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MacGyver Online Forums > MacGyverisms > SAK to the rescue!

Posted by: Amy 7 November 2006 - 05:21 AM

I started this one on September 16, 2006.

QUOTE

How has your SAK saved the day?

Today I had an adventure and my SAK really came in handy!

We recently got new doors for the front and back of our house and I haven't gotten any extra keys made yet...tho I keep telling myself I have to do that so I don't get locked out...

Yeah...it's obvious what's coming! I was going somewhere today and when I got to my driveway I realized I didn't have my keys.

AFter pondering how many times I said to myself..."Gotta get a spare made."...I had to figure out how to get in because my car keys are on the same ring. All the doors were locked. So I was really glad I had the SAK that I bought for my hubby that he never carries

. Proceeded to try to pick one of the locks...

none of the 10 million thingies in the SAK fit! (Ok I didn't try the knife blades, but I figured I'd never be able to pick the lock anyway, so I gave up on that ) Next I went to the one of the windows with an air conditioner in it. All I had to do was slide the window fillers on the air conditioner over (guess I should make that stationary next summer, eh?) and I could access the window locks...but the window wouldn't budge. Apparently hubby was smart enough to install the little security brackets to keep people like me from sliding the window up.

Wrestled the air conditioner to one side so I could access the bracket...and used my SAK to unscrew it. Not innovative, I know, but it worked. Got the window open, removed the air conditioner and in I went to find my cat staring at me. Great guard-animal he is!

Amy's Checklist:
___ Get a spare key made.
___ Make sure we actually use all the little screws and fasteners that came with the air conditioner to make it harder to remove.
___ Thank hubby for letting me carry around his SAK.

Lothithil:

QUOTE

I am ashamed to admit it, but...

I don't have a SAK!

I am a bad MacFan!

MacGyver:

QUOTE

A Swiss Army Knife can be a wondrous thing. More times than I can remember one of these has gotten me out of a tight jam.
(paraphrase of MacGyver's line from "Three For the Road" )

I remember being fascinated by SAKs as a kid growing up with an admiration for MacGyver as one of my childhood heroes- and also through being involved in the Scout program. As a Cub Scout, it's pretty standard to have a SAK. And The Hardy Boys always carry a SAK. And my brother's was really cool- so it was neat when I finally got my own. And yes, it has come in handy quite a few times.
Of course, I've used the scissors blade for cutting stuff and the knife and saw blades for cutting things...

But it's come really in handy one time when we had to pull the car over to the side of the road and change the tire at night. Good thing I had my reading flashlight and SAK with me, as they helped in seeing to get the tires changed and get them taken off and put back on. (And knowing how much I love MacGyver, everybody hummed the theme song for me when we got back on the road! )

And I've also picked the lock on my own car after being locked out accidentally more times than I'd care to say

(And if you see the blade MacGyver uses to pick the door lock in "Target MacGyver" at the start of the episode- that one works well as a lock pick for most things.)
So yeah- a Swiss Army Knife can be a real lifesaver!

MacGyverGod:

QUOTE

I only use mine for cutting things open.

Hawki:

QUOTE

QUOTE (MacGyverGod @ Sep 16 2006, 11:32 PM)
I only use mine for cutting things open.

me too

Amy:

QUOTE

QUOTE
I only use mine for cutting things open.

QUOTE
me too

Your SAKs have to get out more!

The parcel carrier in mine came in handy when we were camping and some goofy velcro ball game broke...You catch the ball with these plastic discs with velcro on them. The strap the goes around your hand came apart and slid down inside the disk...I used the parcel carrier as a hook to pull it out so it could be fixed.

Come to think of it, it I also used the screwdriver while we were camping to take apart my kid's digital camera because he dropped it in a puddle and I hoped it would dry out. Still works fine and we didn't lose any pictures!

Mac:

QUOTE

I use my SAK for everything from cutting pipes to fruit (washing it between uses *g*), but the last time it 'saved the day' was yesterday. I'm in the middle of my first aid recertification course and this weekend the class was in an old military armoury with ancient plumbing. During the first break yesterday, we noticed that the line to the bathroom was very long and not moving, and no one knew whether or not to ask the person in the stall if she was okay. She finally came out of there, red as a beet, zeroed in on me, and said: "Mac, the toilet won't flush. Could you please fix it?"

