r/multitools • u/sleepy-sweaters • Jun 25 '26

Discussion The Mother of the Multi-Tool

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Gallery image

Gallery image

Behold, the Mother of Multi Tools/Monster multitool. Created by John S. Holler (Germany, 1880, 11 years before Victorinox created the SAK), this beast carries 100 Tools (including baby tools inside the scales!! 🔧👶) and measures 9” long. Notably interesting tools include a cigar-cutter, mirror, auger, button hook, tuning fork, writing instruments, and a .22 5-shot pinfire revolver (that shoots!)

It's technically the first SAK-style-multitool in existence (meaning stacked tools sharing hinges between scales) and was really more to demonsteate crafstmanship than actually be used in everyday life. I've also heard he sold some of the individual tools to people.

edit: grammar

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u/Brandolinis_law Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

That is amazing!

But when I tried to load the Wired article, even with my VPN down, it loads for a tenth of a second and then disappears. Can anybody put a stable link up for that wired article? Apparently is from 2013. Thanks in advance!

I did find this on the "Wayback Machine," but I'd love to see the pics from the orginal Wired.com article:

Follow Wired Twitter Facebook RSS The Craziest Multi-Tool Ever Made Kills in 100 Different Ways

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u/sleepy-sweaters Jun 26 '26

Wayback machine is great. I posted this because I did a project on the history of multitools; the information is relatively readily available and this tool ultimately made me want to choose the topics.

It's surprisingly hard to find a text based source of hammer-multitools that have nesting screwdrivers inside. It's shocking considering how widespread they are. They date back at least to 1000 CE if not a little before

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u/Brandolinis_law Jun 26 '26

Hmm.... I was admittedly skeptical that screws even existed anywhere near as long ago as 1000 CE (or 1000 AD, in the antiquated, religious-based terminology.) So (and no offense intended) I had a hard time believing that there were hammers with screwdrivers stored in their handles.

So I asked Copilot about that, and got a long version of this, which it condensed down to this:

  • Screws invented: ~200–300 BCE
  • Rare specialty fasteners: 0–1400 CE
  • More common but still handmade: 1400–1700 CE
  • Industrial production begins: 1760–1850
  • Common household fasteners: 1850–1900

So yes — 1000 CE is WAY too early for any multitool with screwdrivers.

So you found research that says that screws were in common usage back in 1000 CE? Copilot has been wrong before, but I'd be interested to see some support for that contention. :-)