Had to pick between driving 45 minutes to a hardware store or improvising with a butter knife for a hinge repair

So last Saturday I was fixing this screen door on my back porch over by East Lake and I needed a tiny flathead screwdriver to adjust the hinge pins. My toolbox has everything except the one thing you actually need, right? So I'm standing there holding a half-eaten sleeve of crackers wondering if I should drive all the way to the Ace Hardware on Memorial or just try to wedge a butter knife in there and hope for the best. I went with the butter knife because it was raining and I didn't want to deal with traffic. It actually worked but I bent the knife a little and now my wife keeps asking why there's a weird curve in the butter knife. Has anyone else gone with a shortcut and regretted it or did it actually pay off? I feel like every time I try the easy way I end up making more work for myself later.

2 comments

2 Comments

jakep241mo ago

Bent tools count as savings if you avoid the gas money.

adam_anderson61mo ago

Used a butter knife as a pry bar to open a stuck paint can once. It worked but now that knife has a permanent bend and my wife jokes about my "special can opener.