(my prowess with plumbing is renown )

My SAK came in handy in removing some links from the flapper's chain and then reattaching the chain to it, and in tightening the flushing mechanism (handle?).

Gratitude is so lovely.

Mac
who hopes her plumbing terms were accurate because she's French (Canadian), lives in a French area, and has never had to refer to plumbing parts in English

Sheepy:

QUOTE

I had to cut open a big rubber tube once, though I can't remember why, really...

I use it most to open cans or bottles of wine when I'm out camping.

Pseodonym:

QUOTE

Unfortunately...I don't own a SAK ...but I plan on getting one soon enough. Then I shall dazzle you with tales of my adventures (or misadventures...*shrugs*)

QUOTE

QUOTE (Pseodonym @ Sep 19 2006, 09:08 PM)
Unfortunately...I don't own a SAK ...but I plan on getting one soon enough. Then I shall dazzle you with tales of my adventures (or misadventures...*shrugs*)

And we shall be dazzled! Don't worry Pseudo and Loth! "My" SAK technically isn't mine. I bought it for my hubby and two weeks later I asked him if he'd used it yet...

He said, "No, it's been sitting in the truck." How do you have a SAK and NOT use it??????? I borrowed it one day and he hasn't seen it since! I use it at least once a day! Just the other day I discovered that he has a basic Wenger model, too. Much smaller than "mine." It sits on his nightstand and doesn't get used, either! Poor thing!

*wonders if hubby will notice it's missing, too*

MacNymph:

QUOTE

Men fall into two categories... the SAK users and the rest of them.

My poor fiancée has his on him ALL THE TIME.

Except when he's "lost" it. Which happens about once a week and is followed by the mad "where is my SAK?" dash through the house until it's located in the last place it was used.

Most men have that thread bare pattern where their wallet has worn through their pants *shakes head* not mine. His pants have the outline of a SAK.

MacsChick:

QUOTE

I'm getting one for my birthday! I saw some in a store the other day, and I just got all warm, fuzzy, and happy and thought about Mac. Obsessed? Me?

I love all the tools and features they have, plus, when you're a woman, it's nice to carry something like that in case you need it for protection.

Amy:

QUOTE

QUOTE
plus, when you're a woman, it's nice to carry something like that in case you need it for protection.

Yeah...mine's so big I don't even have to open any of the tools...I can just clunk my attacker over the head with it!

Amy:

QUOTE

QUOTE
Amy's Checklist:
___ Get a spare key made.

Memo to self:
___ Get that gosh darn key made!!!!!

Yes. I did it again. No accessible air conditioners this time. I'm apparently too incompetent to pick a lock (I actually tried most of the attachments this time) or to pry a window open.

Luckily, hubby was on his way home!

I'm off to Walmart to see about that key....

MacNymph:

QUOTE

Which is funnier? That you did it again or that you admitted it?

Amy:

QUOTE

QUOTE
Which is funnier? That you did it again or that you admitted it?

That I went to Walmart and forgot to get the key made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, in my own defense....I've lived in this house for 4 years and this is the first I've been locked out! Of course, twice in 2 weeks isn't saying much...

MEP:

QUOTE

Amy the house is out to get you.

The last post was on September 27, 2006.

Posted by: MacNymph 7 November 2006 - 08:05 AM

OMG

QUOTE

MacNymph - Which is funnier? That you did it again or that you admitted it?

That you REPOSTED IT!!

Posted by: Amy 7 November 2006 - 09:15 AM

Well...if it entertains you that much...I guess I'm glad I reposted my own idiocy!

Posted by: Astra 8 November 2006 - 01:17 PM

It's really nice for a newbie like me discovering all the old threads that way! Of course I would have anyway, was making my way through all the things, but hadn't come to this one yet.

Unfortunately, I don't have to share any stories since I somehow don't want to separate my SAK from the other things that came with him like chewing gum, paper clips, matches and duct tape but the whole box is just too large to keep carrying it in the pocket.

Maybe I should get myself a second one for actually using it

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 23 November 2006 - 06:02 PM

Over the years I have used my SAK to get out of a number of jams. i used to carry one on trail rides. it was quite handy for picking small pebbles out of my horse's hooves. I also kept one tied to a leather thong in the barn and used it for cutting bailing rope on hay bales.

In 1993, I was in Switzerland and bought something like a half dozen SAKs for family and friends as presents for Christmas. One of my sisters still has the knife I gave her. Mine got stolen!

