Roan Mountain, TN -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/17/2013 -- The Cole-Bar Hammer is a patented multi-tool that combines a hammer, crow bar, a demolition tool, angle measurement tool, ruler, a socket wrench and nail pliers. Over 1,600 individual donors have found the invention so compelling that they’ve pledged over $118,000 on Kickstarter.com toward manufacturing and marketing the tool. Donors who’ve chipped in at least $65 will get a Cole-Bar of their own from among the first few thousand made.

The story behind the invention and ultimate manufacturing of the Cole-Bar Hammer is a story of a dad and his children...the late son who helped invent it, and his surviving brother and sister who are helping to make it a reality. “This project has been a Godsend for my family,” says Lance's older son, Brandon, a resident of Tennessee. “It helped Dad do something positive in Cole’s memory, and it helped bring my father and I closer together. That’s a perfect thing to celebrate this Father’s Day.”

In 1997, Cole Hyde, 11, was helping his father, Lance Hyde, put tools away at the end of a long day of pole-barn building. Cole laid a crow-bar down on top of a hammer, and the pair both had the same thought: “Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a hammer and crow bar in the same tool?”

They built a prototype that day, but a few months later, before the idea went anywhere, Cole died in a tragic accident on their property. He was just twelve years old. The “crowbar hammer” invention lay dormant for years, as Lance dealt with his loss. Eventually, Lance decided to make a another prototype as a way of paying tribute to his late son. He then recruited Cole’s older brother, Brandon, and sister, Heather to help turn their idea into a real product.

Over the next few years, the family manufactured a total of five Cole-Bar Hammer prototypes. In 2011, Lance Hyde was awarded a U.S. Patent for the multi-tool.

“Kickstarter is what has taken us to the next level,” says Brandon. “The Cole-Bar made it to the finals of the DIY Cool Tools inventor’s competition a few years ago, but it wasn’t until we posted this project on Kickstarter that we pulled together enough funding to take the tool to production. And the enthusiasm from backers has been incredible. They’re making multiple pledges so they can get one Cole-Bar for themselves, and one for a Father’s Day present or one for a brother or son,” says Brandon.” One backer, Bob Peek, commented, “I asked my dad if he wanted one and he said ‘who wouldn't. Sweet product. Sweet story.” Another with the screen name ArniesAirsoft said, “Can I adjust my pledge to cover two hammers and not just one? Let me know how to do it and I'll adjust accordingly. I figure my dad could do with one too!”

The Cole-Bar Hammer is among the first tool designs ever to be funded via Kickstarter. The Hyde family has raised over $100,000 in pledges to launch commercial production of the tool in just the first thirty days of the the sixty-day campaign. Brandon Hyde continues, “It’s incredible how many people have been inspired to help us. Our story gives people hope. With God’s help, we’ve turned a tragic loss into something positive that my brother Cole would be so proud of. He would just love this.”

About the Cole-Bar Hammer
The Cole-Bar Hammer is a patented multi-tool that combines a hammer, crow bar, a demolition tool, angle measurement tool, ruler, a socket wrench and nail pliers. The Cole-Bar Hammer had its official launch at the 2013 National Hardware Show. An earlier prototype made it to the finals in a DIY Network inventors competition. The Cole-Bar Hammer was inspired by its inventor’s late son, Cole Hyde, who had the idea for the tool when he was just eleven years old. When Cole tragically passed away less than a year later, Cole’s father, Lance Hyde, decided to move forward with a prototype of the tool in tribute to his son, ultimately naming the tool after him. The Cole-Bar Hammer is most funded hand tool designs ever on Kickstarter.com, so far raising nearly $120,000 from over 1,635 backers to date.