Tools

When it comes to rough, tough, gruff, no-nonsense devices, power drills certainly fit the bill. Nonetheless, a Canadian company has given the tool a high-tech makeover, adding what are actually some pretty handy features.

The unique Kukrax is designed to combine the best bits of a modern-day tactical tomahawk with the curvy nature of a kukri machete, offering a unique and seemingly highly efficient way to cut through your timber.

Point the average lighter down and fire it up and the flame will quickly rise and burn your thumb. But with a few simple adjustments, Dissim introduces a lighter that works as effectively upside down as it does right side up.

The Doer portable toolbox carries 12 items in all, including a number of power tools that would normally call for quite a bit of storage space.

Archaeologists have found ancient tools at a dig site in Mongolia, indicating that humans were on the scene about 45,000 years ago, which is much earlier than current evidence suggests. There’s also a chance that the site is one spot where our ancestors mingled with the mysterious Denisovans.

​Of all the shapes and sizes that multitools come in these days, the form of a credit card is a highly practical one. The latest example comes from accessory maker Disc, which has taken to Kickstarter with a sleek sheet of titanium that packs more than 21 tools into a wallet-friendly frame.

Robot arms are getting smarter and smarter all the time, and now a team from Georgia Tech has taught them how to make their own tools. These resourceful robots are first taught to match form and function, then let loose on a series of everyday objects to build what they need to complete a given job.

You don't really need a shovel until you REALLY need a shovel. DMOS presents a way of having that shovel without dedicating too much space to it. Its near-unbreakable Delta Shovel telescopes, folds and clasps to the vehicle, expanding into a full-size shovel when needed.

Ever receive a package and have nothing sharper than the keys in your pocket with which to open it? The Microblade Pill ensures you never experience that again. A different style of EDC, this mini tool won't filet fish or cut branches, but it will slice through packing tape and halve actual pills.

​Leatherman has began building out its Free collection of magnetic multitools with a pair of cheaper, lighter and simplified offerings, the T2 and the T4 that seriously undercuts others in the range both in price and weight.

A British engineer with a long career in electric vehicles and hovercraft has created the KwikPro system, which he hopes will revolutionize the way tradespeople work, and get around.​ The 10-piece array of trade-worthy tools fits into just one case, because the motor is in the handle, not the head.​

A London-based design team has combined a love of engineering, drawing and cameras to create one of the most elegant tools for drawing circles seen to date. Dubbed "Iris," this ingenious compass is part objet d’art, part engineering wonder, and part Spirograph for grown-ups.