REASONS TO BUY
Compact carry
Familiar blade
Bottle opener
REASONS TO AVOID
Small handle
Not available with Leatherman's best blade steel
Leatherman Skeletool KB Review
A compact, lightweight, affordable pocket knife with a handle that is a little too small for robust tasks
Credit: Leatherman
RELATED: Best Pocket Knives of 2024
Our Verdict
The Leatherman Skeletool KB is an adaptation and simplification of Leatherman's line of multi-tools that share the same Skeletool branding. Compared to the average, the KB is a little less expensive, a little more compact, a little lighter, and has pretty typical blade and edge integrity. We wish the handle were bulkier for heavier and extended use, but it works well for most tasks around the campsite. As is, the handle is a little small with some sharp edges. It isn't the most ergonomic to use. Further, left-handers and those who like deployment options should look elsewhere; the KB is set up for only right-hand, right-pocket carry if you wish to deploy it easily with one hand. Check out our best pocket knife review to see the full suite of products we have tested.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Leatherman Skeletool KB | |||||
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| Awards |  | ||||
| Price | $40 List $39.95 at Amazon | $77 List $65.00 at Amazon | $45 List $48.00 at Amazon | $17.00 List $9.94 at Amazon | $10.00 List $9.98 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | Choose this knife for its compact stature, familiar branding, and great blade geometry, while knowing the handle isn't big enough for extended or heavy use | There's sure to be a colorway that suits you in CIVIVI's lineup. And take confidence that a great knife will come with it no matter what | CRKT designed this solid daily knife to be better than most in terms of accepting engraving or a badge | A simple, well-made, especially portable option in today's knife market that's small and light enough to forget it's on you, and strong enough to work in a pinch | An affordable, tactical knife that isn't nearly as well constructed as other knives in our lineup |
| Rating Categories | Leatherman Skeletoo... | CIVIVI Button Lock... | CRKT Drifter | Gerber Paraframe Mini | Albatross EDC Tactical |
| Blade and Edge Integrity (30%) | |||||
| Ergonomics (25%) | |||||
| Portability (20%) | |||||
| Construction Quality (25%) | |||||
| Specs | Leatherman Skeletoo... | CIVIVI Button Lock... | CRKT Drifter | Gerber Paraframe Mini | Albatross EDC Tactical |
| Blade Length (Measured) | 2.3 in | 3 in | 2.8 in | 2.2 in | 2.5 in |
| Overall Length (Measured) | 5.9 in | 7.1 in | 6.4 in | 5.25 in | 6.5 in |
| Closed Length (Measured) | 3.4 in | 4.1 in | 3.5 in | 3.1 in | 3.9 in |
| Weight | 1.3 oz | 3.1 oz | 2.3 oz | 1.6 oz | 3.8 oz |
| Thickness w/o Pocket Clip (Measured) | 0.3 in | 0.5 in | 0.4 in | 0.3 in | 0.4 in |
| Blade Style | Drop point, straight edge | Drop point, straight edge | Drop point, straight edge | Drop point, straight edge | Drop point, straight edge |
| Blade Material | 420HC stainless steel | Nitro-V | 8Cr13MoV stainless steel | High carbon stainless steel | 440 stainless steel |
| Blade locks closed? | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lock Mechanism | Liner lock | Button lock | Liner lock | Frame lock | Liner lock |
| Handle Material | Steel | G10 laminate | Plastic | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Opening Style | Thumb hole | Flipper, non-assisted | Ambidextrous thumb stud | Fingernail | Assisted, flipper |
| Carry Style | Pocket clip and lanyard hole | Pocket clip, lanyard hole | Pocket clip and lanyard hole | Pocket clip | Pocket clip |
| Other Features or Functions | Bottle opener | Lanyard hole | None | None | Seatbelt cutter, glass breaker |
Show full specification details ▼Hide full specification details ▲
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Skeletool KB is a stripped-down version of this multi-tool company's stripped-down multi-tool. That's right, twice-stripped. The Leatherman Skeletool multi-tool family is one of our favorites in that category. It is an ergonomically-optimized tool with just the right attributes for most day-to-day multi-tool users. The multi-tool version has fewer features than most other pliers-type multi-tools. Apparently, some amount of original Skeletool users (or designers, or marketers?) wanted the blade isolated out, essentially on its own. The result is the Skeletool KB that we test here. This is a compact pocket knife with a bottle opener; nothing else.
