{{ Stuff that just works }}

[Owen]

Knipex pliers ...

Haha! As I started reading this thread, this is the product I was thinking about mentioning! I've tried a number of tool brands over the years, and nothing grabs as well as these do.

Y'all beat me by 5yrs
Also the very first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread. There's a couple of 6" and a 10" Cobra that share space on a shelf in my tool cabinet with a Klein linemans tool, SK Facom universal pliers, Wiss snips, and a Klein 4 in 1 screwdriver-things I use fairly often, all of which "just work".
My power tools are mostly over 20yrs old, and my Makita circular saw and Milwaukee Super Sawzall definitely fall under the "just works" label. I bring my own stuff whenever helping someone with a project, because everything goes smoother with "real" tools than the cheap junk most people use.

But this is the "Adventuring and Questing" section, so I'll throw in my vote for:
-Katabatic Gear quilts-truly the best(no " " necessary) products of their type.
-Montbell down jackets
-Point 6 merino socks
-Patagonia Capilene baselayers
-Osprey's Airspeed suspensions(packs themselves could use a bit of work)
-Johnson&Johnson(Metolius and others rebrand it) climber's/coaches/athletic tape. Replaces moleskin, bandaids, first aid/medical tape, etc. Doesn't just do it all; does it better.
-Five Ten Canyoneer shoes
-Kahtoola Microspikes
-Black Diamond Trail (various models) trekking poles

-Most climbing gear. The thing I love about climbing gear, though I no longer use it, aside from occasionally rappeling, is that the nature of its use disallows the compromises we see practically everywhere else. People like to dramatize the importance of gear and tools of all sorts, but the one thing all climbing gear has in common is that the user's life literally hangs in the balance. If I were to make a personal "stuff that works" list, there'd be a multitude of recognizable brands and products, because it would be every single thing I own related to rock climbing. Except shoes. I don't know much about the shoes, and have only used one kind of Five Tens.
Huh. Never thought about that before. Maybe that's why I could never climb more than 5.10s
I should start my own brand, and call it Five Twelves!

[bykfixer]

Snakes work pretty good at scareing the heck out of me. No brand or breed. Just any old snake will do.

[orbital]

+

In the mid~late 90s' I buzz cut my hair, super low maintenance & saved me some money.
Then got 'normal' haircuts' for a few years.

About 12 years ago I bought a new pair of Wahl clippers for approx. $29 to buzz my hair.
(I cut my hair about 4~5 times a year)

The $29 clippers paid for themselves after the second use _ 12 years ago.
Cutting my own hair is one of many/many things I do to save money.

Wahl clippers work

[markr6]

+

In the mid~late 90s' I buzz cut my hair, super low maintenance & saved me some money.
Then got 'normal' haircuts' for a few years.

About 12 years ago I bought a new pair of Wahl clippers for approx. $29 to buzz my hair.
(I cut my hair about 4~5 times a year)

The $29 clippers paid for themselves after the second use _ 12 years ago.
Cutting my own hair is one of many/many things I do to save money.

Wahl clippers work

Yes! I honestly haven't went to get a hair cut since 1998. I've been doing it myself since then and went through maybe 3 clippers. I think one was Conair brand the others including the current Wahl. Probably spent $15-25 on each clipper. A savings of at least $4500 over time.

Plus it's just nice to be able to do it whenever. Or just clean up a little before a trip or vacation.

[Owen]

Wow, that could have been my post, too!
I'm also using Wahl clippers(and had Conair, originally). On my second set of Wahls, but it's been 15-20yrs since I started buzzing my own hair. I sometimes shave my head, but let it and my facial hair grow out, then use the clippers before shaving. And with different guards for body hair.
Might still be on my first Wahls if I'd kept them cleaned and oiled. Now I scrub them regularly, then lube and run the blades with sewing machine oil on them.
Bought an inexpensive rechargeable beard trimmer set of theirs on vacation last year, while getting scruffy on a 2 part backpacking trip. The charge light never goes off, but they get used a lot, and still work like new.

