I was recently asked by a Hand Tool School member to provide a list of good chisel brands to aid him in buying. That’s actually a pretty tough question to answer seeing as I don’t have more than 5 minutes of fiddle time with more than a couple brands. So I started to think about what I like about my favorite chisels, and for that matter which one is my favorite chisel.

My favorite chisel isn’t pretty, it’s beat up pretty badly and has lots of patina on the socket handle and the blade. The handle has a ratty leather washer on top, and I don’t think I can even free it from the socket any longer. It is a 1.5? firmer chisel and the straight walls often get in the way on inside corners. It is a Buck Bros. chisel, which isn’t really known for high quality tools, and I have no idea when it was made. I think I bought it for $5 along with 6 or 7 other rusty tools in a shoebox at a yard sale.

Here’s the thing, this chisel fits my hand like a glove. The edge, while not as durable as some of the modern alchemy, can be honed razor sharp. The bevel is set at 20 degrees with a slight microbevel. It pares away even the most stubborn woods with ease, and I use it constantly to pare split tenon cheeks, chamfer edges, or refine a filister. There is a spot of heavy patina right where my thumb rests, and while I know this not to be true, this area feels softer and sculpted to my thumb. When I grasp the blade, my fingers fall into place automatically, and the chisel becomes an extension of my hand that is perfectly balanced. It responds to my thoughts instantly, and I swear it anticipates my next move. When I use it, my breathing slows and we work as one.

I don’t know who owned this before me or how it was used. I relish the thought that I am extending the life of this chisel and continuing the work of craftsman before me. On paper my Lie Nielsen and Blue Spruce chisels should outperform this “reject” in every way. I can’t explain it other than to say that my favorite chisel has soul. The figurative choir of angels just sings whenever I use it.

But Here is My Theory…

I know nothing about metallurgy and don’t really care enough to research it. My common sense tells me that modern made chisels, especially ones made by Lie-Nielsen, Blue Spruce, Veritas, etc. have superior steel than the vintage chisels you will find in a shoebox at the garage sale. But I question whether that is even important. Don’t get me wrong, my Lie Nielsen chisels are fantastic, but the hardness of the steel really isn’t that big a factor when I’m doing paring work. Certainly if I pound on it to chop a mortise, a weaker steel might fold and dull quickly. But then again, that is what sharpening is for. There is something magical about the “softer” vintage steel in old chisels that makes them easy to sharpen and they work great for general use and for paring.

So which brands are the best? I can’t really answer that and I don’t think the type of steel really should play into that question. In my experience, its all about the feel or “spirit” of the tool. Who can tell, it is a personal choice and sometimes it might surprise you which chisel is your “best.”

Our Core77 Design Awards deadline is inching closer and closer—less than two weeks left to send your entry in under our Regular Deadline! As you prepare to submit one of your best design projects, learn through our Jury Captain series about who will be judging your submissions and what they’ll be looking for this year. Week 1 we chatted with captains for Design Concept, Visual Communication and Furniture & Lighting categories. Last week, we caught up with the Transportation, Design Education Initiative and Service Design judges. 

Our latest bundle of interviews concentrates on the jury team leaders for three important categories—Consumer Product, Built Environment, and Strategy & Research.

Ian Ferguson (left) and Martin Postler (right)

Ian Ferguson & Martin Postler, 2017 Consumer Product

Founders, PostlerFerguson

Martin Postler and Ian Ferguson are the founders and directors of PostlerFerguson, an industrial design office creating products for a meaningful future. PostlerFerguson works with clients to design and develop products combining bold creative vision with refined technical solutions. With offices in London and Hamburg, they have an international roster of clients including LG Electronics, Nike, Acoustic Research, Nudeaudio, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Victoria and Albert Museum.

PostlerFerguson talks with Core77 about their time spent designing consumer products—we discuss their favorite kinds of projects to work on, the rewards and challenges of working with small vs. bigger clients as well as what they are looking for in the 2017 Core77 Design Awards consumer product submissions.

Lola Sheppard, 2017 Built Environment

Co-founder, Lateral Office

Lola Sheppard received her B.Arch from McGill University and M.Arch from Harvard Graduate School of Design. She is Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. Together with Mason White, she founded Lateral Office in 2003. Lateral Office is an architecture practice that operates at the intersection of architecture, landscape, and urbanism. The studio describes its practice process as a commitment to design as a research vehicle to pose and respond to complex, urgent questions in the built environment, engaging in the wider context and climate of a project– social, ecological, or political.

Designing environments combines many design fields and skill sets. What does a typical built environment team look like? What skills do designers need to bring to the table in order to design successful projects?

A built in environment team should bring together designers from a wide range of disciplines and approaches. Depending on the project this might include architects, landscape architects, fabrication designers Interior architects, etc…The negotiation of scales and priorities can only enrich the project.

Why is it important for architects and designers working in the field of built environments to integrate material and technological research into their own practice?

Design is, necessarily, a material practice: new materials and technologies offer opportunities for innovation and invention. In other instances, use of traditional materials in new.

