Titanium Pocket Tools: branch off hobby?

R

RissyQuicks

Joined
Jul 29, 2013
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177
I'm sure many of you have been seeing these around lately as they are becoming more and more popular, but I am wondering about your guys opinions on the new craze of small titanium pocket tools are. It seems nowadays that every knifemaker and their mother has started making cool, collectible bottle opener/prybar pocket multitools. I wouldn't say I have a 'collection' of them yet but I have 2 titanium tools with another I am looking to get in the future (the CFK toolka). So far I have the RJ Martin Dirty Bird and the EOS Tishark, both fantastic bottle openers/pry tools and really cool looking. As a crazy knife guy, I usually want to have a knife on me at all times, but when I can't (like when I'm going out to drink or other questionable situations), this satisfies my weird knife needs. So what do you guys think, just a fad or do you think these tools will become somewhat of a side hobby for us knife guys? Below are my 2 current titanium pocket tools with two of my EDCs as a bonus.

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To be perfectly candid, I think it's a ridiculous fad. It amazes me that these guys produce these little pieces which take little thought, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
 
The only titanium tool that I've purchased is the Pickpocket Torq. It's perfect for hanging my keys on my belt when I need to and it's a bottle opener to boot. Not to mention that it's very affordable.

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Atwood has been making them for quite a while. They're handy, the runs are somewhat limited, and folks love 'em. He sells every one he makes...

It's a hobby :)
 
1000000 % AMEN !!!!!!!!! :thumbup:


Quiet said:
To be perfectly candid, I think it's a ridiculous fad. It amazes me that these guys produce these little pieces which take little thought, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
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I don't get it either. I bought a $15 SAK "Rally" model. It's the same size as the Classic, so it's a very small multitool package that fits on my keychain. It has a bottle opener, several sizes of screwdrivers, a little blade, toothpick, tweezers, etc. It's certainly no pry bar, but I rarely have a need to pry things. It works for opening bottles and the other tools come in handy too. I don't know if the titanium is a tactical thing or something, but for me a little SAK and a Fenix E05 on the keychain are about all I can manage.
 
Quiet said:
A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
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Agreed, which is why I enjoy the one I got for $15 online. After using it many different ways, my usage is summed up something like
98% for the bottle opener
1% for prying
0.5% for screwdriver
0.5% for wrench

So based off that, my next one will just be a bottle opener keychain that has a decent flat for the occasional prying. The extra bits just made it bulkier and less comfortable in the pocket.
 
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I've had a Gerber Shard attached to my keychain with the same piece of paracord for 2 years. It cost me $6 and still looks and functions like new. My friend paid $120 for a Vox Snail that functioned pretty poorly as a bottle opener so he sold it...for over $210. He just got another one by chance for $180 and anticipates it will sell for over $400!!!!
 
It's just like every other hobby of this sort; you can't really explain it to anyone. I'm really just very happy that's one bug I never caught, I'll stick to my Shard, blow all my money on booze, knives, women, watches and Lego.
 
I would imagine that using this sort of tool just a few times would completely wreck the finish anyway. Can you imagine what popping sharp bottle caps, prying open can lids and turning hardened steel screws would do to a Ti, timascus or mokume tool? Judging by how pristine these tools look in the various "pocket dump" photos around the internet, the tools really aren't used often by the vast majority of people who carry them.
 
Quiet said:
To be perfectly candid, I think it's a ridiculous fad. It amazes me that these guys produce these little pieces which take little thought, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
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+1 more. It is your money but those tools are a joke. I love the "wrenches" that have no viable handle and produce zero leverage.
Even a $1 bottle opener is overkill IMO, there are so many ways to open a bottle without one.
a 6 inch prybar will pry very little.
 
asdf12345 said:
I would imagine that using this sort of tool just a few times would completely wreck the finish anyway. Can you imagine what popping sharp bottle caps, prying open can lids and turning hardened steel screws would do to a Ti, timascus or mokume tool? Judging by how pristine these tools look in the various "pocket dump" photos around the internet, the tools really aren't used often by the vast majority of people who carry them.
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Exactly. Just an accessory to hang off a bag or pocket and pull out to maybe open a beer. Something to attach a Scoopyloops bead with. Value for money is subjective, but a complete waste for me. I know because I bought one of the Menovade Iron Monkeys and haven't used it once. It just collects dust now. Blackwood sent me one of his basic bottle openers when I bought a knife and I still use that when necessary. But I wouldn't have paid the $30 he was asking for it.

