Once again, an example of how Steampunk can actually be pulled off. This one-off flash drive was created by a Russian guy, who modeled it in 3D, had the components cast or printed, and then assembled it himself (you can see the whole project here). The wheels spin and lock or unlock the drive, which slides out a la one of the rugged drives I reviewed a while back. Very cool. This man needs an Etsy store! Wait, is this thing old? Whatever. [via Fancy and Technabob] → Read More
Now, I’m as tired of steampunk as the next guy (unless the next guy works at BoingBoing), but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend something like this Rotary Mechanical concept isn’t cool. Steampunk got cool because of stuff like this, not people gluing brass fittings onto their top hats. → Read More
New from Louis Moinet is the Astralis – a nice tourbillon based watch that is a bitch to photograph. I swear, it is as though the watch keeps saying to me “I am for private eyes” only. There are going to be only 12 of these in the limited edition so that sort of makes sense? The watch isn’t really that dark, but the dial color and cured sapphire crystal say “no no” to the camera lens. You’ll just have to see one for yourself to get the real-deal view. What is the watch all about? Well it is Louis Moinet’s newest astrological themed high-end watch with a fun variation on a 24 hours dial. → Read More
This is either a steampunk CD player or an evil pneumatic crab. I’m hoping the latter of the two. Can’t you just picture a horde of the little guys angrily chasing after protagonist in a Beauty and the Beast steampunk mashup? Too bad it’s not. → Read More
This is a watch that I really never thought was going to be made. It started out as a concept watch called the “Galibier” based upon a concept car from Bugatti with the same name. Fabien Cacheux designed it to have a perlage decorated “drum case,” Bugatti logo, and an interesting strap system. Less than a year later, a more practical version of the piece is being made – but in very limited quantities and it will be called the “Cacheux Elephant Automatic.” → Read More
Japanese watch maker Haruo Suekichi is famous for his unique, steampunk style timepieces. Each of the amazing watches is handmade by Suekichi himself, even though he doesn’t have any formal education and actually started his career by hawking the first watches at flea markets. Guest writer Natsuki Yamada sat down with Suekichi in his studio in Tokyo earlier this month to conduct the following interview for CrunchGear. Your watches have an antique, yet very futuristic form and design. Where do they come from? What inspires you? – When I make watches, it doesn’t usually start with design but with “fun”: fun gimmicks, fun looking, unique way of wearing them. They need to be fun, because they are more gadgets than watches to me. So the inspiration comes from everything that I find fun or interesting. My latest watch is based on my latest experience of watching the birth of cicada nymphs. → Read More
Loyal readers, I give you a Steampunk Sin City concept made on 1000 Euros. Now if one of you could kindly tell me what in the world is going on in it? via [Dvorak Uncensored] → Read More
And you thought the steampunk movement died years ago. Nope, it’s still alive and well in some circles on the World Wide Web and this stunning computer mouse proves it has a right to live. Look at it. Everything from the mouse buttons, to the braided cord, to the USB port gets me going. Too bad it will likely be plugged into a Dell laptop or something just as mundane. → Read More
Nice fix, fella, but did you know that most of the time you can tighten the lid’s hinge? Oh, you wanted to be part of the steampunk movement. Well, you fail. → Read More
It’s hard to get much attention at major conferences and it seems that Hi Tech Systems has figured out a way to make a bit of a stir. They created a steampunk console that uses their own products inside a case that looks like it belongs in H.G. Well’s sex toy drawer. → Read More
Ah, wonderful — skulls of dead animals used as interface devices for personal computers. My favorite! This time, we have the skull of a poor, dead sheep, all steampunked up and ready for action. → Read More
If you’re going to practice guitar for several hours a day, you might as well have a really cool looking amp to use. The attention to detail in the instructions is pretty impressive. This would look great with the steampunk Stratocaster. → Read More
This instructable is labeled as a “fancy steampunk blunderbuss rifle,” but we won’t go into the many reasons it isn’t a blunderbuss rifle model. Chances are the builder just liked the name blunderbuss and forgot about the part where those guns had short barrels and didn’t need a scope since they fire scatter shot. Still, this steampunk rifle isn’t that hard to make. → Read More
Listen, what you spend your money on in your own spare time is your own business, but I wouldn’t strap this watch to roadkill. It’s got an automatic ETA 2824 movement but all that steel is going to look mighty ugly once dirt gets in the crannies. Then there’s the price: $1024 for this is pretty steep. → Read More
Is this Steampunk keyboard, the Aviator, worth $1,200 to you? It looks unique, sure, but in my world a keyboard is a merely a tool; there’s no need for flashing, Las Vegas lights or clankity-clank keys. Anyhow, one of these Aviators is available right now since someone cancelled its purchase last minute. It’s a build-to-order kind of thing. via Born Rich → Read More
Here’s a Steampunk phone prototype by designer Arthur Schmitt. You make calls using binary punchcards. Punchcards! There are also some dials and a metal grill-type earpiece. The backside of the device seems to contain some sort of rolling counter that likely either keeps track of call duration or gives you the time. → Read More
Apologies to our friend from the Seattle meetup who hates steampunk; this was too great to pass up (and not strictly steampunk). This wonderful little machine was state-of-the-art in 1903, when it was used for adding up columns. That’s really all it can do; it has no functions other than addition because the mechanism is so simple and elegant, each paddle shifts a gear a certain amount corresponding to the numeral being added, and the aggregate of all the shifts is recorded up to 999. It’s even got a “clear” button. More photos and a more in-depth explanation of the mechanism here. [via Retro Thing] → Read More
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