 |
|
|
|||||
For decades, Leatherman has defined the multi-tool category and built an obsessive fanbase. So lets be real: For the launch of its first standalone knife series, announced today, the company could have simply bought a warehouse of cheap blades and slapped its branding on it, and it would have sold perfectly well. But the knives I’m holding are not that. They’re sublimely weighted. They’re made with innovative production methods and a cutting-edge steel. With its line of three fixed-blade knives and two folders, Leathermans goal is to establish itself as a legit player in the knife categoryand the company is using craft and design to try to differentiate itself from the rest of the field. We want to work at a company that does amazingly well-thought-out, well-crafted productand we wouldn’t settle for anything less than what we would want to carry, says Leatherman Senior Industrial Designer Mark Perusich. So it had to be premium. It had to be tough. It had to be durable. It had to be functional. Those are all the key tenants that any good knife should have. But for us, [it was about] bringing it to the next level. [Photo: Leatherman] WHITE SPACE Leathermans home base of Oregon is knife country. Here, Benchmade, CRKT, Gerber and other brands craft more than half of the knives sold domestically. Leatherman has been making its signature multi-tools in Portland since 1983, when Tim Leatherman introduced his PST (pocket survival tool), and today the company is worth more than $100 million. With consumer demand for a dedicated knife line and enthusiastic champions in CEO Benjamin Rivera and Director of Special Projects Lee Leatherman, the company began working on the products in late 2023. With the exception of a few limited drops and smaller releases, Leatherman may be new to the solo knife categorybut that doesnt mean its inexperienced in bladecraft. We’ve been making, you know, 3 million knives a year, Perusich says. Theyve just been going into multi-tools. Still, Senior Product Manager Jackson Wang adds, the fact that they are technically new to the format does give them an advantagewhite space, and a chance to make something that feels uniquely Leatherman. From a branding perspective, that means unwavering perseverance, ingenious design, and the ability to save the day, he says. From a practical standpoint, that meant aiming for a durable and quality tool that could be passed down to the next generation. [Photo: Leatherman] THE FIXED BLADES Since the brand was aiming for a premium product (all of the knives come in at the $300 range), they needed a steel to match, so they went with MagnaCut. Created by metallurgist Larrin Thomas in 2021. Its known for its edge retention, durability, and corrosion resistance; Leatherman also happened to be the first brand to put it in a multi-tool, in 2023. Given that every element of a Leatherman multi-tool has a purpose, it tracks that each of the five knives were designed for a specific application. Trac [Photo: Leatherman] First up in the fixed blades is the Trac, which is an all-purpose outdoor knife for hunting, foraging, or camping. It features a hollow grindessentially a blade ground to a concave edge, resulting in a razor-sharp knife ideal for slicing and cutting. Perusich says this is rare for MagnaCut steel, given the difficulty in executing the edge. The edges around the body of the knife are also fully radiused (rounded and smoothed) for comfort, something he adds is typically only found in the high-end custom knife market. That was something we really wanted to lean intohow do we elevate this in all ways and really start to pay homage to that handcrafted sort of appeal? Perusich says. [Photo: Leatherman] Whereas sheaths are often an afterthought, Leatherman went all in on custom pairings for the three fixed blades. For the Trac, that features as a vegetable-tanned, hand-stitched, full-grain leather tha can be adapted to a variety of carrying positions. We’re making a knife, but also we need to make the accompanying accessories with it equally as well-thought-out, Perusich notes. Pioneer [Photo: Leatherman] Following the Trac is the Pioneera brute of a blade intended for survivalists and heavy-duty bushcraft, with a notch that can be used as a strike surface for a fire starter. It features a G10 handle that offers grip even in the rain, and is extra long, given that the wearer is likely to be donning gloves. Rustle [Photo: Leatherman] And finally, theres a camp cook knife, the Rustle. With its four-inch Santoku-style chef blade, its short enough that it can operate in tight spaces, but long enough that it can actually functionso that basic food prep is no longer a dilemma between using a Swiss Army Knife or lugging a full-size kitchen blade to camp. THE FOLDERS A Leatherman multi-tool might seem like a maximalist thingso many tools shoved into one devicebut having one tool for everything is actually a relatively minimalist concept. When it came to the folders, the team also had minimalism in mindand they were able to get them down to just 12 components, which is a design feat in its own right (per Leatherman, contemporary folding knives with locking mechanisms can have between 20 and 35 components). Wang says they wanted to showcase their engineering prowessand they also knew that knife enthusiasts would take