# The Hacksmith

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Hacksmith.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacksmith
> Source revision: 1334724495
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{{Short description|Canadian YouTuber (born 1990)}}
{{infobox youtube channel
| name                 = Hacksmith Industries (The Hacksmith)
| image                = 
| birth_name           = James Hobson
| birth_date           = {{Birth date and age|1990|02|10}}
| birth_place          = [Kitchener](/source/Kitchener%2C_Ontario), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Canada 
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kitchener's Hacksmith Industries creates the pinnacle of sci-fi tech |url=https://kitchener.citynews.ca/following-up/kitcheners-hacksmith-industries-creates-the-pinnacle-of-sci-fi-tech-2802054 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=CityNews Kitchener |date=21 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
| website = {{url|www.hacksmith.com}}
| occupation           = {{Hlist|Engineer|YouTuber|Entrepreneur}}
| youtube_handle        = hacksmith
| youtube_display_name  = Hacksmith Industries

| youtube_years_active  = 2006–present
| youtube_genre         = 
| youtube_subscribers   = 15.4 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| youtube_views         = 3.05
billion<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| stats_update        = 25 February 2026
}}
'''James Hobson''' (born February 10, 1990), known for his YouTube channel '''Hacksmith Industries''' (formerly '''The Hacksmith'''), is a Canadian engineer, Entrepreneur and [YouTuber](/source/YouTuber).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-14|title=Internet Famous: How James Hobson (a.k.a. The Hacksmith) brings in six figures a year building superhero props on YouTube|url=https://torontolife.com/city/life/internet-famous-how-james-hobson-a-k-a-the-hacksmith-brings-in-500000-a-year-building-superhero-props-on-youtube/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Toronto Life|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Ellis|first=Philip|date=2020-10-10|title=This Engineer Built a Real 'Star Wars' Lightsaber That Burns at 4,000 Degrees|url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34335375/star-wars-lightsaber-real-hacksmith-how-to-build/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Men's Health|language=en-US}}</ref>

Hobson is the presenter and prominent figure on the channel and has done a [TEDx](/source/TED_(conference)) talk on his aspirations as an engineer.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-09-02|title=James Hobson|url=https://www.tedxkc.org/james-hobson|access-date=2020-11-12|website=TEDxKC|language=en-US}}</ref> In December 2020, Hobson was awarded a [Guinness World Record](/source/Guinness_World_Records) for his '[lightsaber](/source/lightsaber)'.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Hicks|first=Jesse|date=2020-12-04|title=This Man Earned an Actual Guinness World Record for Building a Working Lightsaber|url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34876278/star-wars-real-lightsaber-guinness-world-record-james-hobson-hacksmith/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205201041/https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34876278/star-wars-real-lightsaber-guinness-world-record-james-hobson-hacksmith/|archive-date=2020-12-05|access-date=2020-12-05|website=Men's Health|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Guinness|first=World Records|author-link=Guinness World Records|date=2020-12-03|title=World's First Lightsaber! - Guinness World Records|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AymYhmayWz4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205201154/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AymYhmayWz4|archive-date=2020-12-05|access-date=2020-12-05|website=[YouTube](/source/YouTube)}}</ref> In July 2021, he was awarded another world record for the world's brightest flashlight.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2021-07-21|title=Canadian inventor Hacksmith creates the world's brightest flashlight|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/7/canadian-inventor-hacksmith-creates-the-worlds-brightest-flashlight-668374|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Guinness World Records|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Goodyear|first=Sheena|date=27 July 2021|title=Canadian YouTubers build the world's brightest flashlight|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-tuesday-edition-1.6119262/canadian-youtubers-build-the-world-s-brightest-flashlight-1.6119263|access-date=11 November 2021|website=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

