Eric Gallup has a good grip on the five-gallon bucket market.

As a marble mason, hauling five-gallon buckets, up, down and around job sites is a way of life for Gallup, 40, a member of BAC Local 1 and owner of Advance Terrazzo and Marble. Four years ago, tired of having his hands hurt by the non-ergonomic plastic handles on five-gallon buckets, Gallup invented and patented the "Handsaver Four-In-One Bucket Tool." It provides a comfortable grip and reduces a bucket handle's pounds per-square-inch pressure on the hands by about two thirds.

"Masons and other tradespeople carry mud or their tools all the time in five gallon buckets, and a lot of times the plastic grips break off the handles and the guys use duct tape or whatever to make them easier to carry," Gallup said. "I tried to come up with something better, and here it is."

A first-time inventor, Gallup carved and sanded the first version of his device out of wood. Using it on construction jobs, co-workers were able to test the product and provide Gallup with valuable feedback to make it a more useful product.

What came forth is a molded plastic four-in-one tool that neatly cradles and form-fits the plastic handles found on five-gallon buckets. Other tools on the device include a bucket lid-lifter and screwdriver pry tool on opposite ends of the tool, as well as a blunt-ended lid-pounder to re-seal buckets and cans.

Given the difficulty in getting any new product to market, it's a real testament to Gallup's product that none other than Home Depot is currently test-selling the Handsaver at 70 selected stores around the country.

The process of getting the tool made, and then to market, has been long and difficult.

"One of the first things I did was go to a patent attorney, and he asked me if I was absolutely sure I wanted to go through with this," Gallup said. "He estimated it would cost me $10,000 to $25,000. I said I've carried enough buckets to know that there's a need for it."

Gallup found an injection molding company to build the plastic prototype of the Handsaver. After forming and reforming the mold more than 20 times, perfecting the product, Gallup has his Handsaver ready for market.

His first relationship with a company hired to place his product with vendors fizzled after two-and-a-half years. He then hooked up with a product marketing/sales representative with better connections, who suggested that the product's name be changed from its original moniker Lagpull ("it was a variation of my last name but no one could figure out what the product was," Gallup said) to the Handsaver Four-in-One Bucket Tool.

Gallup's agent, Bob Cumings, was able to get the tool onto shelves at ABC Supply and at Team Equipment stores. Cost: $6.99. Then, earlier this year, the Handsaver was seen by a honcho at Home Depot, who was sufficiently impressed by the product that it led to an order for 10,000 to be put in the stores' paint department at 70 West Coast locations for product testing.

The Handsaver is a versatile product, Gallup said, in that it can be displayed in seven different areas of the store.

During this holiday season, Gallup is keeping his fingers crossed that the Handsaver will be a big seller at the selected Home Depots and at other stores in Michigan. But he believes in his product.

"Until the product takes off, it's a battle," Gallup said. "But it's all starting to come together. It's finally going into the hands of the right people."

(The Handsaver 4-In-1 Bucket Tool can be ordered online at www.praziusa.com 1-800-262-0211) or for more information, go to www.buckettool.com)

THE HANDSAVER, invented by BAC Local 1 mason Eric Gallup, cradles the handle of five-gallon bucket, making it easier to carry. It can also be used for prying open the bucket lids and then pounding them back into place. The Handsaver is available at stores or online.