There are all kinds of tool belts designed for use by carpenters. But for painters? Not so much.
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It’s strange when you think about it, because except for when they’re spraying or rolling, painters use plenty of tools. Depending on the job, they might need to carry a scraper, caulking gun, putty knife, paint can opener, masking tape, duster, rag, or sandpaper. And there’s the brush and can or cup of paint too.
After one too many trips down the ladder to get a tool he was missing, a Chicago-area painter named Henryk Krol decided he needed a tool belt. He tried a number of ready-made products, but none were suited to painting. So he bought a belt and harness and adapted it to his work.
He later made one from scratch and used it in his own painting work. He made a second one for a friend and after discovering the friend was still using it years later, Krol decided to turn his idea into a product.
The end result, after many iterations, is the King’s Harness, a tool belt designed specifically for painters. It features a belt and suspenders studded with spring clips to which tools can be fastened with the included key rings. The ferrule of a metal dusting brush can be stuck to a magnet on the upper left suspender strap.
A chest-level Velcro strap (Krol calls it a center strap) can be used to hold a can or cup of paint against your chest, leaving both hands free for climbing a ladder and one hand free when wielding a brush. The belt and straps are adjustable, so it’s one-size-fits-all.
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I met Krol at the National Hardware Show, where he had gone to find distributors willing to carry his product. In the meantime he sells the King’s Harness from his website.
Price: $30
Buy Now(via King’s Harness)
First Thoughts
I’ve done a lot of painting—on my own homes and professionally, before I became a carpenter—so I understand the problems Krol faced when trying to buy a tool belt. Carpenter belts are fine for carpentry tools and fasteners, but are more or less worthless for items a painter must carry.
Having to clip and unclip tools from the harness would take some getting used to (as would having a bunch of tools swinging around), but the same is true when you making any major changes to your work habits. What you carry and where it hangs is up to you.
I particularly like the way the harness allows you to carry a can or cup of paint against your chest. There could be one downside to this configuration; what happens if you drop something and accidentally bend forward to pick it up? If the can or cup contains enough material, you will likely spill paint. But that’s the kind of mistake you make only once. And anyway, there are a million other ways to spill paint.
In discussing the center strap with Krol, he mentioned something I hadn’t considered. He said strapping the can or cup to his chest lets him to hold the brush in one hand and brace against the wall with the other (instead of using it to hold the can). This allows him to cut straighter lines than would be possible without bracing, because two feet and a hand is a steadier base to work from than two feet only.
My one complaint is that there is only a single magnet. I’m left-handed, and if I were to use this harness I’d want to be able to grab the dusting brush off my right shoulder.
I wish the King’s Harness had been around when I was painting old houses.
Thom says
If Batman were a house painter…
nigeldh says
Great idea. Great price. It could probably be used for other work where you could clip stuff to the shoulder straps . On example is cleaning. Or where the tools you are using are on a safety leash or retractor. I could also see having a tool belt for tool storage, secondary tools, parts, and what you are using is in the chest bucket.
As for “accidentally bend forward ” – that will teach you proper lifting techniques, bend from the knees. grin
fred says
It doesn’t appeal to me – but I never was much of a painter. My take on the whole category of Paint Sundries is that there seem to be lots of “better mousetraps” hitting the market all the time. Some actually seem to last – probably based on their utility and decent sales. Others seem to disappear. I guess we’ll see how it sells.
Mr weedley says
I’m not a painter so I don’t know if this is practical or not. I’m digging the center strap tho…. tailgating! Imagine a gallon of beer and a straw🍺🍺🍺.
Seriously I hope he makes some good coin👍
Nathan says
I like where your heads at. not so much for tailgating but general house work.
(mowing the lawn, sitting on the deck etc etc)
Pete says
I could see it being useful for large commerical projects where you might be on a tall ladder or in a scissor lift. But for just painting my house? Not so much.
VladFineCraft says
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I think there should be an option for 5 gal bucket as well!
Nathan says
I think it’s a good idea if a little busy but hey you don’t have to use it all right. Might need a bit more adjustability but I like it.
might buy one. I don’t paint often but when I do it does always seem to involve a ladder and is always a PITA. so I like the idea.
Grady says
I like the concept, but I don’t think it’s for me. I don’t think I like the center strap. A few people have noted that bending over would spill paint, but what about bending backwards? I just don’t like having a bucket of paint on my chest, and i know for sure my beard doesn’t!
Blythe M says
If the front bucket was held only at one point on each side it could pivot and “self level” as you bent over
dandLyons says
I am not sure I would ever have a need for such a harness. I learned a simple method of interior painting when I was a boy. We had a simple tool set; a 5 gallon bucket, a roller, an extension pole, a straight 3 inch brush, and a brush shaped like a hockey stick. We would mix all the paint in the 5 gallon bucket to make sure there was no color variation between cans. Then we put most of the paint back in the original cans leaving a gallon or so in the bucket. We worked out of that that single 5 gallon bucket for everything. No roller trays to kick over and spill. We would walk around with the hockey stick brush in one hand, the bucket in the other and the strike in all the upper corners where the wall meet the ceiling. Then we would use the straight brush to strike in the vertical corners of the walls. With that done, we put down the 5 gallon bucket in the center of the room. We used the roller on an extension pole to do the ceiling. We left the roller on the extension pole to do the walls. For smaller rooms you can literally do the entire room just by rotating at the center of the room. We tarped the floors before painting but never bothered with masking tape. We used brush control instead. You place the brush away from the edge and push so that the bristles flare out to the edge as you draw the brush. We kept a damp rag to immediately wipe up any mistakes. This was for latex paint, of course. For clean up, we poured any remaining paint back into the original cans then rinsed the 5 gallon bucket. We used a spinner to clean & dry the roller and brush. We spun them inside the bucket to minimize the mess. Over the years I have had friends insist that a sprayer was faster or one of those power rollers. I have gone up against both. I painted three rooms in the time it took my friend to spray one. Clean up was simple. I was drinking a cold beer while he was still fiddling with the sprayer.
I like to keep things simple. I don’t see the need to have every possible tool strapped to me. A pair of painters paints was always sufficient.
WIlliam Butler says
I don’t like the metal hooks. That seems as though it would be a two handed operation to get a tool off, one to open the clasp and another to remove the tool. Id rather have those plastic side release buckles. Then you could hold the tool with your pinky, ring, and middle finger and squeeze the clasp with you thumb and index.
I’m not a painter, but it seems that most of the painters I’ve been around only need one or two tools at a time. They do one task completely and then do the next. I could see this being used on really big commercial jobs though.
James says
Hi Guys,
I’m a pro Painter in Australia and I have a hand injury and I can’t carry a paint pot at the moment. This harness looks amazing just wondering how I can get one delivered to Aus.