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25 Weird Tools You’ve Never Heard About
Ever rummaged through a dusty toolbox and wondered, "What in the blazes is this thing for?" Or maybe you've stumbled upon a gizmo that looks like it belongs in a mad scientist's lab rather than a workshop.
Well, you're in luck! We're about to dive into the delightfully bizarre world of 25 weird tools that, honestly, you probably didn't know existed, but absolutely should.
Get ready for some head-scratching, a few "aha!" moments, and maybe even a chuckle or two as we unveil the utterly peculiar contraptions of the tool universe.
Safety & Prevention
Sky Hook
A sky hook is a safety device that prevents dropped tools from causing damage or getting lost during aircraft maintenance. It is worn around the worker's waist and attached to tools so if said tool drop, they can easily be retrieved. It highlights the importance of foreign object debris (FOD) control in aviation.
Food Preparation & Serving
Cucumber Straighteners
These admittedly questionably looking devices were historically used to cultivate aesthetically perfect and uniformly shaped cucumbers. Often made of glass or wood, they would encase the growing cucumber, forcing it to grow straight. These cucumbers would then be used for pickling or presentation, showcasing a time when visual appeal in produce was highly valued, perhaps even more so than natural growth.
Banana Slicer
This specialized kitchen gadget efficiently creates uniform banana slices, saving time and effort for specific culinary uses. While seemingly simple, it ensures consistent thickness, which can be beneficial for decorative plating, dehydrating bananas, or preparing fruit salads where uniformity is desired.
Grape Scissors
These delicate scissors add a touch of elegance to serving grapes, allowing for individual removal of bunches from the stem. Often seen in formal settings or simply for ease of eating, they provide a refined way to enjoy grapes without touching the whole bunch, maintaining hygiene and presentation.
Strawberry Huller
This handy kitchen tool efficiently removes the hull (the green leafy top and white core) of strawberries, minimizing waste and simplifying preparation for various recipes or direct consumption. Its design allows for quick and clean removal, leaving more of the usable fruit intact compared to using a knife.
Metalworking & Fabrication
Ball Joint Splitter
A ball joint splitter is a specialized tool used to separate ball joints from their tapered seats without damaging the surrounding components. It's essential in automotive maintenance when critical pivot points in a vehicle's suspension and the steering systems might need separating in a safe, efficient manner. There are various types, including fork-type, scissor-type, and lever-type splitters, each suited for different applications and accessibility challenges. Proper use prevents damage to critical components like tie rods and control arms.
Cape Chisel
The arrowhead shape of this chisel makes it ideal for creating fine details, horizontal grooves, and cutting keyways in metal. It's particularly useful for cutting narrow channels or for starting cuts in confined areas that a wider chisel couldn't access. It's used to create delicate and intricate designs in metal bars and stripes, and its precise nature makes it valuable for removing excess material in tight corners or for preparing surfaces for welding or fitting.
Spud Wrench
Specifically designed for ironworkers, this wrench features a tapered end for aligning bolt holes in structural steel, crucial for safe and efficient construction. The tapered end is inserted into misaligned bolt holes, and then the wrench is leveraged to bring the holes into alignment, allowing bolts to be inserted. This tool is fundamental in erecting steel structures, ensuring that beams, columns, and other components are accurately joined.
Dogleg Reamer
This uniquely shaped reamer is vital in aircraft maintenance for smoothing and rounding the edges of holes, preventing stress concentrations that could lead to structural failure. The "dogleg" bend in the shaft allows it to access holes in confined or awkward spaces that a straight reamer couldn't reach. In aerospace applications, even minor imperfections in drilled holes can become fatigue points, so tools like the dogleg reamer are critical for maintaining structural integrity and safety.
Flat Bastard File
Despite its unusual name (where "bastard" refers to its coarseness, between a rough and a second-cut file), this file is a common and efficient tool for quickly shaping and removing material from metal workpieces due to its coarse, double-cut teeth. The flat shape allows for filing flat surfaces, while the aggressive tooth pattern quickly reduces material. It's often used for initial shaping, deburring, and preparing surfaces for finer finishing.
Tailpipe Cutter
This specialized tool combines the leverage of a chain wrench with the cutting action of a pipe cutter, making the removal of exhaust pipes in automotive repair more manageable. The chain wraps around the pipe, and the cutting wheels are tightened, allowing for a clean, efficient cut without needing to use a hacksaw in awkward positions. This saves time and effort, especially in tight undercarriage spaces.