the knives apart to study their insides. Blazer [Photo: Leatherman] I come from an older generation of industrial design, and for us, Eames was sort of our guiding light, Perusich says. We used to take products and flip them upside down, open them up, and they had to look good at every angle. Glider [Photo: Leatherman] Here, Leatherman aimed for the sameso when someone opens up one of the Blazer or Glider folders, theyll find stainless steel handles that have been precisely internally cored using a proprietary process to optimize their balance and ergonomics. Wang says that even the sound the knife makes when its clicked open was considered, with the coring giving a novel tinny effect thats unique to the market. All of the knives in the new line come in a kaleidoscopic array of colors, but the foldables feature particularly interesting and subtle accents throughoutincluding on the lanyard, which comes with a flat bit that can be used to tear down the knife. On that note, this is, after all, Leathermanwas it an exercise in restraint to not fill these blades with Easter egg functionality galore? We like to kind of feature creep, as we call it, and add more and more, Perusich says. We love our multi-tools here, so it took a lot of discipline.
Category:
E-Commerce
Within hours of taking office in January, President Donald Trump boasted about attracting $3 trillion in new corporate investments to the United States. Since then, Trump has said the investments have swelled to $14 trillion, or roughly half of the nation’s annual gross domestic product. The White House calls it “The Trump Effect” and features a rolling list on its website of more than 70 projects it says Trump’s economic policies spurred, from a new bakery plant in Texas to a LEGO facility in Virginia and a microchip plant in Arizona. As of July 2, the website listed more than $2.6 trillion in U.S. investments, well short of the $14 trillion Trump boasts about. But a Reuters review found that just under half of the claimed spending on the websitetotaling more than $1.3 trillionoriginated under former President Joe Biden or represented routine spending repackaged to promote domestic investments. At least eight of the projects touted by the White House had sought or secured critical local incentive packages before Trump took office while at least a half dozen other projects had already been announced by local officials or the companies themselves, Reuters found. Two of the Trump Effect projects were aided by Biden’s legislative efforts to boost domestic manufacturing, the review found. One company on the list, Swiss-based Roche, warned that Trump’s plans to equalize U.S. and international drug prices now threatens its promised $50 billion in U.S. investments. Asked about taking credit for projects already underway before Trump came into office, the White House said the final investment decisions were announced under his watch and prove his economic policies are triggering U.S. investment. President Trump is the greatest closer in modern history, and his leadership and policies are a critical catalyst converting hypothetical discussions into firm investment commitments and ground being broken for new plants and offices,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. The Reuters review included interviewing local officials and reviewing public records and corporate statements. It was not clear in many cases what role, if any, Trump or his policies played in getting the deals across the line. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said his economic forecastalong with the consensus estimatesfor investment in the economy has remained relatively unchanged despite the White House’s claims of new historic investments. “I think despite all the announcements it hasn’t translated into any change in expectations,” Zandi said. “The fundamentals that ultimately drive investment spending, broadly, if anything, appear to have weakened since the start of the year.” Trump’s push to impose sweeping tariffs on dozens of trading partners has injected uncertainty into global markets, lowering economic projections and freezing investment decisions, Zandi said. Trump’s supporters say his policies of deregulation combined with the extension of his corporate tax cuts last week have stoked interest from companies that will be converted into actual investments in the months ahead. “I think you’re going to see a lot more investment later this year, and certainly into next year,” Richard Stern, director of economic and budget policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said. THE TRUMP EFFECT The Trump Effect list is not exhaustive, according to the White House, and does not include the foreign deals the administration says Trump secured during his Middle East tour in May. The White House did not respond to a Reuters request to provide a breakdown of the $14 trillion in U.S. investments Trump claims he has attracted. Trump wouldn’t be the first president to inflate or embellish economic activity on his watch. But the onetime businessman has made his dealmaking the centerpiece of his political persona, promising his presidency would ignite a manufacturing renaissance that would bring jobs back to the U.S. Some companies, largely in the pharmaceutical industry, repackaged existing spending that was later touted as new investment by Trump. The pharmaceutical companies also credited Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for spurring domestic investment. