There’s a problem with using superb tools. Afterward, every time you have to use something less than the best, it’s a little depressing knowing there’s something better out there. By that mantra, I’ll never be satisfied with another tubing bender after using a set of Swagelok’s tubing benders. They’re made from extremely high-quality steel, and create easy, beautiful bends thanks to bearings which roll along the tube as the bend progresses, forcing the tube into a precisely-cast base.

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This little tool will save you time when you’re mortising latch plates by hand. Rather than aligning the latch plate and cutting around it with a utility knife to score an outline, you just stick the Latch Mortiser into the bolt hole, align the face, and give it a few whacks.

Don’t be shy with the hammer; Templaco makes this 1″ by 2-1/4″ rectangular mortiser from “tough stuff,” so they claim it’ll take a beating. Sharp edges on all four sides outline the mortise, so now all you have to do is finish it with a chisel and some sweat.

Templaco’s Latch Mortiser will run you $17.

Latch Mortiser [Templaco]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

From time to time when you’re taking something apart, you run into an e-clip. Sure, you can pry them off with a screwdriver, but getting them back on can present a problem if you don’t have the right tool.  This set of tools from OTC allows you to both remove and install four different sizes of e-clip.

The set comes with tools for 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, and 9mm e-clips. One end of the tool removes the e-clip while the other installs them. Each tool locks into the provided handle to give you a better grip.

To buy this tool set you can pay anywhere from $10 to $20 before shipping and handling.

E-Clip Tool [OTC]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Do it Best has the Stanley 10-788 for $10 online before the $5 mail-in rebate. A nice feature of the rebate — if you’re so inclined — is the ability to donate it directly to Habitat for Humanity. If you don’t want the utility knife, you can get $10 off the $20 online sale for a Stanley FatMax 1-1/4″×25′ tape, or $5 off the $10 online sale for a Stanley 16-oz. Fiberglass Rip Hammer, with the same option to donate the refund. The offer expires 10/3/09. Do it Best offers free shipping of online orders to a local store for “participating” locations.

Stanley 10-788 [Manufacturer's Site]
Do it Best [Website]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Roofers sometimes use a grid of lath under cedar shingles or slate tiles to allow airflow underneath the materials, especially in Nordic countries. It can be time-consuming to lay down because every grid is made to fit both the roof and the tile. To make the process faster and easier, Bahco created the LathKo template, which they claim cuts installation time up to 40%.

To use the lightweight aluminum tool, you adjust the stop to the desired grid spacing using the integrated scale. Then you adjust the jaws for the width of the lath and you’re ready to go. Simply grab a piece of lath in the jaws and butt the stop against the previous board.

The LathKo itself is priced reasonably at $33, but the only place we found selling it was ToolStop in the UK, where it’ll cost you $63 to ship it to the U.S. Anybody have another source for this tool?

LathKo [Bahco]
LathKo [ToolStop]

This strange-looking cold chisel has a flared profile that’s wider at the head and gets smaller as you go back. This allows you to make grooves, keyways, or slots without the chisel binding on the sides of the slot.

KD tools, one manufacturer among many, sells two sizes of cape chisels. The first cuts a 1/4″ slot and measures 5″ long with a 3/8″ hex shaft and the other cuts a 3/8″ slot and measures 6″ long with a 1/2″ hex shaft.

The 1/4″ chisel runs starts at $6 and the 3/8″ chisel starts at $10.

Cape Chisels [KD Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

When you practice catch-and-release, every second counts. The longer you have the fish out of water, the worse its chances of survival. You grab your forceps or other hook-remover only to figure out there’s no way you’re getting the hook out without damaging the fish. So you need to waste precious seconds to grab another tool to cut the line. If you were holding a pair of Hemocuts, you’d already have the fish back in the water.

The Hemocut is a combination of the Kelly forceps and bandage scissors. It’s marketed by two different companies for two entirely different fields. EMI manufactures and markets the Hemocuts to the medical field and William Joseph markets them to fisherman, including a few modifications like an open-finger loop and a rubber coating for a better grip in wet conditions.

The medical Hemocuts start at $6, while the ones specialized for fishing run $15.

William Joseph [Corporate Site]
HemoCut [The Fire Store]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Ignition wrenches are one of those tools you’ll never need until that one moment when Murphy’s messing with you, and then nothing else will do. Normal wrenches have a 30-degree offset in the head to allow for rotating hex bolts by thirty degrees at a time, but that’s too much for some very tight situations. That’s where ignition wrenches come in. With a 15-degree offset on one side and an 80-degree offset on the other, you only need five degrees of rotation to spin a bolt. Tedious, yes, but sometimes those small increments are all you can manage.

Pricing is reasonable from Craftsman, at $20 for a set of eight metric wrenches, and the same price for eight inch wrenches. Snap-On, naturally, has similar options at the stratospheric price of $224. Personally, I’ll take 91% off and go for the Craftsman set.

8-piece ignition wrench set, inches [Craftsman]
8-piece ignition wrench set, millimeters [Craftsman]

Whether you call it a Saltus Wrench or a flex combination wrench, it still looks like you left your sockets alone in the dark with your wrenches for too long. I remember running into one of these wrenches in my dad’s toolbox as a kid and thinking, “What the hell is this for?” Given the proliferation of ratcheting box end wrenches and other innovations, most people probably don’t run into these wrenches anymore.

