Gimmick Tools

Has anyone tried one of these things; does it even work and is it any durable? Anyone know of other things like this that are actually handy?

250 Piece Survival Gear First Aid Kit

LifeStraw Water Filter for Hiking and Preparedness

250 Piece Survival Gear First Aid Kit

  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >does it work
    yes
    >is it durable
    lmao

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      KEK I can tell it's not durable, I meant more like is it a one time use type of deal

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Depends, the issue is that the individual pins will bend and get stuck
        Might happen on the first go, might happen on the hundredth go, who knows

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        They're good for getting nuts/bolts started where you can't see and can barely reach one or the other but there's too much friction to just hold it with your fingers until its all snugged up.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I got one of the OG Gator Grips a long time ago. I don't know why, I was sure it was gimmicky garbage at the time.

    It IS kind of gimmicky, but it's come in handy for a few odd fasteners or the one single bolt I need to remove but I don't know the size of. It's also pretty well built. Again, only used it infrequently, but I've put quite a bit of torque into it and it's held up fine.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    These have been around for decades. They're OK for removing that one weird thing that you can't otherwise get a decent grip on, but it's too flimsy and bulky to use everywhere else.

    >Anyone know of other things like this that are actually handy?
    I've had a set of Metrinches (google it) for almost 20 years now. They are combination metric/standard sockets and wrenches but they grab the side wall of the fastener not the corners. I still have them in my toolbox and use them all the time.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Metrinches
      Never heard of them, but they look pretty solid. I might have to put a set on my wish list, thanks anon. Also checked.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    They're great for getting the wheels off hire bikes. They hold up pretty well too as long as you don't use excessive force.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Anyone know of other things like this that are actually handy?
    Thing is that when something like that actually works its not really a gimmick, even if it only makes sense in certain rare situations.
    Picrel is a good example- a traditional nail set is fine 99.9999% of the time and is easier to control the driving force in small delicate moldings...but if gun brad doesn't set right in a space where you can't swing a hammer one of these will fix it in a second with minimal hassle and risk.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      They're also good for knocking out hinge pins too

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >nail setter
      Wouldn't it be easier to, you know, hold the nail with one hand and tap it with a hammer?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        only if you have no clue what setting a nail means.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Then you're not setting nails.

        >4/32
        Not calling it a 1/8

        Bothers me too.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >4/32
      Not calling it a 1/8

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Has anyone tried one of these things; does it even work and is it any durable?

    They are durable for small tasks and they work.

    HOWEVER...

    You cannot do anything that's deeper than perhaps 20 mm with it.

    What if you have a threaded rod...you cannot get the nut off that, with that. You can get it off with a WRENCH, but not with that.

    Yes, I'm a simple minded person who did not see the obvious downsides so now I am warning others. If you have a nut that's attached to <20 mm bolt or rod, you can access it. You cannot access anything that's deeper than that with it.

    It fricking sucks, because mostly nuts and bolts are longer AND/OR the assembly (whatever that is) does not allow you to insert a long object like that around the nut anyway.

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I'm a minimalism man myself and tend to prefer combination tools. I liked the universal socket idea, so I bought the cheapest one possible from Ali as usual.
    Surprisingly, it worked so far every time I've need it on normal nuts no problem.
    Sometimes you bought cheap and is good and viceversa.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I use it as a backup when I don't have a deep socket set with me. Saved my ass a few times and haven't had any pins Bend yet. Meme but useful tool for sure.

    Like anything else I'm sure if you're dumb enough trying to bust rusted bolts with it you can break it easily enough

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I bought one and it did not work for my purpose

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous
    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      What purpose is a crescent wrench meant to serve?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        rounding off fasteners

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It's a hammer
        It's a wrench
        It's for light torque applications, easy shit I don't want to dig around for a 16/32 random ass socket for

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >16/32
          That's a 1/2"

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            the chinglish instruction clearly said 16/32""

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              Thanks you ser

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              I like giving the cut man measurements like 82 11/8ths and they sit still for a second and tell me to frick off, good fun

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >easy shit I don't want to dig around for a 16/32 random ass socket for
          Your typical adjustable wrench moron right here.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        they are great for straightening bent metal

        kinda shit as wrenches but i'm sure they were the bees knees when they first came out

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Frick I love me some crescent wrench action!

          Especially when I'm on a tractor and that is the only wrench I have with me... I have hardly ever had problems with them rounding a nut. And if they do it is because it was already completely fricked anyways. But I always make sure to snug it up as tight as I can on the nut before applying stupid amounts of torque.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            If your thumb is on the worm gear to take up slack a Crescent can have less backlash than an open end.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          When that style of adjustable open end wrench was invented, square nuts and bolt heads were far more common than they are now. As hex heads became more standard some Crescent style wrench designs were modified to create two more flat sides to better accommodate a hex shape like picrel, but many still just have the two parallel jaw faces.
          Some fixed open end wrenches only bear on two sides, and they can pretty easily round off hex nuts too.