I currently have about 5 different ones around the house. There is one in my car, my desk at work, our first aid kit, our backcountry survival kit, the kitchen and in my briefcase. Never know when it might come in handy.

I've used them for everything from removing stones from horse hooves to opening wine bottles at parties. The only thing I haven't been able to do is unlock the door. Amy you aren't the only one too incompetent to pick a lock. At least your neighbors didn't call the police.

I also had to use it when I got locked in my home office when the doorknob broke. The SAK,don't think I could live without it.

Posted by: Amy 24 November 2006 - 04:21 AM

I finally did go get a spare key made...and I actually had to use it once!

QUOTE

At least your neighbors didn't call the police.

Well, our neighbors on either side are probably at least 100 yards away and we live in the woods...

And when I read that about calling the police, it reminded me that the newer neighbor is the whole reason we lock our doors anyway!

They're kids were actually caught snooping around another neighbor's house and I started to hear strange noises at night. Before that we hadn't locked our doors in 3 years!

Creepy.

So, see, getting locked out is a new experience for me!

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 25 November 2006 - 01:13 AM

Ah Gotcha.

We have neighbors on all sides. In fact the people that live behind us can look in my bedroom window.

It only took 3 months, but I was able to train my husband that window blinds only have one setting--DOWN!

Hmm, neighbor kids sneaking around. Definitely creepy. We don't have that problem around here, too many people watching. We also have an alarm system installed. Good thing it was turned off when I tried to break into my house.

Posted by: victorinox 29 November 2006 - 06:33 AM

QUOTE (MacGyverGrrl @ Nov 24 2006, 08:12 AM)

One of my sisters still has the knife I gave her. Mine got stolen!

by a gypsy girl???

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 29 November 2006 - 12:08 PM

Now thats funny right there.

Posted by: MacGyverluver 29 November 2006 - 06:17 PM

[FONT=Times][SIZE=7][COLOR=red]I don't have a SAK. How many people are losers like me and do not have SAKs? I just want to feel like I'm not alone. I do have two pocket knives though, can that count?

An old climbers saying: "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop."

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 29 November 2006 - 09:42 PM

Not a gypsy. A sticky fingered friend of my college roommate. Of course I couldn't prove it. My roommate's friend dropped out of school about three weeks later. The last I heard, he was working in a fast food place. Oh well, bygones.

I've replaced the SAK and gotten on with my life and met some very cool people in the process.

Posted by: Burkamus 4 December 2006 - 11:10 AM

I'm new to this, but I have a real good story.

I have carried a SAK with me for a long time, and one day while I was at work, one of y friends came by to see me and to do some shopping. Well, as he was getting ready to leave he realized he had locked his keys in his car. They had fallen into the seat when he got out. Fortunately he left his windows cracked, but not enough to get your hand in. I had my SAK, and a pair of earbud headphones. I used the headphones, and tied them around the ends of my SAK and used the hook tool to lower my SAK into his car and pull out his keys. Ever since then he has called me MacGyver.

I have been a MacGyver fan for a really long time, and I believe that MacGyver should run for President in 2008!

http://www.specialfarm.net/macgyver2008.html

Posted by: MacNymph 4 December 2006 - 03:02 PM

QUOTE (Burkamus @ Dec 5 2006, 07:20 AM)

I used the headphones, and tied them around the ends of my SAK and used the hook tool to lower my SAK into his car and pull out his keys. Ever since then he has called me MacGyver.

Usually I just thing those earbuds look funny on people. Finally a useful purpose.

Welcome to MOL Burkamus MacGyverus!

Posted by: Macs Lab Rat 5 December 2006 - 10:33 AM

QUOTE (MacNymph @ Dec 4 2006, 11:12 PM)

Usually I just thing those earbuds look funny on people.

Really? You think?

I thought I looked pretty cool wearing mine!

Welcome Burkamus

and very nice SAK usage.

Posted by: Litteral 15 February 2007 - 10:18 AM

MacGyver was my hero from 6th grade to 12th, I rarely ever missed an episode. I still am a huge fan and I have my 9 year old son a big fan too. Well, I am on my second Swiss Army Knife, and I upgraded from the knife like MacGyver's to an even bigger SAK with the magnifying glass and all the trimmings. I have started campfires with the magnifying glass, cut walking sticks with the saw, manipulated locked doors with various blades, fixed glasses with the tiny screw driver, etc. It has saved the day for me for years. If I was to ever have any cosmetic surgery I would just prefer to have this knife surgically attached to my right hand!