The open end and the socket on one of these wrenches are the same size, and the socket isn’t removable. The socket usually rotates on the end of the wrench, somewhat like a socket on the head of a breaker bar — this setup might get you into some areas too tight for a ratchet and socket.

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This was going to be a simple post comparing the Gerber Artifact with the Mini SuperKnife as a keychain knife/tool. As I started gathering details, it was turning into a Gerber vs. Gerber post: Gerber was acquired by Fiskars in 1986, and in 2005 Fiskars Brands acquired Superknife and integrated it into their Outdoor Recreation division, Gerber Legendary Blades. One big happy conglomerate…

Anyway, I decided to add a couple more similar-sized tools alleged to fit on a keychain, and solicit your opinions. From right to left in the picture (not to scale): the folding blade SOG Micron, 1.5″ blade length and 3.44″ overall length when opened, costs around $10. The Mini SuperKnife, 1.77″ long closed and 2.95″ long opened, is a small folding utility knife that costs about $5. The Utili-Key, 2.75″ long, goes for approximately $7 (TM mentioned this device 7/24/08, 5/1/09, and 8/20/09). The Gerber Artifact, 3.5″ long closed and 4.8″ long opened, is available for $6-7 (TM had a 9/15/08 post on the Artifact).

What’s your choice for a small keychain knife/tool: A knife-only option, or a pseudo multi-tool?

SOG Micron Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Mini SuperKnife Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Utili-Key Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Gerber Artifact Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Cyberguys has the Super Wrench 4-Piece set for $15 through September 8th. These spring-loaded, self-locking, self-adjusting wrenches claim to work on any square or hexagonal nut from 1/8″ to 1 3/8″ (or 3mm to 35mm), and on pipes also.

Super Wrench 4-Piece Set [Cyberguys]
Super Wrench [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Over the last few years a host of multitools have hit the marketplace with almost every conceivable combination of tools known to man. The Xtreme Tool Kit goes one step further with the addition of actual sockets. We’re guessing the marketing team was desperately searching for something to set their new rig apart.

At least, that’s what we’re hoping happened. The Xtreme Tool Kit features 5 screwdrivers — mini and regular flathead — Phillips and mini torx, an LED flashlight and a multi-wrench with 6mm, 8mm and 10mm sockets.

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If you need to take some quick tree core samples to determine the rate of growth last year, one tool you could use is this Swedish-made increment hammer from Haglof. To take a sample, all you do is strike the tree perpendicular to the trunk and and pull the hammer out. You then eject the core with the steel plunger.

Made from high-quality hardened Swedish steel, the 11-1/2″ hammer takes a 0.157″ (4mm) diameter by 3/4″ long sample from either hard or soft wood trees. A 2″ graduated scale on the shaft of the hammer is graduated in increments in 1/20″ or in millimeters for taking a quick reading in the field.

With an investment of $80 you can start taking some core samples. The ejector and the hollowed tip are replaceable if you damage them and cost $18 and $20 respectively.

Increment Hammer [Haglof]
Increment Hammer [EJ Motiwalla]
Increment Hammer [BenMeadows.com]

While rummaging through some of my toolboxes, I discovered I had a variety of screwstarters and screwholders as pictured above. The four on the right are true screwdrivers with a screw-holding spring clip that slides down the shaft. They work well, allowing you to start the screw, release the clip by simply pulling back on the handle and giving a little flick, and then finish tightening the screw. Two (Hold-E-Zee) are made by Upson Tools, and two “clones” by Stanley and VA; the Upson versions have a patent number, but neither the Stanley or VA do — perhaps the patent expired? I don’t know if any of these are currently available.

The next two brass-colored rods are — ta dah! — brass screwholding screwdrivers made by the H.J.J. Co. These two (one for slotted and the other for Phillips screws) are my favorites when I’m working inside a computer on a motherboard and such, as they are long and thin and do allow a reasonable amount of torque to insert or remove screws. They also make versions with vinyl handles.

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Alligator or “Goat” wrenches have been around for a while. The name “alligator” alludes to the shape of the jaws which look like alligator jaws, but I’m not sure how the name “goat” became attached to these type of wrenches. Two different companies market what appears to be the identical wrench under the two traditional names of Goat Wrench and Alligator Wrench.

Along with the traditional use of turning iron and steel pipes, the wrench has been re-purposed for turning hex and square nuts from 9/16″ to 1-1/8″.  It’s designed so you can use ratcheting action to turn nuts without repositioning the jaws. The 12″ long wrench also has 3/8″ through 5/8″ thread restorers — we assume the middle one is 1/2″ –  and the funny-looking jaw can also be used as a hammer.

Made from forged steel and chrome plated, the wrench weighs 1 lb. 7 oz.  You can purchase an Alligator wrench for about $73 shipped from Craftwork Tools.

Goat Wrench [Corporate Site]
Alligator Wrench [GMP]
Alligator Wrench [Craftwork Tools]

GMP Tools manufactures pentagonal head bolts to secure manhole covers. That’s right, not square, not hex, but pentagonal — another case of security through obscurity. Of course, if you sell bolts with heads that have an odd number of sides you need to supply the corresponding tools to turn them, so they also sell two different sockets: one with a 7/16″ hex drive for impact tools, another with a 19mm hole which you can turn with a rod.

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