The Multi-tool (Too Long)
Tom MacGregor
>The picture below is of a tool that I spotted currently posted on ebay. I did a little research on it and this is what I uncovered:
The multi-tool has a long and convoluted history. The well known and popular �Leatherman� multi-tool worn on the belts of McGyveristic sorts world-wide is a perfect example of the serpentine route that such an implement can travel from first flash of inspiration to fully realized miniature mechanical marvel. The first incarnation was a nautically inspired invention known as the �Brassman� and consisted of a bosun�s whistle, semaphore decoder ring, hardtack hammer and a corkscrew for opening rum bottles. It met with rather limited popularity.
The intrepid inventor�s next product was the �Plasticman�. Doing a complete about-face and taking aim at a more genteel market, he equipped it with a buttonhook, mustache comb, bookmark, corkscrew and fountain pen. Unfortunately a minor production flaw tended to cause the pen to leak when the tool was used as a bookmark with the not unexpected impact on reorders from most major vendors.
The Tinman was to feature opera glasses, hoof pick, spare tent stake and a corkscrew, but was hamstrung by the threat of litigation from the owners of The Wizard of Oz before reaching production status.
Not to be deterred by such a minor inconvenience as an increasingly unruly horde of angry creditors, a simple change of name, address and hair color - combined with a bit of dermabrasion to obliterate his fingerprints � afforded our inventor the opportunity to contemplate upon the design of his fourth tool: �The Aluminumman� Cashing in on the burgeoning Do-It-Yourself market was definitely a step in the right direction. Choosing to include a flashlight that had to be plugged into a 12 volt automotive cigarette lighter was not.
Success � long sought but still illusive � was drawing nearer, but before the Leatherman (deemed a far less cumbersome name than Stainlesssteelman) was to arise from the depths of his fertile imagination one more tool was to skip into oblivion like a flat rock across an algae festooned millpond.
Here is a rare example of �The Ironman�. Aside from the ubiquitous corkscrew, the entire tool was designed to meet the needs of the professional glazier. It may have worked had an itinerant magazine advertisement salesman not mistakenly placed it only in magazines that targeted runners, swimmers and cyclists.
