Laaadies and gentlemens, children of all ages, survivors in this show called Life , introducing the lowly chainsaw bar wrench.
If I was pressed to choose only ONE tool to be stuck somewhere with, as much as I love my knives and all that I can do with them, it would be a tough decision....I think I'd have to choose the bar wrench.
Weighing in at a mere 2.4 OZ (80 gm) and 5 1/2" (13cm) long and costing under $10, this amazingly low tech device can make the difference between making it back or not.
I have one in my purse (gotta tell you though, I get some raised eye brows from TSA at airports, who don't quite know what to make of it as it doesn't fit any prohibited tool/weapon category...heh heh..), one in my tool bag, one in each vehicle and several in my tool chest....
(Aside) A word of explanation on how it is that I have so many: In a previous life I worked as a small engine mechanic fixing/selling chainsaws, weedeaters, mowers, generators etc. and these were a basic tool of the trade and once I recognized them for what they could do, set about collecting several...
This particular one was made by/for Husqvarna and came with all their saws (I've considered approaching them as a sponsor..heh heh) and while I can't attest to the strength or durability of other makes out there, I can say that this one is an amazingly tough, durable tool! The tip will break before it bends. I have managed to break one off at the weld, but it took some doing and I had a big screwdriver through the wrench end to give me more torque trying to pry something loose. I routinely bang on the head with a hammer to chip, chisel or pry (with SAFETY first, of course!)
In this Instructable, i'll list some of its uses, other than the obvious which are: screwdriver, 13mm (1/2") and 19mm (3/4") box wrench. It will be up to you to come up with other possible survival uses in both the urban and the wilderness environment.
My thanks to the Instructable authors I have referenced here. Keep up the good work!
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Signing UpStep 1: Coco Nuts!
I'm at the beach and I find a coconut washed up. I'll open it up and share the goodies around. I've gotten a lot of strange looks from "locals" walking by who wonder at this foolish old "white guy" trying to get one open this way. Little do they know that I can get one open in under 5 minutes....
You make 2 rows of "poke" lines in the husk down the the side then pry the first row out, then make another row, and pry that out, then it goes a lot easier down to the nut itself.
Once you have the nut exposed, one of the 3 "eyes" is soft enough to poke through (usually the largest one) and get the water out. Drink that.(..aaaahhh, that's good, also full of valuable electrolytes and very thirst quenching) then holding it with one hand, rap it hard with the head (either the 19mm or the 13mm side) in a repetitive line around the "equator" going around a couple of times and at some point you'll hear the sound change as it develops a crack. Keep rapping until you have a visible crack then pry it apart. The closer you stay to your original line as you go around, the more evenly it will split giving you the makings of a cup (or 2 if you didn't poke the "eye" out).
Use the screwdriver side to score a couple of cross lines across the meat of the coconut so that the pieces come out larger and also it comes out easier without the likelihood of cracking the shell if you intend on using it for a cup. I suppose you could use your knife for prying out the pieces but at the risk of snapping your blade??? You can actually boil water in the shell cup ( a couple of times, anyway) if you had to.
The shell is incredibly hard and dense and has been used by many island cultures to make fish hooks, arrow points, spoons/scoopers etc. and it also burns very hot.
Coconut has an excellent balance of carbs, protein and fats and can keep you going for a long time in the absence of much else. It is good bait for fish, crabs and many other edible critters. You can chew some and (I know it may sound gross, but we're talking survival here, no?) smear it on yourself and the oils can keep your skin from drying out and cracking.
Save some of the fiber from the husk in case you need to make rope or for tinder.
You make 2 rows of "poke" lines in the husk down the the side then pry the first row out, then make another row, and pry that out, then it goes a lot easier down to the nut itself.
Once you have the nut exposed, one of the 3 "eyes" is soft enough to poke through (usually the largest one) and get the water out. Drink that.(..aaaahhh, that's good, also full of valuable electrolytes and very thirst quenching) then holding it with one hand, rap it hard with the head (either the 19mm or the 13mm side) in a repetitive line around the "equator" going around a couple of times and at some point you'll hear the sound change as it develops a crack. Keep rapping until you have a visible crack then pry it apart. The closer you stay to your original line as you go around, the more evenly it will split giving you the makings of a cup (or 2 if you didn't poke the "eye" out).
Use the screwdriver side to score a couple of cross lines across the meat of the coconut so that the pieces come out larger and also it comes out easier without the likelihood of cracking the shell if you intend on using it for a cup. I suppose you could use your knife for prying out the pieces but at the risk of snapping your blade??? You can actually boil water in the shell cup ( a couple of times, anyway) if you had to.
