Quark Tool
A utility knife that takes minimalism to a new vanishing point.
Funding ended on Jun 30, 2017 at 04:59 PM PDT.
Funding ended on Jun 30, 2017 at 04:59 PM PDT.
Fashioned from a single piece of 420 stainless steel and nothing more, the Quark Tool is truly the most minimal utility knife ever made. There are no screws, hinges, seams, clips, or inserts to lose, break, or snag on clothing. As its namesake implies, there is nothing simpler.
The Quark Tool is smaller in every dimension than many door and car keys, and nestles comfortably on any key ring. With its secure locking mechanism, you can safely carry a utility blade with you at all times and forget it’s even there until you need it.
As with any trusted everyday carry item, the Quark Tool is:
We’ve all felt the excitement of seeing a package at the door, only to quickly bring it inside and spend forever trying to open it. For some, a kitchen knife is the solution. For others, scissors. The MacGyvers of the world use their key as a make-shift blade. Lastly, those with no where else to turn simply draw upon their primal instincts and rip at the box and tape with their bare hands. For this scenario, and so many more, there is a better way: the Quark Tool.
The Quark Tool was created to effectively deal with those small, spur of the moment tasks that call for a sharp blade. It’s for anybody who has ever wasted time searching for a way to open a box, slice a blister pack, or maybe just cut a loose thread. With the Quark, you have the tool always on hand, without feeling like you are weighed down carrying extra gadgets around.
The Quark Tool sits silently on your keychain, ready when called upon, for those times when you need a utility blade. Smart, effective, easy.
You know the guy (it’s usually a guy): he always has some big chunk of knife strapped to his belt or bulging in his pocket, and is all too eager to flip it open at the slightest suggestion that it might be useful in order to prove to himself it was worth carrying around all day, every day. No, really, I can open this sugar packet without your machete, thanks.
Don’t be that guy. With the Quark Tool, you’ll always have a utility blade whenever you need it, but won’t even know it’s there otherwise. No, you won’t be able to carve a spear from a small pine tree for when the zombie apocalypse comes, but you will be able to attend quickly to hundreds of daily tasks without missing a beat. (Please don’t offer to open other people’s sugar packets.)
If you like to be prepared enough to solve problems as you encounter them, but don’t want to be weighed down with rarely used stuff, then the Quark Tool is for you. You might be an electronics hobbyist stripping wire, a hiker cutting twine, or a photographer hanging backdrops with duct tape and zip ties. The Quark Tool is for people who like to do, not wonder how to do.
Airport security checkpoints are a graveyard of treasured pocket knives and essential utility blades. With the Quark Tool, you can say goodbye to those days of regret and tears - simply slip out and discard the commodity blade as you’re going through security and replace it with a fresh blade at your destination.
After months of careful design and many prototypes, the Quark Tool is now ready for manufacture. The Quark Tool was designed to last and is built to blend inconspicuously with your current key setup.
We were fortunate enough to find an excellent supplier in China who makes knife and utility blade products. The supplier has provided multiple rounds of prototypes, and we’ve worked closely with them to ensure the product functions correctly and the production quality will meet our high expectations.
Tooling is finished and first article samples have been made from the actual tooling. This means the manufacturing process has been fully proven and the only thing left to do is place an order for the minimum order quantity (MOQ). We expect to be shipping product within two months from the end of the campaign.
We have done everything possible to reduce the risk to backers. By self-funding the tooling, we made sure the manufacturing plan is viable before the campaign even starts, thereby reducing the potential for hiccups after funding and reducing the time to delivery.
Once the first production run has been manufactured, all Quark Tools will be sent in bulk to Crowd Supply’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. From there, they will be shipped to backers around the world. You can read more about shipping policies and procedures here.
Produced by Amalgam PDX in Portland, OR.
Sold and shipped by Crowd Supply.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Want to buy this item? Check the current project page for the latest information.
Not long back in human history, the possessions that people kept were treated as prized possessions, artifacts that held history, value, and pride. We want to design products that reconnect with that ideology. Things that you carry and use on a daily basis should bring aesthetic value, improve your life in some way, and hold an intrisic value which goes beyond mere functionality. Our aim is to produce thoughtful, high quality, beautiful products for discerning, handy individuals. These days it seems all to common for companies to follow the architecture of the mass market, either creating products that are manufactured around cookie cutter processes which are just "good enough", or adding features that will never get used in an artificial claim of utility. We're looking to push the boundaries of manufacturing and design to create honest, ideal and holistic solutions.
