your favorite little gadget or tool hoonja-doonja (physical world edition)

these clippers!

https://brettterpstra.com/2019/03/27/when-you-find-a-hair-clipper-worth-writing-about-dot-dot-dot/

basically everything in this paragraph is true

The clipper is a little puck, really, that fits into the palm of your hand. This makes it almost like using a comb: it’s easy to use with either hand, and even easy to use on the back of your head while looking in a mirror-on-mirror situation and trying to convince your muscles to do the opposite of what you’re seeing. Holding something in the palm of your hand versus gripping a stick seems like a small difference, but it’s been a huge speed increase in my weekly shavings.

This power adaptor. Plugs into any outlet anywhere in the world, 3 usb-a, one usb-c and an AC passthrough. I now only need one thing when I travel or even for work. Usb-c could use a bit more oomph for the MacBook Pro but that’s an acceptable compromise. The Aussie prongs are the wrong way up (designed fo China) but still more than acceptable. Not the perfect thing but very close.

https://www.elvesfactory.com/worldshop/EN/CARD/Adapter/CA4-PRO-B

I’m buying that clipper

those little clasp-y magnetic bookmarks

I mostly buy what the wirecutter tells me to, basically none of my picks for useful objects are particularly original

I’d recommend my Opinel folding pocket knife but I don’t know where it is right now and I only use it for opening packages anyway

I have a leatherman sitting on my desk that mainly gets used for opening packages although the pliers are useful too, (particularly intractable nostril hairs)

i like this guy's reviews of japanese tools which are currently extremely cheap on amazon.jp because of exchange rates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcamaross09

this guy

oh yeah I watch his vids all the time, have done a little repair work on the outback thanks to him

for hand tools I’ve gone with tekton, although it is tempting to pick up a koken ratchet or something

i want some vampliers

those look sweet. i just bought a bolt extractor set to deal with some rusty bolts in the outback.

some good youtube channels to inspire tool lust: project farm (annoyingly edited but no-nonsense) and torque test channel

I can’t watch project farm

i just fast forward to the end

https://techkeys.us/collections/keyboards/products/onekeyboard-mute-button-edition?variant=32775257817167

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51h8yx2DobL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

hate to say it but i've fallen victim to knipex's marketing of the cobra xs as an edc tool

https://images.knipex.com/square_md/product-api-assets/fd89784/49caa8f0-e457-45bb-bd8f-1222ed283cbe.png

I'm getting a knipex plier wrench for xmas

and vampliers

It's not particularly great at anything, but I am fond of having a gerber shard on my keyring. Just a solid little 'open this, tighten that' tool that doesn't cause any airport/security/uk knife law trouble.

I had one for a while but it scratched my phone :-(

I keep my keys on a small night-ize s-biner after discovering the huge ones in the "parents with strollers" community.

My phone is rarely in the same pocket but yeah I think it's picked up a couple of scratches too. Surprisingly little harm to my pocket bags tho.

you guys seen Dead Ringers

but I need my devices for operating on mutant screws

want one of these for Christmas https://www.amazon.com/Wera-05136607001-Advent-Calendar-2023/dp/B0BTZ7KK15

good thread https://bsky.app/profile/drandrewthaler.bsky.social/post/3la2l6mohqm2s

my nominee for that is a japanese cardboard knife, for the online shopping enthusiast. cuts through packing tape like butter so much better than a knife. the name brand canary one is $10 but daiso has a generic for $2 if you are lucky to live near one. so much safer than a box cutter too.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mSnvfckBL.jpg

heck yes. we have two! one in the kitchen drawer, and one by the door to the trash. very good. safer for kids to use too. i pay my kid a quarter per box broken down.

as recommended by my main man indefensible: john gruber

we've had ours for a few years now thanks to J! guess it's turning mainstream now that daiso is making a copy of it

my contribution to our single use tool collection is a paint tube roller, which we keep around solely to use to get every last bit of toothpaste out of the tube

https://www.jerrysartarama.com/media/catalog/product/cache/ecb49a32eeb5603594b082bd5fe65733/c/r/creative-mark-save-it-paint-extruder-silver-with-red-charvin-extrusion.jpg

not sure if we've saved enough toothpaste yet to justify its (very modest) cost but it is very satisfying to use

going in the opposite direction, my favorite omnipurpose tool is what's known in the aviation industry as a skin wedge (via reddit)

https://www.aircraft-tool.com/dbpics/large/SWG7-3.jpg

aircraft mechanics use these to install body panels onto airplanes

it tapers into a thin wedge but it's made of tool steel so still incredibly strong, you can use it to pry and scrape just about anything without worrying about breaking or bending it. i ordered mine from an aircraft tool store which feels cool to say but you can buy them on amazon too.