Are we dinasaurs?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I can't help but think sometimes that the day of the tool weilding fix anything guy is coming to an end.  More and more of our common machines from toasters to automobiles to lawnmowers are becoming all computerized or not worth the parts to replace them.  I was contemplating this while driving my work truck and realizing that there's very little I could do with a SAK and a multi at the side of the road nowadays.  I got thinking that maybe the next generation multitools are going to need to have built in scan tools and require annual upgrades to diagnostic software in order to keep up with the machines that we are using nowadays.

Anyone else feel unprepared to deal with mechanical issues despite a portable selection of quality tools?

Def

[CacherX4]

I agree with you Def.  I miss the good ole days of being able to open a car hood and actually see what makes it run, not a bunch of plastic coated computer parts.  And like you said, it is happening with everything around us. 

[J-sews]

We have two very competent machine maintenance people at my place of work. These days however, when a CNC machine has a problem, the maintenance guys have no choice but to REPLACE entire modules or components. Due to the modern design of this equipment, there is no possibility of REPAIRING, or FIXING anything. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

All in the name of progress.  Of course I think the only thing that's really progressing is the scrap heap as it fills up with non-user-serviceable parts and old computer boards.

Give me the good old days when you could fix your car well enough at the side fo the road with a couple hand tools, a rock for hammering, an old pair of nylons and a roll of duct tape.

Def

[J-sews]

You forgot coat hangers. My dad could work miracles with a coat hanger.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Heck yeah- how could I forget coat hangers?  I once re-attached my exhaust system in my old VW with little more than duct tape, wire hangers and a PST II at the side of the road!

Nowadays folks don't even change their own tires.  My wife is a perfect example- she has no idea where the jack is or how to use it.  I've tried to show her but she says that's what we pay the auto club for.  Of course in my city, you can wait several hours for a tow truck so it doesn't make much sense to me!

I also tried to fix my George Foreman grille when it went down for the count, but the cost of a replacement element was about twice what a newer, bigger GF Grille was going for!

Def

[parnass]

Take comfort, friends.   The need for multitools will continue so long as:

1) items are built using screws, bolts, nuts, and other non-permanent fasteners

2) rope, string, and wire are commonplace

3) people get splinters which require removal

4) plastic and rubber hoses need cutting

5) cans and bottles are made which cannot be opened using bare hands

6) the love of tinkering lives on in the hearts of the curious

[BIG-TARGET]

Def;
you are partly right.  But luckily some of the tools are changing.  Remember Sporks SAK that he uses at work?
http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=31&page=view&catid=2&PageNo=1&key=3&hit=1

Still, guys like us will be back in vogue when the world has to be rebuilt from scratch!!

[J-sews]

I got thinking that maybe the next generation multitools are going to need to have built in scan tools and require annual upgrades to diagnostic software in order to keep up with the machines that we are using nowadays........

I can only imagine what the Leatherman tools of 2016 will be like. A person will probably need to complete a two-year technical course in order to use them!

[J-sews]

Still, guys like us will be back in vogue when the world has to be rebuilt from scratch!!

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Take comfort, friends.   The need for multitools will continue so long as:

1) items are built using screws, bolts, nuts, and other non-permanent fasteners

2) rope, string, and wire are commonplace

3) people get splinters which require removal

4) plastic and rubber hoses need cutting

5) cans and bottles are made which cannot be opened using bare hands

6) the love of tinkering lives on in the hearts of the curious

I like this theory, but there are a few holes in it that are part of what I was getting to.

1) Screws are getting away from standard designs and becoming more and more proprietary.  Look at Leatherman's use of 5 and 6 point security screws, or those triangular type screws found in many toys.

2) Rope, string and wire are being replaced by those nylon straps that can be cut best with scissors so as not to have a populace that carries knives.

3) People get splinters nowadays that require lawsuits!

4) Plastic and rubber hoses... ok, you have a point there....

5) Cans are a thing of the past- or will be soon.  Ohmuhgawd, don't you know how bad they are for the Unvirunment?  And they're so unhealthy with thuh additives and like preservatives, ok?  Waht-everrrrr

6) OK, tinkering is just too much fun to stop doing!

Def

[BIG-TARGET]

People like us will never die!!!  We just have to adapt to new technologies

[BIG-TARGET]

But NEVER forget, WE are the Macgyvers of the world!!!  Give us a paperclip,ducttape, and an SAK,,,,,,,,,And we can/will fix everything but a broken heart!!!!

[Grant Lamontagne]

I dunno, I am all for giving open heart surgery a try... any volounteers?

Def

[Travis Autry]

I can only imagine what the Leatherman tools of 2016 will be like. A person will probably need to complete a two-year technical course in order to use them!

Do you think they will have the clumping issue solved by then?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'll bet someone asked that in '96 as well!   

My guess is that Leatherman doesn't see that as much of an issue or they would have taken steps to correct it by now.  As Bob showed with the closeups of the Gerber tools, it could be done easily enough if the designers see a need for it.

Def

[J-sews]

I've read a good many opinions from guys who PREFER the blades to clump. It's usually the big fingers/no fingernails people, who want to unfold the whole blade clump, then fold back all but the one they want.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well there ya go then....

