Specialty trade tools

One of the things I learned in working at the phone company and at other trades is that there are a load of specialty tools. These are tools that someone not in the industry would not even be aware existed. At good old ma bell we had the “butt set “a phone you could clip on to any working phone wire at any splice or connection box. These boxes were all over the place, even though I live in the middle of nowhere there is one just in front of my house. The c ring pliers are a very neat tool it’s like a stapler but it “staples” a quarter inch ring that can connect lots of different stuff for repair. I know that there have to be a load of tools and stuff that I and most people have not been exposed to because we do not work in the industry that uses those devices. So all you workers in specialty trades what do you use and how can it help us.

I don't really work with any special tools that would be of any use to a survivalist. I went through all the specialist tools i could think of and they are useless for anything else i could think of using them for connected with a survival situation.

Speacialist tools have been designed specifically for a task that a more general tool can't do As such most would have no use in a SHTF situation.

Thats my experiance anyway with any tools i can think of but i would be interested to hear if anyone has anything else to say

Nonsense...I have a set of lock picking tools in my pocket. I have had them for years now and I am on my fourth set. I am hardly ever without them.. I can make lockpicks if I have to on a bench grinder but use factory sets for consistency.

Someone also mentioned a set of lock wire pliers on another post. I have a set of those. Though they are not compact they are very handy around the house both for cutting wire and also for manipulating wire in manners not easily possible with regular pliers. In the tool pouch in my truck I always keep a roll of lockwire like we used in the military. When it gets used up I replace it. The diameter of this stainless steel wire is about .032. This wire does not have a shelf life as does duct tape. I also keep a roll of duct tape and replace this when it dries out.

I also keep with me at all times a Gerber pocket tool/plier set. This tool is not good for specific jobs..not heavy duty enough but it is very handy for alot of jobs...such that it will get you through lots of small pinch situations till you can get to your better tools. THe little file on this Gerber tool gets used by me alot.
I am seldome without a Mag Lite ..AA battery size...I hate to get caught without some kind of light On or off the job. If you have ever been down in the bowels of a ship...and the power goes out you cannot even see your nose in front of you. Walking around in the dark can get you hurt or killed quickly...and it has happened.

I always keep a pocket knife of course...but also in my bag..I keep sharpeing tools/stones. Amazing to me how many people cannot sharpen a knife and must always borrow.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Not to be picky but alot of the things you just mentioned are not very specialist at all, i get a feeling that wcssar was asking for tools most people have never heard of and are only used by people doing specific jobs.

Orangetom, I am very suprised that you dont have a set of fencing pliers. The original multi tool

www.hooverfence.com...

I have seen fencing pliers in the tool room at the shipyard where I work but dont use them often ..say like my volt/ohm meter or micrometers when I reload ammunition.

What you find for the bulk of peoples is that they seldome have access to even daily tools outside of a ball point pen. How many people carry on them as much as a pocket knife anymore? Even a swiss army type??
I do because of my trade. Most of my specialty tools are stored on the ready line in places in my garage. Most of these would not be part of my BOB. Not so with my lock picks. THey would automatically go with me.
Also with me daily on my keychain is a handcuff key and my P38 can opener.

Thanks,
Orangetom

speciality tools , IMHO and personal experience are designed as a " one trick pony " because the intended user wants a tool that is fast , efficient , safe and reliable .

take circlip pliers - a great and very usefull tool , BUT in extremis you can use a bradawl / nail and a screw driver to repove / refit a circlip

its harder - takes longer - risks damaging both the clip and the work peice

but you can do it

but if you have a job where you will be servicing hundreds of bearings a month that all have a circlip retainer , not having the correct size circlip pliers is madness

you cannot take your snap -on roll cab jamb packed with tools with you in your BoB

not to pick on < pun > orangetom , but take his lock picks - in most " regular " situations - lockpicks are very usefull as people who have lovked themselves out appreciate a friend who can get them in without turning the door to flinders

but in most survival situations - would you give a rats ass ??

an hatchet will get through locks - by hool or by crook

plus - can chop fire wood , make a shelter , fight off an aggressor etc etc etc

lock picks are faster in some situations , and certainly stealthier

i know this is a poor example as lockpicks are so tiny - but to quote RH :

" SPECIALISATION IS FOR INSECTS "

I agree..a hatchet would be quicker. And no offense taken. Lock picks is a tool I have taught myself to use when I dont want to leave little pee pee tracks around to show I have been there. This is the best way to go through life..such that the fewer people know you have been there the better ..unless you need particularly to let them know and make it stick.

