What kind of weird-looking tool is this?
It’s the Thayer Universal Tool, TUT for short – a multifunctional tool for handling cooking and camping gear.
It can be used for lifting hot pans, lids, or coffee pot bails, pouring liquid from pots and kettles, moving grill grates, as a trivet for cookware and irons, holding candles, opening bottles, and apparently also tenderizing meat.
Advertisement
Harry Epstein Co says it’s heat treated to remove moisture and should be seasoned like cast iron to protect from rust.
The tool measures 5″ x 4″. It’s made in Charleston South Carolina by ZPL & Co.
I’ve never seen this before – looks useful, and maybe even “buy it for life” type quality.
Price: $39.95
The metalsmith, ZPL & Co also makes a keychain-sized one out of stainless steel!
If you’re going to place an order at Harry Epstein Co, make sure to leave yourself plenty of time to check out all the other tools and goodies they sell.
Advertisement
Harry Epstein is a fantastic and friendly independent tool store that specializes in USA-made and high quality tools.
Don’t buy up all the “BTA”s – I want one or two with my next order. What for? Not sure! They’ve got a lot of closeout tools and gear like that.
And don’t forget to ask for box art when you place your order! Make your request in the comments section at checkout.
Peter
Nice, that will make a good xmas present.
Jason
So, what is a ‘BTA’?
Stuart
Search for it in their store. It’s the thingamajig for $1.50.
Yadda
You can buy vintage versions of this same tool on that major online auction site. The design has been around for decades. If you like them and don’t camp they make decent trivets.
Stuart
Yes. But I like supporting modern blacksmiths, metalsmiths, and other makers of which there are too few these days.
Yadda
All good. 🙂
Mike
Oh my, this is a great “candy store.”
Bill
Interesting, I have never heard of anyone claiming that metals are “heat treated” for moisture removal. At least, not in this context.
Stuart
Fully outgassed to remove residual moisture? Dried at high temperature?
Martin
Blacksmith here, still a few of us around.
If you are applying a finish to iron or steel it is good practice to hit it with a torch first, just enough to warm the surface. You’ll see a shadow of the moisture leaving the metal, especially if the metal is black with mill or forge scale. Then whatever coating you apply isn’t just locking that moisture in while atmospheric water at bay.
In this case though the claim is advertising twaddle; as soon as the metal cools back the moisture returns.
Stuart
Looking at the maker’s page, which I hadn’t found before, only the HE Co listing, it says: The tool comes heat-treated to remove any residual moisture and will appear dark in color.
So it’s not like “HEAT-TREATED FOR MOISTURE REMOVAL.”
Seemed confusing to me too, but I figured maybe this is one of those times I don’t know what I don’t know.
Jared
That claim stood out to me too. I associate heat treating with austenitizing for the purpose of hardening the steel through the subsequent cooling process.
BUT, it also seems like the plain-meaning of “HEAT-TREATED FOR MOISTURE REMOVAL” is a coherent phrase – e.g. you can apply heat to remove moisture.
Just seems like they chose that phrasing for marketing purposes rather than any genuine quality imparted to product – or maybe it’s meant to explain why the version you get is dark when some people might expect it to be shiny?
Stuart
Could be, but if you look at the actual product pages, it’s all very matter of fact.
This could be poorly worded, but didn’t strike me as hyperbolic. I also took it as somehow being linked to the color finish of the tool. Maybe every other customer asked about that, so they added it to the product blurb.
WastedP
That hatchet shown is Gransfors Bruks. I bought one of their splitting mauls almost twenty years ago. I sharpened it for the second time ever yesterday. It’s absolutely the best tool I’ve ever purchased. It’s well-designed, well-made, and feels “correct” when you use it.
Stuart
Like I said, everyone needs to browse around when they have time. When I sit down and start shopping, so many different tools sparks “hmm, what’s that, haven’t seen it before,” which them prompts a google search. And then my order total just grows and grows.
Harry Epstein Co is like the opposite of the modern online marketplace – everything seems to be hand-picked and they avoid junk.
fred
I’ve used their mini hatchet for years. Small, easy to pack and carry – a pleasure to use for creating kindling
Lee Valley also sell them – but I was shocked at today’s price
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/log-building-tools/hatchets/100504-gransfors-mini-hatchet?item=48U0505
NoahG
I support them every year during the July 4th event, and end up making a half dozen purchases throughout the rest of the year.