Leatherman has been in the multitool franchise for so long that their name is synomous with the tool itself. Conquering the multitool market Leatherman wanted to expand their horizons. With the Juice series they had already created something to compete with the Swiss Army knife, Leatherman like everyone else is the business-needed something new.

In an age where there is a fierce competition between the knife and the multitool, many companies are producing hybrids. Tools that are more knife than tool, still offer functionality that we would otherwise not have with a traditional knife. Before this hybrid was becoming the new thing to do, Buck and Peter Whittaker produced a knife that was both a useful camp knife as well as having a few “extras”. Like with most of Whittaker’s designs, you can see his flair for the non-traditional mixed with what Buck knows will work for a real world design. The end result is something that is very useful, both in the woods and in the concrete jungle.

My initial feelings and thoughts on the Delta knife were mixed, the knife as intended works wonderfully but I concluded that the add on features of the knife were more gimmick than something that was planned and well thought out. Some manufacturers make a product and rush it to market without fully testing the product or putting it in a real world situation to see how the tool/knife will hold up. Having carried the Delta now for six months I figure a follow-up should be in order, having since releasing the Delta model EW-O4 Sure Fire has released two new knives.

Leatherman knives are another way that they (Leatherman) have tried to secure their niche in the market today. Everyone has a pocket knife, but not everyone has one that is loaded with all kinds of Leatherman extras. My first Leatherman knife was the h502, it's a great knife that's constructed well and Leatherman was spot on with the features. The problems I have with the h502 are the size and the lack of a pocket clip. Now granted; this knife is way too big for a pocket knife and a clip would just get in the way. I still wanted all of those cool features in a package that would fit not only in my pocket but fit my needs as well.