Knipex wrench pliers look like pliers, but in actuality are the carefully-disguised hand of God.
Look carefully at the camming system on there. Sick.
Definitely want to try those out.
Just curious, what's your minimalist set of tools? I probably need to clean out and reorganize my toolkit. It's either in my closet or in my trunk, so I have very little incentive to keep it clean, light and well organized. Probably should change that...
Thanks for the suggestion, because I just went through my tool bag to make a list for you, and found a few items of dead weight. Which is good, since I just added a small Milwaukee screw gun to the tool kit. So here we go:
6-way screwdriver (1/4" and 3/16" straight-blade drivers, #1 and #2 Phillips, and 1/4" and 5/16" nut drivers)
10" Channel Locks, Mod. 430
I find that most fixes and adjustments can be made with the above tools. I carry the 10" pliers because it is just large enough for use on 1-1/2" sink drains or commercial toilets. My six-way driver was recently replaced with the Irwin 9-way driver, because it includes a 3/8 drive. It also has two sizes of Roberts drivers, but I keep those in a drawer. I'd never use them, and that gives me easier access to the 1/4" drive.
Here's the rest:
Mini-Mag flashlight, modified with LED bulb and push-button switch
multi-meter
2 AA batteries for flashlight or meter
voltage detector and spare battery
wire strippers
diagonal cutters (dikes)
needle-nose pliers
slip-joint pliers
aforementioned Ready Ratchet
10" Crescent wrench
Usually, a smaller Crescent, but I dropped mine on a snow-covered roof, and haven't replaced it yet. And I had just bought them well-used at a flea-market.
claw hammer - not a big, framing hammer monstrosity, but something that fits in the bag.
cheapo paint brush, because it can be real handy for cleaning off what you're trying to work on
putty knife
utility knife - Stanley makes some pretty good ones that store extra blades in the handle WITHOUT having to take the handle apart
small razor scraper - Most on the market are junk. I like
this kind. safety glasses in case
ear plugs in case
electrical tape
PTFE thread seal tape
25' tape measure
9" torpedo level
carpenter's pencil
ink pen and Sharpie, unless you keep them in your pocket, like I do
paper clip, because sooner or later you'll really want one for something
tiny Stanley Yankee right-angle ratcheting screwdriver, like
this one. The little hardware store down the street still sells 'em.
They also sell these,
http://lutztool.com/4-in-one.asp, so I no longer need to carry my little precision screwdriver set.
Allen wrench sets, standard and metric, in Swiss Army configuration
paint can opener
nail set
wood chisel, mainly to deepen or widen the cuts in wooden doors, when hardware is not fitting correctly
1/4" driver, with built-in, telescoping magnet for recovering metal bits
This one. It's basically a 1/4" driver, built around a telescoping, magnetic picker-upper. Solidly built.
The usual 1/4" bits, plus a set of security/tamper-proof bits
4" x 1/4" flat-blade screwdriver
larger flat-blade screwdriver (whatever I can find at yard sales, since it will double as a pry bar)
#1, #2, #3 Phillips screwdrivers
3/8" nut driver
Theoretically, my Irwin combo screwdriver makes some of those redundant. In practice, I find it more convenient to have both. Also, my combo-drivers' #2 Phillips bits used to wear out pretty quickly, when that was all I carried. Then again, I now know where to find replacement bits.
Sorter/organizer box, with screws, nails, bolts, nuts, wire nuts, washers. I also keep some 3/8 threaded female caps in it, and some 00 rubber washers. This is for the domestic water supply valves under a sink or residential toilet. Unless those valves are fairly new, they won't completely shut off, so they often need capped.
And lastly, of course, duct tape. I'm thinking about adding some hockey tape.
They all live in one of
these. Some of those things are not all that necessary, but so small and light that I might as well have them as not.
Edited to pretty-ize the links.
