Who doesn’t know that a Leatherman pocket knife is one of the most useful tools you can drop on your pocket or attach to your belt? It’s not exactly like that’s a trade secret, and Leatherman ranks right alongside Victorinox in terms of useful, multi-purpose tools in ergonomic packages.

While not all Leather tools and pocket knives have the same tools or even feature a similar design, something that they all universally offer is an emphasis on versatility. If a Leatherman tool lacks some functionality that another has, it makes up for it with some other unique features.

Leatherman has something else in common with Victorinox. Leatherman produces extremely high-quality, durable, dependable tools with more functions than most reasonably numerate people can count. In this blog, you’ll find some obvious tips and hacks including cool uses for your Leatherman pocket knife, along with some others that might get your creative juices flowing.

1.The basics: food prep

You probably don’t need a guide to tell you that a pocket knife can be used for food prep, and Leatherman tools are no exception. A Leatherman’s blade can be used to do everything from dicing up watermelon for a fruit salad, to spreading mustard on a loaf of bread, to gutting a small fish that’s destined for the campfire. It’s the ultimate kitchen catch-all.

Leatherman tools also often have can and bottle openers that are useful for breaking into tins and cans inside of which camp foods are often contained, making them even more useful.

2.Open packages, envelopes and boxes

You can use a letter opener to open most packages, envelopes and some boxes. Or you can use the blade on your Leatherman to power through them. Here’s what you can’t do - you can’t use a plain letter opener to break down the boxes once you open them. A Leatherman can do it all.

3.Gun maintenance

Believe it or not, there are some Leatherman tools that are designed specifically for inclusion in range bags. For example, the Leatherman MUT Multi Tool specifically includes some tools that streamline gun maintenance.

This model has a pin punch for disassembling firearms, a sight adjustment tool, Torx wrenches for making adjustments to attachments, and a bronze carbon scraper that can be used to remove fouling. This interesting little tool even has a cleaning rod/brush adapter that can make it easier to clean your firearm after the range.

Other Leatherman tools have choke wrenches and even scope adjustment tools - few other multi-tool manufacturers have created such widely versatile tools.

4.Life hack: use the hammer to seat nails

Here’s a tip for you intrepid Leatherman owners: if your tool comes with a pair of pliers, you can use the pliers to seat a nail before driving it in. Some small nails and tacks are difficult to situate with your fingers, and a pair of pliers will give you much better dexterity, control and a far superior grip on little hardware. They can make precise positioning of nails and tacks so much easier.

5.Disgorge a hook

Experienced fishermen will not leave the dock without a pair of pliers. Pliers can be used to create hooks, manage line, tighten knots, put an angle back in straightened hooks, and much more. Notably, pliers are also useful as disgorgers.

There are tools that are specifically meant for removing hooks, but pliers are far more versatile and that versatility justifies the space they take up. They’re vital for removing deep-set hooks and stubborn trebles that you just wouldn’t be able to get with your fingers alone.

6.Tighten fishing knots

Another little known use of a pair of pliers is to tighten fishing knots, or even other knots in rope or other lines. Sometimes you can use a marlinspike for this, but not in a fishing line.

Fishing knots with a number of turns or short tag ends can be difficult to cinch down, and if the turns don’t lie properly, the knot will either fail or come undone. A pair of pliers can be used to grip the tag end and pull it tight - you can’t do that with your fingers.

7.Create a shelter

This is a very broad category of utility, but a Leatherman can provide it better than most other tools can. This is due to the fact that a Leatherman pocket knife is much more than a knife. It also likely contains pliers, wire cutters and strippers, files and saws, and other highly useful tools.

Saws and knives can be used to cut and split wood, carve joints and even wrap cordage, all of which functions are necessary to create impromptu shelters in a survival situation. Don’t be without one - you’ll be glad you brought it along.

8.Make a fire

There are also numerous ways that a Leatherman tool can be instrumental in helping you to create a fire. In fact, in at least one case, you can use the tool itself to strike a fire - but let’s start with the basics.

The knife and saw on most Leatherman tools can be used to create bows, drills and plows that will make it easy for you to create a friction fire. However, many Leatherman tools also contain another diamond in the rough: a ferrocerium rod.

The line of Leatherman Signal tools distinguishes itself in more ways than one - but one of the line’s more insightful inclusions is that of a ferrocerium rod. You can use this, with a sharp corner of the tool itself, to strike a fire.

9.Create a fish hook

Have you ever been camping and come across a very fish-prone looking hole, but been without tackle? Maybe you’re just interested in sundry survival skills, and creating a fish hook is one of them. You can do it with most Leatherman tools.

With the pliers that are included with most Leatherman tools, you can turn wire, paper clips, and even the pull-tabs from most cans into serviceable fish hooks. They’re not Mustads or Gamakatsus - they’re not even Eagle Claws - but in a survival situation, they’re better than the alternative, which is nothing.

