ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Tools you Might Not Need

Updated on March 24, 2023
James with his magnetic wrist "tool".
James with his magnetic wrist "tool".

Tools we almost want.

Holiday Tools by George Bogosian

Around the holidays tool manufactures produce products for wives and girlfriends to purchase for their husbands, partners and unsuspecting family members. Many of these products don’t stand up to the hype in the advertising.

I call these “tools for women”.

Those men who have received these products know what I mean and they usually don’t let on that their heart felt gift was a real dud. We love our family members and their desire to give us a functional tool is understood. Sometimes they're power tools, woodworking tools or hand tools. Now, I’m not going to mention which tools (yes I am) I believe fall into this category, but I suspect many of you, myself included, have them in our tool boxes, tool shelf or kitchen “catch all” drawer. I’m suspect of Sears’s winter holiday tool that is a socket wrench with one handle and a swiveling head at both ends. Let me know what you think, because I’m not buying one of those…even with its intrigue. But if I receive one this season I promise to be grateful that someone thought of me. I’ll put it in my toolbox and use it if and when the need arises.

Here’s my latest experience with these suspect tools.

I was working with James the other day at his home. We were installing some large windows ten feet off the ground. Lesser men would not have be able to get them in place was his comment on the project. They were large and heavy! Well…. James had a Velcro magnetic wrist band and its purpose was to put 2 to 10 nails on this magnetic band so that in a high work situation you would be saved from trying to reach into a tool belt for a nail. He says it was a gift…. but I’m having other thoughts as to how it came to be in his possession. Maybe he bought it for himself. I was hoping that wasn’t true. I hold him in high regard and that purchase would have lowered his standing in my mind. I know...... I can be small minded at times. Of course being a “manly man” I made fun of the concept till I found myself on a ladder 15 feet off the ground and unable to reach my nail pouch that was strapped to my waist. I hate falling off ladders! I needed the darn nail magnet on my wrist with a few nails for nailing a window in place. Hey, I was in a precarious position on that ladder and that “new fangled thing” was just what I could use at the moment.

So if you find yourself in front of one of these “tools” ask someone in the store with work clothes on if they think it makes any sense. Sales people opinions don’t count. Someone with rough hands is required. I suspect they have purchased some of these “dream tools” on a whim. I’m not implying that all the new concept tools are somewhere in the "almost to useless" categories. But one needs to pay attention to detail and perceived function. So…. my tool purchasing Grasshoppers, shop well.

This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be substituted for impartial fact or advice in legal, political, or personal matters.

© 2010 George Bogosian

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)