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks created the blueprint, said James Shin, a pharmaceutical analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities. Ricks joined top administration officials in February to announce $27 billion in new U.S. investments over five years. The figure drew praise from Trump who said it’s evidence his tariffs were working to spur domestic manufacturing, but the figure represented a slight increase over the $23 million the company spent in the U.S. since 2020. “Everyone saw that Donald Trump gave David Ricks blessings every time he spoke,” Shin said. “I think Lilly was quite shrewd in its timing and in its messaging.” An Eli Lilly spokesperson did not address Reuters questions about the company’s incremental increase in spending and what role Trump played, if any, in its announcement. CLAIMING CREDIT Here’s a sampling of the projects included on the White House’s Trump Effect website that Reuters found had been announced or were already in the pipeline prior to Trump’s presidency: Hyundai: The South Korean carmaker was added to the Trump Effect list after announcing a $5.8 billion new Louisiana steel plant in March. But the company selected the Louisiana site in December 2024 after conducting a nationwide search, according to a state official. Hyundai did not respond to a request for comment, Corning: The global materials science company was added to the list after a $1.5 billion investment in Michigan was highlighted in an April press release. But the figure includes $900 million in funding announced in February of last year for the plant, and the project has benefited from federal tax credits under the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan measure passed under Biden that incentivizes domestic production, the company confirmed to Reuters. Trump has called for Congress to claw back the chips funding, calling the legislation a “horrible, horrible thing.” The company would not say whether Trump had any direct connection to the investment. LEGO: The iconic toy manufacturer announced a new $366 million distribution center in Virginia in May and was added to the Trump website. The company began working with Virginia on a package of state and local incentives in 2022, roughly three years before Trump took office, according to Pryor Green, the Virginia economic development spokesperson. The company did not respond to request for comment. Clasen Quality Chocolate: The candy company announced a new $230 million production facility in Virginia in February and was added to Trump’s website. But the Virginia Economic Development Partnership began working with the company roughly seven months before Trump took office, and Governor Glenn Youngkin approved a $3 million grant for the project on December 3, Green told Reuters. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Chobai: The White House added the yogurt maker to its list after the company in April announced a $1.2 billion production plant in New York. But Chobani, which did not respond to a request for comment, had reached out to the state in May of last year about the project, state records show, and benefited from a state program that lures companies with shovel-ready sites. LOCAL INCENTIVES Some other deals touted by Trump were either struck before he took office, spurred by state and local incentive packages or represent routine capital investment, the Reuters review found. Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson both announced billions of dollars in U.S. investments that included projects that were previously announced and already under construction, according to a review of company statements. The White House list included $2 billion in Merck projects already underway in North Carolina and Delaware and a $2 billion North Carolina project under construction by Johnson & Johnson, statements show. Johnson & Johnson did not respond to a request for comment, and Merck did not address Reuters’ questions about Trump’s role in its investment decisions. Many of the projects on the list relied heavily on state and local incentive packagessuch as grants or tax breaksthat were approved prior to Trump taking office in January, Reuters found. States typically compete against one another for company investments, using incentive packages as bait. The locally-backed projects on the Trump Effect list include Diageo, a British alcoholic beverage company, whose $415 million new Alabama plant was aided by state and local tax incentives that date back to 2022, roughly three years before Trump took office, according to Stefania Jones, an Alabama Department of Commerce spokesperson. Diageo did not respond to requests for comment. Ireland-based power management company Eaton Corporation, French ceramics manufacturer Saint-Gobain and South Korean baker Paris Baguette, for example, were all highlighted on the Trump Effect list, but records and interviews show they all secured local incentive packages before Trump took office. The companies did not respond to requests for comment. TECH INVESTMENTS In some cases, the investment touted by the White House and the companies represented the normal cost of business. