Sugru is a soft moldable material that reminds me of Fimo clay. But unlike Fimo, it does not have to be heated to cure. It air drys and is rubbery and sticks to anything. I used it to make a new button for my utility knife when the plastic one broke. I made bumpers for my cell phone. I put some on my tools so they would not roll off the table. I am still discovering ways to use the product.

-- Philip Lipton

This stuff comes in tiny pouches of different primary colors. You knead a bit with your hands until soft, then you apply it where you would like an additional grip, or stop, or section of repair. It's pretty sticky, can be worked like clay, but dries into a hard rubber. The photo shows a paring knife handle that was falling apart from years of dishwasher use. I coated the outside with Sugru and it now it feels great and is dishwasher proof. See Sugru's website for other ways it can be used.

-- KK

I first started wearing Injinji toe socks when I began working out in the previously reviewed Vibram Five Fingers. However, it didn't take me long to realize the benefits of wearing them with normal shoes as well.

When worn with traditional shoes these socks provide a barrier of fabric between your toes that cuts down on moisture and friction thereby preventing the formation of blisters. While hiking you can wear them with another pair of traditional socks layered over them for added warmth and comfort.

For anybody interested in wearing Vibram Five Fingers, these are a must-have as they significantly cut down on the well-known odor problem. The toe socks that I ordered are a wool poly-blend (they make them with a variety of different fabrics) that do a great job of keeping my feet dry while running and minimize any odors. I have only blistered once since wearing them; and that was on the third day of the fantastic Lost Coast hike which included wet sand, mountain climbing, and soaked feet. They make the already comfy VFFs even better, especially in the winter when the minimal protection leads to chilly feet.

The only downsides to these socks are that they wear quicker than traditional pairs, they are more expensive, it takes a little longer to put them on, and it is all too easy to mix up left and right when doing the laundry.

I love my toe-socks, and I highly recommend them to anybody who wears VFFs, easily blisters while hiking or running, or is simply looking for a more comfortable alternative to traditional socks.

Like traditional tractors, two-wheeled tractors (aka 'walk-behinds') use an independent power take off (PTO) for attaching and powering various farming and landscaping implements. Rather than purchasing specialized power equipment (i.e. mowers, branch chippers, snowblowers, soil tillers etc.) that each have their own engines that perform only one or two functions, the walk-behind owner has to maintain only one engine and attach whatever tool is required for the job at-hand.

The beauty of a walk-behind tractor's design is that it is quite nimble, and can work in spaces where traditional tractors can't. Ours is equally comfortable in the forest - shredding branches and hauling out firewood - as it is in open areas tilling soil, removing snow and bailing hay. It can also serve as a material transport machine by attaching a cargo trailer (with the added bonus of giving the operator somewhere to sit!). A cool and unique feature is that the handlebar steering mechanism can be rotated 180° so the business-end of the PTO can be positioned in push mode (mowing, tilling etc.) or pull mode (dozing, transport, etc)

Two-wheeled tractors have a long history of agricultural use in Europe. The two major manufacturers, BCS and Grillo, are both based in Italy and make commercial-grade lines of machines that are built to last. Unlike two-wheeled units one finds at the big box stores, these machines have all-gear transmissions, and wheel differentials on the higher-end models which allow for quick and easy turns. There are multiple attachments and implements available from the manufactures and third-party providers, and a reasonably-wide US dealer network.

The upfront costs are higher, but the long-term benefits of owning equipment that will last for decades, plus the convenience of only maintaining one 12HP Honda gas engine for all our needs, made for an elegant and practical solution for our property (diesel versions also available). While these machines may not be the best tool if you are working 40 acres, they can serve as a practical alternative to a full or medium-sized tractor if you have the right mix of homestead, farming or gardening needs.

