Innovations put a twist on hardware.

Byline: Allan Johnson

You might think a hammer is just a hammer, a light is just a light and a paintbrush is ... well, you get the idea.

But if you went to the National Hardware Show last month at Chicago's McCormick Place (which most of you couldn't attend since it was closed to the public), you would have found out how wrong you are.

Among the items that more than 2,000 exhibitors were pushing_everything from power tools to colored chains_was the Magna Brush, which uses a magnet that lets the thing stick to the side of a paint can (where the brush can drip harmlessly), ladder (not so harmless) or any other metal surface.

"It makes the user's job easier," said Paul Simmons, the Australian who was in the U.S. pushing the product. The Magna Brush will retail for $3.50 to $4 when it hits our shores by the end of the year.

The most impressive hammer was a line of "dead-blow" strikers made by Nupla Corp. of Sun Valley, Calif.

These babies, many of them with soft-faced hammerheads that don't leave marks when they hit surfaces, are recoil-free_your hand won't shake after you whack something. They're currently available at stores for around $20.

The Bil-Lite is a little LED light held fast to a clip that can be attached to the bill of a cap. Presto, you're an instant miner.

"It's a hands-free light," explained Andy Cooper. The gadget retails for $19.95 and is sold on www.bil-lite.com. Cooper's brother Ira invented the thing, which can be used while working on a car, hiking, reading in bed, wherever you need to shed a little light on the subject.

Other interesting items included the coolest work gloves_the SUG (Sport Utility Glove), retailing for $5 to $22 and made by Wells Lamont Corp. of suburban Niles. They can be worn for hammering, wrenching and other chores, but with their variety of colors and jazzy design, they're also good for wearing while riding bikes, all-terrain vehicles and more.

And just because it looked so sharp, the Helman Group's table-model jukebox CD-radio stood out. Retailing for $129 and expected in stores sometime next month, it has all the colorful lights and dials that you come to expect from those old-time jukes ... but Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Glad" never came out of a prettier package.

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