Awesome Reference

We love Hacksmith Industries’ YouTube channel. They also have a store that sells gadgets, toys, brand merch, and books. The Handyman Pocket Reference Book belongs in every home, workshop, and work site. It’s packed with facts and figures used in carpentry, construction, and repairs, info about hardware, wiring, building techniques, and more.

Tools: A Visual Exploration of Implements and Devices in the Workshop is a wondrous guidebook filled with stories and explanations of 118 different kinds of tools. Author Theodore Gray and photographer Nick Mann teamed up to create the 256-page hardcover edition, which includes a pull-out Periodic Table of Tools poster.

This set of reference cards is a great addition to a toolbox or workbench. Card 1 includes a wire gauge, nail gauge, hole gauges, and a pipe gauge; Card 2 has a compass and shape stencils, and Card 3 has equations, conversion charts, abbreviations, and more. Made from durable plastic with a protective coating.

This compact reference guide and field manual is packed with tips and tricks for surviving all kinds of disasters and emergencies. The Cargen Brothers’ 72-page mini book could save a life with helpful information on subjects like building a fire, first aid, knot tying, plant identification, hand signals, navigation, and more.

James Beard Award-winning mixologist Toby Maloney and the bartenders of Chicago’s The Violet Hour created this 320-page guide to the fundamentals of cocktail making. You’ll learn about balancing ingredients, getting the right textures, aromas, and temperatures, then advance to making your own concoctions.

The “extreme edition” of Joseph D. Connelly’s comprehensive survival guide covers 13 topical areas, from prepping your pantry to creating a sustainable garden to building a bomb shelter. It’s packed with practical techniques for urban and wilderness survival. Available as a 261-page paperback or a Kindle digital edition.

This Tyvek Mighty Wallet is nearly impossible to tear. It’s also mighty useful. It’s covered with useful information, like conversion charts, a protractor, geometry and physics equations, and more. Its edges provide inch, centimeter, and pica rulers too. As a wallet, it’s quite functional, too, with multiple card slots and a long main compartment for bills or receipts.

This expansive reference guide from Chronicle Books provides detailed information on hundreds of tools. The 288-page book catalogs their uses and the differences between similar tools, arranged by function: measuring, cutting, fastening, and shaping.

Whether you’re a DIYer or a construction pro, understanding math and geometry is critical. DEWALT’s reference guide includes 42 pages of useful equations and rules which will help you measure twice and cut once. Made from durable, toolbox-friendly materials with a spiral-bound edge. Also available for plumbing and wiring.

Video game and console collector Tristan Ibarra follows up his Video Game Field Guide with a four-volume compendium packed with nearly 2400 pages of consoles, handhelds, tabletops, and checklists for thousands of games, both popular and rare. Available in digital or hardcopy editions.

We recently went down the rabbit hole, creating a playlist of original versions of hit songs. SecondHandSongs helped us find lots of obscure originals and also revealed tons of unique covers we never knew existed. Like, did you know that this guy recorded Girls Just Wanna Have Fun four years before Cindy Lauper did?

This stainless steel card is the ultimate cheat sheet for guitar players. One side of the pocket card features 42 common chords and their finger placements, while the other side has a fretboard diagram, chord charts for minor and major keys, and a circle of 5ths. The card comes with a matching leather card sleeve.

This series of infographic posters offer an artful presentation of useful knowledge at a glance. Etsy seller Christie Gift Shop carries them in a variety of designs, including carpentry, photography, scuba diving, golf, scouting, quilting, and more. They’re available in 12″ x 18″ and 16″ x 24″ sizes, unframed.

Originally published back in 1953, Hervey Garrett Smith’s book The Arts of the Sailor: Knotting, Splicing and Ropework is a great reference for mariners of all experience levels to learn about shipboard skills, along with detailed illustrations and directions for working with rope and tying various useful knots.

CheatKard is back with another series of useful and visually-appealing reference cards. These ones are focused on computer software, including Adobe, Microsoft, and Apple apps, plus the complexities of Regular Expressions. Each one is made from a flexible fiber composite with real gold plated accents.

An essential reference guide for setting up your own blacksmith workshop and working with metal. The first half of author Nicholas Wicks’ book covers shop safety, equipment, and techniques, while the second half offers 55 simple projects like tools, hardware, utensils, and decorative objects you can create.