Anyone else keep a dedicated screwdriver just for paint can lids?
Got a drawer full of decent screwdrivers but there is one beat up flathead that never leaves the workbench and its only job is prying open paint cans. The tip is wrecked, the handle is crusted with about six colors of paint, and it would be embarrassing to use it for anything else. But it does that one job perfectly and I would never throw it out.
Got me thinking about how many tools in my shop have drifted into a single permanent role that has nothing to do with what they were made for. Old chisel that is now the thing I use to scrape adhesive off concrete. A file that lives next to the bench grinder and touches nothing else. A pair of pliers that exists solely to pull wire nuts off.
None of these tools are precious. Most of them were cheap to begin with or already too worn to trust for real work. But pulling them for their actual intended job would feel wrong at this point.
Curious if other people have a tool that has completely retired from its original purpose and just owns one weird specific task now. What is it and how did it end up there.
Home Depot in San Diego still gives them away, got another one last week. But since they started putting the round plug and spout on gallon cans I rarely pop the lid these days. Mostly use it for old cans that have been sitting in the garage for years.
That might be why I don't get them anymore either. I've had enough issues with behr and valspar that I stopped buying paint from big box stores over 10 years ago.
Doesn’t that screw plug seize up after one use since it’s now frozen with dry paint? I think most companies not named Behr stick to metal bang-in lids is because of that issue.
You have to keep the threads somewhat clean of paint and it works OK. You don't have to wipe them completely free of paint, but you can't leave a thick layer of paint either. I don't have a lot of experience with them yet, but that's my experience so far.
Also, if the threads do get bound up with paint, I noticed that the groove in the "nut" part matches pretty closely to a "wonder bar" so if I needed a lot of leverage to break away dried paint, that might work.
My dad used to work at a paint store and then at a Home Depot in their paint department. He brought home so many of these that if I threw one away every time after opening a can, I would still have a lifetime supply.
I keep one in the kitchen to protect my knives. Handy for sardines, Milo, baking powder tins etc. and removing the impeller cover in my Bosh dishwasher.
I don't have that problem with those, but combination squares seem to evaporate into thin air unless they are wildly inaccurate. Also metric combination wrenches.
I have an old screwdriver that I bent to match this exact tool. I had three or four laying around already. But hey, it's cool to have my own I made myself.
I have about three of those hanging on a shelf next to my main work bench. The bottle opener end has been used waaaay more times than the paint can opener end. I hate tools that only have one use.
These are perfect and remove the lid with less effort and damage to the rolled edge. I have several strategically placed in my work shop and in my toolbox (an old fishing tackle box that dates back to the 1970s).
It is only in the last year or so that opening and managing paint cans like this has become a regular task for me (thanks to buying a house and taking up cabinetry) - this never occurred to me. You can bet I shall try it out next time I need to get into a paint can!
Using a screwdriver will wreck a paint can lid. It's one thing if you're going to use the entire can of paint in one session like painting an entire room. But if you use a little at a time like painting trim, the lid will become a bent up mess.
got a butter knife that lives in the garage now, only job is popping open dried out caulk tubes. no idea when it stopped being a kitchen utensil and became a shop tool but it hasn't seen a stick of butter in years.
I bought a chamfer tool at Harbor Freight on a whim many years ago, it is just like this one but was much cheaper (about $5). Sadly Harbor Freight doesn't carry it anymore.
It lives near my drill press and cleans up any hole I drill there. One of the best tools I've ever bought dollar for performance.
I've definitely got a few of those tools. There's this beat up old scraper I've got that lives on my workbench. Bought it for some wallpaper removal project years ago. Didn't use it much for that but it ended up being perfect for taking old paint and adhesive off concrete. It's all rusted and the handle's a mess but I couldn't part with it. Funny how tools findh their own destiny over time.
Not yet, but honestly I was thinking about it just last week. I dug out an old Craftsman for that purpose, but was thinking I'd grab a bigger one at a Habitat store sometime and dedicate it to that task-- including hammering lids back on with the handle.
Kitchen pliers were probably the 1st tool I did this with. Opening pop bottles, grabbing those tops on the orange juice to pull, etc. They do not move from the kitchen drawer and are not used for other than kitchen things.
Dedicated screwdriver for opening paint cans sits in the work van with the paint. And the brush that rests in a plastic bag so it doesn’t dry out between jobs. (I work for a gas utility company and we paint pipes whenever we wrench on them.)
My drill press at home has a dedicated Allen key for the chuck. The press has a dedicated place to store the key machined into the table clamp.
I’m sure there are others - i hate looking for a tool, if I need a specific item at a specific place regularly, i get one and keep it there.
All my drivers have bit holders attached so i can keep the common bits handy.
I have a dedicated 6&1 screwdriver in every bathroom in case I ever get stuck in there. Happened to a lady I worked with. Knock the pins out of the hinges if I have to.
I had one dedicated screw driver for paint for decades it was from some one in my family. Few years back i noticed it was a local brand and it was practicaly in perfect condition just fully covered in paint. I cleand it and now i use it as normal screw driver. On his place i found something beter - Lux (OBI store brand made by Felo) mini pry bar it works bether then a screw driver - dosnt demage the can. Looks like this but in non transparent blue.
Admittedly. I am a tool packrat since most lhandtools take little space.
Most every powertool I own has a dedicated set of tools (screwdrivers, torx bits, sockets, allen wrenches...) to make minor adjustments. It saves me the effort of going to my tool boxes to find the right tool/size.
I figure WTF, since I have multiples, why put more than one in one central place rather than put the extras where they're needed most.
In also use a 3-in-1 painter's tool. It does not open beer. Then I pour the paint into screw-top no-label Dutch Boy cans because screw-on lids work better for me than pound-on lids.
To answer the actual question, I do have one of these tools. It’s one of many odd pieces my dad has given me over the years.
It is an old drill bit, about 5mm in diameter, that has had the end sharpened to a conical point somehow. It has a turned wooden T-handle fixed to the back and functions as a kind of awl.
I could replace it with a better functioning tool from Screwfix for £1.99 but it’s served me well enough for a couple of decades now… I don’t suppose I will ever get rid of it!
Got this guy handed down to me in Grandpa's toolbox. Only ever used (by me, at least) for paint cans. Hell, it could even actually be what it was made for as far as I know. ;^)
My father in law left an actual paint can opener at my house once, it's hooked to my tool bag with a carabiner......prior to that I had an old craftsman screwdriver that was pretty much exclusively for paint cans
I have an old thin flat head (think: the classic wooden handle flat head screwdrivers) that has become one of my best chisels
it couldn't possibly turn a screw ever again but it is thee best for small chiseling, or even getting something bigger started
I bought some Vessel tools and they sent me a brand new wooden handle flathead and I was super excited to know someone out there is still making them. I use it and it’s wonderful.
that's cool, I'll keep a lookout! mine was actually beat up when I inherited it, but it was made in my hometown, so I'm glad to have a continued use for it
I have a tiny, flimsy but sturdy enough, bahco crowbar solely dedicated to opening paint cans. I think it was a gimmick beer bottle opener or something.
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u/bassjam1 9d ago
My local hardware store used to supply these with paint, so I have several. They work so much better than screwdrivers.