Posts Written by Paul Strauss

This backpack from Coalax is ideal for photographers who need to carry a lot of gear. Its exoskeleton design allows for modules to be attached and detached, including an optional 335Wh power pack. Its main compartment has dividers for cameras and lenses, and outside, you’ll find an extendable and adjustable selfie stick for hands-free shooting or lighting.

Damascus steel is made by pressing layers of forged metal together. HANS shows how he made a gorgeous dagger using thousands of steel bearing balls. The resulting metal pattern is something he calls Dragon Skin. After making the blade, he fabricated a brass crossguard and a wooden handle. It’s based on a design by Neels Van Den Berg of Black Dragon Forge.

From Batman to Beetlejuice to Birdman, Michael Keaton is a man of many personas. Keaton sat down for an interview with GQ to talk about some of his most iconic characters, their sources of inspiration, and how he got inside their heads. For some roles, the costume and makeup provided enough of a hook, while others required him to dig much deeper.

This bargain-priced gadget packs more than ten tools. Its carabiner-style clip attaches easily to your belt loop or backpack, and its fold-out blades include Phillips, Torx, hex, and flat-blade screwdrivers, a SIM card tool, and a small knife for opening boxes. It also has a bottle opener and a fold-out phone stand. Made from stainless steel.

Jared Owen presents another fascinating animation of a complex machine—or, in this case, multiple machines working together. In this video, he walks us through the automated donut factory, which you can find at many Krispy Kreme locations. These machines can crank out up to 3000 donuts per hour. Our favorite part is the glaze waterfall.

Science expert Joe Myheck shows how he made a unique crown fit for a mermaid queen by pouring a crucible filled with molten metal into a vat of water-absorbing Orbeez gel beads. The metal he used is called Nordic gold – a colorful alloy composed of copper, aluminum, zinc, and tin.

Valtcan’s keychain storage canister is longer than most, so it can store toothpicks, rolled up dollar bills, pills, or even a AAA battery inside. It’s made entirely from titanium, and has a waterproof O-ring seal. Measures 3″ x 0.6″ outside, and holds items up to 2.5″ x 0.45″ inside.

Flasutie shows off an insane toy gun that looks and works like an oversized revolver. It fires plastic projectiles using a high-voltage igniter and oxyhydrogen (HHO) gas as a propellant. Before building the main weapon, he made a single-barrel unit to test its firing system. Despite the TPU bullets being relatively soft, they could still leave a mark on unprotected skin.

This elegantly designed hand tool from Phil & Robbie elevates the multi-bit screwdriver to new heights. It features a locking chuck for 1/4″ hex bits and a knurled brass collar. Its faceted, non-conductive handle hides an internal container for six bits. The kit comes with a set of long, double-ended steel bits and a special bit that works as a pen.

North of the Border just won’t stop making things creepier than they should be. Adam’s latest nightmare fuel is an oversized clay and wire scorpion with human features like nipples, chest hair, fingernails, feet, and flesh-colored skin. Goopy black eyeballs, Tighty-whities, and mouth-arms bring it all together.

Oldboy director Park Chan-wook teamed up with Robert Downey Jr. for this limited-run series about a spy who was planted in the South Vietnam army and later moved to the U.S., where he secretly reported back to the Viet Cong. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, it Stars Hoa Xuande as The Captain and premieres 4.14.24 on Max.

To create this pleasantly hypnotic sequence of sounds, musician Jeremie Carter played 15 different notes on a marimba. He performed each note repeatedly at a rate of 0.2 bpm faster or slower than its neighbor, then edited them side-by-side. He says every time you hear a bell ring, a subdivision has been reached, progressing from quarter notes to various tuplets.

A group of talented kids celebrated their friend’s birthday with a kick-ass performance of the Nine Inch Nails track Wish. The music video serves as a fundraiser for the O’Keefe Music Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps offer free music lessons and music camps to young musicians. Crank up the volume to 11 for this one. (Thanks, Myriam!)

This electromechanical plaything from Nikola Toy automatically steadies itself and balances on its point. Its curved Reuleaux triangle shape allows it to teeter while sensors, circuitry, and a spinning wheel help hold its position. It also has built-in RGB LED lighting.

veridiz vz•tv put together a full-length recreation of Pink Floyd’s classic album Dark Side of the Moon using 8-bit synthesizer sounds. After a very monotonous start with Speak to Me, things kick into gear by the time they hit On the Run and Money. veridiz has also made chiptune covers of Another Brick in the Wall, Echoes, and The Final Cut.

This special material uses a precision-engineered lens array to bend light around you, making it look like you vanished into thin air. Crouch down behind the full-size Invisibility Shield 2.0 or cloak your entire body with the 6-foot-tall MEGASHIELD. Both roll up for easy transport, and the shield is also available in a 12″ by 7.9″ Mini size for $69.

We’re so used to seeing crisp, 4K video these days that we almost forgot how much character analog film can bring to moving pictures. illkoncept brought a vintage Bolex H16 Rex-5 16mm camera to Tokyo and Osaka and captured this amazing footage of Japanese nightlife that’s far more compelling than most things we’ve seen shot on modern equipment.

Scott Sloan builds 1:6-scale digital pinball machines that are fully playable. The 3D-printed systems can play many games using Visual Pinball X and are powered by a GMK 5105 mini-computer. They have a 7″ playfield and a 5″ backglass display. Want one? Contact Scott on Facebook. Glen’s Retro Show has a demo video here. Images courtesy of Scott Sloan.

To create the Time Master 70, Ferro & Company took inspiration from the mid-century modern designs of the 1970s. The watch features a 39mm stainless steel case with a cushion-shaped body and a brushed finish. It’s powered by a Japanese Miyota movement visible through an orange-tinted back. Choose from silver, orange, pink, or blue face designs.

Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Checo Perez took on Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in a different kind of race. The teams headed to Hampton Beach in Melbourne, Australia, to see who would make the best lifeguard – or at least who could drive a Can-Am Commander side-by-side the quickest on the sand.

Gerber’s smartly-designed camp saw folds up flat when not in use while its parts remain connected. Its 12″ blade can cut through large-diameter wood, and its shape ensures you can use every inch of the blade. A textured handle provides maximum grip, and it comes with a blade edge protector for safe packing.

Medieval weapon expert Tod’s Workshop happened to have five different types of crossbows in his workshop at the same time, so he thought it would be fun to compare how they work and how effective each is at its job. The collection ranges from a tiny handheld crossbow to massive ballista that requires a time-consuming tensioning process.

This unique gadget from Titaner combines a ruler, caliper, adjustable wrench, and fidget toy. Its extendable ruler measures objects up to 18 cm (Metric) or 7 in (Imperial). In caliper mode, it can measure the outer dimensions of objects and clamp down to turn bolts. Its bars are made from titanium, while the accents are available in a gold or rose gold finish.