What single tool have you lost, or had to replace the most?

[ultramegabob]

For me, it is the #2 Phillips screwdriver, if you lined up all the screwdrivers I have lost end to end in the last 15 years, you could probably circle the planet twice....:mad:

[bobsherwood]

I keep finding #2 phillips screw drivers... :)

[Rewire]

of all the things I have lost i miss my mind the most

[cowboyjwc]

I would say screwdriver, but usually just wore out, not so much lost.

So I would have to say razor knife, but as many as I've lost, I've found so after 30 years it's pretty much been a wash.:grin:

[electricalperson]

philps screwdriver for me. but other than that i say the tool box itself. i keep changing to a bag, pouch, box, tote and now finially the veto.

[ultramegabob]

I keep finding #2 phillips screw drivers... :)

LOL..... if you follow the trail, you will wind up at my shop;)

[bphgravity]

I tend to leave my 5-in-one screwdriver on job sites all the time. Sometimes I forget my receptacle tester which is a real bummer. But mostly, I forget the pole I use to test smoke alarms.

[gndrod]

I tend to leave my 5-in-one screwdriver on job sites all the time. Sometimes I forget my receptacle tester which is a real bummer. But mostly, I forget the pole I use to test smoke alarms.

Hi Bryan,

In testing hibay photo type alarms, using a 2 Meg Candle power spot-light will set off the alarm without needing to push the test button. Give it a try. Usually smokers are now specified dual combination photo-ion (UL217) types for maximum early warning response. rbj

[jmargolis79]

I can never find my sharpie. It starts off in my shirt pocket but always ends up anywhere but.

[walkerj]

I have lost every screwdriver I have ever had except the ones I have now:-?

I have never lost a pair of Klein's and that's about it:grin:

[walkerj]

I can never find my sharpie. It starts off in my shirt pocket but always ends up anywhere but.

I can maybe go three days on new construction without losing my sharpie:grin:

I buy 10 at a time so I always have an extra.

My seatbelt takes it out of my pocket every time I get in the van:grin:

[ultramegabob]

I give my helper extra sharpies to keep in his toolbag because I tend to lose mine and when I borrow them, Im bad about not giving them back:grin:

[roger]

Measuring Tapes.

Roger

[mdj1320]

i hate losing the 18 volt dewalt drill.i hate theives :mad:

[gndrod]

Measuring Tapes.

Roger

I wonder if there are DB tapes. Trench work is where most of mine disappeared. rbj

[gndrod]

i hate losing the 18 volt dewalt drill.i hate theives :mad:

I found one in a trench a while back. What color was it?

[texassparky]

Sharpie used to be it, but a caddy 449 ( MC support) on your hard hart holds that sucker tight. But I haven't been able to find a good a tape measure in a few years, and each brand seems to have its own sets of problems.

[Cow]

I have never lost a pair of Klein's and that's about it:grin:

That's good, those are expensive!:grin: It's actually the one tool I haven't lost either, hmm8-)

[PetrosA]

I usually lose about 1-2 lockback knives per year. I won't use a utility knife, so I get the lockback kind. I've lost a Klein, a Gerber, and two cheap ones. At this point I won't spend more than about 8 bucks to replace one ;) My next knife will be a lineman's type knife with a sheath. I see the sense in it since I started using gloves to crimp services ;)

Just remember my biggest loss - I got an Ideal file about a year ago and lost it at a customer's house this spring. Their dogs were carrying off our tools while we were working in the kitchen. When I went to get a new file at the supply house, they quote me $37! I went back and fought those two dogs till they gave it up ;)

[jim dungar]

The more expensive the hand tool the more likely I have had to replace it. 35 years later, I still have a screw driver I paid 15 cents for.

[qcroanoke]

I have never lost a pair of Klein's and that's about it:grin:

I haven't either but I have burnt up a few pair before I could!
I lose mostly wire strippers.

