Dispatches

We always thought Leatherman 🛠️ was just a great name for a tool that was obviously designed for hard use. A tool for some type of "leather man" - tough,...

Digital calipers📏what would we do without them? They were a true step-change improvement over mechanically driven calipers: orders-of-magnitude more accuracy, fast and reliable "zeroing", and vastly improved durability.And they were...

A good permanent marker is indispensable in the workshop and we tend to favor this Sharpie with a giant chisel tip.Sharpie is an example of a "proprietary eponym." A product...

The development of reliable arc welding 👨‍🏭 technology is an advance that most of us don't dwell on, but it transformed engineering. Prior to effective arc welding, most large steel...

⛏ The ice axe is an indispensable piece of kit for serious alpinists. With a set of good crampons, a pair of ice axes can turn a climber into a...

🚁 Helicopters are closely associated with search-and-rescue operations. It seems rather obvious today - their relatively small size and ability to hover and land in areas unsuitable for fixed wing...