The multi-tool has a long and rich history. The oldest design on record is the Harp Tool, which was carried by English longshoremen way back in the 1800’s. Spyderco has rereleased the original Harp Tool design, with a little update for the modern day. It has a Phillips-head screwdriver, slotted-head screwdriver, punch/awl, saw, corkscrew (probably more useful at lunch, if you catch my drift), file, gimlet, and a mini two-head hammer.
While all that stuff is still useful to the modern manual laborer, except maybe the corkscrew, the design itself leaves something to be desired. The Swiss Army Knife design is the more common design these days, and with some way to lock the blades in place, would be more useful for the laborer, given the heft of the object makes a decent handle. It also lends itself a little better to geek-friendly updates.
What would you have in your dream multi-tool? I’d definitely need a screwdriver, USB drive, flashlight, mini-scissors, and possibly a box-cutter. The corkscrew would be great, but that’d be in more of a barman’s helper.
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