Cut in Half, A Hardcover Photo Book of Common Household Items Split in Two With a Waterjet Cutter

Cut in Half is a hardcover book that shows the very creative Mike Warren (previously) cutting common household items in two with a waterjet cutter just to see how things are arrange inside. Photographer Jonothan Woodward captures the remarkable result of these cutting projects with an acute eye for detail.

What exactly is inside a laptop, a golf ball, a vacuum cleaner, or a novelty singing fish toy? The insides of these and dozens of other objects are revealed in this photographic exploration of the stuff all around us, exposed and explained. With the help of a high-pressure waterjet cutter able to slice through 4 inches of steel plate, designer and fabricator Mike Warren (creator of the popular Cut in Half YouTube channel) cuts into everything from boom boxes to boxing gloves, oil filters to seashells, describing and demystifying the inner workings and materials of each.

Warren sat down with My Modern Met for an interview about the book as well as his process and passion for cutting things in half.

Readers will get an up-close look at everyday items and see that there’s much more that goes into the design of things that we see every day. Using a popcorn popper as an example, it’s someone’s job to figure out not only how to make popcorn pop, but do it in a compact, efficient, and in an aesthetically pleasing casing. It’s so neat to be able to see all that in a neatly sliced open presentation, rather than disassembled.