          Crescent wrench is a great tool for adjusting hinge leaves.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          it's also good when you need to hold a nut end of a bolt you're trying to get out and you dont have 2 of the same wrench
          also good for goofy shit like sensors that you need special sockets for

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      How to round any nut or bolt with one simple tool

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Not wiggling the wrench on the head of the bolten and tightening it as you wiggle

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          If your thumb is on the worm gear to take up slack a Crescent can have less backlash than an open end.

          And yet, the second you actually turn the fastener it still loosens up on you.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            I maintain preload on the worm with my thumb. Knowing how to use tools properly is not always intuitive.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      What purpose is a crescent wrench meant to serve?

      Crescent wrenches aren't for replacing your usual smaller wrenches or sockets for regular bolts you actually have to worry about rounding off, their biggest utility is that one bigass crescent wrench can work on any bolt from ~1" to 2.5" and at those scales you don't mind a little slop and couldn't round it off if you tried, at least as long as it isn't a chinese bolt made of soft cheese. So you carry your normal set of wrenches that covers 1/4" to 15/16ths or whatever and one beefy crescent wrench for anything larger, instead of another 3 or 8 non-adjustable ones of the same size.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous
      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        its like a wrench you can stab coworkers with

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      https://i.imgur.com/AfnLWmi.jpg

      Blocks your path.

      These look good for opening S o ylent bottles

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      used a big one a lot as a maintenance dude replacing toilet spuds on commercial units in older buildings, channel locks would tear up the finish

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Soft jaws.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          That's what I called your mom after I dislocated hers

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Metrinch is better.

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    These things mostly exist as generic gifts for Father's Day or birthdays for brothers/sons/uncles/nephews when you lack any real knowledge of what the recipient would really like and default to a gimmicky tool because "lol man". But don't be offended, accept the gift graciously and put it on your shelf alongside those ties, Old Spice, and crayon-scrawled greeting cards as a tender reminder that someone, somewhere, remembered you fondly. These days are fleeting. Do you understand?

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous
    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This

      Absolutely fricking useless

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Rarely used (maybe once every ten years for me) but was quite handy.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      https://i.imgur.com/tOgg2lp.gif

      This

      Absolutely fricking useless

      They are very hand from time to time

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I actually found this useful one time. Bought a house and the previous owners left a bunch of junky, low-quality tools including this half-hacksaw. My painting contractor installed a toilet in an unfinished bathroom so he could shit while he painted and he fricked up the johni bolts when he installed it. I had to cut them off in an awkward cramped corner and this was just the right size to fit in and cut the brass bolt shanks. Wouldn't recommend it for anything harder than brass, though, the thing is a genuine piece of shit unitasker.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        You can accomplish the same job by just using the bare blade

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          What exactly do you think the tool is?
          Its merely a handle to hold the bare blade.

          Sure I could hold the bare blade, but why the frick would you?

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Some gimmick tools are actually useful.
    Pic related, hold not and bolts easily from a blind side without shoving your hand up there.

    • 1 year ago
      KvD

      I got one that is actually usefull in some fricked up spots.

      The Father’s Day special pass-thru socket set. I got the Gearwrench long handle flex head ratchet too, and that thing has been a lifesaver in a couple situations. I had a top engine mount on a Honda with a stud too long for a deep socket, and not enough room to swing a regular wrench, plus when I tried to stick a flex head gearwrench ratcheting box wrench on there, the angle of the handle was so much that I got no torque and it wanted to cam off of the bolt.

      That 3” extension with the pass thru socket made it cake.

      Also got me some diamond coated tweezers for cleaning electrical terminals and contacts. Pretty neat.

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Dont do it OP. This thing fricked up the oil plug on my truck. Had to take it to the closest jiffy lube to get it off. Those guys were super cool about it though.

    • 1 year ago
      KvD

      I blame you 100% for even thinking about using one of those Gator Grips on a drain plug. Don’t blame the shitty tool, it was your decision to use the shitty tool.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Yeah I was young. What can I say?

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    professional ase certified mechanic here. i threw out my entire snap on socket set and just got one gator grip like your pic related, and a crescent wrench. you really don't need anything else.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >you really don't need anything else.
      Did you forget the cheater bar?

  17. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    My dad had one of these and believe it or not it worked great but we broke it

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      wtf is that

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        i guess its a bolt grabber.. do you buy a set for different sizes? How strong of a torque have you ued them on?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >worked great but we broke it

      pick one

  18. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >see stripped screw
    >put new screw on it
    >bond it
    >strong enough the new screw turns while holding the stripped one
    Somehow worked every time I tried this.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Interesting. I'll try some.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Guy is a moron, the UV glue is pretty shit and would maybe work on a laptop screw. Thats about it.
        They have sold it as seen on TV for years and its terrible

  19. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I have had one since 1998 or so when the original GatorGrip came out. I put a cheap K-mart ratchet and the gator grip in an underseat tool pack on my bicycle in case I needed to do an emergency repair. Worked fine for that. The first time I tried to use it for anything more substantial, I broke a pin on it. I still have it, just keep it in an emergency kit.