I hate kitchen gadgets with a passion. Seeing things like an avocado slicer, mango corer, "butter bell", or left-handed inverted egg whatsizinger gives me the hives. I prided myself for the longest time on being able to do the most with the least in the kitchen. I say all this because I wanted to convey how hard it was to buy the Smart Stick a year ago on the recommendation of my wife. I hate blenders with a passion. They're hard to clean, bulky, loud, and can only be used for low-viscosity liquids - if the mixture is too thick, the blade just whirs uselessly. And you might as well just buy a new blender if you break the pitcher, lose the lid or lose the gasket.

The Smart Stick solves all that. It takes up virtually no space. It is easy to clean. Compared to scrubbing out a blender, the Smart Stick's head pops off and can be cleaned in 8 seconds under running water after use. It's impressively powerful and can be jammed full force down into a glass of ice to chop it up quickly, but it's still much quieter than a blender. The cup it comes with is well designed to break up the vortex the blender creates and is a measuring cup to boot.

It's also very versatile. I don't have to do the process of "pour boiling hot broccoli soup into blender to cream it, then pour back into pot" anymore. You can use the Smart Stick right inside the stockpot on the stove. You can use it on thicker things because you can stir and mash while blending, meaning you're bringing new material into the blade as opposed to a stand blender's reliance on gravity. Making hummus, salsa, applesauce, and pesto went from "giant mess" to "easy". Making smoothies went from "big production" to "2 minutes". Guacamole and whipped cream turn out wonderfully smooth. Margaritas can be made right in the pitcher. Almond butter can be made without too much trouble. I can imagine this would be a lifesaver for making instant baby food.

There are some downsides. It's only one speed (high!), so you have to be careful and use in bursts if chopping ice as it will happily sling iced coffee circumferentially around your kitchen in a 10 foot radius if you get too enthusiastic. You also have to be careful using it with plastic bowls as the metal head can punch through the bowl bottom if you push it too hard (seeing a pattern here?). It's not really suitable for use by children (or klutzy adults) due to the necessity of placing the blade on the bottom where it's accessible to fingers. The blade is SHARP. If you need to clean around the backside of the blade with a finger, REMOVE the head from the motor first, I'm pretty sure this thing would chop your finger to bits right quick.

The Smart Stick is the cheapest and most basic hand blender I could find. Others come with whisks and choppers and brushed metal finishes, but I think the regular head works just fine. I found that the Smart Stick did 150% of what I used a blender for and 75% of what I used a food processor for.

Again, I really really wanted to hate this thing and didn't buy one for the longest time because I considered it useless. But now it is the only electric kitchen tool I have that remains permanently plugged in on the counter other than my KitchenAid 6qt mixer (also a Cool Tool in its own right).

I've been making my own yogurt for the past couple of years, and not only is it much tastier than store bought yogurt, it's also much cheaper. At my local supermarket, an 8-ounce cup of yogurt costs $1. That adds up to $16 for a gallon of yogurt. At the same supermarket, one gallon of low fat organic milk costs $4.

Because I'm a yogurt lover (and a believer in the power of probiotics: bacteria that is good for your immune system) I usually eat three cups of home-made yogurt a day. That translates to a savings of $2.25 a day, or $67.50 a month. That means my $89 Waring Pro YM350 yogurt maker paid for itself in just a few months. Even if you don't eat as much yogurt as I do, I recommend that you try making it yourself, because it is so easy, and even fun, to make your own.

How to make yogurt:

1. Pour 4-6 cups of low fat milk into a microwave-proof glass mixing bowl, and heat it until the milk begins to boil. (Boiling changes the milk's composition so that it will solidify when mixed with the starter culture.) If a skin forms on top of the milk, that's a good sign that you boiled it enough.

2. Let the milk cool down to the point where you can tolerate holding your hand against the bowl. Remove the milk skin and discard. Add one tablespoon of your previous batch of yogurt (or plain store bought yogurt if you are just starting out) and mix it with a whisk. Resist the temptation to add more starter yogurt to the mix in an attempt to speed up the process. It will paradoxically slow down the fermentation (I've read that too much starter crowds out the bacteria from doing its job).