Posted by: laarell4241 15 February 2007 - 02:22 PM

I second MacGyver for President in 2008!

I recently got an SAK. I never had one, as they were kind of hard to come by in Moscow. If I needed some sort of a tool, I usually improvised by combing the roadside. Life is sooo much easier with an SAK though. I didn't know what I was missing.

A perfect example, at a horse rescue I volunteer at, we always have a problem with those scissors dissolving into thin air right about the time the fields need haying and there is that plastic baling twine that has to be disposed of, or if you're mucking the stalls and need extra bedding and have to cut open the bags of wood shavings, of course the scissors or any other sharp objects somehow evaporated. Now instead of wasting time looking for something sharp, I just pull my knife out of my pocket. Problem solved.

Posted by: MacNymph 16 February 2007 - 12:31 AM

QUOTE (Macs Lab Rat @ 6 December 2006 - 06:43 AM)

QUOTE (MacNymph @ Dec 4 2006, 11:12 PM)

Usually I just thing those earbuds look funny on people.

Really? You think?

I thought I looked pretty cool wearing mine!

Post a picture and we'll let you know.

Posted by: Macs Lab Rat 18 February 2007 - 05:30 AM

QUOTE (Nymphy)

Post a picture and we'll let you know.

Its ok. I looked in a mirror but thanks for the offer anyway.

QUOTE (laarell4241)

we always have a problem with those scissors dissolving into thin air

We seem to have a problem with disappearing scissors (and rubber stoppers too for some reason

) at my work. We hide our SAK so other departments don’t “borrow” it. Well it’s not really hidden but it lives in my lab coat pocket and no one but the lab is brave enough to search in there.

Posted by: laarell4241 19 March 2007 - 06:35 AM

About a week ago one of my computers blew up. It was pretty spectacular too, sparks came out and even the power went out in the apartment for a second. Well, once the power was back I had to investigate what happened. The nearest tool was my SAK. I took the computer apart just using the can opener which on mine also doubles as a screwdriver that happens to fit the philips screws on a computer. Turned out the transformer in the power supply blew. Well, that power supply was about 15 years old and it was ripe time for it to blow I guess. I had this funny feeling that the computer itself might be okay. That particular machine has a bit of a reputation for being indestructible. I managed to find a replacement power supply on the internet. It was surprisingly easy despite the fact that I needed one of those ancient power supplies that have the power button out on a cable to connect to the faceplate and the mainboard connectors that are in two skinny pieces (roughly half the wires of the modern computer). I installed the new power supply this weekend, again just using my knife and wouldn't you know the computer came back. The only thing that seems to be permanently blown is the CMOS battery, so after every complete powerdown the machine forgets to look for secondary drives on each cable. Oh well, no big deal, I just tell it to look and all's well.

Why do I keep around a computer that's 15 years old? Same reason I kept a car around which was 19. If it still works and does just fine, why throw it out? Besides, there isn't a computer around that is capable of catching more memory leaks in my codes than this one. If there is even a little thing wrong in a code, this machine will squeal about it like there is no tomorrow.

I have to repeat myself again though. Now that I have one, I don't know how I managed to live 29 years on this planet without an SAK.

Posted by: jackwabbit 7 July 2007 - 07:27 PM

Boring, I know, but I opened a can of tuna just yesterday when we were can opener-less at work! Carry my SAK every day, everywhere! If I ever run into RDA, that's my object to sign, gosh darn it!

Posted by: Tygr 8 July 2007 - 02:44 PM

I disassembled my dead laptop with my SAK. I couldn't fix it without about $300-worth of parts-though, so all the pieces are just sitting in my bedroom floor at the moment.

Posted by: j12752 5 September 2007 - 05:52 AM

Well, though it's not really a jam, i do use my SAK to open those impossible wraps on grinders you buy in conveince stores, cuts the sandwich in half nicely too

Posted by: SAK 7 September 2007 - 11:32 PM

What's a grinder?

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 8 September 2007 - 02:26 AM

It's how people in her part of the world refer to what the rest of us call a Sub Sandwich (or filled roll )

Posted by: j12752 8 September 2007 - 03:26 AM

QUOTE (SAK @ 8 September 2007 - 04:07 AM)

What's a grinder?