  20. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Blocks your path.

    • 1 year ago
      KvD

      There’s some people around here who love those frickers

      Anyway the babby Knipex things are definitely a meme. I got the 5” for some reason and they’re good for like coax connectors and that’s about it. I would rather have the 7-1/4” in my pocket because that would work for the coax and a bunch of other stuff.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        i kneel for knipex

        • 1 year ago
          KvD

          I like their pliers, but let’s face it, pic related is for #TOOLREBEL redditors like yourself who own Wera Joker wrenches.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >4" adjustable wrenches and 4" tongue and groove pliers have been made by tons of companies for the last century
            >german company starts selling their equivalents and suddenly you spill your spaghetti

            And you wonder why nobody takes you seriously

            • 1 year ago
              KvD

              The 5” versions are already tiny and very specialized. The 4” version is bought by Reddit fanbois who want to add another piece to their Knipex collection without spending >$100 on the large versions. They cease being useful for what that tool was designed for below a certain size, like building some 6ft Cobras that weigh 300lbs and could never actually be used. Are you using the XS ones to take the valve caps off when you air up your tires?

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            tbh the 125mm pliers wrench or the cobra and the wera kraftform screwdriver
            is the standard edc in maintenance so when you notice something broken while on the way to the coffee machine you can fix it.

            when you know you have to do a bigger job you grab your tool chest from the workshop.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            also us prices are harsh in euro poor that set would be 50€
            and the euro is currently weaker than the $

  21. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I don't know whether this qualifies as a gimmick tool ... but I have a few of these in the closet next to the batteries.
    When you change a 9v in a smoke detector, but the battery still has some charge left, you stick one of these little buggers on it and it's a handy tiny flashlight.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Install it backwards and you got an impromptu grenade

  22. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    This shit. It's a ratchet with half the functionality since you "can't" use it to loosen fasteners(pro tip: you can) and name one situation where you can't tell if something is tight. Back when I got my ASE certs they even told me I had to use this to tighten tires. Bull fricking shit. I snug them up and it's good to go. Maybe it's for home gamers with weak wrists to let them know they're not actually strong enough to tighten something up. Fricking useless in the real world.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      hey moron, it's to prevent overtightening stuff and shortening the life of the hardware.
      on a car where you're gonna take the wheel off and on a ton in it's life, you dont want to ever tighten it so far the studs yield, which the yield point isnt too far past it's rated torque.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >hey, my name is Thud
      >i'll be fricking your gaskets today
      >and overtorquing your exhaust/manifold bolts so they strip if ever touched again

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      hey moron, it's to prevent overtightening stuff and shortening the life of the hardware.
      on a car where you're gonna take the wheel off and on a ton in it's life, you dont want to ever tighten it so far the studs yield, which the yield point isnt too far past it's rated torque.

      >hey, my name is Thud
      >i'll be fricking your gaskets today
      >and overtorquing your exhaust/manifold bolts so they strip if ever touched again

      A few months ago, my Dad got a flat tire while driving and was unable to change it. He bent the little tool in his car for replacing the tire and had to call roadside assistance. The man who came was a really buff dude. He ended up seriously bending the rod, and was unable to even slightly undo the last bolt. He had to use a ton of force when trying to remove the last bolt with a big breaker bar. Fricking morons at the tire shop were applying the maximum amount of torque they could when installing those wheels. The manual states how much your supposed to torque the lug nuts.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        The morons at my local tyre shop use an impact. They always damage the nuts and its impossible to get them off without a breaker bar

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          And people wonder why they don't get paid much. They can't even do their near-braindead job correctly.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Low quality pay for low quality employees. If you want good quality people you have to pay them to stay. If the job pays well and you still have frick ups then it's a management issue.

      • 1 year ago
        KvD

        Been there. Pic related

        Last time I got tires, the guy at the counter puts the paperwork and keys in a plastic file folder thing and then drops the proper torque stick in the bag with the keys. I don’t know why that’s so difficult.

        I guess they would rather deal with complaints of overtightened nuts instead of some rare case where a wheel falls off because nobody ever checks the torque after driving 20 miles.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      it's not for making things tight. it's for ensuring you don't overtorque something...your complaint is totally nonsensical

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It is absolutely for making things tight, you use one to make sure something isn't under torqued as well.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Frick that, I don't want to risk my lawnmower blade flying at me or anything else.

  23. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    On stripped heads, I pound a socket on with a hammer. Works every time.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Big brain

  24. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    anything dewalt

  25. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I shopped around Amazon for the cheapest one I could find since I'm 99% sure every single of one of those came out of the same factory and just has random reseller marks on them, so the only difference is how silly the name sounds and the price.

    I got it for a mini tool kit since it can replace quite the variety of sockets and it held up under the leverage I could put into a mini 1/4th socket wrench. Yes, everyone of those universal sockets is 3/8th, so I also got a low profile adapter. It was an ARES and it worked pretty good too.

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