Performance Comparison
As long as your knife tasks are simple and short-lived, the compact stature of the Skeletool KB can be a great daily companion.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Blade and Edge Integrity
Leatherman equips the Skeletool KB with a familiar blade shape and makes that blade out of solid and reliable 420HC steel. Their hardening process is proven; we've tested their blades for years to verify this. The final edge bevel is well-tuned for day-to-day use. If the edge angle leans in any direction, it is toward sturdiness. The edge angle is steep enough to hold up to fairly aggressive use.
The long-tapered point and overall dimensions of the Skeletool blade are great. In the case of the Skeletool KB, the handle is a little small to do the blade justice. That bent metal handle is familiar from the multi-tool, but unnecessarily limiting, in terms of ergonomics in a dedicated pocket knife.
Credit: Jediah Porter
We love the Leatherman Skeletool CX in our multi-tool review. That is Leatherman's top-of-the-line version of the Skeletool family. As such, they equip it with a blade made of 154CM steel. There are a few different versions of the Skeletool KB, but none include the better blade steel. As far as we can tell (and we've looked close, with calipers), all the Skeletool blades share the same dimensions and geometry. Leatherman inc has Skeletool blades in 154CM steel in their production chain. We'd like to see a Skeletool KB made with the better steel. It wouldn't cost much more, but it would be a significantly more robust blade. Although maybe it wouldn't matter as much as we hope it would. The Skeletool KB is small and will always come up a little short in terms of ergonomics. The handle isn't big enough to push around the better blade. This brings us to our more in-depth analysis of ergonomics.
Look at the Skeletool KB next to the award winning Skeletool CX multi-tool. The blade is exactly the same shape and size and the handles share clear design lineage.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Ergonomics
The Skeletool KB is a small pocket knife. It isn't the smallest, but it is smaller than other full-size models in this review. To us, a full-size knife has a handle that somewhat fills your fist. Full-size knives still cover a wide spectrum, but the KB is beneath that spectrum. This makes it relatively low profile in your pocket but greatly compromises usability. Deploying it is a little fiddly. In tackling extended or rigorous cutting tasks, the small handle quickly finds its limit.
You end up holding the small handle of the KB with your fingers more than the "meat" of your fist. This compromises both dexterity and application of force, relative to a bulkier handle.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Leatherman put a nearly full-sized blade into a handle that is just a little too small for us. The blade is a great shape. It just needs a little more handle to drive it well. Further, deploying the blade is not ambidextrous. We overlook this in our best multi-tool review (it is virtually impossible to make a pliers-based multi-tool with an ambidextrous, one-handed blade) but know that knives are a different beast. A knife can easily be ambidextrous. Leatherman's adaptation of the Skeletool multi-tool format to a knife leaves a right-handed opener while the competition isn't bound by adherence to the multi-tool legacy.
The bottle opener on the Skeletool KB is functional, but not super easy to use.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Portability
Portability, to a point, is the flip side of ergonomics. An ergonomic, well-made knife has certain dimensions and mass. Portability is optimized the smaller and lighter your knife gets. The Skeletool KB is smaller than average. It is made of all metal components, so its weight isn't especially low. Our test has several full-size knives that weigh nearly the same as the KB.
The pocket clip of the Skeletool KB is tight and visually unobtrusive outside your pants pocket. Its configuration means that a little of the knife peeks out above your pocket edge. The pocket clip is fixed in one orientation (tip-down, best in your right pocket).
Pocket clipped, the Skeletool KB is similar in visual interruption to other pocket knives. Other knives show us, though, that the clip could be designed to be less obtrusive.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Construction Quality
We dig the all-metal construction of the Skeletool KB. We test vigorously and for the long term. But we can only test a product as long as it has been on the market. The KB is relatively new, but we feel like we already know it well. The blade geometry, for instance, is the same as that on a multi-tool model we have tested for years. The other components are also familiar (but not identical to those on the multi-tool Skeletool). In short, we have had no issues with the Skeletool KB and do not anticipate any.
The bottle opener is the only other feature on the Skeletool KB. It is a simple hook built into the pocket clip of the knife. It works, but others work easier.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Should You Buy the Leatherman Skeletool KB?
The Skeletool KB is among the least expensive ways to enter the Leatherman "ecosystem." With the knife-only Skeletool, we now have a pocket knife that is an evolution of a multi-tool. You get the construction quality, the branding, and a great blade at a reasonable price. You probably won't get a knife as well-made and compact/portable at this price. For these reasons, the Skeletool stands out as one of our favorite pocket knives, and if portability and value are your primary considerations, you can do well with the Skeletool KB.
What Other Pocket Knives Should You Consider?
If you want a quality, higher-end knife that won't break the bank, check out the Kershaw Leek. If you're a climber, we also highly recommend looking at the Petzl Spatha, which is similarly portable but offers the versatility of a half-serrated blade.
—
Jediah Porter
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