[archimedes]

Oster clippers are great. Pretty pricey, but good tools usually are.

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

A cheap 2" slipjoint folder made by some Chinese brand, Luatek. Cost me the equivalent of 2 US dollars, but it holds a very nice edge and is dead easy to sharpen. Super slim frame profile without being fragile, as well.

[Owen]

Speaking of cutting stuff...how could I forget Corona pruning saws? The Mini weighs ~6.25oz, and can get some serious work done if you're willing to put forth a little effort.
Exactly 40min between these pics, on a day I was struggling with my back, and having to be very careful, make extra cuts, etc. Bet it would have been 20-25 min, otherwise.



Wonderful little tool that fits in my chest pack, or backpack's side pocket with a water bottle, when I expect to need it, and disappears into the bottom of my pack when I don't.

[Poppy]

I have to agree... pruning saws are a very dependable tool.

I have a friskars but I understand that many if not most professionals recommend Silkys

[orbital]

+

Enamel coated, Cast Iron Dutch Oven

sloooow* cooking in your oven, within that environment, just makes magic.




*around 205F magic

[Poppy]

+

Enamel coated, Cast Iron Dutch Oven

sloooow* cooking in your oven, within that environment, just makes magic.




*around 205F magic

During a Boy Scout leadership training camping trip, we cooked lasagna in a cast iron Dutch oven, over and under charcoals. I don't know what temp it was kept at, but the trainer, used a infrared thermometer to check the temps at the top and bottom of the pot, and regulated the heat by placing more coals on top when needed.

I was surprised at how well it turned out.

[Poppy]

How about when cooking on a campfire, wiping the outside of the pot with a little liquid dish detergent before hand.

It makes removing the sooty buildup very easy.

[orbital]

How about when cooking on a campfire, wiping the outside of the pot with a little liquid dish detergent before hand.

It makes removing the sooty buildup very easy.

+

I had a cast iron skillet that I made corn bread (cake) in, what a total mess.
For a while, I didn't bother cleaning it out because I never put water to cast iron.

So one night having a bonfire, the bulb went off in my head, I just tossed the skillet in the red hot coals for 15 minutes or so.
That fully cooked out everything & I just (very carefully away from the fire) seasoned/cleaned with veg. oil

I may have the best 'seasoned' cast iron skillet around

that really worked!!

[bykfixer]

A few times a year I take the accumulation of dead branches that fell from trees in my yard and burn them in a charcoal grill then use the hot coals to cook a batch of pan cooked popcorn.

It started around 1990 when I did it and my young son said "dad, can we use those coals to cook some popcorn?" My son grew up and a I did not do that for a while then around 2010 I had another house with another tree and another grill. My wife's youngest helped me do the branch burn and remarked "I wonder what we could cool with these coals"…… "popcorn" I said.

Now he's grown so the latest batch was shared with the hounds and Mrs Fixers talking bird who loves pan cooked popcorn.

[orbital]

+

Next time your makin' pan popcorn, toss in an extra log for your brother, sorry to hear that.

Nothing beats a good bonfire.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

+

Next time your makin' pan popcorn, toss in an extra log for your brother, sorry to hear that.

Nothing beats a good bonfire.

20 years ago, I'd light a bonfire and within ten minutes a couple of neighbors would magically appear for some fire-gazing n beer.

Due to air quality and safety concerns bonfires were outlawed. Now it's 3x3x3 fires contained in a fire-pit.

[orbital]

+

Logical timing here~

Kettle grills, or Weber Grills just work.



..just over 2 months to April

[coffeecup66]

Philips 109E5 CRT 19" monitor.

For the past 16 or so years that I've had it (bought new in 2004 IIRC), it has probably been on for the equivalent of at least 15 & 1/2 of them.




Just Bloody Works !

[PhotonWrangler]

Telescoping "bear claw" style back scratcher with a cast metal head. It feels sooo good for a dry itchy back.

