Awesome Tiny

Billed as the world’s smallest knife, YSMART’s BITZ is a sleek keychain tool that features a razor-sharp tungsten blade, a magnetic quick-release cap for one-handed access, and a rugged titanium or brass body. With four unique grip patterns, BITZ is built for precision, portability, and standout style on a keychain or a pendant.

Maker Sean Hodgins created a tiny marble machine that can be hung on a Christmas tree as an ornament. He designed a conical track that can be 3D printed in a single piece, then added a gear-drive elevator to carry ball bearings to its top. The whole thing is set inside of a plastic sphere for hanging. Sean gifted his design on Instructables and Maker World.

The teensy-weensy Picotorch has a crisp white CREE LED module that can output 215 lumens when you need a quick blast of bright light. It’s USB-C rechargeable, waterproof, and has a magnetic base for attaching to metal surfaces. Available in stainless steel and titanium versions.

Whether you know the place for its food or eclectic clientele, there’s no mistaking a Waffle House for any other restaurant. Smol World Workshop created the smallest Waffle House we’ve ever seen. The attention to detail in the 1/24-scale model is incredible, from the asphalt parking lot to the fully equipped dining room, complete with condiments on the tables.

This teensy replica of the Atari 2600 comes with a miniature TV cabinet. It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and is loaded with nine 8-bit video games, including Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Combat, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong Tempest, Warlords, and Pac-Man. They’re actually better than the original 2600 versions.

We’ve seen another tiny steam engine about as wide as a penny, but this miniature by Chronova Engineering takes the cake. The fully functional engine measures just 5mm long – about the size of a pencil’s eraser. In order to work at such a small scale, he had to use precision techniques typically reserved for watchmaking.

Measuring just over 2″ long, this mini flashlight outputs up to 450 lumens and has a beautiful solid brass body. It’s IPX8 waterproof and dustproof, and its knurling provides visual interest and grip. A red/green light on its tail provides a quick indication of charging status. It’s also available in black anodized aluminum.

Any video that starts with a Shiba Inu riding in a dog-sized elevator is something you need to watch. This reel comes from Xing Zhilei, who built an incredibly detailed miniature apartment for his pets. None of what you see is CGI. It’s all done with handmade models and editing. If you don’t believe us, here’s more footage with humans added for scale.

Switzerland’s I’m Back teamed up with Yashica to create “the smallest mirrorless camera ever invented.” The ultra-compact digital camera fits in the palm of your hand and offers interchangeable lenses. It packs a 1/2.33 inch Sony IMX117 12-megapixel sensor that can also shoot 4K video, a flip-out 2-inch display, an HDMI output, and a flash hot shoe.

Andymation is known for his creative flipbook animations. He once created a flipbook smaller than a penny, but that wasn’t good enough for Andy, so he made an even smaller one. It took some work to get the camera and lens setup right; then, he got to work drawing each tiny frame with a sharp pencil. After that came the challenge of stacking them.

This set of miniature hand tools from Japanese outfit Meta Mate are what happens when your tools get mixed up with some Pym particles. The kit comes with 11 injection-molded mini metal tools, including scissors, nippers, pliers, a monkey wrench, caliper, bow saw, vise and more. Each tiny tool works just like the real deal.

We’ve seen some pretty clever use of space in tiny houses, but never anything like this. Inventor Handy Geng challenged himself to build a fully functional steel safe house with just 30 sq. ft. (2.8 sq. meters) of space. It has a living room, computer desk, bed, kitchen, and even a bathroom, all way too close for comfort.

This tiny knife from Lonfell is the perfect companion to any gear bag or backpack with MOLLE webbing. It’s designed to clip on easily to MOLLE straps and releases quickly with a press on its plastic holster. It can also be hung from a lanyard and comes in black, green, or orange.

The Citroën Ami Buggy is what Carwow calls “the world’s smallest SUV.”  While we question the “sport” and “utility,” it’s definitely a vehicle. This sub-sub-compact car has open sides, plastic windows, and a sunroof held in place with a zipper and Velcro. With an 8 hp motor, it tops out at 28 mph. Mat Watson spent some time with this tiny EV, so you don’t have to.

Mark Rober and his pals made one of the largest NERF guns ever. This time, he went in the opposite direction, putting the popular toy through the shrink ray so many times it’s only visible with an atomic force microscope. After using a compliant mechanism to engineer a simplified version that can fire a dart, he worked with scientists to make NERF guns from DNA.

For years, Tokyo’s Akihabara district was home to one of the most amazing little shops. But after 43 years in business, Koichi Shimayama shuttered his tiny electronics shop under the tracks. After being gifted the remnants of the shop, Norm Nakamura from Toyko Lens (with the help of his supporters) paid a crew to dismantle and rebuild it inside his studio.