== Hacksmith Industries ==
Hacksmith Industries is known for its "Make It Real" series, where Hobson and his team take fictional items and create real-life replicas, such as an [exosuit](/source/powered_exoskeleton) or lightsaber.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sparks|first=Hannah|date=2020-10-13|title=YouTuber creates real-life 'Star Wars' lightsaber that slices steel|url=https://nypost.com/2020/10/13/youtuber-creates-real-life-star-wars-lightsaber-that-slices-steel/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112065018/https://nypost.com/2020/10/13/youtuber-creates-real-life-star-wars-lightsaber-that-slices-steel/|archive-date=2020-11-12|access-date=2020-11-12|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Bueckert|first1=Kate|last2=Anglelis|first2=Robin De|date=April 25, 2019|title=A Kitchener company is recreating all the cool superhero things {{!}} CBC News|language=en-US|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/the-hacksmith-youtube-kitchener-avengers-end-game-1.5107790|url-status=live|access-date=2020-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112065148/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/the-hacksmith-youtube-kitchener-avengers-end-game-1.5107790|archive-date=2020-11-12}}</ref> Its gas-fueled steampunk-style plasma lightsaber that could reach {{convert|4000|F|C}} and cut through metal was awarded a [Guinness World Record](/source/Guinness_World_Records) for the world's first retractable protosaber.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hale|first=Jacob|date=2020-10-16|title=Hacksmith creates real Star Wars lightsaber that cuts through anything|url=https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/hacksmith-creates-real-star-wars-lightsaber-that-cuts-through-anything-1433888/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Dexerto}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The channel also collaborated on projects with companies like Smarter Alloys in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Smarter Alloys Showcases the Healing Properties of Shape Memory Alloys in a Collaboration with The Hacksmith for Their Latest Viral Video|url=https://financialpost.com/globe-newswire/smarter-alloys-showcases-the-healing-properties-of-shape-memory-alloys-in-a-collaboration-with-the-hacksmith-for-their-latest-viral-video|access-date=2021-11-12|newspaper=Financial Post|date=6 October 2021 |language=en-CA}}</ref> However, the channel's projects are not specifically limited to existing media, such as when it created the previously mentioned flashlight.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> 

In 2019, Hacksmith Industries created a replica of a half-scale [Tesla Cybertruck](/source/Tesla_Cybertruck) that had the same specifications as the full scale.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tangermann|first=Victor|title=Watch a half-scale Cybertruck beat a Ford F-150 in a tug of war|url=https://futurism.com/half-scale-cybertruck-beat-f-150-tug-war|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Futurism|date=27 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Traugott|first=Jay|date=2019-12-19|title=People Aren't Waiting For Tesla To Build The Cybertruck|url=https://carbuzz.com/news/people-arent-waiting-for-tesla-to-build-the-cybertruck|access-date=2021-11-12|website=CarBuzz|language=en-us}}</ref> Around the same year, it moved to a different facility with more equipment for its projects.

From 2020 through 2021, the channel made its first complete set of armor,  which was based on [Din Djarin](/source/Din_Djarin)'s arsenal from the [Disney+](/source/Disney%2B) [streaming series](/source/Streaming_television) ''[The Mandalorian](/source/The_Mandalorian)''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Darling|first=Mike|date=2021-03-25|title=An Engineer Made a Full Metal Replica of the 'Mandalorian' Helmet in His Garage|url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a35940885/mandalorian-star-wars-helmet-hacksmith-build/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Men's Health|language=en-US}}</ref>

In late 2022, the channel moved to another facility with more open space for testing its projects. The crew later constructed a new series of clean rooms to safely work with liquid oxygen to work on a self-contained version of their lightsaber.

==YouTube career==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Main channels' statistics (May 14, 2023)
! rowspan="3" | Channel
! rowspan="3" | Subscribers,<br>millions
! rowspan="3" | Views,<br>billions
! colspan="3" | [YouTube Creator Awards](/source/YouTube_Creator_Awards)
|-
! 25px|link=YouTube Creator Awards
! 25px|link=YouTube Creator Awards
! 25px|link=YouTube Creator Awards
|-
! 0.1
! 1
! 10
|-
| Hacksmith Industries 
| 13.6
| 1.66
| 
| 
| 2020
|-
| Hacksmith VLOGS
| 0.4
| 0.024
| 
| 
| 
|-
| Best Hacksmith Clips
| 0.048
| 0.00019
| 
| 
|
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|8966476|James Hobson}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, James}}
Category:1990 births
Category:Living people
Category:Canadian gaming YouTubers
Category:People from Kitchener, Ontario
Category:YouTube channels launched in 2006
Category:YouTubers from Ontario

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Hacksmith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacksmith) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacksmith?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.