A "grinder" is a submarine sandwich, hoagie, various names given to those wonderful long sandwiches. In Cape Cod Mass, a grinder is a cold sandwich ( like Italian cold cuts, ham & cheese ) and a sub is a hot one ( like Meatballs, steak & cheese ) Hoagie is never used here.

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 8 September 2007 - 05:16 PM

And in my part of the world, a grinder is a hot sandwich of either meatballs or sausage, a hoagie is cold cuts, usually Italian, and a sub is anything else on a long roll.

Posted by: SAK 8 September 2007 - 11:32 PM

Thanks for the lesson, you guys!

I just call them all "sandwiches"!

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 17 September 2007 - 07:35 PM

I used the little blade on mine tonight to unscrew the doorknob on my son's bedroom door. The doorknob ocassionally sticks and you can't open the door. The only way to get it open is to take the knob off the door and unjam the part that slides into the doorframe. I got the knob off the door, unstuck the lock mechanism and I'm leaving it like that unitl I can get a new doorknob.

Posted by: mser 20 September 2007 - 11:05 PM

The door to my husband's office was locked and no one knew where a key was. Before I called a locksmith, I said, "What would MacGyver do?" I got the SAK and went to work....................................................... wish I used it as efficiently as Mac does..................... locksmith was expensive!

Posted by: Lothithil 21 September 2007 - 03:42 AM

Yay!! Your first post!!

Even MacGyver is never sure that his tricks are going to work...

Posted by: SAK 22 September 2007 - 02:09 PM

QUOTE (mser @ 21 September 2007 - 02:40 AM)

Haha! I married a locksmith, so I don't have that problem. Plumber, on the other hand, is another thing. I'd have to call a plumber. Well, at least I don't have to look at plumber's butt every day!

Welcome to the forum, from a fellow Alabamian! I think there are three of us here now.

Posted by: MacBeth 21 November 2007 - 07:47 PM

I was at a science fiction convention last weekend, sharing a room with two long-term friends of mine. At these events, people get to bed at wildly irregular hours, and we have to stay very considerate and cut each other plenty of slack when it comes to sleeping arrangements.

So when I woke up at 3 am to find both of them snoring, I didn't try to poke anyone and make them roll over; I reached for the earplugs I had carefully left on the bedside table, safe in their little bottle.

Very safe in their little bottle. Stuck very firmly at the bottom of their little bottle.

Wellll . . . since my partner gave me my new SAK for my birthday less than a month ago,

it has (amazingly enough) become one of my most prized possessions. It was on the bedside table too. And I had made a point, within the first week I had it, of learning how to locate and identify any of the tools without needing to look at the knife.

I was able to put my hand on it in the dark, open up the screwdriver blade and prise out the dratted earplugs, all without needing to turn on a light or get out of bed. And fell happily back to sleep without having disturbed either of my companions.

I might have snored back at them in turn, but no-one mentioned it.

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 21 November 2007 - 11:17 PM

QUOTE

Very safe in their little bottle. Stuck very firmly at the bottom of their little bottle

I'm sorry...........its not funny........but..............

Posted by: Lothithil 22 November 2007 - 11:20 AM

QUOTE (MacBeth @ 21 November 2007 - 10:47 PM)

I might have snored back at them in turn, but no-one mentioned it.

The key to peaceful communal living=

Posted by: banlu 29 November 2007 - 05:24 PM

My SAK is special - I spent 15 years as a volunteer at the Natural Science Museum, giving programs to school groups. At the end of the 10th (or was it 15th? can't remember ~sigh~ ), year, they give you a

in appreciation

It's on my keychain, and find the scissors come in quite handy on occasion. I've flown more in the last year than I had in ages, and am paranoid I'm going to forget to take it off the ring before I go to the airport - don't want it confiscated at security!

banlu

Posted by: Victoria_Rose 7 December 2007 - 01:16 PM

I found a use for my baby sak the yesterday actually. I work as an operator at an answering service in Ohio. We use computers (the 1902 model with only dos on it lol!) to help us answer the phones and take messages. Anyway, sometimes the keys stick or don't work on the keyboards. My dial out key was not working so I used the nail file on my sak to pop the key off because I couldn't get it off by hand, then sprayed some of that canned air they use to clean keyboards on the inside and popped the key back on. Not very thrilling I know, but what the heck?

