt we should still be developing pliers tools, but then I just sat back and let it happen. It seems to be important to know when to do that.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999 on whether all Leatherman multi-tools are all made in Portland?] Yes. I’m sitting in the factory right now.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] We are definitely a product-driven company. We need to keep developing the best products.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999.] We welcome input from our customers.
Tim Leatherman

[In December 1999 on one of the stories told to his father when he took one of their relatives to hospital.] The first doctor had a complaint. He said the tip of his small screwdriver had twisted. My dad told him the tool is guaranteed 25 years, send it in, and the company will be happy to fix it.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 2001.] It's better to have 15 useful features than 75 questionable ones.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 2001 on liking design engineers who can not only create concepts on paper.] But walk up to a milling machine and make the chips fly.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 2001.] The last thing we want is for one of our competitors to come up with a feature we wish we had invented.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 2001.] Manufacturing with rivets is a lot more challenging.
Tim Leatherman

[In November 2001.] What should we put in the pockets? We said, 'Bingo, blades.’
Tim Leatherman



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