Oxford resident Kenneth Blessing was on a mission – he was not much of a gardener, didn’t enjoy working in his yard, hated how tiring the chores were and was sick of getting blisters.
So the 50-year-old Oxford Lakes resident decided to make his work easier. He invented the ‘multi-component lawn and gardening handle? so that he could customize a variety of ergonomical handle styles to meet his needs.
Different from regular handles, the multi-functioning handle transfers pressure directly into the palm, instead of across it, to eliminate the formation of blisters. Also, the handle grips can be repositioned to provide the most amount of force for each activity, ultimately reducing fatigue and any stress on the hands and wrists.
‘The handle basically conforms to the person,? said Blessing, ‘so you don’t have to conform to it.?
The ergonomical handle was designed to be used with a set of non-electric gardening implements such as rakes, shovels and spades. When not in use, it can be folded tightly and kept in its own storage bag. The compact size and bag means users can store their gardening implements in a closet, cleanly in a corner or even transport them easily in a car.
Blessing said he began working on the invention after looking for a way to make his yard work easier. He was especially interested in stopping the formation of blisters.
‘Actually, I don’t like gardening,? he laughed, ‘maybe that’s the whole reason I came up with it.?
Blessing said his design originally began with a ‘Z? shaped handle. However, he started to think about the different areas people may want to grip and altered the design. He settled on a flexible handle, still containing the originally layout, that could be altered at the joints.
‘I also wanted to make sure that it was possible to do many operations with one handle,? he added.
The biggest obstacle the inventor needed to overcome was not having the proper tools or materials to build his design.
‘I basically kept picking things up at the hardware store until I found the pieces I needed and parts that fit,? Blessing explained.
After getting a patent, Blessing displayed his new tool system for the first time at INPEX, America’s largest inventions trade show and inventors conference. The show features new products and innovations that are available to business and industry. The event is presented by the Invention Submission Corporation.
Blessing said his next step is to find a manufacturer for his system. He has had interest shown in the product, but no contracts have been signed at this time.
‘I would like to mass market it,? said Blessing. ‘Maybe work with some larger chain stores or something, but I haven’t really done much with the yet.?
If all else fails, the Oxford inventor said he has considered starting his own company to manufacture the tool.
‘I’ll just have to wait and see what happens,? he said.