Starting in 2019, Leatherman has now (in 2020) released their entire new line. FREE Leatherman Engraved Tools. I visited their factory in 2013 and 2014. That’s when they started to plan this new line of “easier-to-use” multitools. Their plan was to make their tools more user friendly. The design engineers watched how the average customers used their tools, and asked them how the tools could be improved. One major factor was the task of using your fingernails to open each tool, using its “nail nick”. For hundreds of years, pocket knives have used nail nicks in the blades to grab the blade and open it. But what if you don’t have the right kind of fingernails? Or no fingernails? You were out of luck.
Problem solved
The engineering team focused on this opening function to make a better tool…one that is fun to use. The implements are easy to open and easy to close. You can, but you don’t have to use your fingernails. After you get the hang of it, you will find it is easier to use your finger pad to push against the tool flippers to open them. You can even open and close the parts of the FREE tools with one hand.
3 Styles
Leatherman has 3 styles of their new FREE tools. The P series (with pliers), the K series (a multi-knife), and the T series (the multi-tool without pliers).
Free?
I really don’t know how Leatherman came up with this name. Maybe you have a sense of freedom when you switch from a regular multi-tool to the new FREE series. You have the freedom of using your finger pad instead of your finger nails. Even when you release the lock, to put each implement away, your finger doesn’t suffer from a sharp edge of any release mechanism. The Leatherman FREE line is a whole new fun experience in using your favorite multi-tool.