This week’s selection is the ‘Tater Hammer by designer Eric Au of Metro’s Q-Branch.
No, this is not actually for mashing potatoes, although I suppose you actually could do so if suddenly without other kitchen implements. No, instead this is an attachment for the versatile Leatherman Skeletool multitool. It’s a 7-in-1 handheld unit containing pliers, knife, bit driver and other functional tools.
The Leatherman Skeletool folds up like a pocket knife for easy transport, but with a lot more capability.
But here Au has extended the functionality of the Skeletool by creating an attachment that fits onto the tool with a brass insert. With the ‘Tater Hammer you can pound materials quite soundly. Au says:
“The Leatherman Skeletool is an amazing piece of modern design and functional aesthetics, its namesake explains the way it looks. The Stammer attachment allows for even more functionality to an already killer Everyday Carry tool. With a nice sturdy hammer head, the Stammer adds to the Skeletool’s usefulness pedigree. This variation has an aggressive hammer head pattern for extra grip for striking.”
The ‘Tater Hammer is available for on-demand 3D printing by Shapeways in several different metals — and you know this must be produced in metal to work properly — at a cost of between US$40-44 depending on the metal selected.
This is definitely not the only Skeletool attachment Au has created. His portfolio on Shapeways lists no less than seven different attachments for that tool alone, including the curiously named “Stammer Hammer”, “Hammer/Jammer”, “Rescue Hammer”, “Mini Utility Knife”, and “Pocket Clip”.
Au regularly designs and produces a wide variety of handmade goods ranging from backpacks to belts to slingshots for clients, and certainly a lot of his manufacturing process involves using Leatherman tools.
By combining his skills in 3D design and 3D printing, he’s been able to improve his own toolset by creating these and many other extensions. But as any good business person would do, Au realized that if these tools were good for his own work, they could be beneficial to others, and thus he began selling them through Shapeways.
The choice of Shapeways for this set of products is quite natural, as they offer an easy-to-access service for consumers, while at the same time providing metal 3D printing capability, a necessity for these products.
If you’re an owner of a Leatherman Skeletool or similar tools, you might want to look up Metro’s Q-Branch tools.
Via Shapeways and Metro Grade Goods