3. Pour the yogurt into 8- or 16-ounce containers. Do not put the lids on yet. If you have an older-style oven with a pilot light, you can stick the glass jars in there and allow the warm oven to act as an incubator. Otherwise, you can use a yogurt maker or use a seed-starter warming pad to ferment the milk into yogurt.

4. Wait 8-10 hours, then screw the lids onto the jars and put them in the refrigerator. I like to mix my yogurt with nuts, blueberries, and honey from my beehive. My kids love yogurt, banana, and berry smoothies.

We love tools that work. Unfortunately, there are times when a tool simply doesn't exist. Or there are times when the tool you need isn't on hand, so you have to improvise.

Our newest contest is a search for the best home-brewed tools out there. We want to discover the many creative ways our readers have responded to problems by creating their own tools and hacks. You could be using a tool for something other than it's original purpose. Or, as the name implies, it could be something you have made yourself for a problem only you have ever encountered. We are looking for creative solutions to any and all dilemmas, whether they be everyday or once-in-a-lifetime.

Send us a description of your favorite DIY Cool Tool you have discovered/made and used, and explain why it is so great. Bonus points for reviews that come with a set of instructions so other readers can try it out at home. Include all relevant information including supplies, instructions, prices, pictures and anything else you feel might be useful for others to know about.

Remember, A great Cool Tool review consists of the following five parts:
1) a succinct description of what the tool is,
2) how it changed your behavior,
3) why Cool Tools should run the item,
4) why it is superior to other things, and
5) why we should believe you.
and a special DIY-themed
6) how do you make it

Here are some previously reviewed DIY- Cool Tools:
Hands-Free Phone-Interview Setup
Vinegar
Pepsi Can Stove
Oven Stick

You don't have to be the original inventor of the DIY-tool to submit the idea, but please give credit where credit is due. Finally, don't limit yourself. Feel free to be creative with your interpretation of what qualifies.

Submissions will be accepted until Monday, September 6th. As usual, the author of the most publishable review gets to select a prize from the Prize Pool and will be published the following week. Get your DIY thinking caps on and tell us what you love!

Good Luck!

Most parents would agree that the venerable banana is a staple of the toddler diet. Unfortunately, they tend to not to fare very well when tossed into a diaper bag filled with wipes, water bottles, and the other dizzying array of items that have to be hauled around everywhere with your little ones. The Banana Guard makes this problem go away completely.

We were given one of these shortly after our daughter was born, and two years later, it goes everywhere with us. The sturdy, BPA-free container protects bananas in even the most overstuffed of diaper bags, and there's something particularly ingenious about the size and shape: I've yet to encounter a banana that didn't fit.

The ventilation holes help keep the banana fresh, and while the locks can be opened fairly easily, they won't accidentally pop open if the bag is tossed about, or if the guard is discovered by a curious toddler.

Of course, this isn't just for kids. When I eat bananas on the go the Banana Guard is the answer. The $15 price tag is perhaps a little steep, but the guard is definitely built to last and in the long run probably costs less than all the bananas you might lose otherwise.

This is a simple but well-designed book stand that does exactly what it sets out to do. It is sturdy enough to hold big, heavy textbooks, but looks nice. It is impressively adjustable, allowing for nearly any reading angle . Amazingly, despite the ability to hold heavy books, the stand itself is relatively light (around 3 lbs). The stand has an anti-skid coating on the bottoms so that it stays where I put it.

I have had it for several weeks now and have been using it daily. I now wish I had gotten it years ago. It is already decreasing my neck strain while encouraging better posture. I have not directly compared this product to others, as the other stands I looked at didn't have the same features, including the adjustable angle, wide stand for a place to rest my hand when highlighting, all while being very light-weight. I am not into "uni-taskers," but this stand is a definite exception!