Multi-tool
Encyclopedia
A multi-tool is any one of a range of portable, versatile hand tool
Hand tool
A hand tool is a device for performing work on a material or a physical system using only hands. The hand tools can be manually used employing force, or electrically powered, using electrical current...

s that combines several individual functions in a single unit. The smallest are credit-card or key sized units designed for carrying in a wallet or on a keyring, but others are designed for to be carried in a trouser pocket or belt mounted pouch.

Historical

The idea of incorporating several tools in one small portable unit is very old, dating back at least as far as Middle Roman times. Many of these were based around eating.

Pocket knives

Among the earliest contemporary examples is the Swiss army knife
Swiss Army knife
The Swiss Army knife is a brand of pocket knife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG and Wenger SA. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing the German name....

 as supplied by makers Victorinox
Victorinox
Victorinox is a knife manufacturer based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has, once more, become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army.-History:...

 and Wenger
Wenger
Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives. Based in Delémont, Wenger was acquired by rival Victorinox in 2005.- History :The history of Wenger S.A...

. The actual version supplied to the Swiss army
Military of Switzerland
The Swiss Armed Forces perform the roles of Switzerland's militia and regular army. Under the country's militia system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of military personnel; the rest are male citizen conscripts 19 to 34 years old...

 includes a knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

 blade, a reamer
Reamer
A reamer is a metalworking tool used to create an accurate sized hole. The process is called reaming. They may be used as a hand tool or in a machine tool, such as a milling machine or drill press.-Construction:...

, a bottle-opener–screwdriver
Screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool for driving screws and often rotating other machine elements with the mating drive system. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver...

wire stripper
Wire stripper
A wire stripper is a small, hand-held device used to strip the electrical insulation from electric wires.-Manual:A simple manual wire stripper is a pair of opposing blades much like scissors or wire cutters. The addition of a center notch makes it easier to cut the insulation without cutting the...

, and a can-opener–screwdriver. Besides Victorinox and Wenger, many other manufacturers now make similar knives.

Other versions may include items like a nail file
Nail file
A nail file is a tool used to gently grind down and shape the edges of nails. They are often used in manicures and pedicures after the nail has been trimmed using appropriate nail clippers...

, tweezers
Tweezers
Tweezers are tools used for picking up and manipulating objects too small to be easily handled with the human hands. They are probably derived from tongs, pincers, or scissors-like pliers used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history...

, folding scissors
Scissors
Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...

, a tooth pick, a magnifying glass
Magnifying glass
A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle ....

, screwdriver bits and others. There are also versions that have special tools for specific sports or outdoor activities like golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, horseback riding
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 or fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

. Versions intended for cyclist
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

s may have a selection of allen (hex) keys, a selection of spanners, screwdrivers, a spoke key, and a chain-breaker.

Models like the Wenger SwissGrip, Wenger Pocketgrip, Al Mar 4x4, SOG ToolClip, and CRKT Zilla-Tool are similar in style.

Folding multi-tools

In 1984 Tim Leatherman sold his first "Pocket Survival Tool", larger and more robust than a pocket-knife based tool, and incorporating a set of needle-nosed pliers in a balisong
Balisong (knife)
A Butterfly knife, also known as a fan knife or Balisong, is a folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. It is sometimes called a Batangas knife, after the Tagalog province of Batangas in the...

-style mechanism. Too large for most pockets it came with a belt pouch. Today, Leatherman Tool Group
Leatherman
Leatherman is the trade name for a line of multi-tools, knives and LED flashlights manufactured and marketed by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon, USA.-Company history:Timothy S...

 manufactures and markets a variety of different multi-tool models.

"Leatherman" is now often treated as a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...

for the similar multi-tools now available from makers such as Coleman
Coleman
Coleman is a surname of both English and Gaelic origin, being found in both Great Britain and Ireland. In England, it is a trade name from Old English col, coal, and mann, man and in Ireland it comes from the personal name Colmán....

, Gerber Legendary Blades
Gerber Legendary Blades
Gerber Legendary Blades is a maker of consumer knives and multitools headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, United States, within the Portland metropolitan area. Currently Gerber is a sub-division of Fiskars Brands Inc, owned by the Fiskars company of Finland...

, Kershaw Knives
Kershaw Knives
Kershaw Knives is a multinational corporation that designs and manufactures a range of knives, including kitchen cutlery, pocket knives, and outdoor knives...

, Schrade
Schrade
-People:*Schrade * Leo Schrade, an American musicologist* Ulrich Schrade, a Polish philosopher...

, SOG Knife
SOG Knife
The SOG knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observation Group personnel during the Vietnam War. It was unmarked and supposedly untraceable to country of origin or manufacture in order to maintain plausible deniability of covert operators in the event of their death or...

, Victorinox
Victorinox
Victorinox is a knife manufacturer based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has, once more, become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army.-History:...

, Craftsman
Craftsman (tools)
Craftsman is a line of tools and lawn and garden equipment controlled by Sears Holdings Corporation; the brand is owned by KCD IP, LLC, a special purpose entity created by Sears Holdings for securitization purposes....

- along with many unbranded types produced in low-cost production regions, and smaller mini and micro units are often small enough for pockets or even key rings.

External links

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