Vickie Rose

Posted by: laarell4241 22 December 2007 - 05:46 PM

Hiya all,

I know I've been gone for quite a while, but you know how things go sometimes. First you spend all summer on deployment with research aircraft starting in delightful, but awfully muggy Houston in June and then hauling your sorry rear end all the way to Costa Rica until the end of August. On the plus side I missed all the dog days of summer, on the minus side I was tired as a dog. I know it's December though, so what have I been up to once the summer ended?

Second you get talked into doing a second masters degree and then cloud physics ends up kicking that same rear end of yours that's feeling ever more sorry with every homework. Well, at least I passed the evil class with a decent grade and I will not have to deal with the stuff again. Okay, I deal with it every day, but at least I don't have to take a test on it.

Third, well, I kind of had this pet project cooking since sometime in February. No it did not involve any hazardous materials, household chemicals or man-eating plants (I swear the stupid pineapple is going to consume somebody one day, it better flower soon). Umm, how do I break this one? Still getting used to it a bit, I'm sure some of you can relate... Just over six weeks ago I became a mom. My husband and I had a little boy in the beginning of November.

You know how sometimes things just add insult to injury sort of. Okay, last Friday I'm going to my last final exam. I don't usually take the parking garage elevators, but when your parking permit is for the roof and you're technically still supposed to be 'resting', it's a bit tricky to haul yourself and books and a kid in a basket down five floors. So I get my butt in the elevator, the doors close, I hit the button for ground and nothing happens. Okay, I'm trying the 'door open' button, nothing's happening. I'm stuck in the stupid elevator and I have like fifteen minutes before the exam starts. Well, so get this, some idiot probably thought it would be very funny to shove chewing gum or some other like substance around all the buttons for the floors, so the button I pushed never popped back and the whole thing got stalled. I don't have a habit of checking for gum in the crack around the elevator buttons, you know. Thankfully I don't go anywhere without my SAK. I was able to dig the gum out enough around the ground floor button that it was able to pop back and the elevator finally moved. I made it to my test with about five minutes to spare.

Posted by: victorinox 25 December 2007 - 04:01 AM

QUOTE (laarell4241 @ 23 December 2007 - 07:46 AM)

Just over six weeks ago I became a mom. My husband and I had a little boy in the beginning of November.

Congratulations on being a mom!!!

Posted by: MacWheels 11 February 2008 - 06:50 AM

I would not say that my SAK's have had any lifesaving moments,but they sure have made life alot easier.Friday night would be a good example.
I drive a truck for a living.I pull two trailers(Doubles) from point A to point B and back again on a nightly basis.I am home everday and every weekend.When I choose to make some extra money I take a trip to Indianapolis Indiana from Cleveland Ohio.I do some other driving before I leave on this run so I have to take a break there.The company I pull for pays for the room so I dont mind.It gets me ouit of the house for the day,lets me watch a few episodes of MacGyver on my DVD player in peace and quiet too.

This Friday,I had decided to stay out.When I get back to the yard from my first run everyone is gone for the weekend.I am on the yard by myself.I got my trailers,bills,ect and locked up the building.I then hooked up my set to go to Indianapolis.

After hooking up,I discovered that some of my trailer lights on the back trailer
were not working.

So I used the nailfile in my Wenger Handyman

to spread the pins out on the plug in box on the rear trailer.This usually is the problem,well Friday night it was only a partial solution.

So instead of having to call breakdown,or split my set I looked at the power cord.
(We call them Pigtails).It looked like the cord was frayed and damaged.Hence some of the lights were shorted out.

When you pull doubles there is a convert gear that goes between the front and rear trailer.There are lots of names for them.Where I work,we call them "Jif's".

Some of the newer Jifs have a junction box and there are 2 cords.One runs to the front trailer and one runs to the rear.Most of the jifs have one cord that runs from trailer to trailer.This was a newer Jif,fortunatley the second cord was long enough to go from trailer to trailer.So I used my Wenger Handyman

again to cut the Zip Ties securing the cords to the Jif.Plugged in the cord and had lights.I then took some DuctTape

,secured the cord to keep it from flopping or dragging on the ground and I was on my way.

That is what I like about my SAK's and MultiTools.They keep me rolling.If my wheels are not turning I am not earning.Sitting around for a few hours waiting on a repair truck,is not my idea of fun.It is suprising what can be done to fix many problems if a person only takes a minute to look around at what is available.Then takes a minute to look at what is broken,how it works,and how can it be bypassed or made to work with what is available.

