sidekick

ver heiratet · Sep 19, 2013

My Leatherman Sidekick, provides me with everything I need in a multi-tool. Lately I got to wondering where it was made. I got rid of the packaging long ago, and I can't find any markings on the unit. Any information concerning it's origin would be great. Could it be one of the tools that I have read about that have the parts made at one location and the tool assembled somewhere else?

znapschatz · Sep 19, 2013

ver heiratet said:
My Leatherman Sidekick, provides me with everything I need in a multi-tool. Lately I got to wondering where it was made. I got rid of the packaging long ago, and I can't find any markings on the unit. Any information concerning it's origin would be great. Could it be one of the tools that I have read about that have the parts made at one location and the tool assembled somewhere else?

Assembled in USA with enough domestic content to qualify as "Made in USA" in most states, but not in California. To avoid future hassles, Leatherman dropped the designation on its products sold everywhere.

ver heiratet · Sep 19, 2013

Thanks for the info.

VictorLouis · Sep 21, 2013

znapschatz said:
.. To avoid future hassles, Leatherman dropped the designation on its products sold everywhere.

Not sure I understand what you mean. You mean they USED to say Made in USA/China, as the case may be?

I have the same tool, but haven't wrung it out.

ver heiratet · Sep 21, 2013

I am just wondering where they put them together. I will still get a lot of use out of mine where ever that may be.

znapschatz · Sep 21, 2013

VictorLouis said:
Not sure I understand what you mean. You mean they USED to say Made in USA/China, as the case may be?

I have the same tool, but haven't wrung it out.

Until the company was successfully sued by the state of California, all their multitools were stamped "Leatherman USA". After, they were stamped "Leatherman Tool." I'm not sure of the exact year the changeover occurred, but I have a Super Tool from 1997 stamped "USA." Leatherman multi-tools were never made in China.

ver heiratet said:
I am just wondering where they put them together. I will still get a lot of use out of mine where ever that may be.

Leatherman multi-tools are assembled at their factory in Portland, Oregon, USA. They also manufacture all parts for them except for pliers castings (Mexico), files (Austria) and maybe something else.

ver heiratet · Sep 22, 2013

It's great to hear this news I think my jaw dropped when I found out that my Gerber tool was made over seas. The multi-tool just seems like such a iconic part of modern American culture. When I think of Gerber I am reminded of the Time mag picture of the Navy Seal dressing for battle with the Gerber holster on his hip.

znapschatz · Sep 22, 2013

ver heiratet said:
It's great to hear this news I think my jaw dropped when I found out that my Gerber tool was made over seas. The multi-tool just seems like such a iconic part of modern American culture. When I think of Gerber I am reminded of the Time mag picture of the Navy Seal dressing for battle with the Gerber holster on his hip.

Although made in USA Gerbers were as good as any, I suspect that the Navy's multi-tool choice was probably influenced more by the lowest bid.

What I can't understand, though, is why the quality dropped on Gerber's Chinese made tools compared to its US products.
It doesn't have to be that way. Chinese industry is capable of turning out really good stuff. I think that Fenix flashlights, for example, are very high quality, as good as they come. Okay, I can understand a US company under cost pressure might turn over some or all of its manufacturing to a cheap offshore source, but why can't they retain their quality standards? Isn't Asian child labor cheap enough already?

VictorLouis · Sep 22, 2013

znapschatz said:
Until the company was successfully sued by the state of California, all their multitools were stamped "Leatherman USA". After, they were stamped "Leatherman Tool." I'm not sure of the exact year the changeover occurred, but I have a Super Tool from 1997 stamped "USA."

Kommifornia:barf: Figures. Wonder if they squeezed enough outta Leatherman to even pay for their exploratory litigation, or just a paper victory.

Yalius · Sep 23, 2013

I wonder why LM doesn't stamp "Made in Oregon" on them, that would at least put a lot of questions to rest.

znapschatz · Sep 24, 2013

VictorLouis said:
Kommifornia:barf: Figures. Wonder if they squeezed enough outta Leatherman to even pay for their exploratory litigation, or just a paper victory.

No, Leatherman got slapped with a hefty multi-million dollar fine. Sorry about that, but I believe the California law is a good one. Very little these days is 100% made in USA for various reasons, not always economic. For example, there are some fasteners and materials simply not made here anymore. Because of that fact of manufacturing life, states have enacted "domestic content" laws to qualify a product for being labeled "Made in USA." These requirements vary from state to state, with more or less leeway. There are Toyotas that have more domestic content than many GM models. California is among the most rigorous in making sure the claim of made in USA has some meaning. I'm all for that.