Leatherman has announced their latest Garage series product, the Malloy Special fixed blade knife. Featuring a 2.65″ MagnaCut blade and micarta handles, the Leatherman Malloy knife was designed to tackle a variety of everyday cutting tasks.
As with Leatherman’s other Garage tools and products, the Malloy – the 7th in their experimental product program – is a very limited-quantity product. It will launch at 9am PT on 9/17/24, and is expected to sell out quickly.
The Leatherman Malloy was designed in collaboration with the Malloy Brothers, icons in modern American surf, film, and creative culture.
Advertisement
Leatherman says that the Garage Malloy Special knife was inspired by the Malloys and their always-in-the-field adventure style.
The Leatherman Malloy knife features a MagnaCut blade, with the alloy described as delivering an unparalleled combination of edge retention, durability, and corrosion resistance.
MagnaCut has earned much praise in the pocket knife world, with the premium alloy being an enthusiast-developed super steel. It’s widely considered to be the best all-blade around steel alloy available.
Micarta is typically a layered composite, made with fabric sheets and phenolic resin. As I understand it, Micarta is similar to carbon fiber, but made with fabric such as denim or canvas.
It’s difficult to tell much about the Micarta handles from Leatherman’s product images, but it looks to be finely textured.
There’s jimping across the back of the blade, and a lanyard hole at the end of the handle.
Advertisement
The knife is bundled with a custom leather sheath.
Regarding its design, Leatherman says:
From filming in remote areas to hunting, fishing, farming and surfing over the same week span, the Malloys have found that a “master of many things always wears a good knife” and that’s where the design inspiration started.
It seems to be designed as an EDC/everyday type of knife.
- 2.65″ blade length
- 6.45″ overall length
- Weighs 3.05 oz
- MagnaCut blade steel alloy
- Micarta handles
Price: $300
Note: The Malloy will appear on the Leatherman Garage page after it launches.
Leatherman Garage Details
Name: Malloy
Garage Series 007
Launch Date and Time: 9/17/2024 at 9am PST
Announced Quantity: Unknown
MM
Looks like a pretty nice knife, but I’m not sure who Leatherman thinks they are fooling with the marketing description. There’s a lot of talk about the Malloys and their outdoor adventures but that does not look like a very practical outdoor knife to me. As with the other Garage series knives, these will sell out to collectors and scalpers who target collectors within minutes of becoming available for sale.
Stuart
I think the design is very practical, depending on what you’re looking for. I’m a fan of compact folding and fixed blade knives.
There are other compact fixed blade knives on the market, such as from Bradford (https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/bradford-guardian3-fixed-blade-knife-review/%3C/a%3E%29, Bark River Knives, and Esee.
MM
I think the design is just fine for EDC, though a blade with a straighter edge would be more practical for everyday sorts of tasks. It’s the outdoor angle that I question.
Steve L
Leatherman blade is 2-5/8″. The Bradford blade is 3-1/2″. Yet both are “compact”?
It all depends on what you want to do and what you can carry. To me a 2-5/8″ blade is not appealing, blade needs to be more than 3″. I know that is totally arbitrary.
Once you hit $300 you have a lot of options for a MagnaCut fixed with a micarta handle. The ones I think of are larger which means higher material costs so I am guessing Leatherman has a nice profit margin.
Stuart
The Guardian 3 has a 3” cutting length.
The Guardian 3 also feels compact, and the 3.5 less so due to the larger handle.
Jared
It’s not that I disagree with your comments about the practicality of the design Stuart, but I agree with MM that this design pattern doesn’t seem to follow the mold of an “outdoor” knife. I suppose it depends on what you have in mind for that moniker, but it makes me think of bushcraft and camping tasks – this knife is pretty short for that. You certainly won’t be batoning or piercing with a blade that short and rounded.
I like the design though. It looks like it would be useful for outdoor food prep for example, since the blade shape has lots of belly, a high-flat grind and some knuckle clearance. Probably a good skinning knife too. Seems like you can get your fingers right behind the cutting edge for better leverage.
Magnacut has excellent stainlessness and micarta remains grippy when wet, so those are good materials choices. Maybe there is a role for this knife in the “outdoors”…
Stuart
I see this as a “I might need a knife but don’t want to carry something larger/heavier if I don’t need to” kind of product.
OldDominionDIYer
Too expensive! I mean I’m sure it’s a wonderful knife, I own two older ones and love them but dang this one is way overpriced! I own a beautiful Magnacut fixed blade and love the steel, but I didn’t pay that much for it. Micarta is a nice handle material, but it isn’t expensive. Nice knife but to bd it’s way over-priced!
Kyle
Yep. My first thought was “Wow, I could own that, or I could own a brand new flagship Leatherman multi-tool.” Obvious I’m not the target market for this if that’s my first thought though.
Too many companys these days padding their profit numbers by exploiting the infinite money glitch of calling a product special and doing a limited run only. Who’s buying these? Are people just afraid to miss out because they think it’ll be the next Honda S2000 or million dollar Pokemon card?
