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!

Step 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.

Step 2: Get the Point?

Using a rock or piece of wood as a mallet, the screwdriver end can be used to chisel and cut a suitable branch or sapling for a spear.

I chose one with a fork as it provided a solid base for the end of the tool and lashed it in.

While this might not actually kill whatever you are hunting, it can certainly deliver a mortal would which would enable you to track the critter down. Also because the pointy end is smooth, it would probably fall out when/if the critter runs so that you can retrieve the spear.

This would be where you would need either your handy paracord, twisted coconut fiber cordage or see the excellent instructable by nephron here https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Great-Cordage-Out-Of-Grass/ .

You can also use the sharpened wrench end to shave strips of bark for making cordage.

Step 3: Dig It!

Use it a digging tool to save your fingers from scrabbling hard ground or to loosen up the surface. You can mount it on a short or long stick to increase the leverage.

Mounted on a stick, you could also swing it to discourage a predator or get some prey.

Step 4: Just Hanging Around...

You can hook it behind a fork in a tree or in a crack between some boulders and it will support your weight hanging from a rope. I (at +/-180 pounds) can hang from the rig in the picture. Because it is smooth, you could use it as a pulley to slide the rope up/down.

You could attach also a length of paracord to the wrench end to get it down after you are down the cliff.

Step 5: "Fist of Fury"

Because of the shape of the wrench end, it provides a snug, secure grip when held in a fist and because of the narrow tip would combine a punch with significant penetrating power.

While I've never tried it (and maybe for the sake of authenticity, I should), I feel fairly confident that, held this way, this could penetrate sheet metal. It could be used to dispatch a wounded prey animal to provide lunch (or whatever)...

When I take one camping, I always add a lanyard/wrist strap.

Step 6: Fire Away!

Use the sharpened edge to scrape slivers of dry wood for starting a fire. Combined with tinder and the kindling produced by splitting a chunk of wood, use the tool by striking a piece of flint stone to create sparks to start the process.

A note here regarding authenticity: since we don't have flint here in Hawaii, the picture with the stone and the tool over the tinder (finely shredded coconut husk) is purely posed.....sorry...

Step 7: Here's the Drill:

You can use it as a chisel initially and cut a square hole the width of the tip, remove that, then tap and turn, tap and turn. I used a branch to hit the top with. You don't want to POUND it into the wood as the tool may not break but will be hard to turn.
Be patient, periodically work it out of the wood while turning and remove some of the chips.

Incidentally, as you may notice this is actually a exposed root (on a guava tree- fairly hard wood) but for some reason, I couldn't get some of the pictures to stay oriented correctly so it looks like a branch or trunk...which I guess is Ok because it may have more uses going into a vertical surface....

The root is about 4" thick but I was able to make it through in less than 5 minutes.

If you don't need to go through but just want to sink it into a trunk to use it as a hanger or lifting point, that would work too. With it stuck most of the way into a trunk, it will support my weight without bending.

Also with the rope through the wrench end you have the option of having a positive hanging point without worry of the rope slipping over the head.

Step 8: And Then There's....

*Add a wrist strap/lanyard using paracord following the excellent Instructable by legomaster 92. https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-survival-bracelet .That way, if it slips out of your hand in a "tight" situation, you don't lose it.

*Clean it well and paint it yellow or orange to make it easier to find if you DO drop it.

*You can use it in and around fire but be aware that anytime the surface of the steel starts changing colors (gets a bluish or purplish tint- I'm not talking about heating it red-hot..) know that the properties of the metal are changing and that you may be affecting the hardness of the tool (or knife or whatever). However, if needed, you can heat it and use it to cauterize a wound. Pound the point into a stick or insert into the wrench end to hold it over the fire.

*You can heat it red-hot then bend it into a hook if you HAD to have one for some life-saving reason. It even has a place to attach a rope. Know that this process would remove any tempering the steel had before and, while it could be re-done, it takes some practice at recognizing the right temperature at which to quench it. I'm sure there are some good tutorials out there which cover tempering steel in detail.

*You could use it as a can opener supporting it vertically by the shaft and tapping the top with a stone or branch (or even your palm) and go around the tlid.

*Tie a thin line through the wrench end and use it as a weight for throwing it over a branch then use the line to pull up a rope. Or use it as a fishing weight, it works better than trying to tie a knot around a rock....

*Use it as an ice pick to cut a hole to fish through, then sink it into the ice at an angle away from the hole to attach your line to.

*With some practice you can throw it and make it stick in point first. It's better than throwing your knife, missing and having the blade get nicked by rocks or whatever.

*In the urban wilderness:
*If a motor won't start after repeated attempts, you may be able to use it to get your spark plug/s out. If the plug is wet and smells of fuel, there may not be spark or it may be flooded. If it is dry, there may not be fuel getting into the cylinder.

*with some help, you may be able to use it to get your tire off. The trick is to get the 19mm wrench end on the lug nut and while maintaining turning tension on it, hit the other end of the wrench hard with a hammer (hopefully without smashing your hand in the process...). This is the basic principle behind the impact wrench used by mechanics. It works, i've done it on a trailer wheel.

*When I locked my keys in my 4Runner, with some padding to protect the paint, I was able to wedge it in at the top of a door frame to pry it open enough to snake a bent wire in to snag the door handle.

*In a pinch it may work as a piton or as a hand wedge in cracks when climbing.

*Out trail riding, if your pedal breaks off, you may be able to get the rest of it out of the crank using the tool or if the pedal strips out of the crank. you can stick this through the hole and tie it to the crank so that you can at least "limp" home. It can also be used for changing flats but be aware of not poking the inner tube with the points on the screwdriver end.

*You can use it as a mallet/tool for knapping flint to make points for arrows or scrapers after you have broken flakes off with a hammer stone.

*It will substitute for a missing tent peg.

* You can use it as a hard, sharp point on a deadfall trap instead of a sharpened stick with the added benefit of having a secure way to attach it using the wrench end. See legomaster92's Instructable for this: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-figure-4-snare/

* You can use it as a very short snorkel or as a CPR aid if you don't want to make mouth-to-mouth contact with the victim. (A sign of the times, no?)

Now, here is the "Audience participation" part. It is your turn to come up with more uses. Please share other uses you have/can come up with.