In a world where so many 3D-printed objects are still simply toys or test cases, it is refreshing to see such technology being put to use in the service of helping kids who cannot otherwise write and draw.

The ‘Glifo‘ (images by Sara Monacchi) series is a set of customizable writing utensils that can help young people with nervous system impairments to express themselves while also facilitating rehabilitation processes.

Affected children frequently have trouble with the smaller movements and grips necessary to hold and utilize implements, making it difficult to connect what their brain visualizes to the fine-tuned actions needed to realize that vision on the page.

The series consists of various handles and attachments that help hold down pieces of paper or make it easier to grip pens, pencils, markers and crayons.

The post Glifo: 3D-Printed Writing Tools Made for Disabled Children first appeared on Gajitz.

Even the most valuable tool in your toolbox is no good if it isn’t within reach when you need it. Leatherman’s Tread bracelet lets you carry around 25 tools on your wrist no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

The Tread bracelet looks like a stylish wristband, but each of the 11 interchangeable links are useful tools. Each link serves a purpose, and because the multi-tool is made of strong 17-4 stainless steel they’re strong enough to get all of your important jobs done.

The list of tools included is actually kind of bonkers: a cutting hook, a bottle opener, an oxygen tank wrench, a carbide glass breaker, several sizes of flat and Phillips screwdrivers, box wrenches and hex drives, a socket drive, and a pick/SIM card ejector tool.

Unlike other multi-tools, the Tread – according to Leatherman – is safe for airline travel. Although some of the tools are a bit pointy, they’re all too small to cause any real damage if you decided to use them as weapons.

It’s hard to ignore that the Tread looks a lot like a metal link watch band, and Leatherman noticed that, too. They plan to release a version of the Tread with an integrated watch, making the tool even more useful and multi-functional.

The post World’s Most Wearable Multi-Tool is Made of Useful Links first appeared on Gajitz.

Pliers…as a household tool, they’re kind of boring. They’re just two pieces of metal that pivot and help you reach the little piece of bone stuck in the garbage disposal. But somehow, David Warther, son of master carver Ernest “Mooney” Warther, makes them completely fascinating.

Warther carves tiny functional sets of pliers out of single pieces of linden wood using just ten cuts with a pocket knife. He’s been doing it all his life, which accounts for his ability to accomplish this crazy piece of awesomeness in less than a minute.

The master carver uses his soothing voice, quick hands and impressive technique to demonstrate exactly how the famous pliers are shaped. It’s a pretty amazing transformation from a stick of wood to a functional pair of pliers in about half the time it would take us to even find a pair of regular pliers.

The post Watch a Master Carver Make Pliers From One Piece of Wood first appeared on Gajitz.

As much as we’d like to believe we are strapping outdoors enthusiasts, just the thought of chopping a big pile of firewood makes our biceps quiver. Finnish inventor Heikki Kärnä has come to the rescue of everyone who has ever wanted to chop their own firewood but just couldn’t physically make it happen. His Vipukirves Leveraxe is a patented, smarter take on the traditional axe.

The Vipukirves Leveraxe uses kinetic energy to not only cut the wood, but to segment the pieces neatly and efficiently. Vipukirves actually translates to “lever axe,” an appropriate name given that it functions as a cutting tool and then a lever. The business end of the axe features a sharp edge, and a piece that protrudes to the side to change the axe head’s center of gravity.

Thanks to this slight shift, the axe head sinks into the wood and then, without any additional effort, moves slightly to the side. This gesture splits the wood into pieces that are the perfect size for burning in a fireplace or fire pit. The shift of balance also prevents the axe head from getting stuck in the wood, allowing you to swing again without dislodging the head from the log first.

The lever axe’s demonstration video is enough to make a believer out of just about anyone. It’s satisfying and kind of hypnotic to watch the inventor swing the axe over and over and see the little wedges of wood split off almost effortlessly.

The post Sharp Thinking: Kinetic Energy Axe Does Smarter Cutting first appeared on Gajitz.

Ancient humans had no choice but to figure out how to use the raw materials around them to accomplish essential tasks. As modern people, we have the luxury of choosing from a variety of pre-made tools that even come with instructions for use. Designers Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow taught themselves to make ancient tools and then used modern techniques to give the tools specific defined purposes.

The stone hand-axe is a prehistoric tool that was used for a very wide variety of purposes. It would have functioned as a weapon, a food preparation tool, an animal-skinning blade, and a number of other uses – but it would have had the same form when being used for all of these purposes.

Drach and Ganchrow used 3D printing to add parts onto hand-axes that would give each a specific purpose and make them easier to use. The “Man Made” project added plastic pieces to flint tools to create a spear, a clip-on belt to store a throwing weapon, a cutting/slicing tool, a tripod display case, a chisel, a digging tool, and a swinging axe-like tool.

By defining each hand tool, the duo narrowed the number of things the hand-axes could be used for but also made them easier to do those newly-defined jobs. They now have a luxury that ancient humans never had and would be shocked to see: a comfortable way to perform necessary tasks with simplistic tools.

The Man Made project combines old and new technology and points out the stark contrasts between the two. Simple pieces of sharpened flint are exceptionally primitive, while the digital mapped and 3D printing add-ons are decidedly 21st century. Who would have thought they could come together to form tools that are not only useful but strangely beautiful?

The post Gilded Butterflies: Ancient Tools Get 21st Century Upgrades first appeared on Gajitz.