Assertion Supported AI assessment confidence: 95% certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Cabela's Placed Leatherman's First Purchase Order: 500 Tools for $12,000

Tim Leatherman · Leatherman Tool Group: Tim Leatherman · Jan 31, 2022 · at 40:59

Tim Leatherman, co-founder of Leatherman Tool Group, discusses securing the company's breakthrough first purchase order in 1983.

0:00 / 0:20exact quote · 20.6s

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“And one day, in late May of 1983, eight years after I had first thought of the concept, I got a letter at my business address, which was really my home address. I opened it up, and inside was a purchase order. For 12,000 dollars. For 500 tools.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

The claim, plainly

In late May 1983, Cabela's placed a $12,000 purchase order for 500 Leatherman tools.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

Historical corporate records and biographical accounts confirm all components of the claim: in late May 1983, outdoor retailer Cabela's sent an initial purchase order to Tim Leatherman and Steve Berliner for 500 units of the Pocket Survival Tool (PST) at a wholesale price of $24 per unit, totaling $12,000.

Cabela's issued an initial purchase order in late May 1983 for 500 Pocket Survival Tools.
The wholesale unit price agreed upon was $24, resulting in a total purchase order amount of exactly $12,000.
The order served as the catalyst for the formal incorporation of Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. in July 1983, and the initial 500 units were fulfilled and delivered in December 1983.

Checked against

[1] leatherman.com [2] theempirebuilderspodcast.com [3] gizmodo.com [4] wweek.com [5] reddit.com [6] gearjunkie.com [7] encyclopedia.com [8] gizmodo.com

"12,000" "Cabela's" "Leatherman" "500" "May 1983" "Cabela" Leatherman "500" "Cabela" "Leatherman" "500" "1983" "12,000" OR "order" OR "purchase order" "Leatherman" "Cabela" "500" "1983" "May"

assessed as of 2026-09-03

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

Cabela's Leatherman Tool Group

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Cabela's Placed Leatherman's First Purchase Order: 500 Tools for $12,000

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