Tool Tuesday - The Flexible Pick Up Tool

I can't say that this is a tool I use every day, but it's a super handy tool when needed. Squeezing the sprung plunger/handle arrangement and a small set of four spring steel jaws expand out of the other end. This allows you to grab, retrieve or otherwise manipulate small objects. Looking online most are advertising this with an image of it stuck down a sink plug hole, I can't say I've ever done that! However, I can say it has retrieved a lot of dropped parts/nuts/bolts from engine bays or quite often objects that have rolled down the back of a work surface. If you have any sort of hobby which involves fitting systems into tight tubes, as I do with rocketry, this is an excellent and useful tool. In rocketry you quite often have to thread a cord through a eye bolt placed inside the bottom of a 50cm long tube and this tool can really earn it's keep.  

They are a very affordable tool also, in fact mine still has the hardware shop price sticker on it of 99p, that's some years ago though, but a casual search online shows them as available for not masses more. Finally, they also are a fun tool that begs to be used by almost everyone who handles one, my children certainly have both played with it previously setting marble transferring challenges etc! They are quite sharp though, and certainly need to be handled with a little care and don't dream of grabbing someone else with them as they are surprisingly grippy/pinchy!