When I buy tools, usually I don't buy the cheapest ones, because I like them to stay in one piece for a number of years. But when buying this Black & Decker jigsaw I did not only get a product that seems durable (so far, at least), but also one where considerable thought has been put into making a user-centered design.

I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed (nudge nudge, wink wink), but I don't know by heart at what speed a jigsaw should be set for each type of material. Hence my liking of the speed dial on my new jigsaw (picture above) that lets you choose based on the material (wood, plywood, plastic, etc), but also lists the speed.

The second remarkable aspect of the jigsaw were its blades. At first I was angry, because I thought my saw lacked the blades that were supposed to come with it. Then I looked inside the manual and saw that the blades were actually in a compartment on the saw (see picture below). Like the speed dial, the blades are labeled with the material for which they are intended. I should point out that I was a bit annoyed that I could not find the blades to begin with, but that might be fixed by adding a usecue or a temporary label to the compartment for the blades. And as a colleague remarked: it remains to be seen whether the labels on the blades will stay on when you use them. So far they did, but I've only used the saw once.

And the hard-core do-it-yourself types might find it pathetic that I need all this extra information, but to me this whole product shouted: "Hey, we are Black & Decker, and we have put thought into how you will use this."