But yeah, if people were really using them they wouldn't look as pristine and cool as they do in the pocket dumps. It seems to be all about getting the ones from the elusive custom makers and showing them off on Instagram. A passing fad I hope.

Lev
 
I'm pretty ashamed of this but I got caught up in the Vox Snail thing. My buddy was way into them and told me he's been trying to get one for months but couldn't. Next thing I know, I'm searching for them. They are nearly impossible to get, you have to get them through lotteries & 2nd market. Prices are retarded, $300+, I've even seen $1000.

So here comes the bad part... I found a person willing to sell me 1, not even sure I wanted it or not, well I decided I'd buy his whole collection... so I wound up with 3 of them. Were they pretty cool? yeah, you can tell the quality. They just weren't for me so I kept one and gave the other 2 to my buddy. He then literally sold them in less than 10secs for 200% of the buying price.... lol. its just crazy.

Just recently a JBB tool sold for $1800. That is when I decided enough and I'm not buying these things anymore. I Love knives, but I don't love these things, so why collect them, lol. Other people go crazy for them, so just let them. It's like every other thing, it's based on their preferences.

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I find it funny how many people on this site are complaining about the high prices of something unnecessary. To all those that think that just remember...the vast majority of the world thinks that about knives. How much is a Sebenza these days? LOL

OP; They've been making pocket bottle openers for a while. This is just a fancier version of that. I don't think they're a fad anymore than fancy knives are.
 
tokerblue said:
The only titanium tool that I've purchased is the Pickpocket Torq. It's perfect for hanging my keys on my belt when I need to and it's a bottle opener to boot. Not to mention that it's very affordable.

PP-torq-2.jpg
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I've been looking for a pocket clip. This is a nice looking one. Thanks for posting.
 
tokerblue said:
The only titanium tool that I've purchased is the Pickpocket Torq. It's perfect for hanging my keys on my belt when I need to and it's a bottle opener to boot. Not to mention that it's very affordable.

PP-torq-2.jpg
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I concur! While I'm not a fan of the pocket tools that hang off your keychain and add to the wad in your pocket, I've really grown to appreciate the pocket "danglers" and the Torq is the best example of several that I have used. The added size of the bottle opener gives you something to index and hold onto while placing it on belt loops or in the pocket so you can do it without looking and I've used the bottle opener untold times to open beer in a "civilized" manner. Yeh, there are plenty of other ways to open a bottle of beer but now that I'm in my 40's, I'm really not to keen on party tricks. Best of all, no more wad in the pocket. I ended up trying several from Monroe and TEC but I really feel the Torq is the best suited for my needs. Now that I've gotten use to using it, I have a hard time thinking of carrying my keys without it.
 
Quiet said:
To be perfectly candid, I think it's a ridiculous fad. It amazes me that these guys produce these little pieces which take little thought, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
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I agree to a certain point. I mean, people can collect whatever they want and pay as much as they want for what they collect.

I don't personally carry these things. I have thought about it. I have a MT on my everyday and if there is prying to be done I use the awl. I would not spend very much money on a pocket pry bar so the expensive ones don't really get on my radar. Perhaps if a person pries a lot they would be nice to have rather than using your knife or getting your MT out all the time. For me though, the prices get a little ridiculous. I can justify spending a bit of coin on a ZT, BM, Spyderco, or CRK.
 
Quiet said:
To be perfectly candid, I think it's a ridiculous fad. It amazes me that these guys produce these little pieces which take little thought, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. A bottle opening keychain with a worthless "wrench" should be worth about $15, not $250, but hey, whatever folks who collect them spend on them?

That's none of my business. :thumbup:
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Agreed.

In my 37 years on this earth, I've never had the need for a mini pry bar in my life. I really cant see the usefulness of these little gizmos but apparently someone does.
 
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