For a brand built on packing a variety of implements into a stealthy, unassuming package, Leatherman’s latest release seems like a stark departure from that ethos.
The Harvest fixed-blade knife hides no extra tools and won’t fold down or pack away into a pocket. But according to Lee Leatherman — son of founder Tim Leatherman and the mind behind the specialty Innovation Garage — the Harvest remains true to the brand’s purpose.
“The idea of Harvest was to create a singular tool that could have many uses — a multipurpose knife, if you will — one that could be used from field to forest and beyond,” he told GearJunkie.
So instead of multiple tools in one package, Leatherman markets the Harvest as one tool with multiple uses. No doubt, the Harvest knife — the sixth limited-edition release from the Garage program — will be highly sought after. Not least of all, because it marks Leatherman’s first-ever standalone, fixed-blade knife.
Leatherman Harvest Fixed Blade
As if the exclusivity and novelty of the Harvest weren’t compelling enough, the brand had to employ special quality controls to properly manufacture the knife.
Leatherman told GearJunkie that the knife’s size presented unique challenges. Because it is both larger and thicker than other tools produced at its Portland, Ore., facility, the tolerances and variation were magnified. So, to compensate and “achieve the level of precision and quality that we desire,” Leatherman said it switched to manual machines in place of its usual automated ones.
Manufacturers worked some of the processes by hand.
The result is a 9.1-inch (OAL) implement, with 4.25-inch S35VN steel honed to a flat grind edge. White G10 wraps the handle, which includes a lanyard hole.
You may not need a lanyard, however, as the Harvest ships with its own leather sheath.
