This next part is where things go a little slow. In the goodie bag Cryptotag sent you will find a “conversion sheet” for each hexagon purchased. Here you will find a slot for all 20 words associated with the recovery share of each hexagon. Below where you can write the words, you’ll notice four boxes underneath each word. Simply write the words down, ignoring the boxes below the space for the words.
In the box you’ll also find “SLIP-39 Word List”. Each word, as I mentioned before, is represented by a four-digit number. Locate each of your 20 words per share in the word list and write the corresponding number down below the word.
Now we locate the center punch tool. Remember, these hexagons are titanium, which means in order to leave a mark it takes some pressure. This is also why Cryptotag sends earplugs. I didn’t feel the need to use them, but the neighbors might have appreciated it if I gave the earplugs to them.
For each word of the Shamir backup, you will punch the four-digit number into each section.
This process needs to be repeated for all 20 words for each hexagon being used (one per recovery share). It takes some time, but once it is complete, you’ll have a fire- and water-resistant, laser-etched titanium backup capable of being dispersed in a way that is guaranteed not to hurt you if one is lost or stolen.
Conclusion
Odin is a practical and durable solution to alleviating much of the concern around protecting your keys (seed phrases). I’m thrilled Cryptotag allowed me this opportunity to become a fan of their product. That being said, I did have some concerns.
While anyone holding onto a recovery share for you could look up the public list of words and then decode each word from the punched numbers on Odin, it would still only lead to one share being compromised which means that the threshold would not be broken, maintaining the safety of your keys. This requires clean management of your shares and trusted parties (if applicable), but that’s hardly different from your standard self-custody solution.
The center punch used to engrave each digit on Odin wasn’t perfect, but I wasn’t miserable. I managed to get all the way through one hexagon before I had issues with it. After that, the mechanism that holds the end in place began to shift. The fix was a simple movement to return in place, but I did have a fear that it might stop mid-process.
The setup guide isn’t worded for advanced users, but it also isn’t worded for beginners. As mentioned above, I reached out to clarify definitions and processes just to be sure. I would have liked for the guide to be a bit more detailed.
The digit grids used to punch in the numbers associated with each word are really small. I’m sure this is by design to keep the product compact. However, I did find myself not being entirely happy with the mark I left which caused me to just add another mark.
The sleek design matched with immense durability offers peace of mind for those looking to take the extra step in security with a bold aesthetic that is hard not to like. Upon testing my Trezor recovery process, I found it worked fine, with the obvious note that any mistake in the creation of the shares would lead to an error upon recovery. All that being said, this is a product for HODLers who appreciate aesthetics and have extra money to spend. I’d happily do it again, but it’s hardly a necessity.
This is a guest post by Shawn Amick. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.