[fondini]

phillips without a doubt,sharpies,and sometimes my better judgement!:grin:

[erfitz1208]

tic testers, screwdrivers.. i usually go back and find them on a light fixture.

[cadpoint]

IT's been a toss up between three over the years, the Flat, the Phillips, and the Blunt nose cutters.

Hey, Happy Birthday! Buy yourself something!

[jeremysterling]

I usually lose about 1-2 lockback knives per year.

Me, too. I never understood why my pocket knives always came up missing. When they came out with knives that clip onto the pocket, my loss rate has been "cut" in half.:grin:

[EBFD6]

I couldn't even start to count the number of mini-mag flashlights I've lost. I don't think I've ever owned one longer than 2 months, usually leave them in a drop ceiling or drop them down a wall.

[guitarsarge]

I go through a lot of "ringers" between dropping them in the abyss of loose fill insulation, helpers, or those dog-gone watch batteries popping out along with the end cap...

[ultramegabob]

I couldn't even start to count the number of mini-mag flashlights I've lost. I don't think I've ever owned one longer than 2 months, usually leave them in a drop ceiling or drop them down a wall.


I know where one is taped to a conduit above a suspended ceiling aimed at a j-box that I was working in, I would imagine the battery has run down by now....

[nunu161]

i probably lost about 4 or 5 levels over the past 4 years damn bar joists they get me every time, i realized today that my $35 level was gone, that might have been stolen though

[tim123]

gloves... pulling wire, bending pipe, running mc I like wearing them.... but I don't like wearing them for make up.. so I put them down and never remember where I put them... I eventually find them after I buy a new pair.


I was always losing the 25' chrome stanley tape measures everyone seems to have these... right up until I bought a big ugly cheap green one. I have had this one a long long time now, also started putting my name on the back side of the 20' mark :wink:

[rt66electric]

I have lost two wiggys' lately. I just charge screwdrivers to whichever job I'm on. At one time while I was two tools Up on the lost/found department located above ceiling tiles.. That did not last long. DENNIS

[ceknight]

I tend to leave my 5-in-one screwdriver on job sites all the time.......

I don't lose the 5-in-1 driver, I lose the freaking bits. 2 so far this year, you'd think I'd have learned to push them in all the way by now..... ;)

[Jesse7623]

:Dphilps screwdriver for me. but other than that i say the tool box itself. i keep changing to a bag, pouch, box, tote and now finially the veto.

I have lost so many tools with and without a bag I dont even use tools anymore.I have honestly given up on the whole thing.

[quogueelectric]

Hacksaws people just love to steal hacksaws. I have had to buy about 40 of them until I painted mine purple and now noone will steal it. I did shed a tear when I had a carbide cutter set stolen about 300-350 at a mall in Hicksville. Moo-Hoo!!

[ptonsparky]

Pencils. I buy them by the hundred, can leave the shop with three and they are all gone by the time I reach the second job. They even disappear while I am sitting at my desk. Other than that, the newest screwdriver. Never the old worn out one.

[nhfire77]

I don't lose the 5-in-1 driver, I lose the freaking bits. 2 so far this year, you'd think I'd have learned to push them in all the way by now..... ;)

I hear that!!! I use the 10 in 1.

Greenlee has a new model out. The #2 Phillips and large flat blade are the large bit size like in the 5 in 1. The other bits are the smaller ones like the 10 in 1. Since I used the #2 phillips the most and now its larger I haven't lost it... yet.

[satcom]

Hammer Drills have legs, now we have them signed for and inforce the care for all company tools, the legs stopped working

[360Youth]

I think I went the first 5 or 6 years without ever losing a hammer, and now I couldn't tell you how many I have replaced. I usually lose the occassional tool more than the frequent one because I forget that I used it or do not think to check for it in my bag when I cleanup.