Triple Tap
This multi-headed tool is used by electricians to cut or clean threads in electrical boxes and conduits, ensuring secure and reliable connections. It typically features three common thread sizes on a single tool, allowing electricians to quickly re-tap or clean out existing threads that may be corroded or filled with debris. This ensures that connectors and fittings can be securely fastened, which is critical for electrical safety and reliability.
Woodworking
Duplex Rabbet Plane
This woodworking hand tool offers versatility with its two cutter positions, allowing for both standard and bullnose rabbets (grooves along the edge of wood). The standard position creates a regular rabbet, while the bullnose position allows the blade to extend to the very front, enabling you to cut rabbets right up to an adjoining piece or into a corner. This dual functionality makes it a highly adaptable tool for joinery and decorative work.
Coping Foot for a Bandsaw
This attachment significantly enhances a bandsaw's ability to make intricate curved cuts, effectively turning it into a more robust and versatile alternative to a scroll saw. By providing a stable platform and often incorporating a smaller, more maneuverable table near the blade, a coping foot allows for extremely tight radius cuts, ideal for intricate scrollwork or fitting curved joints in woodworking.
Saw Set Pliers
These specialized pliers are used to precisely bend the teeth of a handsaw, creating the necessary "set" or kerf that allows the saw blade to move freely through the wood without binding. The "set" refers to the slight alternating bend of each tooth, which creates a cut wider than the blade itself. Without a proper set, the saw would bind in the kerf, making cutting difficult or impossible.
Toothing Plane
Unlike standard smoothing planes, this plane with its toothed blade intentionally creates a rough surface on wood, providing an ideal key for strong adhesion when applying veneers. The serrated blade creates small, uniform grooves, increasing the surface area and mechanical grip for hide glue or other adhesives, ensuring a durable bond between the veneer and the substrate.
Wooden Mallet with Interchangeable Heads
This mallet's design allows for the use of different head materials (like wood, plastic, or rawhide), providing varying degrees of impact force and preventing damage to the workpiece in various applications. This versatility makes it ideal for tasks ranging from striking chisels for joinery to tapping together delicate assemblies without marring the surface.
Stubby Nail Eater
This tool is designed to bore through wood even when encountering embedded nails, saving time and frustration when working with reclaimed or nail-filled lumber. Its robust construction and specialized cutting edges allow it to cut through both wood and metal, preventing damage to standard drill bits and enabling efficient work on challenging materials.
Tooth Chisel
This robust chisel is specifically designed for shaping and working with stone and rock, utilizing its sturdy construction to withstand the forces involved in masonry. Its toothed edge grips the stone, allowing for controlled removal of material to create texture, shape, or prepare surfaces for further carving or finishing.
Timberjack
This lever-like tool provides a mechanical advantage to lift logs off the ground, making them safer and easier to cut with saws and also aiding in rolling the logs. By elevating the log, it prevents the saw from binding in the dirt and reduces the risk of kickback, making the cutting process more efficient and secure. It often incorporates a hook for rolling the log as well.
Fastening & Holding
Siligun
This compact silicone sealant applicator offers a different mechanism compared to traditional caulk guns, pulling the cartridge rather than pushing, which some users might find more ergonomic or suitable for smaller applications. Its unique design aims to provide better control and reduce hand fatigue, especially in tight spaces or for precise bead application.
Stork Beak Pliers
The long, slender jaws of these pliers are designed for reaching into tight or confined spaces to grip and manipulate small objects. Their elongated, often curved "beak" allows for precise control and access where standard pliers would be too bulky, making them indispensable for intricate tasks in electronics, jewelry making, or fine mechanics.
Magnetic Hand Band
This simple yet effective accessory uses magnets to hold nails, screws, and other small metal fasteners close at hand, improving efficiency and preventing loss during various tasks. Worn on the wrist or arm, it eliminates the need to constantly reach for a pouch or pocket, streamlining assembly and repair work.
Egg Beater Drill
This hand-powered drill operates using a crank mechanism similar to an egg beater, offering a cordless drilling solution for situations where power is unavailable or for more delicate work. It provides tactile feedback and precise control over drilling speed, making it suitable for pilot holes, light woodworking, or in environments where electricity is not accessible.
Conclusion:
So there you have it – a grand tour through some of the most unexpectedly useful, sometimes hilarious tools you might ever encounter.
From the surprisingly practical to the delightfully niche, these gadgets prove that innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, often with a story as quirky as their design.
Who knew a "flat bastard file" could be so indispensable, or that a "sky hook" isn't for fishing clouds?
Next time you're tackling a project, remember these oddball allies. You might just find that the weirdest tool is exactly what you need to get the job done!