I also own some simple hand reloading tools to load varioius calibers of ammunition from .223 to .45ACP, .38 Caliber ammunition..from Lee reloading company. Not something I am wont to carry around with me to work along with powder and primers..but I have them for field use and they are specialty tools.

Also understand about the ring tools you mentioned The circ clip pliers. It is the same with my lockwire pliers. I can do it with a set of Vice Grips but the specialty tool works much better...faster more effecient.
I have worked with enough hand tools over the years ..and even electric/pneumatic tools to know the limitations of many.

Also I believe to what you are alluding is the skill of making a tool do for a particular job though it was not designed so. A very handy skill to have ...for those who know how to do thing which are not in most books or taught in classes. Now this skill in a survival situation will seperate many of the men from the boys and women from the girls. No doubt.

YOu know ..recently at a county fair...I was priveleged to find an olde man with a portable blacksmithing set up. He used pre formed black iron and heated it in a home made portable furnace..with a hand crank blower and bagged coal. It was fascinating to me to watch the metal turn red and then he shaped it accordingly to make the metal do what he wanted. He even was able to put holes in it where he wanted. Even twisting it like licorice sticks. I could watch this type of skill for hours. Not many people have this kind of skill anymore. Fascinating to me. He was making stuff like those wrought iron planters and such.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by orangetom1999

What you find for the bulk of peoples is that they seldome have access to even daily tools outside of a ball point pen. How many people carry on them as much as a pocket knife anymore? Even a swiss army type??

Yeah, I keep forgetting that not everyone is like me and a tool nut. I am like you I have all kinds of tools. And if I have my pants on then I have a knife in on me.

As far as a home made forge. an old brake drum works great. you can even use a hair drier if you dont have a squrriel cage fan. You can even make your own bellows if need be. I think that anyone in a long term survival sit. should try to do a little blacksmithing. If you want details just U2U me.

Originally posted by ultralo1

Originally posted by orangetom1999

What you find for the bulk of peoples is that they seldome have access to even daily tools outside of a ball point pen. How many people carry on them as much as a pocket knife anymore? Even a swiss army type??

Yeah, I keep forgetting that not everyone is like me and a tool nut. I am like you I have all kinds of tools. And if I have my pants on then I have a knife in on me.

As far as a home made forge. an old brake drum works great. you can even use a hair drier if you dont have a squrriel cage fan. You can even make your own bellows if need be. I think that anyone in a long term survival sit. should try to do a little blacksmithing. If you want details just U2U me.

Yeah I know what you mean. IF I dont have at least a Jacknife on me I feel undressed. Even in a suit and tie...I unbox my seldome used Swiss Army Knife so as to go around properly!!

My normal load out is my Gerber Multi tool, Mag Light, Feeler gages in a mag lite pouch, Lock pick set and a four pack of AA batteries.

We may seem eccentric to many but I dont care. They can P.... Off as far as I'm concerned. I've been stuck out away from my garage enough times to learn at least to carry a light source on me.

Thanks for the idea of a Brake Drum for a home made forge set up. I had not considered that. I will keep it in the back of my mind for future use. I really liked that guys hand blower. It was like one of those air raid siren rigs you see in olde movies. Very effecient on a few turns.
Yes I too have used a hair dryer to ge the charcoals going rapidly on the barbecue. IT works quite well one the initial burn starts. Very effecient too.


Thanks,
Orangetom

Those hand cranked blowers are not cheap. I gave $125 at an estate auction for the one that I have. It was locked upped. it took a little time and some ingenuity but it works now. If I only had the time to build a forge to put it on.

Here is a web site that you might find interesting.

www.centaurforge.com...