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The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

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Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#21

Post by mc32 »

jasongill wrote: post #6

I think the "still going after 7 years" means "still hasn't been released after 7 years". It was supposed to be for sale in 2014 and still hasn't shipped yet (from what I can find in Google). The creators have been stringing along their backers for the better part of a decade. As far as utility, it seems like more of a gimmick than something that would get regular use. I can't think of a time when I've been working o…

It reminds me of the useless Craftsman “gift” SKU Craftsman puts on display ends during the holidays: a combo crescent, hammer and pry iron[1]

Aha! That’s what I’ll get good old uncle Bill.

I think it took Leatherman ten years to get something out the door —but that was the 70s when you didn’t have the prototyping we have today.

[1] https://www.craftsman.com/products/automotive-tools/wrenches...

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#22

Post by nikkwong »

hiimtroymclure wrote: post #3

Back in 2011 I thought Kickstarter and crowdfunding in general was so cool. I funded a maybe 20+ projects. I think I received 4-5 items and the products i did receive were very underwhelming. Probably half of the projects I never even heard from after the funding closed. Needless to say I haven't been on KS in a long, long time.

Crowdfunding on Kickstarter changed my life. I was just a kid with an idea in college in 2014 and decided to try a project that became a business that I am still running today. I think there are gems to be found here and there, but it is definitely to find the signal in the noise.

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#23

Post by chx »

ohazi wrote: post #10

Consumer crowdfunding websites like kickstarter and indiegogo have largely failed to live up to their early hype. Campaigns now fall into two categories: designer vaporware from people you've never heard of, and established companies that don't need crowdfunding but are using it anyway for marketing purposes. On the other hand... niche crowdfunding websites like Crowd Supply seem to be doing better than ever. There a…

> Getting volume buying commitments for an already working design rather than speculative "investing."

This still happens in KS and IGG both. I have seen a number of rather interesting backpacks from companies we never heard of. Also, I had multiple successful deliveries from Chinese companies who see IGG as a great jumping board towards the international markets.

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#25

Post by timpark »

AlexandrB wrote: post #9
jasongill wrote: post #6

I think the "still going after 7 years" means "still hasn't been released after 7 years". It was supposed to be for sale in 2014 and still hasn't shipped yet (from what I can find in Google). The creators have been stringing along their backers for the better part of a decade. As far as utility, it seems like more of a gimmick than something that would get regular use. I can't think of a time when I've been working o…

I think the king of stringing along backers is still Star Citizen who - 8+ years after the original Kickstarter[1] - are still taking crowdfunding money with no finished product in sight. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen

Another long-running one (though not as much of a money-sink) is Spaceventure, by the creators of Space Quest. Star Citizen appears to have an estimated delivery of Nov.2014, but the estimated delivery of Spaceventure was Feb.2013. The game entered beta almost half a year ago.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spaceventure/two-guys-s...

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#26

Post by GlennS »

camillomiller wrote: post #12
anonAndOn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they'll make it out of titanium and go after the ultralight tool enthusiast market? It'll never get used, but damn it's light!

I was writing a comment asking what's the point of a lighter hammer, then I realized that a lighter hammer you can swing faster is actually exponentially more effective than a heavier hammer. KE = 1/2mv^2 babe! Physics, bi*ch! :)

Do you definitely want to transfer kinetic energy more than momentum?

I reckon a lighter hammer swung faster is more likely to end up with a bent nail.

Also, exponential would be 2^v. v^2 is quadratic.

(And you need to sub in the F=ma part as well to demonstrate your point, so your gain from the lighter hammer should be less than quadratic. Exercise left to the reader.)

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#27

Post by nerfhammer »

ohazi wrote: post #10

Consumer crowdfunding websites like kickstarter and indiegogo have largely failed to live up to their early hype. Campaigns now fall into two categories: designer vaporware from people you've never heard of, and established companies that don't need crowdfunding but are using it anyway for marketing purposes. On the other hand... niche crowdfunding websites like Crowd Supply seem to be doing better than ever. There a…

crowdsupply is almost entirely just making pcbs, which are literally the most straightforward thing in the world to get manufactured

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#28

Post by renewiltord »

camillomiller wrote: post #12
anonAndOn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they'll make it out of titanium and go after the ultralight tool enthusiast market? It'll never get used, but damn it's light!

I was writing a comment asking what's the point of a lighter hammer, then I realized that a lighter hammer you can swing faster is actually exponentially more effective than a heavier hammer. KE = 1/2mv^2 babe! Physics, bi*ch! :)

But you want slow accurate strokes with most hammers. Very hard to get precision with speed.

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#29

Post by mxxx »

So is the moral of the story that their Kickstarter is a scam, or that it takes a surprisingly long time to design and manufacture a high quality hammer?

I'm not sure what background this crew has, but presumably there's a large delta between thinking "hey i reckon i could invent a better hammer" and actually designing it, mass producing it and getting it to market. On the face of it you might think if you back a project like this you'd get your hammer within a year or two, but maybe it's more involved than that. I honestly don't know.

Re: The Cole-Bar Hammer, a 7-year old Kickstarter that is still going

#30

Post by FullyFunctional »

Anecdata: of the 36 projects (not including projects that failed to get backing) I have backed in the past 8 years:

- 4 were outright scams (only 1 was caught and cancelled by KS)

- 32 delivered, practically all were very delayed, sometimes by years.

- Of the 32, most were as promised, but some turned out useless - At least half I regretted buying

One thing that was very apparent (here as IRL) is that software projects runs WAY over the schedule.

I have since completely stopped supporting Kickstarter, unless I'm backing people who I already know of and who has a reputation at stake. There's way too much fraud and useless crap (but "World First Ultimate Crap").

Finally, it's not _all_ bad. The highlights: Klauf Light Bar (use them daily), Exploding Kittens (have played a few times), THIMBLEWEED PARK (love it), [Pocket]Chip, Nebia Shower, Kuroi Hana Knife Collection (use daily), Stingray Non-stick pan (use daily. Note, a 2nd campaign from the Kuroi Hana Knife people).

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