Marc Lyman

Marc grew up under a brave single mom who "encouraged" home improvement on the family home. Early toddler gifts included a tool set, and even a cordless Bosch drill when cordless drills first came out. In grade school (give or take a few years), Marc's mom said, "We need to cut down some trees. . . . here's a chainsaw." A father figure also involved Marc in many home improvement projects, including a summer of home remodeling in Palo Alto, CA. Toss in some Obsessive Compulsive personality traits researching everything home improvement related. The end result: a genetically pre-disposed, socially sculpted home improvement machine! For his complete profile, please visit our About page. Really, it's worth it.

Tools

Drill Bits That Devour Wood

I like to think of drill bit evolution in the same way I think about bicycle evolution. There was a period of several decades where bikes pretty much stayed the same. Two wheels, a frame, …

Written by: Marc Lyman

February 9, 2011

2 Comments

Plumbing, Tools, Videos

Knipex Cobra vs. Irwin GrooveLock Pliers – Channellock Killers?

At last year’s STAFDA trade show we spent some quality time talking with the reps at Knipex and Irwin about their respective lines of push-button style locking pliers. As Knipex prefers to say, they’re “selbstklemmend!” …

Written by: Marc Lyman

February 2, 2011

19 Comments

Tools, Videos

Pulverizer and ClawBar – Must Have Tools for the Zombie Apocalypse

The Pulverizer and ClawBar are vital anti-zombie tools, oh, and they’re also ideal for concrete and demolition work. If there are two things I always like having on-hand it’s beefy demolition tools and zombie apocalypse …

Written by: Marc Lyman

February 1, 2011

1 Comment

Painting

Rockler Bench Cookie Cones – A Painters Pyramid Alternative

One of the worst parts of painting, staining or finishing can be the torturous delay that often transpires between sides. You paint one side, wait an eternity for it to dry, then flip over the …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 31, 2011

How To Sharpen Serrated Knives – Smith’s Pocket Pal Sharpener Review

Our friends over at Duluth Trading recently sent us their unique Smith’s Pocket Pal knife sharpener. It’s a feature packed knife sharpener that enabled me to do something I haven’t done in ten years: sharpen …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 28, 2011

9 Comments

Safety

Dustless Technologies – Making Dusty Work Less Manly

At the 2010 National Hardware Show we had a chat with Matt Savage of Dustless Technologies. If you haven’t heard of Dustless Technologies, they are riding high on the wave of the anti-dust movement with …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 25, 2011

1 Comment

Bosch, Tools, Woodworking

Bosch 12 Inch Axial Glide Miter Saw Review

Back in June of 2010, we brought you a sneak peak of the Bosch GCM12SD 12 Inch Axial Glide Miter Saw. That was shortly after the saw was unveiled to a group of media folks …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 24, 2011

8 Comments

Benchmade, Gear, Knives, Tools, Videos

Benchmade Mini-Griptilian Folding Knife Review – Now That’s A Knife

One of our stops at the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) in Phoenix last year was the Benchmade knife booth. If you’re not familiar with Benchmade, they are an innovative knife company that …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 21, 2011

4 Comments

Flooring, Hardware

Paslode Nails IBS With a Trifecta of Fasteners

This year’s Internation Builders’ Show saw its share of new product announcements, including several from Paslode. In addition to celebrating 25 years of cordless nailers (who knew cordless nailers have been around that long?), Paslode …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 20, 2011

2 Comments

Appliances, Videos

Mini Fridge Beer Cannon – Lazy Beer Delivery

With the Consumer Electronics Show wrapping up, we’re pretty burned out on gadget news. However, we’ve managed to find a gadget not at CES (yet) that will likely appeal to 95% of HomeFixated readers. Never …

Written by: Marc Lyman

January 14, 2011

1 Comment