Awesome Living

Raise a few eyebrows with Brass Monkey’s tongue-in-cheek Hidden Agenda Planner, a cloth-bound daily planner filled with 366 days of random holidays and amusing trivia. What it doesn’t have is days of the week, making this book especially useful for procrastinators who might accidentally delay using it for a year or ten.

The savory sixth edition of Westland Garryana American Single Malt Whisky explores the intriguing merits of the Pacific Northwest’s rare Quercus Garryana oak, a new species to the whisky world. The 5,922-bottle release will next be followed by the second edition of Colere, another release in Westland’s limited Outpost Range.

Woodworker Michael Alm previously showed us how he makes beautiful patterns from pieces of plywood. In this video, he shows how the technique can be used to create some truly extraordinary handle scales for axes and knives. We wonder if you could make a baseball bat using this method.

From TA+d’s limited-edition Artist Collection comes a genuinely unique and elegant writing instrument. Its aluminum body is wrapped in handwoven strands of bamboo for a distinctive, patterned look. It comes in brown, green, or black finishes with either a fountain pen or rollerball cartridge.

If you’re ever in a car accident and can’t open your door, smashing the window may be the only way to escape. This emergency tool can easily shatter a window and cut through seat belt webbing. It also packs a white LED flashlight, a red SOS light, and a 2200 mAh battery pack. Save an extra 15% through 1.19.2022 with code JAN15.

Based on David Rydbom’s “Bill the Butcher” custom knife, Spyderco’s Stovepipe has a hefty 2.78″ cleaver blade made from 20CV steel. Its handle is made from two pieces of durable, lightweight titanium in a rugged stonewashed finish. A large fingerhole in the blade makes for easy deployment.

This set of three cotton dish towels adds a bit of color and nature to your kitchen. It’s just that these fine feathered friends have a bad attitude, and if you took a second to read what they’re saying, they’re over it. Sayings include “See You in Hell,” “Everything Popular is Wrong,” and “Hell Is Other People.”

This pocket knife features a skeletonized stainless steel handle design that reduces weight without compromising strength. It has a 3.12″ long drop-point blade and a frame lock. A ceramic ball bearing ensures smooth operation, and it includes a reversible pocket clip and a lanyard hole. Comes in black or stainless finishes.

London-based candle maker CENT.LDN painstakingly handcrafts these detailed boombox replicas in candle form. The candle is modeled on the iconic JVC RC M90 boombox, featured on LL Cool J’s Radio album cover as well as by the Beastie Boys. It measures appx. 11″ w x 5.5″ h x 2.6″ d and features a triple wick design.

Getting lug nuts off of a wheel can be hard work. This ingenious gadget makes easy work of the job using a crank and gearing that amplify your input by a 15:1 ratio to turn stubborn lug nuts without power tools. Just be careful not to overtighten them going the other direction. The set includes 17mm, 19mm, and 21 mm sockets.

Your cats will love hanging out in this old-school arcade cabinet, inspired by the Palace Arcade in Stranger Things. The cardboard cat house has two levels on which to lounge, each with a scratcher surface for kitty manicures and pedicures. No quarters required.

IKEA is now making home accessories using a 3D printing technique known as selective laser sintering. The collection includes wireframe models of heads and hands, which can be hung on the wall or placed on a tabletop. They’re currently only available from IKEA Germany, but we hope to see them elsewhere soon.

Everyday Carry looks back at the past year for the ten most popular tools, knives, flashlights, and gadgets, based on reader interest. Among them are the Leatherman FREE T4 multitool, the CRK Pilar knife, and the Nitecore TIP SE flashlight, all of which would make great additions to any pocket tool collection.

This pocket knife accepts standard utility blades, so it never needs sharpening and is great for opening boxes, cutting cardboard, and getting through plastic packaging. It’s made from stainless steel, has a pocket clip, and features a liner lock mechanism for safety. They also make a lite version with a skeletonized handle.

StatGear’s SKRAWL pen features a lightweight aluminum case with a tapered, ergonomic design. It has a bolt-action mechanism and a carbide-tip window breaker tool on its tail end. It comes with a Schmidt 4889 pressurized cartridge that can even be used to write while inverted.

Jet Bent-Lee’s father, Iron Chef Susur Lee is back to upgrade another fast food meal. This time, he transformed a chicken bowl, chips, and salsa into a beautiful looking savory pie inspired by French and Mexican cuisine. He also made some colorful horchata from the rice blended with spices and prickly pear juice.

Pastry and confection artist Amaury Guichon shows off yet another amazing edible creation. We had to clean the drool off our keyboard as we watched him build this incredible sculpture of a rocket ship entirely from chocolate. It’s one of several of his works featured on the Netflix series School of Chocolate.

These unique damascus knives are made by forging and folding steel recovered from the Tirpitz, a German WWII battleship sunk off the coast of Norway by Allied bombers. There are four limited-edition knives in the series, the Barlow Prime Tirpitz-Damascus, the Tirpitz-Damascus, the Tirpitz-Damascus Wood, and the Tirpitz-Damascus Gold.

The Revov keeps your glasses, keys, phone, watch, and other everyday essentials organized. Its rotating beech wood top tray snaps satisfyingly into place using magnets, providing quick access to the items stored in the aluminum cubby below. Plus, removable dividers allow you to customize its storage compartment.

This unique vacation rental in Washougal, Washington was inspired by Jurassic Park. In addition to the comfy 3-bedroom, 2-bath house, it has five animatronic dinosaurs scattered around the property. Inside, you’ll find artifacts like a mosquito encased in amber and books written by Dr. Ian Malcolm and Dr. John Hammond.

Whether you’re hiking, camping, hunting, or stuck in your car in bad weather, you should always have a quality first-aid kit on hand. The Tekto Survival Bag could save your life with its survival tools, thermal blankets, bandages, tape, water bottle and filter, emergency flashlight, and more.

We love the clean lines of The James Brand’s drop-point keychain knife. It features a 1.74″ Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel blade and lightweight, durable micarta or G-10 handles. It comes in green, blue, or black with either a stainless or black blade. Its rear hanging loop doubles as a pry tool.

For those of us who dabble in building and repairing things, our workbenches of often relegated to a corner of the basement or a garage. And then there’s Doug, a Houston-based commercial contractor whose workshop is better equipped than a Home Depot store. Bauforum24 visited from Germany to tour this amazing workshop.