We're proud to share that The Smith Blade received a Special Mention in TIME's Best Inventions of 2026!
Each year, TIME highlights new products and ideas that are changing how we live, work and play. This year's list features 300 Best Inventions and 100 Special Mentions. TIME's editors evaluated each contender on factors including originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
The Smith Blade started as an idea in our shop many years ago: how many genuinely useful tools could we pack into one compact, ultra-light titanium package without compromising any of them? A lot of prototypes later, we ended up with 21 everyday tools, including an incredible blade and a 4mm precision screwdriver system that has the most satisfying (and fidget friendly!) bit retention mechanism.
And that's what we set out to build: one tool that replaces the handful of things you're always wishing you had on you.
Seeing it recognized by TIME's editors means a lot to our whole team.
Built by our team, in Canada
The Smith Blade isn't just designed by the Hacksmith. It's made by us at H.E.R.C. in Cambridge, Ontario. It's the first product we've ever manufactured in Canada.
Each titanium handle starts as raw titanium, is machined in-house, and passes through more than a dozen pairs of hands before it ships. Recognition like this belongs to every one of those people.
And of course, none of this happens without our Kickstarter backers, who believed in the Smith Blade before it existed. We know many of you are still waiting on yours!
We're pushing hard to get every unit shipped by the end of the year, and we'll be sharing a one-year Kickstarter update video on YouTube soon.
You can see the Smith Blade and the rest of the Special Mentions on TIME's website: https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-special-mentions/2026/hacksmith-smith-blade/
Thank you for being a part of this.
β James and the Hacksmith team
