Made of Mettle is the unlikely success story of Tim Leatherman, who spent years in his garage engineering and designing the world’s first pliers-based multi-tool. Persevering through skeptics and hundreds of rejections, he finally brought to market the Leatherman PST, and changed, not only his life, but the lives of countless others around the world.
Not your typical documentary. Very little about the actual development and design of this iconic tool but more about the people and some of their amazing stories.
A Leatherman (I didn’t realize there was an actual person it was named after) is a family heirloom, much like the also iconic Zippo (I still remember my dad giving me a Zippo engraved with the emblem of the Canadian Navy ship he served on. I had that lighter for years and cried when I lost it). Not being mechanical, I never knew about the Leatherman until I moved to Nashville and a listener heard me talking about them on my podcast. He kindly sent me one and I excitedly opened it – and immediately sliced my finger open with the blade.
I still have it but I rarely use it. I think it’s cursed.
A friend gave me a Leatherman back in the 1980s, once he learned about my day job’s occasional secondary (and undocumented) task of upgrading poorly-specced art-department Macs.
After almost losing it to an office contractor’s assistant (who I insisted be called back to return it), I still have it and use the thing regularly.
Never been injured by it, though. Sorry, Shawn.
Still have and use my circa 1988 model. An awesome tool that’s saved my bacon more than once. It and my similar vintage Victorinox ‘Camper’ knife are daily carry items in my pack. I used the tweezers on the knife just this morning….
That reunion at the end is priceless.
Who would’ve thought all those years of development, knock backs, he would go on to make a product that would save lives.
I think there’s a lesson in that for everyone.