Dtrain

Posted by: MacBeth 25 February 2008 - 06:26 PM

I was at a house concert on Saturday, a folk duo called http://www.pintndale.com/ (two of the most talented folk musicians in the Pacific NW). Like most folk musicians, Felicia Pint plays a slew of different instruments, and she has some marvellous hardwood pennywhistles (pennywhistles are usually metal).

Due to the venue and the weather, they were having a bit more trouble than usual keeping their instruments in tune; William would carry on the patter while Felicia tuned, and vice versa. At one point, he was tuning and she was gesturing with the pennywhistle and commenting on how he had to tune his instrument to her, because she didn’t have anything that would work.

“I’m not sure just what tool you could use to tune a pennywhistle,” she said.

A man in the front row of the audience pulled an SAK out of his pocket, opened the awl, and offered it to her.

I just about fell out of my seat laughing.

Posted by: Issus 22 March 2008 - 11:32 AM

This was not a serious thing, but when I was fixing a watering sistem, it came in handy to make holes for the pieces to water plants one by one. I couldn't think of anything for thtat job, and i always carry my SAK around so....

Posted by: nojj 18 November 2008 - 11:01 AM

I like resurrecting old threads, too....

Just realized that SAK makes pocket tools, also.
Kinda pricy though, the Spirit+ is comparable in price to the black commando model by Gerber.
But, I have a duty as a MacGyver fan, so I'll guess I'll have to get one.
(Then I can hold my head up in the MOL community)

I've been a pocket tool carrier for many years, and it has come in handy countless times.
Fixing guitar jacks on stage, cutting strings, construction work........

One episode came to mind where it actually kept a child from coming to harm.

I had take one of my neighbors and her then 8 YO daughter to ChuckeeCheese,
that insipid haven of screaming children, remarkably bad pizza and alarmingly lifesized puppets.
Said child was jumping around in the ball pit, when her foot went through the ropes underneath,
and became caught.
It was cutting off the circulation to her foot.
She freaked out,
her MOTHER freaked out,
the manager was standing there actually wringing his hands and saying (to noone in particular)
"somebody DO something"
I swear on my Mother's Ashes that was when the phrase WWMD popped into my head.
Grabbed out my tool, and made a running shallow dive to get under about 3 feet of brightly colored balls,
then used the knife to carefully cut the kid's foot free.

Man, I went home feeling like a HERO

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 18 November 2008 - 11:59 AM

yes somebody... do SOMETHING.. I'm only the manager.. what would I know about taking charge of a situation.

eesh

Kewl story though.

Posted by: nojj 18 November 2008 - 02:23 PM

All true too.
Made me feel real good.

I also used it to pull a thermostat out of my truck in the middle of the woods one time.

Posted by: MacBeth 18 November 2008 - 06:39 PM

I don't remember if we included this in our assorted Gatecon reports -- but when we crossed into Canada, we stopped at the duty-free store. Grrl and I were prowling the booze section when Lothi came up and informed us that, amongst the other fine items available from diverse countries, there was . . . a Victorinox display.

We added a couple of Tinkers to our collective arsenal. Both got used that weekend, but not for anything Mac would have condoned: they were initially used to cut open limes for margaritas. I did use mine for cheese as well, though.

Posted by: Issus 28 November 2008 - 10:58 AM

I remember when I started seeing MacGyver. I was only 7 or 8, and still believed in Father Xmas (I still do, cause for me, thats the spirit of Xmas). I remember when that very same Xmas, I got my SAK. Happy as anything. First use: Canned goods opener.

I was SO happy! Still am in fact

PS: Is just me, or is Xmas getting closer!!! Guess I'll be posting some macgyverisms soon enough!

Posted by: SMeeceymouse 22 January 2009 - 07:33 AM

My husband has mine to work on pocket watches. But I know exactally where it is. The tweezers are on it. I used to carry it when I was working the evening shift in a nursing home.

