Adam Savage’s “Every Tool’s a Hammer”

“Every Tool’s a Hammer Life Is What You Make It” is a collection of lessons, tips, stories, and sketches told by the acclaimed “MythBusters” star Adam Savage. I paced myself when reading this novel, not by choice, but instead because every page was full of creative motivation that pushed me to get up and make something myself. This novel is an essential read for any kind of maker, or anyone that has the urge to create something. 

The novel begins with a wonderful introduction from Savage, who introduces his career path, some of his many interests and hobbies, and encourages his readers to take inspiration from this book, “the permission slip is from me, to you. It says you have the permission to grab hold of the things you’re interested in, that fascinate you, and to dive deeper into them and see where they lead you” (Savage, 2019, p.6) This novel is full of inspiring quotes, stories, and lessons. You are bound to find at least one thing that will stick with you.

“Whenever we’re driven to reach out and create something from nothing, whether it’s something physical like a chair, or more temporal and ethereal, like a poem, we’re contributing something of ourselves to the world. … Putting something into the world that didn’t exist before is the broadest definition of making, which means all of us can be makers.”

Adam Savage, 2019, p. 4

There is no doubt that Adam Savage loves to tell stories. Each one he tells is a moment of creative discovery, whether it is from his days at “MythBusters”, Industrial Light and Magic, or his childhood. Savage doesn’t just explain the importance of each lesson he has learned, he uses storytelling in order to show how he learned those lessons. And in a way, through these anecdotes you learn along with him; taking note of what he did wrong or right, or recalling a time when you experienced something similar. “MythBusters” fans especially will enjoy his stories, as many come from his work on the series. He shares his work, the many sketch pages and lists for a project, behind the scenes, works in progress, and more. Fans of cosplay, prop making, production design, film, or engineering can geek out along with Savage as he excitedly talks about what inspires him as a maker.

Something Savage encourages a lot through the novel is self evaluation. It is important as makers to constantly learn from what you’re doing, in order to progress in a skill or task, or to simply be more efficient. Reflecting on your process, what tools you use, how you use those tools, what works and what doesn’t, and how you work best, are all things makers should constantly consider within their shop or studio. This is not only to better yourself, but also to better your process of creating. Savage giddily shares his methods and philosophies about his work process through the novel. What really stuck with me was his method of using checkboxes, which he took from a colleague at Industrial Light and Magic. I have always made to-do lists, and when I would complete a task I aggressively scribbled it out. Since reading this novel I have adopted the checkbox method Savage uses and it is one of the greatest things I have done for myself. It feels so good to fill in a box after completing something, and it is nice to still be able to read the completed tasks, to see the progress I’ve made. This is not the only thing I have taken from this novel and incorporated into my own creative process and studio space, and I think any creative can take away something useful from this novel for themselves as well. 

As makers and creatives we are lifelong learners. We are taught by our experiences, the world around us, and by other people. I hope I sparked your curiosity to give this book a read!

The HoneyDripper is the Savannah College of Art and Design’s juried comics and illustration blog, dedicated to publishing, promoting, and showcasing the finest in student work.​