Here's an add-on question if it hasn't been adressed already, how many of the "lost" tools do you find right after buying a replacement. Bought a new pair or wire strippers a few weeks ago and found my other pair the next day at our shop. Talking to my brother on the phone, looked down, there they were. :roll:

[zog]

Meggers, been through dozens of them. Also 9/16" wrenches.

[kwb]

I can never find my sharpie. It starts off in my shirt pocket but always ends up anywhere but.

Whenever I can't find my sharpie... I look in the wash machine and there it is!! ;)

[220/221]

I don't lose too many tools.

I need to lose my dikes and strippers once in a while so I get new sharp ones.

I use a $40 Snap on ratchet screwdriver for my phillips so I never lose it.

I lost a 10 in 1 tip...once. Couldn't easily buy a replacement tip so I am always careful with them now.

I can not hang on to a roll of tape for more than a few minutes.

Sharpies/pencils, maybe a half day.

Drill bits? Don't get me started.

The ONLY way to keep drill bits is to put them back in the case as soon as you are done with them. If you can't find one at the end of the day, look harder because, once one is missing, the rest will somehow quickly follow it to freedom.

Same with socket/wrench sets.

[electricalperson]

I don't lose too many tools.

I need to lose my dikes and strippers once in a while so I get new sharp ones.

I use a $40 Snap on ratchet screwdriver for my phillips so I never lose it.

I lost a 10 in 1 tip...once. Couldn't easily buy a replacement tip so I am always careful with them now.

I can not hang on to a roll of tape for more than a few minutes.

Sharpies/pencils, maybe a half day.

Drill bits? Don't get me started.

The ONLY way to keep drill bits is to put them back in the case as soon as you are done with them. If you can't find one at the end of the day, look harder because, once one is missing, the rest will somehow quickly follow it to freedom.

Same with socket/wrench sets.


i hate those one time use sharpies and pencils. usually i get one or 2 holes out of a bit before i cant find it anymore

[electricalperson]

i even lost a 10 lb sledge hammer

[brian john]

Flash light #1, screwdrivers #2 (phillips lead the list) Kliens #3.

[George Stolz]

I accidentally buried a shovel once. Otherwise, I have to replace tape measures the most. And for some reason unknown to me, I wreak havoc on hammer holders. It seems like I've snapped three in the past year, no idea how. :-?

[masterinbama]

I accidentally buried a shovel once. Otherwise, I have to replace tape measures the most. And for some reason unknown to me, I wreak havoc on hammer holders. It seems like I've snapped three in the past year, no idea how. :-?

I buried my Nextel once ,but that might have been a Freudian slip. We have all had one of those days haven't we? I lose more control screwdrivers than anything.

[guschash]

1/4'' nutdriver. I hate losing my tools, they are family. But I found over the years, that they always come back. Found my nutdriver behind the dryer. My daughter came back from Colarado, too.

[hockeyoligist2]

I don't lose many, I mostly wear them out. The ones I lose aren't really lost, I know where they are. When you work in the sewer business, like me, a dropped tool is a gone tool, most of the time. They are at the bottom of a pond or tank.

[G0049]

Reading glasses. Cheap ones, expensive ones, borrowed ones, doesn't make any difference, they just vaporize after a while.

[480sparky]

I buy a new pair of strippers, 9Kliens, diagonals and a 10-in-1 every year. Not so much as I lose them, but just so I have nice, newer stuff. I also buy a new cordless drill every year.

[TOOL_5150]

I buy a new pair of strippers, 9Kliens, diagonals and a 10-in-1 every year. Not so much as I lose them, but just so I have nice, newer stuff. I also buy a new cordless drill every year.

