Tools

If you've struggled to get a ratchet to work in a tight space, you'll appreciate a new take on the tool from Titaner. The palm-sized tool engages each sprocket with just a tiny turn and has multiple configurations for maximum situational adaptability.

After a couple of successful crowdfunding campaigns over the past year, Hong Kong-based EDC brand Eck Studio is back at it with a versatile little tool that's perfect for outdoorspeople and DIY enthusiasts who need different kinds of blades to hand.

There are knives, good knives, great knives, and classic knives. Then there are the knives that are flat-out legends with remarkable stories behind them. One of these is the instantly recognizable Puma White Hunter that redefined the hunting knife.

With DNA linking back to Leatherman's original PST multitool, the Wave has long served as a cornerstone for the brand. Now it evolves into the Wave Alpha, adding serious cutting muscle while improving upon its staple one-handed operation and grip.

Some tools are made to be admired and fondled as much as they're made to actually be used. Such certainly seems to be the case with the sandblasted titanium GripNGo 2.0 ratcheting bit driver, which is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign.

Not that long ago, most of us didn't even know what a fractal vise was. Now, however, we're hearing about the fourth one in six months. That said, the Titaner TiFractal Vise still manages to pack in a few unique selling points of its own.

Precision milling used to mean giant, pricey shop machines out of reach for most makers. You could design the "next big thing," but could you actually build it? Now you can.

If you're trying to firmly clamp small irregular-shaped objects, utilizing an adaptable desktop fractal vise is certainly one option. The K-One offers an interesting alternative however, plus it's reportedly the first of its kind to pack an electric motor.

One of the newest releases from Nextool, the W4 appears at first to be a basic adjustable wrench. But not only does it pack 10 more features inside its handle, it carries a small switch that extends its functionality well beyond other multi-wrenches.

The big, bruising Adventure Mate V3 "mega-multitool" won't fit in a pocket, but it will get actual work done. The tiny blades on a traditional multitool might whittle a branch, but the V3 will take down the whole tree and split it into firewood.

Modular multitool specialist Roxon lets you spec your own multitool with components of your own choosing. Now it introduces the Mini Flex Companion, shrinking that flexibility down to the size of a 5-pack of gum for more convenient everyday carry.

Killer whales have joined the rare club of animal species that craft tools out of nature and use them to their advantage. For the first time, they've been observed making a brush of sorts out of kelp and then using it on each other.