[coffeecup66]

Geberit swiss made flush mecanisms. Installed mid 70's, still works, only had to clean off limestone deposit twice.

They still sell the model AND spare parts... if needed.

[orbital]

+

Water & Fire resistant bag/case

Maybe not 110% waterproof or fire proof, but safe enough. Most important, all your key documentation is in one place.


like this: https://www.amazon.com/Fireproof-Doc...FAN4STED6HCNA4

[Poppy]

I know it has been mentioned before, but PB Blaster works!

Yesterday, my Dad and I freed up a siezed well pump that had been outdoors for 30 years, and sat indoors for the last five years after it siezed. Some PB Blaster, vibration with a small ball piene hammer, and time, and we got it all apart, and moving.

Today's project is to get the PVC needed to re-connect it so that well water can be used to water the lawn.

[Lynx_Arc]

I agree. I had a stuck plug on a manual ford transmission on my mustang once that was an aluminum plug. I tried to muscle it but I was on the verge of stripping the socket hole (square). I used a cheater bar on a 1/2 inch breakover and it wouldn't budge without way too much pressure. I doused it with PB Blaster once, waited 15-20 mins and doused it again and waited half an hour or so then about an hour later total I got the plug out using a lot less force than I tried on it before. I was looking at taking it to a dealer and possibly having the transmission pulled and the plug drilled out and the transmission taken apart to get the shavings from drilling it out removed and then a new plug installed. Likely several days of work and perhaps $500-$1000 I don't really know how much it would have cost.

[ironhorse]

If you drive any screws into old hard wood, take a tube of chapstick and rub the threads of the screws first. Makes them drive in so much easier.

[ledbetter]

If you drive any screws into old hard wood, take a tube of chapstick and rub the threads of the screws first. Makes them drive in so much easier.

In the same vein, my dad was a pretty good woodworker, and he always had an open wax toilet bowl ring on the workbench to dip screws in. They’re all beeswax and cheap and effective.

[Lynx_Arc]

I've used a bar of soap when I can't find any wax around.

[SCEMan]

The Weber Genesis grill in my avatar. Over 20 years old and works like new!

[Poppy]

Weed and Feed for the lawn.

My wife wouldn't let me use any chemicals on the law, afraid that we would track it into the house and the dog would lick it up off of the floor and get sick.

I used to pull crabgrass, and weeds by hand, and sprinkle in some Kentucky blue seed, for hours at a time. One year I didn't keep at it as much, and the following year, it really got ahead of me. Soooo... I picked up a bag of weed and feed, and one day when she and my daughter were going to be out for the day, I ran down to my friend's house and borrowed his drop spreader.

The unit was frozen with rust, so I freed it up with WD-40 of all things

Then I got to business... pushing the feeder in one direction, moving it over one row, and pulling it back, moving it over one width and giving it a push, then over again and pulling it back.

When I covered the front lawn, and returned the unit in better condition than when I borrowed it.

A couple of weeks later there was something wrong with my lawn. There were swaths of 6 inch grass, and swaths of 4 inch grass!

Apparently the drop spreader doesn't work when you pull it, but rather, only when you push it.

There was a significant difference in the fertilized swaths, compared to the unfertilized swaths.

I therefore conclude, that weed and feed works!

[orbital]

+

We have something called Milorganite , kiln fired microbes that eat sewage.
I know that sounds really nasty, but in simple terms it's grass food, not grass chemicals.

Milorganite is the most basic recycling, making simple/dried topsoil =

____________________________

I mulch my grass & mulch/compost my leaves in the fall w/ my mower,
I have ALOT of leaves in the fall

grass & yard food makes a happy landscape

[markr6]

+

We have something called Milorganite , kiln fired microbes that eat sewage.
I know that sounds really nasty, but in simple terms it's grass food, not grass chemicals.

Milorganite is the most basic recycling, making simple/dried topsoil =

Love that stuff. It's hard to find sometimes. One Walmart store had bags marked down to $4 last year but my friend took them all. Yard smells like poop for a week but I don't care.