Posted by: AlanP 29 January 2009 - 09:59 AM

there was one time I was traveling by plane and I had my mini SAK with me. Of course you know we can't carry any sharp objects like a SAK on a plane now, at that time I was late to catch a plane and there's no way to go back my car at the XX terminal parking lot. So I had to hide it somewhere which no one would ever see until I come back (in a week). There is always some bushes and rocks around the terminal building. I grabbed a few tiny rocks and covered my SAK under a bush. The thing was, i had to remember where I hid my SAK. A week later, my SAK was still there at the very same spot

I know my mini SAK didn't worth much but it's a gift from my dad..it has sentimental value to it. However, I lost it while moving

My SAK didn't save me from anything, but made my life heck a lot easier...and possibly the people around me easier as well. The mini philips screwdriver is very useful in the house, fixed couple of my friends' glasses. Opened someone's beer bottle with ease. And occasionally cutting packages open. Very handy in cookout/picnic.

My dad had been using his SAK for a long time. I'm sure he has more story to tell. I think he has 4-5 SAKs laying around at home. He likes trailwalking and minor hiking.

Just about a week ago, I got my SAK minichamp (translucent blue). It's such an eye candy. I've no idea what the tiny red LED can do me for, I'm guessing to use it as a mini-torch???

Posted by: Flyboy16 18 May 2010 - 06:24 PM

mines was from last year when I was a freshmen and I taught ccd to 4th graders. We were in church and my Adviser for got to give me a pen to take attendance, church had just begun, so luckily I had my Swiss champion plus model equipped with ball the point pen in the plus scales. I just grabbed it from my knife handle and i saw the kids looking at me with amazement. In fact other people needed to use it as well.

The champion is a wonderful companion if you don't mind the bulk. it is thinner than the champ

Posted by: Geekgirl 18 May 2010 - 06:42 PM

QUOTE (AlanP @ 29 January 2009 - 11:59 AM)

I've no idea what the tiny red LED can do me for, I'm guessing to use it as a mini-torch???

The red light is great for nightwork....when I was at the National Observatory for a night sky watch program last March, they gave each of red LED light to use for looking at the starmaps. Your eyes, once adjusted to the darkness, will be able to see just fine with the red light at night for reading. If you had a white light, it would be too bright and it would take your eyes another 30 mintues to readjust to the darkness again.

Red lights are good at night...as long as no ghost stories were told about red glowing eyes and monsters around a campfire with small children

Posted by: MacBeth 18 May 2010 - 09:34 PM

You're absolutely right about how good the red LED lights can be for providing that little bit of light when you need to work in mostly darkness. I've used one to good effect during nighttime work, underground, and also backstage.

My EDC is a Swiss Memory, which has the LED flashlight -- I have the one with the white light. When I need it softer, I use my fingers as a filter.

Posted by: macgyversgirl 20 May 2010 - 05:41 PM

Let me just say that from the moment I walked out of the store with mine it has more than paid for itself. It goes where I go.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 20 May 2010 - 11:00 PM

QUOTE (Geekgirl @ 19 May 2010 - 02:45 PM)

QUOTE (AlanP @ 29 January 2009 - 11:59 AM)

I've no idea what the tiny red LED can do me for, I'm guessing to use it as a mini-torch???

It's interesting that you mention the red lights at night. I was reading a little while ago that red lights are used in fighter plane cockpits because red light doesn't effect your night vision.

I'm not sure if they're still used because of all the electronics used now, but back in the days when pilots still used maps for navigation, they used red lights so they could read the maps without losing their night vision for looking out the windows to see the ground below and work out where they were.

Posted by: beth 22 October 2017 - 11:05 AM

At my class reunion in July a couple of the guys had brought bottled beer with the tops that had to be pried off instead of twist tops but they didn't think about bringing bottle openers. I happened to be drinking Guinness which also has pry off tops. I simply reached into my pocket, pulled out my SAK, opened the bottle opener and TA DA! Needless to say I was pretty popular that night for the guys who had come unprepared.

Posted by: Barry Rowland 24 October 2017 - 04:44 PM

Way to go Beth! I can't believe everyone doesn't have a SAK

Posted by: beth 28 October 2017 - 04:18 PM

My SAK did it again! My wall clock in my living room stopped working and I fixed it using nothing but my trusty SAK. One of the batteries had leaked and corroded the contact keeping the clock from working. I removed the back with the small screwdriver on the can opener blade and cleaned the corrosion from the contact with the file. Replaced the batteries, and TADA I don't have to buy a new clock! It is keeping perfect time.

Posted by: Barry Rowland 28 October 2017 - 06:18 PM

Posted by: denizen 29 October 2017 - 08:39 PM

Nice going!