***UPDATE*** => please visit http://www.kiwistylebuild.com for ordering and stock. We’ve set up something “official” to help streamline everything.
***/UPDATEEND/***

A few years ago there was that “thing” where you’d take a screw driver handle, cut up your key and combine the two. I had always thought they were pretty cool, so fast-forward to a time where my brother was looking for 3d design and print projects and we started looking into this.

We thought there must be a better way of making this work without having to irreversibly damage your key, and without the use of any tools. We sketched out a couple of ideas on how it could work, then had to tackle the issue that not all ignitions are the same.

After wandering around a few junk yards checking out Honda/Ford/Subaru ignitions (and keys where we were lucky) plus going over our own collections of Mazda/Nissan/Toyota’s, we found that most ignition barrels fell into one of two categories: flat or dished. Dished also included ones that require you to push your key in to remove it. To compensate for the difference around how much the key needs to stick out, we modified the design and settled on what we have now. Don’t worry the banner pic is from when I am painting them, the keychain bit gets pushed in at the end.

We printed a pile out in ABS plactic to test, both in terms of use/durability and for painting. I hand-paint them all in my workshop, and after a few failures think I have the formula right. We’re also looking into polishing the raw prints and then clear-coating too as an option, particularly with some of the “premium” editions we are playing around with.

The logistics of development and testing has been challenging with one of us in the US and the other in NZ, but that is the beauty of 3D printing (when I actually get a printer). In the meantime, we are producing very low volume runs when we have time in between family, work, and other projects.

If you’re interested in buying one, send me an email at: scott@thecompound.nz

Colours available are black, red, white. I’ll keep this updated.
We’ve had a couple of people request custom colours – if there is a specific colour you’re after I’d suggest ordering a white one and then painting it.

We’ve tried to strike a balance between not too expensive and enough incentive for us to keep making more.
We’ve settled on $25 USD (excluding shipping) for raw printed ones. All these prices are subject to change as time goes on as some we have control over, some we do not.

Shipping is $10 USD for New Zealand and Continental US (except Alaska), and $15 USD the rest of the world. We can squeeze up to 3 keyholders into a box at that price, then it jumps up in terms of size/weight so we’d need to calculate shipping for bulk orders.

Payment is via Paypal – I send out an invoice under the name “kiwi|style|build” as that is what my brother Philip & I are collaborating under.

Oh and if you do email me, I generally reply within 48 hours so if you don’t see an email please check your spam or junk folder. And I do appreciate a reply in return, just so I know I’m not talking to myself…