Sometimes it can be handy then.

Def

[Travis Autry]

I guess I am both spoiled and a bit of a snob.  Spoiled because I am accustomed to the SwissTool series and no clumping.  A snob because anything less seems like a failing.

Nails aren't an issue for me, but I can see how it might be useful.  The first pocket knife I ever bought was a Barlow pattern with a sheepsfoot master blade.  I was at a small store in my hometown and the owner said the advantage of the sheepsfoot blade was easy opening.

Now as to the original question regarding our status as dinosaurs:

Yes, we are.  I recall when no one would ask a man in the room "if" he had a kinfe.  It was expected that that men carried pocket knives.  So often these days, I am the only male in the building that has a knife, not to mention a multitool.  Generally I have a SwissTool, a pocket knife(rotates), a key ring knife(rambler) and a Spyderco Delica in my back pocket.

Long gone are the days when a knife was requested and every male reached for his right hand front pocket.

I suppose the only remaining question is:  What sort of dinosaurs are we?  Multitoolasaurus?  Sharpandpointyasaurus?

[Ging]

The multitool will not die it will evolve.  I would be easy to put some form of multimeter type circuit in to a tool, it would be a very handy tool now actually (Leatherman are you listening).  Any way  Vic have already got USB sticks and MP3 players in tools. 

[parnass]

No matter how sophisticated consumer products become, there will always be a need for tools to grab, poke, cut, bend, twist, ream, file, and squeeze things.

[Travis Autry]

No matter how sophisticated consumer products become, there will always be a need for tools to grab, poke, cut, bend, twist, ream, file, and squeeze things.

There's at least one cheeky response there somewhere.  I wonder who will be the first to make it?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I've been holding off myself, assuming someone else would run with it!

Getting back to the topic though, it is an interesting topic, and I'm not just saying that because I started it!

Think back 15-20 years when certain appliances started wearing big tags that said "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" which was an issue because up until then, most folks fixed things rather than getting new ones.  I remember many occasions where my father had one appliance or another in pieces on the kitchen table and a number of tools scattered around as he convinced the toaster, a fan, TV, one of numerous early VCR's, lamps and so on to keep working.  It's awkward to me to even think about throwing out or replacing broken down appliances and things as a result.  Which is why I feel exceptionally confused when watching alot of these home improvement shows where folks are throwing out perfectly good appliances, simply because they don't match the new decor.

If we throw out the working ones, what hope do the broken ones have, especially when the parts cost more than a new one would anyway?  Plus, with a Wal Mart or similar store on almost any corner, it would probably take less time to go buy a new one than to install a new part, or even disassemble and diagnose a broken unit.

I don't see the "No User Serviceable Parts" stickers on things as much anymore.  I think it's because they don;t need to tell people that since no one nowadays is likely to open it up and see what makes it tick.

Def

[J-sews]

I agree, most people don't even CONSIDER having an appliance fixed anymore. For example, my brother-in-law's TV made a loud "POP" two weeks ago. The screen went blank, but the sound still worked. He looked through the yellow pages in the phone book for "television repair."

There was a heading, but no businesses were listed in that catagory. Go figure. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I used to work in the watch and jewellry repair section of a major department store and the basic cost of repairing a watch (mechanical overhaul) was $60.  With the number of digital sport watches and quartz analogue watches available for $60 and under... well most folks just walked back out!

Def

[J-sews]

I used to work in the watch and jewellry repair section of a major department store and the basic cost of repairing a watch (mechanical overhaul) was $60.  With the number of digital sport watches and quartz analogue watches available for $60 and under... well most folks just walked back out!

Def

How long did it take you to realize that this wasn't a wise career choice? 

[Grant Lamontagne]

When I was laid off after three months...

Def

[parnass]

I can't help but think sometimes that the day of the tool weilding fix anything guy is coming to an end.  ....... I was contemplating this while driving my work truck and realizing that there's very little I could do with a SAK and a multi at the side of the road nowadays. ....

A friend sent me this note:

"...I was at a gas station last night (8:30 pm) with my daughter's car getting her gas. The gas flap would not release. panic--I didn't know if the car could get back home on the gas left in the tank. She called the dealer and he said to "gently pry it open" --- And me without any tools (in her car). I was lamenting the fact that I have all kinds of multitools BUT NONE ON ME at the time. I wound up using a plastic knife and it didn't do the job. We stopped by the dealer who was a few blocks away, and they got it open. I then "fixed" the problem by realigning the latch mechanism after I got home . We got gas and drove with the flap open until I got home. I resolved to carry something all the time from now on--even a small pocket sized unit with a screwdriver and blade. I am going to give my daughter one for her car..."

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well you got me there.  I guess there are still some important times wheree you need a good tool!


Not that I ever stopped carrying one, or needed an excuse!

Def

[J-sews]

This is no bull; it seems like EVERY SINGLE TIME that for some strange reason I don't have a knife or multi on my person, then THAT is the time when I find myself needing one.

It's almost like.....the Knife Gods......they're trying to teach me a lesson by giving me grief every time I don't have a knife or tool with me.


......dang Knife Gods anyhow.......