Awesome Tools

NEBO’s SL100 spotlight can cast a beam up that’s visible from up to 1 mile away. It combines a white/red COB LED light with a laser-excited phosphor (LEP) module to achieve its impressive beam distance. Its aluminum case is wrapped in PA66 nylon and rubber for grip and has magnet, belt clip, and tripod mounting options.

This slim stainless steel tool serves multiple purposes, serving as a minimal money clip and credit card holder, as well as flat and Phillips screwdrivers, hex wrenches, a mini ruler, scraper, and a bottle opener in one. It’s TSA-friendly, and available in black or stainless finishes.

Grim Workshop’s latest stainless steel tool card is loaded with useful functions. Despite being the size of a credit card, it packs fishing hooks, a metal lure, a file, an awl, a needle, emergency sutures, a tick remover, spring snare triggers, and even has a sharpened knife. It also has a sticky backing to hold tools in place after use.

This hefty D-battery-powered flashlight uses a 5-watt Cree XPE LED to cranks out up to 590 lumens, visible at a distance up to 420 meters (~1377 feet). It’s made from aluminum and ABS plastic and is waterproof up to 1 meter. It has low, high, and strobe modes and can run for up to 18 hours between battery swaps.

A cheap and versatile alternative to metal carabiners, these lightweight plastic clips are designed to slide through MOLLE webbing or belt loops, offering a way to hang small accessories like pouches, hats, gloves, and more. Snaps closed securely, and won’t ever rust like metal clips.

The James Brand has updated their handsome and refined Ellis pocket knife with a new slip-joint construction, along with a scraper, a flat-head screwdriver, a pry tool, and scissors. Its 2.6″ drop-point blade is partially serrated and made from Sandvik 12C27 steel, wrapped in Micarta handle scales.

Everyday Carry looks back at the most popular gear with their users from the last month, and the collection includes several great pocket knives, sunglasses, a gear pouch, multi-tool, and a flashlight. We’re particularly taken by the Spyderco Para Military 2 folding knife – a powerhouse cutting tool in a compact package.

Olight upgrades its Seeker Pro flashlight with more power and improved controls. Its four cool-white LEDs kick out 4200 lumens up to 250 meters. It has a grooved rotary knob with brightness and battery indicators, a smart lockout after 30 seconds of inactivity, and a lens obstruction proximity sensor.

This specialized pocket tool from Titan Talon Tool Co. makes quick work of stuck wingnuts, and can also turn 9/16″ and 15/16″ regular nuts in its grip. It also has a built-in bottle opener and can hold 1/4″ hex bits as well. Small and light enough to keep on your belt loop. We also like their titanium key clip.

This folding tool from Mitusmoto Sakari provides first responders or anyone in an emergency with critical life-saving abilities. In addition to its trauma scissors, it has a pocket knife, a wrench, a strap cutter, a ruler, a round cutter, a Philips screwdriver, a carbide glass breaker, and a travel key fob.

This compact tool combines versatility with a pocket-friendly form factor. It comes in two versions, both with a 2.5″ liner lock knife, a #11 utility blade, and a file with a chisel edge. The Drive adds a 1/4″ driver with a double sided bit and an awl, and the Pry has a pry bar, nail puller, scissors, flathead drivers, and a bottle opener.

DiesInEveryFilm saw a video of workers swinging sledgehammers with a flexible handle that are supposed to optimize kinetic energy. Inspired by the unusual tools, he decided to apply the same idea to an axe to see how well it would work to chop wood. His version uses a piece of thick aircraft cable for the handle.

Is your toolbox filled with a mish-mash of random sockets and wrenches you’ve picked up over the years? Perhaps it’s time to hit the reset switch and grab this pro-grade mechanics tool set from Stanley. It comes loaded with 229 SAE and Metric sockets, socket wrenches, screwdriver bits, and hex keys, all in black chrome.

This compact tool lets you carry six sizes of nut drivers in one convenient handle. The SAE sizes include 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 11/32″, 3/8″, and 7/16″, while the Metric set includes 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, and 12mm wrenches. SATA also makes a matching folding hex key set in SAE, Metric, and Torx sizes.

Pangea Designs‘ keychain tool can open both twist-off and pry-off bottle caps with ease, and also packs a stepped hex wrench in SAE or metric sizes. Made from sturdy 6al4v titanium alloy with a stonewashed finish.

We’ve seen lots of organizers for tools, but they’re mostly pretty boring to look at. Garage Junky Store sells storage units handcrafted from diamond plate aluminum for a shiny and substantial look. They make cordless drill holders, shop towel holders, trash cans, broom holders, document holders, and more.

The capable Armbar Cork from Gerber is a neat, pocket-sized multitool to handle all sorts of small tasks. It has a 2 ½” blade that opens with one hand, scissors, hammer, pry bar, foil cutter, and can/package opener, plus a corkscrew and bottle opener to wet your whistle. Comes in three colors.

For those unfamiliar with Line-X, it’s a heavy-duty coating used for truck bed liners, fender flares, and other vehicle equipment. Tools in Action wanted to see what would happen if they sprayed the coating onto a spinning power drill. The resulting mess could pass for a piece of modern art.

Model maker Enos Camare created two incredibly teensy power tools that actually work. He made the 1/12-scale Makita circular saw and impact driver using 3D printed shapes he hand-finished and outfitted with tiny motors. They include cases, accessories, and manuals and need tweezers to power them on.

Yeti takes on Pelican and other rugged container makers with the LoadOut GoBox. Like Yeti’s coolers, it’s nearly indestructible, dustproof, and 100% waterproof. Inside is a mesh organizer with three pockets, as well as a removable caddy and divider for flexibility.

This cordless hobby tool engraves, polishes, and shapes objects with a high-speed motor. It can achieve speeds from 10,000 to 20,000 RPM and comes with bits for working with plastic, wood, stone, metal, and even glass. You can tweak its settings via a smartphone app or directly from its buttons and OLED screen.

This modular tabletop machine gives makers the tools they need to drill, grind, saw, turn, mill, and lathe objects. Its tools work with wood, metal, and engineering plastics and is ideal for DIYers. The base kit includes sawing, grinding, and drilling modules, while milling, lathing, and wood-turning are add-ons.

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.