When I swapped tackle boxes, I found a few artifacts from my Dad’s old box. Like this pair of pliers:
This image makes them seem larger. What is, is a mini pair of linesman’s pliers. They are only 4.5″ long. We used them to cut line, fix reels, or even to disgorge stubborn hooks. I can’t think what application one would use them for in these days of multi-tools like Leatherman. For small wiring tasks I have diagonal cutters, needle nose, and linesman scissors.
Interesting aside: When I was in the telecom trade, we’d refer to these scissors as “Kleins”, even though others made them. That was the predominant manufacturer. We also referred to our linesman pliers as “Nines” as in Klein 9″ pliers. Mine got stolen and I replaced them with a pair made by ChannelLock, which was actually sharper and nicer.
I figured I’d spruce these up and stick them in my box the small box of tools that lives in my office.
First came stripping that red paint off (it’s not insulation), and cleaning the gunk and rust. Being lazy, I tried Naval Jelly. I don’t know what they make that out of nowadays, but it doesn’t work like I remember. It did nothing really:
I tried vinegar. No success.
I did these dumb things because it’s what I have and spending $20 on evap-o-rust would be a huge waste. So, wire wheel and sandpaper it was. Do it the right way. Looking back, I have a Harbor Freight sand blasting gun. Might have been worth a dig through the shelves to find it.
Next step. Make it cool – with this:
Love the image on the can. Don’t be stupid, use gloves. You get that shit on you, it’s not coming off easy. Seems that I remember having to heat the tool last time I used something like this. Wasn’t needed. So I started dipping:
First pass was a bit underwhelming. It covered better on the small crescent wrench. Figured that would be a good addition to my desk tools as well.
It took four dips.
It worked really well. I’m pretty happy with the results. Easy to use, works good. Really toxic smell, and tough cleanup. Use gloves. Only bad thing I’d say about Plasti Dip is that the can isn’t re-sealable. I used about 1/8 of it and then was stuck with an open can. I poured the rest into a mason jar and sealed it up. I’ll find something else to dip, no doubt.
I think I need to stop there. The box is sort of full:
Just the right amount of stuff to fiddle-fart with things while sitting here.
That folder is a Buck 110 slim select that I bought because some fool I read said it was one of the best. I bought it as an EDC when I misplaced my Kershaw Leek. That one is a little big and the blade isn’t sprung. So, it’s in the drawer because I found my Kershaw. It is slim and light, however. You would’ve think I’d have learned, since another desk queen I have is a Buck 346 that I thought was cool until I got it and realized its way too much to tote around every day.
Inspected By Pat 