Paul White
What a let down
eddiesky
$300. THREE. HUNDRED.
(blinks).
Look, I get the “fad” of Leatherman. The Aura of the Multitool. But someone thinks I’m the tool now?
Nope.
Eric
Looks like most people agree this is a flop. It was released nearly 2 hours ago and it’s still available. Most if not all of their other garage releases were gone within minutes. There just doesn’t seem to be anything special here to justify paying the big markup for a limited edition.
Stuart
I’d think that finding out things like that is part of the goal of a limited release experimental product program?
I was told that, despite the similarities between the ARC tool and earlier Garage series anniversary tool, there were differences in the tools’ design, engineering, and production.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/leatherman-garage-40th-anniversary-multi-tool/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/leatherman-arc-review/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s better for Leatherman to gauge interest (or lack of) in a $300 sub-3″ fixed blade knife with a small batch than to test the idea with a full production run.
Stuart
9+ hours later, and it’s still available…
Adam
Several of the offerings I really wanted. I didn’t even need to click the article that this would be an easy pass.
Richard
Everyone is fascinated with knives when the tool they should be using is a canary cardboard cutter. Does just about everything an “around the house” knife can do but is safer and you can use it with a sawing motion on cardboard. Works great for homemade kids costumes. If a nice knife is a joy in your life, I’m not gonna knock it, I just think not enough people know that these things exist.
Stuart
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/exotic-tools-brands-part-1/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/canary-cardboard-box-openers/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The Canary tools are awesome!
Don
I’m not even remotely interested in this knife. And even if there was something to spur my interest , that $300 price tag just quenched that fire. I think there are much better knives for less I’m interested in. Leatherman Arc was my last purchase and I don’t think I need anything else.
Casey
I’m done buying Leatherman products myself. They are addicting but I have more than enough to last me the rest of my lifetime.
JoB
If I saw that knife sitting on a table at a flee market with other similar looking EDC’s, I wouldn’t give it a second look. There’s nothing special about it from a utilitarian perspective. EVERY knife maker, makes something unimpressive like this.
These days, Leatherman is less and less impressive to me with their tools – show me something new, built some new tools, make a side cutter multi tool, get creative and design some new accessories.
One knife that has impressed me lately is the Selby, Lineman Knife – unique, durable, excellent ergonomics, etc.
Alex
I like compact fixed blades, and I quite like the design. And the price isn’t massively out of line with similar magnacut knives (at least here in the UK). What this lacks for me is any of the innovation that I want from Leatherman – I’d like Leatherman to show me something new – a saw blade that folds out of the handle, a grip design that improves on the norm, a sheath with different retention – something. As it stands I could buy a dozen different knives that fit this mold, and either pay the price for premium materials or save the money for something perfectly serviceable but lower grade materials e.g. Boker.
Mikey C.
The garage tools anyone wants sell out within minutes or hours. The fact that a garage drop hasn’t sold out in days is telling.
CMF
I very much like the size and style, but $300…too much.
The Bradford you referenced in a previous TG, is on special for $129 at Blade HQ; definitely more reasonable price.
I am not an expert, but do know the various blade alloys, handles and so forth,; this knife, and the previous “garage” knife they had, too expensive.
I understand it is limited and I guess being Malloy Bros. it is a signature series, so to speak. but it is still too expensive.
I have always struggled with Leatherman. I like the concept of multitools, their bread and butter, and have a couple. The Wingman, the Skeletool RX (serrated blade), and a couple of Micra’s. Also have a SOG, Roxxon and a couple of others which do not come to mind. My issue is that they are too bulky for everyday carry. I do not like anything holstered, so in my pocket or hanging off my pocket with a carabiner, too big and heavy.
The Micras are fine for size, but have always preferred knives as EDC’s.
The recent sale they had, spend $150 and get a free FREE T2, I took advantage of the sale by getting 2 FREE T4’s and got the FREE T2 at no charge. They are a bit bulkier than a regular knife, but I like them.
The above Garage Malloy, being short, would make a great EDC. Nice shape, at least I find it to be, would be a nice addition for around $100 or so.
PW
3 days later and it’s still available? Wow. A certified flop.
I guess that gives Leatherman a strong signal on the market for this.
Max
Here it is still available a week later.
I suspect that the lack of interest is more due to the price than what it is.
I would spend $50 on that, but at $300 it is just insane.
Stuart
It’s USA-made with premium materials. ~$200 is the floor on something like that.
I’d say that average market pricing for a knife like this would be around $220 to $240. Small batch and first-run production… $300 doesn’t outrageous. There’s a premium, but it’s not as high as you might think.
$50 won’t get you a USA-made knife with Magnacut steel. It looks like the average starting point for any Magnacut knife – folding or fixed – is around $150.
Fixed blade + Magnacut + USA-made starts at around $180 and quickly jumps to $220 and up.
I think the apparent lack of interest – seeing as how it hasn’t sold out yet – stems from a lot of things, and not just the price, such as the design, size, and price.