10.Carve small tools

You can also use a Leatherman multi tool to create a variety of small tools in the field. You can use the knife to carve small toothpicks or separate the fibers of a twig; both can be used for cleaning your teeth. You can also use the knife and saw to create new handles for axes or hammers, or to create mauls and other striking implements. Most of the challenge here is in creativity. If you can see it, a Leatherman tool can help you make it.

11.Tighten up the works

Most Leatherman multi-tools contain basic screwdrivers. Many of them contain special bits and drivers, including ratcheting wrenches and Torx bits or sockets, or at the very least, are compatible with them.

This means if you ever need to fix something by tightening a screw, or simply to access something for maintenance, all you’ll need in a pinch is a reliable Leatherman pocket knife, and not a whole tool chest.

12.Strip wires to make connections

A Leatherman multi-tool or pocket knife might just also become an electrician's best friend. These tools often contain wire cutters, wire strippers and even electrical crimpers so you can do minor electrical work on the fly. From stripping wires to making basic connections of minor electronics, a Leatherman has your back.

13.Open a bottle - any kind of bottle

Getting the cap off of a bottle is not an arduous task. Skilled, or rather, intrepid, individuals, can open bottles with a knife spine, with a lighter, or even with their teeth. Leatherman multi-tools often have a purpose-designed bottle opener, so you don’t need to hazard a trip to the dentist’s office on the fly.

Some of them also have corkscrews, which means that no bottle is safe from a Leatherman, even a bottle of wine. Just make sure that you complete the rest of your chores and save the bottle-popping for last.

14.Remove burrs

Have you ever been pestered by an annoying burr on the edge of a metal tool or surface? Or even instead by the rough surface on the wooden handle of a tool? These aggravations can be laid to rest with a little ingenuity and the use of a Leatherman multi tool.

Many Leatherman tools contain files, and some of them even have diamond coated files. They’ll make quick work of rough surfaces or even steel burrs that can cause surprise injuries.

15.Tighten connections

Something as seemingly innocuous as a loose terminal connection can cause a car to stall or prevent it from starting. The included tools on most Leatherman pocket knives will make it easy for you to tighten connections to improve reliability. You can also use the electrical crimping tools on most Leatherman tools to tighten the connections on smaller wires, or to establish them in the first place.

16.Break out of - or into a vehicle

Hopefully you’re never trapped in a vehicle - and hopefully you never need to forcefully enter one, either - but some Leatherman pocket knives have specialized tools that will make it easier for you to get out of or into a trapped vehicle.

Consider the Leatherman Raptor Foldable Shears, which, though they might not be considered a pocket knife, do contain a carbide glass breaker. These tools make forcible entry - or exit - much, much easier.

17.Find your way in the woods

You can help to find your way in the woods with a Leatherman in a pretty uncouth way. They don’t have compasses - but despite the fact that you can make a compass in the field with a small sliver of steel, some water and a way to float it (that’s a topic for another blog) you can find your way with a Leatherman, or at least prevent yourself from going in circles.

This is much more basic than you might expect, and for it you’ll need nothing more than your Leatherman knife or saw. Use the knife or saw to chip off some bark from a conspicuous location on a tree, just like a trail blaze. Don’t take too much from the tree - removing bark increases the likelihood of infection and girdling will kill a tree - just enough so you can find your way back.

18.Take measurements at the hardware store - or in the field

Many Leatherman tools also contain rulers, either marked onto one of the tools or along the lengths of the folding handles. These measurements might not be too instrumental in the field, but as a contractor or a handyman, you should always keep a good measurement tool on you. When you’re taking measurements or looking for compatible parts, you’ll be glad you had it on you.

19.Pull out a splinter

Everyone’s gotten a pain-in-the-neck splinter at some point or other, and when you’re away from home, getting them out can be an even bigger pain. However, most Leatherman pocket knives also contain a pair of tweezers with fine tips that can be used to coax splinters free, reducing both your discomfort and the likelihood of infection.

20.Open a can without a pull tab

Cans without pull tabs are the bane of life, especially for backpackers and campers. However, most Leatherman tools have a can opener that you can use to get at the sweet, sweet contents of that can, whatever they are.

21.Sharpen your knife - your other knife

That’s right, with some Leatherman pocket knives you can actually sharpen your knife - your other knife, because you didn’t just bring one into the woods, did you?

Many Leatherman Signal tools have a diamond coated sharpener that can be used to put the finishing touches on a knife blade in need of a little TLC. There you have it - the feature that makes a Leatherman pocket knife the ultimate self-sustaining tool.

Looking for a Leatherman pocket knife that combines a fair number of these different attributes? Don’t look too far, you can find them right here at White Mountain Knives, and at great prices. Even if you don’t see one that appeals to you, get in contact with us at WhiteMountainKnives@gmail.com and we’ll help you find it.