I would love to "loose" more screwdrivers and strippers... But Im so dang cheap, I use them till they are barly usable, Then use em a little bit more. :grin:

~Matt

[LarryFine]

When you work in the sewer business, like me, a dropped tool is a gone tool, most of the time."You didn't think I was gonna go down there for just a quarter, did you?!" ;)

[DavisIMI]

1/2 wrench, I've probably gone through 15 of them. Not that I use that size anymore than the rest, its just the 1/2 size can't keep one for nothing. Thats why all my tools are the best you can buy except wrenches, I buy the best cheap ones I can find, plus thats what most people will pick up and not think nothing about it. :confused:

[iwire]

Pen, Pencil, Sharpie.

[Besoeker]

I don't lose many, I mostly wear them out. The ones I lose aren't really lost, I know where they are. When you work in the sewer business, like me, a dropped tool is a gone tool, most of the time. They are at the bottom of a pond or tank.
I was doing the string* tests on a VSD system at a pump manufacturer's premises. The VSD panel was sitting over their tank which was covered by an open mesh grid. I dropped a screwdriver and, of course, it rolled through a space in the grid. This was evidently quite a common occurence. They had a magnet on a piece of string for just such eventualities. No chance I thought. The tank is 5 metres (about 16 feet) deep and the screwdriver might have gone anywhere. But, as is often the case during testing, I was hanging around waiting so I thought I'd go fishing.

Not only did I get my own scredriver back but a couple of others as well - along with a collection of miscellaneous rusty nuts, washers, bolts etc.

[iwire]

Not only did I get my own scredriver back but a couple of others as well - along with a collection of miscellaneous rusty nuts, washers, bolts etc.

:grin:

Got it ...... no thats not it

Got it ........ no thats not it

Got it ......

At least it passed the time. 8-)

[macmikeman]

Lost my cell phone last night. Spent two hours trying to locate it this morning. Gave up, suspended it, and got a new one. It was an old Razor that was pretty beat up, so no great loss except for the stored numbers and some pics. I loose flashlights left and right. I loose a lot of 10-32 taps and nail sets from those little "pencil" holder flaps on the tool pouch also.

[ksmith846]

The "TOOL" I have replaced the most is the employee that says he really needs his job,but cannot make it into work on a regular basis.

Definite most replaced tool....

[dduffee260]

I'm with Bob here. I don't wear a pouch much anymore so mostly I lose pencils or pens. Is an RFI considered a tool?

[ItsHot]

I tend to lose "focus" more than anything!:smile:

[peter d]

Well, this one should be obvious. Not so much losing, but replacing stuff that succumbs to "Klein's Law."

[Flex]

Ive lost 3 pairs of linesmen to live conductors.

[480sparky]

Ive lost 3 pairs of linesmen to live conductors.

Their linemans pliers with the ability to strip #4 now.:grin:

[Flex]

Mine are only good for #10. Id hate to see a pair that fits #4 perfect. Ouch

[Goroon]

I can take my pouch with me set it down, use any tool and look or step away.
WHA-LA, ALA-POOF. 1 in 15 times my Scotch 33 is gone.
Is Tape a Tool?:confused:

[480sparky]

Mine are only good for #10. Id hate to see a pair that fits #4 perfect. Ouch

You wouldn't be able to actually see it. At least not until the big yellow-blue spot burned into your retina goes away. :grin:

[iwire]

Mine are only good for #10. Id hate to see a pair that fits #4 perfect. Ouch

I have pair that was easily a 8 AWG, more like a 6 AWG.

That was a MC for a 277 volt lighting circuit I was sure was dead .............. BANG ....... it sounded like a M80. I was fine except for needing new shorts. I spend more time verifying now.

[Besoeker]

I don't often lose tools and stuff.
But I had had things taken without permission aka stolen.
I have a toolbox that I cart around and it's permanently in the trunk of my car. But one time I was on site (at a paper mill) and it was a bit of a hike from the substation to the car so I left the toolbox overnight in the sub, inside a cupboard. And the substation was locked. Should be OK, I thought. But it wasn't.
Somebody got in, unloaded a nice set of wrenches and some other things from my toolbox then stuck it back in the cupboard.
Next day, it took me a little while to realise what had happened. The the company I was visiting replaced the stolen wrenches which was a nice gesture. The some other things took me some time to discover.
I suppose, like most here, you know what you have - even things you don't use very often. You don't know that they are missing until you need to use them. Then it can aggravting to say the least.