What are some important considerations designers often overlook when creating built environments?

Because designers’ work begins in the form of drawings, models and renders, it is easy to focus on how a project looks rather than how it is experienced, who uses it and how, how it will weather and change use over time, and how it can accommodate for contingency and unpredictability. 

Nicolas Maitret, 2017 Strategy & Research

Senior Principle, SY Partners

Nicolas leads projects at the intersection of innovation, branding and transformation, with deep expertise in both design and business strategy. Over the past 15 years, he has designed a wide range of products, services, and environments. At SYPartners, he’s helped IBM, AARP and Johnson & Johnson bring to life new visions for their businesses and brands; imagined customer experiences for Old Navy, Blue Shield, and Target; and designed exhibits for Nike and IBM.

The projects you work on for SY Partners help companies transform their organizations through branding and innovation. What’s your background before this and what led you to what you’re doing now?

I grew up in France where I got an MBA and an MFA in industrial design. In 2005, I was working as an industrial designer in Paris. My wife and I decided to move to the US. I contacted dozens of design firm on both coasts. Back then, having a hybrid business and design background was uncommon. People didn’t know what box to put me in. I had a few good conversations in the Bay Area. I came to SYPartners for a short interview and ended up meeting half of the office. Right away, it felt like a great fit. I got an offer the following day. And never left.

How has the relationship between strategy & research and design changed in recent years? How have these changes affected your role?

SYPartners believes in the fusion of design and strategy. Our teams include both strategists and designers from start to finish. There’s no handoff. The traditional boundaries tend to blur. Designers are expected to think strategically and strategists are expected to understand design.

We do that for three reasons.

+ Designers help make the strategy stronger and more unique: The problems we address are complex enough that multiple perspectives are needed to solve them. By gathering MBAs, behavioral scientists, engineers and designers in our teams, we can be much more creative and systemic in our approach.

+ Designers translate the strategy into experiences that build belief: To be successful, a strategy doesn’t just have to be understood. It has to be felt. A few years ago, we crafted the CSR strategy of a famous apparel brand. We first shared a simple deck and people nodded along. They got it, but it didn’t move them. Then we turned the strategy into an immersive exhibit including sound, powerful artifacts, lighting design… Employees, from the founder to interns, came in and teared up. They could feel the strategy’s intent, viscerally. Only then did they truly believe in it.

+ Designers help close the gap between strategy and execution by making the strategy real faster: Strategies often look great on paper and prove impossible to execute. We’re trying to reduce the execution risk by adopting agile methods in our consulting practice. Our teams are building the strategy and immediately prototyping its implications. Increasingly, deck-driven strategy is replaced by prototype-driven strategy. One example is our work with a large membership organization. As we help shape their long-term brand strategy, we immediately apply our hypotheses to their current campaign. We’re working on two different timeframes at once — the long term brand positioning and the design of this season’s ads. The two tracks inform each other.

From physical Nike installations to imagined brand experiences for Yahoo!, you’ve worked on it all. Are there any research methods that are relevant to every project you work on? Are there different methods you use for digital projects as opposed to physical ones?

We use a wide range of methods, from conducting ethnographies and surveys to commissioning academic studies. We spend as much time researching the purpose, culture, and structure of the organizations we work with as we do exploring the market, societal and technological forces shaping their environment. In our experience, majoring on the research of external forces at the expense of internal dynamics leads to solutions that make sense from a market perspective but fail to be embraced by the organization. That’s why we put equal emphasis on understanding internal and external systems.

What are you hoping to see in the Design Award entries this year?

Projects that turn confusion into clarity.

Projects that help people bring purpose into their lives.

Projects that help people transform and show up at their best.

Projects that help people belong.

Projects that break barriers and build bridges.

Projects that embody optimism and aspiration, without being naïve.

Refine your projects and enter them in the 2017 Core77 Design Awards today! Regular prices end March 8. 

This drone, designed for hard-to-reach disaster areas, will soon be getting an upgrade that allows it to be consumed along with its cargo.

The Pouncer drone, developed by former army logistics expert Nigel Gifford, has a three-metre-wide hull and wings that enclose vacuum-packed foods and medical supplies.

Its wooden framework is made from sustainable sources, but within 12 months Gifford’s company – Windhorse Aerospace – hopes to replace this structure with edible food components.

“We wanted to make something that is the ultimate useable package delivery system for aid and disaster scenarios that could go where traditional methods can’t due to damaged infrastructure, and solves multiple issues that have previously cost lives,” said Gifford.

The Pouncer will come in three sizes. The Mark 1 can carry 20 kilograms of aid, the Mark 2 takes 50 kilograms, and the Mark 3 is capable of delivering 100 kilograms.

The drone would be launched from a catapult, balloon or aircraft depending on the area it is trying to reach.

If being dropped from an aircraft, the drone can launch from up to 35 kilometres away to reduce risk for the plane and crew. According to the company, the drop would be as accurate as seven metres from the target.

“The aim of Pouncer is to overcome challenges currently being experienced by teams operating in various disaster situations through the use of a single aerial vehicle,” said Gifford.

