I know a lot of you craft, I made something to help.

Always start with the finished product, right?

So this is where it started. In my first year of architecture school our teachers had us using those shitty pen knives that killed your fingers after using them for hours. So I analyzed the cause of the problem. It's caused by a hyper-extension in the first joint in your index finger. So I made a quick model that eliminated the hyper-extension.

I made my first model out of sculpting foam and couldn't use it to create a working prototype, so I had to duplicate the handle out of wood. This took some time. I started making them in my mom's basement, spending 8 hours a day sculpting handles and analyzing them.

Process shot. Multiple handles.

Once I had a form that I was satisfied with I created a template so I could cut as many blanks as I needed. After that I would sculpt them with a Dremel and sand them with a belt sander.

After making a few iterations I started having students at the school (Boston Architectural College) test them out. I'd analyze the way they would hold them and make adjustments.

Handles with notes. All part of the iterative process.

The form I settled on. At this point I'd been working on the handle for about a year. It's now the combination of 7 different orientations of cutting ergonomically.

Time to make some 3D printed models. I had to teach myself the 3D scanning software (NextEngine 3D scanner) as well Rhino (3D modeling software) so I could modify the 3D mesh that the scan created. After that process, which took like two months, I was able to 3D print prototypes to send out to architecture firms to be beta tested some more.

3D printing a prototype. At this point I added a magnet inside the handle to hold the blade in place.

MORE PROTOTYPES. After testing it in a few model shops at architecture firms in Boston, the only complaint I got was that the blade would get stuck in thicker materials. So I added a latch to utilizes the prefabricated hole in the blade to lock the blade in place.

At this point (which is about 2 years into the project) I partnered with a marketing firm to help me bring this thing to market. They suggested I make a wooden version. So I used my skills as a digital fabricator to CNC machine a wooden handle. This is a rendering of the toolpaths created to cut the handle out of a plywood blank

The blank being milled. I used Baltic Burch plywood with 1/64" layers to show the contours of the handle. The stepover on this finishing pass, which is like the resolution, is set to .005". That's less than the thickness of a human hair. Each handles takes about an hour and half to mill and another 30-50 minutes of finish work.

The internal workings of the Kiwi.

Me sweating to death presenting it to 60-70 architects and designers.

You have no idea how nervous I was. There were probably 60-70 people there, but I nailed it.

All the packaging was done by me. This is a laser cut box that I've designed for the plastic injection molded handles.

Some glamour shots of the kiwi

After posting it to imgur ArchDaily contacted me about publishing an article about the Kiwi!! Here it is http://www.archdaily.com/778556/how-i-developed-ergo-kiwi-an-ergonomic-craft-knife-that-your-fingers-will-thank-you-for

I almost threw up!

some glamour shots

so much glamour

All the canvas bags are handmade by me in a tiny room in Charlestown, MA.

I make all of the canvas bags by hand.

Check out the social media pages!

www.facebook.com/ergokiwi
www.instagram.com/ergo_kiwi