That said, the worst I had was my laptop being stolen. We were returning from a holiday in Malta. With the limitation on hand carried items I had a choice of whether to carry my camera or my laptop. I picked the camera. The laptop went into a suitcase. It got stolen some time between check in and arrival back home.

Of course, everything not backed up was lost.

[JohnJ0906]

I seem to need to replace T-strippers and tape measures the most, due to wear and tear.

I seem to replace sharpies the most from losing/lending. :mad:

I just gave up on sharpies. I bought a set of markers from the dollar store last night. If I have to supply markers for my coworkers, they are getting the cheap stuff.

[fondini]

gloves... pulling wire, bending pipe, running mc I like wearing them.... but I don't like wearing them for make up.. so I put them down and never remember where I put them... I eventually find them after I buy a new pair.


I was always losing the 25' chrome stanley tape measures everyone seems to have these... right up until I bought a big ugly cheap green one. I have had this one a long long time now, also started putting my name on the back side of the 20' mark :wink:

ummmm....you wear make up? lol:D

[jottie77]

The tool for me is a drywall saw (hands down). I go through them at a crazy rate. I try to use a cardboard box to try to capture the drywall dust when adding outlets or lights and the saw seems to always end up in the box when I throw it away. Hopefully I will fiqure that out one day. LOL

[J.D. Electric]

Lost my linemans to a live circuit last week and lost a screwdriver today :mad:

[lefty]

needle nose

[Pierre C Belarge]

This has been a fun thread to read. I can relate with way too many of the stories posted. 8-)

[dduffee260]

Ugh, we had a conex get broken into two weeks ago. The list of stolen items included 3 combo sets of battery tools, a Burndy PAT750, Maxis Triggers, Milwaukee hole hawgs, Super hawgs and 3 or 4 pouch tool sets. Plus more I believe. About 10k in all total. What a mess this has been to clean up and replace.

[TOOL_5150]

Ugh, we had a conex get broken into two weeks ago. The list of stolen items included 3 combo sets of battery tools, a Burndy PAT750, Maxis Triggers, Milwaukee hole hawgs, Super hawgs and 3 or 4 pouch tool sets. Plus more I believe. About 10k in all total. What a mess this has been to clean up and replace.

Now, that person or persons, need to have their arms broken.:mad:

Sorry to hear about the loss.

~Matt

[danickstr]

extension cords are what walk away from me the most. I think someone plugs into them and I just assume it must be theirs. I try to pay more attention now, having been mislead out of several in the past couple years.

[dduffee260]

extension cords are what walk away from me the most. I think someone plugs into them and I just assume it must be theirs. I try to pay more attention now, having been mislead out of several in the past couple years.

Ours have our name and phone number on them. We get them from MilSpec Industries for around $39 per 100ft cord. Seems like on some projects they are collectors items.

[MarkWhite]

I was always losing the 25' chrome stanley tape measures everyone seems to have these... right up until I bought a big ugly cheap green one. I have had this one a long long time now, also started putting my name on the back side of the 20' mark :wink:

That trick got me back 2 tapes, One I lost and someone else found (he insisted I take it back)
Another that a helper took and insisted it was his until I told him to pull it out to the 10' mark and turn it over.

[danickstr]

the trick to not losing a tape is to get the crummiest one there is. Never fails to remain yours for a good long time.

[brantmacga]

#1 - Flat-head screw driver
#2 - Measuring tape


I rarely lose a tool. All of my replacing is due to misuse and abuse.

I did lose a 25th anniversary klein tape measure that I purchased about two months ago. I was disheartened to see it go. It was a very nice tape. Probably the nicest I've ever owned.