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in February that his iconic company was going to invest $500 billion over five years to hire 20,000 workers and build new AI servers. Trump seized on the announcement, saying on his Truth Social media platform that it showed “faith in what we are doing.” However, Apples announced figure is in line with what one might expect the company to be spending anyway, given its financials, according to three analysts. “For Apple, most of this would have happened regardless of who’s president,” said Dan Ives, a senior equity analyst with Wedbush Securities. It also echoes previous commitments. Four years ago, a few months after Bidens inauguration, Apple announced an acceleration of its U.S. investments, pledging to spend $430 billion and add 20,000 jobs over five years. In January 2018, during Trumps first term, the company said that its direct contribution to the U.S. economy would be $350 billion over five years and that it planned to create 20,000 jobs over that period. Another pledge to spend $500 billion for new data centers to power artificial intelligence programs dubbed “Stargate” came from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and business software giant Oracle, whose executives joined Trump in the White House on his first full day as president in January to make the announcement. The companies said they planned to spend $100 billion immediately but that they were still in negotiations with various states about where to place the new data centers. As announced in January, Stargate remains fully committed to investing up to $500 billion over the next four years to build AI infrastructure in the United States,” SoftBank and OpenAI said in a joint statement to Reuters. Oracle did not respond to a request for comment. Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
Fliers may have been annoyed earlier this year with the Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) implementation of the new Real ID requirements, but theyll likely be much happier with the agencys latest reported rules change: Passengers will be able to keep their shoes on when going through security at U.S. airports. Heres what you need to know about the updated TSA shoes rules. Whats happened? Citing government sources, multiple media outlets are reporting that the TSA has nixed the requirement that passengers going through airport security must take off their shoes. The nixing of the policy comes nearly 20 years after it was first implemented in 2006. Gate Access, a Substack dedicated to travel stories, was the first to reveal the shoe policy changes back on July 4. And while Transportation Security Administration officials have not publicly confirmed the change, nor has the agency released any public memos about the change, multiple government officials have told outlets, including ABC News and NBC News, that the new policy is being rolled out. Additionally, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seemed to confirm the news by reposting a tweet by CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs about the changes. Leavitt commented, Big news from @DHSgov with the retweet. Fast Company has reached out to the TSA for comment. What is the new TSA shoes policy, exactly? The exact new TSA shoe policy is not known at this time because the agency has not posted any public information about it. But on Monday, the agency did issue a press release stating that it was exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture. However, NBC News reports that a senior government official has confirmed that passengers at select airports will now be able to leave their shoes on when going through security checkpoints. The government official said the relaxation of the shoe removal rule could expand to airports nationwide in the near future. When does the new shoes policy start? ABC News reports that the policy officially went into place on Sunday. What airports can I leave my shoes on now? CBS News reports that sources familiar with the change said initial airports include the following: Baltimore/Washington International Airport Fort Lauderdale International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Portland International Airport Philadelphia International Airport Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina But CBS News also confirmed that some passengers at the following airports were not being required to remove their shoes when going through security: Los Angeles International Airport New York City’s LaGuardia Airport Why was the shoe removal policy in place? Many people mistakenly assume that the shoe removal policy was put in place because of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. However, the shoe removal rules came after a man tried to blow up a plane using a shoe bomb in December of that year. In fact, the policy was not implemented by the TSA until 2006. As noted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Richard Reid attempted to light explosives contained in his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami. He was restrained by passengers and the flight crew on board the flight. The FBI said that had the bomb detonated, it would have blown a hole in the planes fuselage, causing it to crash.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||