“It has been designed to be a supplementary aid delivery system, used in conjunction with other delivery systems,” he continued. “Other delivery systems require the host aircraft in some circumstances to over-fly the drop zone, whilst Pouncer can be launched at a stand-off range.

Gifford, a Somerset-based engineer, previously designed a high-altitude drone named Aquila, which could be used to beam internet or mobile-phone connectivity to dead areas.

The Wi-Fi-beaming drone was bought by Facebook in 2014 for a reported $20 million (£16 million).

Architects and designers are increasingly focusing on problems facing those in disaster-stricken and developing countries, particularly in the wake of the ongoing refugee crisis.

In a similar vein to the Pouncer drone, automotive engineer Gordon Murray created the OX truck, which aims to provide remote parts of Africa and the developing world with transport and aid for both everyday living and emergencies.

The post Edible Pouncer drone will deliver aid to victims of natural disasters and conflict appeared first on Dezeen.

Margins are thin in the restaurant business, and most of them survive on volume. As a server I learned that turning tables over is both art and science; in addition to subtle interpersonal machinations enacted by the waiter, the chairs provided are not too comfortable and the background music isn’t too pleasing. You want the customer to eat, enjoy their meal but not linger too long, or profits erode.

In Japan eating while standing is not uncommon for fast food; when living there I did it often at outdoor ramen carts. So Japanese chef Kunio Ichinose, who’s on a mission to serve delicious but affordable steaks, figured a standing concept might work with a steakhouse. 

He opened Ikinari Steak in Tokyo in 2013, featuring standing-height tables and no chairs. Customers have little incentive to linger after enjoying the food, meaning more can be served in a night.

The last time I went to a steakhouse—NYC’s wonderful Strip House, where I would slap anyone who tried to touch my dry-aged Ribeye—I spent damn near three hours there. On my feet I’d have done perhaps sixty minutes.

The concept proved successful, and as of this year Ichinose now has over 100 Ikinari Steak restaurants in Japan.

Today he’s opening another—in New York City, the home of fierce steak competition. Ikinari Steak at 90 East 10th Street, the East Village’s Little Tokyo, opens its doors today offering 40 standing spots. (A further ten spots do have chairs, so the infirm or those dining with companions in wheelchairs can also enjoy the food.)

The prices seem shockingly low. I’ve never paid less than $50 for a good steak in Manhattan, but Ikinari offers a 14-ounce Ribeye for $36. At lunchtime they offer a 10.6-ounce Chuck-eye for $20 including a salad, soup and rice.

Diners can order in the Japanese style, meaning by the gram. Those with small stomachs can go as low as 200 grams (7.1 ounces) while diners with hefty appetites can go up to 500 grams (17.6 ounces) and the prices scale accordingly.

One other Japanese custom has been brought over, one that I abhor as a former server but which your average customer is bound to love: There is a no-tipping policy.

It would be ironic if they equip the queue outside the restaurant with those Japanese self-driving chairs.

Designers: do you have a professional or passion project you’re ready to get off the ground, but are lacking the space and support to make it happen? Well, we and our friends at the A/D/O design space in Brooklyn may be able to help.

source: A/D/O

Beginning this spring A/D/O, an exciting new co-working space in Brooklyn, New York, will offer not only a beautiful work environment for designers, but also a flourishing community of like-minded individuals and support to further your design projects. Featuring a full calendar of cultural events and exhibits with visionary speakers, members of A/D/O will also have a front row seat to some of the most engaging discussions around design in the city.

source: A/D/O

Today we’re excited to launch our Core77 x A/D/O residency call-for-entry. 

The A/D/O Core77 residency is an outstanding opportunity for designers in the Core77 community to find a supportive space to further their efforts in design.

After receiving your residency proposal submissions, Core77 and A/D/O will pick one designer to occupy a desk at A/D/O’s space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn from April-June 2017 for free. The winner will have their own desk and access to all of A/D/O’s facilities, services, as well as their shop & digital fabrication equipment.

During their time in the residency, the occupant will be expected to document some of his or her process (prototyping, digital fabrication, woodworking, etc.) through photography and video. Once a month, winners will also be visited by the Core77 editorial team to conduct a monthly check-in, which will result in a video series showing a behind the scenes peek into the process of their project.

Core77 will be looking for applicants with specific project proposals—be it kickstarting an entrepreneurial project, development of a new product or even a conceptual design project. Applicants should be able to provide a clear summary of their mission if chosen as the Core77 design resident as well as telling us what stage in the process they are currently in. Although the chosen resident can use the space however they wish, we aren’t looking for a designer simply seeking a place to work—we want to see a dream project you’re ready to get started on in an environment with with plenty of resources and support!

As we’d like to ensure the space will be used by the winning designer, local applicants in the New York area will be placed at the highest priority.

Apply now to be in the running for this fantastic opportunity—winners will be announced March 20th, so you only have a few weeks to apply!

Apply for the Core77 x A/D/O Residency here

Learn more about A/D/O here