The shell is incredibly hard and dense and has been used by many island cultures to make fish hooks, arrow points, spoons/scoopers etc. and it also burns very hot.
Coconut has an excellent balance of carbs, protein and fats and can keep you going for a long time in the absence of much else. It is good bait for fish, crabs and many other edible critters. You can chew some and (I know it may sound gross, but we're talking survival here, no?) smear it on yourself and the oils can keep your skin from drying out and cracking.
Save some of the fiber from the husk in case you need to make rope or for tinder.
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Blechmen
I am still stuck on the purse!!!!
Not dumb at all....I guess the pacifist (pun intended, heh heh) in me didn't want to talk about that fact and instead I kinda danced around it with the comment about "animals".... but I'm sure that it could be deadly....the amount of force you can put behind it with the wrench end as a handle.....
I'm curious as to what you say to the TSA officials about this tool, who I find not to be the understanding kind.
Well, as a matter of fact, most of them just look at it, many of them don't even look as the x-ray profile doesn't look like anything they recognize (maybe) and the ones that have questioned me, I told them it was a combination screwdriver wrench and that seemed to be satisfactory....when asked what I need it for, I tell them that I'm always fixing things...
I guess it may be a case of their not "thinking outside the box".....I mean if someone was evil or deranged, it is possible to cause some serious injuries with just a ballpoint pen.
Thanks for your kind words....they are also darned handy workshop additions...
I apologize for the ambiguity and for any confusion it may have caused... as bobwojo points out I meant to say that I weigh "about" 180 pounds depending on when I ate last, what clothes I'm wearing (or not, as the case may be), the position of the moon, my elevation above sea level...etc. etc...Sorry....
You are correct about the wording, but if you are going to mock someone for their terminology, you should take extra care not to say something even more wrong yourself.
After all, the statement "-180 or 180" pounds is literally true, since one of the possibilities actually applies, but he won't normally have a negative weight on Pluto. :)
OK, technically, we ignore our buoyancy when we are measuring our weight, but it does affect the measured value. You would weight slightly more in a vacuum chamber than you do in air.
Be well, jamil
In case you're interested, I got the 12 pound figure from http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/
Not sure what else I might call it..."Merse"? over the shoulder type bag? Any ideas, I'm open....
A coconut can and is opened with a fire hardened stick everyday; I do it and many Polynesians do it also. Also you can open a coconut after peeling along the fracture line with a rock if you have to.
As for a tool for surviving?
It is a strong and sturdy FIXED BLADE KNIFE..
Mine is around 18 inches long with a thick blade. This lets me chop and cut and do many needed things for REAL survival.
Everything from using it to create a shelter to cutting a straight branch to fire harden into a spear. Carve fish hooks if you don't have any and go fishing or make a spear for fishing. Much Much more.
This "tool" as you put it is made from soft steel and the real and only thing it can do is poke holes...
Also TSA will never let you carry this on a plane period.. Even inter island travel..
The idea is not to be the "Ultimate" survival tool but just one that for its size and weight (and price) can do many things....
There are obviously things an 18" long knife can do that this cannot but then I wouldn't want to pound it into a tree and try and hang from it.....or use it to drill a hole.
As far as being made from "soft steel" my opening comments mention the strength and hardness of this particular tool...I have no idea of the construction or strength of other brands out there. Hardly "soft" as I regularly use it to chisel concrete flash at work when trying to fit a pool fitting in place....
To each his/her own...Don't know what to say, but I have taken it interisland and I have taken it to the mainland and to Canada, recently....believe it or not, no matter to me brah!~
The handle could also be given a few layers of duct tape on one side and maybe a few layers of snare wire and some heavy fishing line on the other.
You could also wrap a yard or two of orange nylon strip around the handle for marking your trail. Just clip a 2" length to flag rescuers at intervals.
The same strip could double as an improvised sling, tourniquet, bandage, or lashing as well.
Put the right kind of ink cartridge in the handle, and the nylon strip could also become waterproof notepaper to leave messages on the trail.
Lots of possibilities with that tool as the start of a survival kit.
Look through it like a monocular telescope to direct home movies.
Place the shaft between the hands (that's what she said) to whisk an omelet.
If you magnetize it, then you could suspend notes on the fridge for a partner, house mate or the police once they find out you have escaped prison using this as a shank (to disable the guards), digging tool (to carve out a tunnel), shaping tool (for a paddle) and a needle/punch (to sew a boat together).
It could also be thrown at me for being daft. Ouch!
Not "daft' at all! Creative problem solving....indeed!