If you go to the back of practically any bike shop you will see a tool that you can't buy. Yet for many bike mechanics it is reached for many times a day. So much so that many consider it to be an indispensable part of a bicycle repair tool collection. This is the pokey tool, also referred to as a pokey spoke. It is made by the mechanic from a spoke from a defunct bicycle wheel. One end of the spoke is ground down to a sharp point. It doesn't seem like much but somehow it gets used all the time. The most well-known use is to pick glass bits out of tires or bits of metal out of brake pads. It's important for opening cable housing ends and it's used to grab small items or clean hard-to-reach places.
These are three pokey tools in their simplest form.
Even though it's in every bike shop you rarely hear about it. This is almost certainly due to the fact that it's not a commercially-produced item. It's just a ground down old spoke made by hand in a bike shop. No one is trying to sell you a pokey tool. Still every mechanic uses one. It's a part of bike-mechanic lore that is passed down from one person to another.
The pokey tool is a virtually free tool, recycled from scrap parts. That's cool. I love this anti-capitalistic aspect so much I decided that it should be further celebrated. I made a big batch of pokey tools to be given away for free at my local non-profit bike shop, the Community Cycling Center. I volunteer here. It was the Cycling Center that taught me bike repair and opened the door to the mysterious inner workings of the business and, from this, the pokey tool. Providing free pokey tools for the shop to give away is my way of saying 'thank you' and my small contribution to further the revolutionary cause of bicycle empowerment.
I started out with a coffee can of pokey spokes. I sat down at the dining room table with the can of spokes and a big set of needle-nose pliers. The plan was to bend the non-pointed end of the spoke into random curly shapes. (This helps provide grip.) Becky observed that you could put plastic beads in the curls. She had a leftover bin of plastic pony beads. This was a great idea since the Community Cycling Center color codes the tools for each of their work stations. I also loved the juicy vibrant colors of the beads. (Oh no! Can it be that I've fallen for bead crafting? Kill me now!) The best part of this was the beads helped the tool be more visible. If it's just a simple spoke with a sharpened end, it's often hard to find mixed in with other tools. The beads eliminated this problem.
The first batch looked something like these.
After I delivered my first batch I was doing some unsanctioned gardening work in the apartment building behind the bike shop. Someone with kids had recently moved out and there were craft and pony beads spilled all over the place at the base of an exterior staircase. I picked these up. In the collection were letter beads. This gave me the idea of making personalized pokey tools for people.
Here are the ones that I made for some of the beautiful staff (and a few volunteers) at the Community Cycling Center.
Here's some other variations.
Do I have a new career on Etsy?
These are three pokey tools in their simplest form.
Even though it's in every bike shop you rarely hear about it. This is almost certainly due to the fact that it's not a commercially-produced item. It's just a ground down old spoke made by hand in a bike shop. No one is trying to sell you a pokey tool. Still every mechanic uses one. It's a part of bike-mechanic lore that is passed down from one person to another.
The pokey tool is a virtually free tool, recycled from scrap parts. That's cool. I love this anti-capitalistic aspect so much I decided that it should be further celebrated. I made a big batch of pokey tools to be given away for free at my local non-profit bike shop, the Community Cycling Center. I volunteer here. It was the Cycling Center that taught me bike repair and opened the door to the mysterious inner workings of the business and, from this, the pokey tool. Providing free pokey tools for the shop to give away is my way of saying 'thank you' and my small contribution to further the revolutionary cause of bicycle empowerment.
I started out with a coffee can of pokey spokes. I sat down at the dining room table with the can of spokes and a big set of needle-nose pliers. The plan was to bend the non-pointed end of the spoke into random curly shapes. (This helps provide grip.) Becky observed that you could put plastic beads in the curls. She had a leftover bin of plastic pony beads. This was a great idea since the Community Cycling Center color codes the tools for each of their work stations. I also loved the juicy vibrant colors of the beads. (Oh no! Can it be that I've fallen for bead crafting? Kill me now!) The best part of this was the beads helped the tool be more visible. If it's just a simple spoke with a sharpened end, it's often hard to find mixed in with other tools. The beads eliminated this problem.
The first batch looked something like these.
After I delivered my first batch I was doing some unsanctioned gardening work in the apartment building behind the bike shop. Someone with kids had recently moved out and there were craft and pony beads spilled all over the place at the base of an exterior staircase. I picked these up. In the collection were letter beads. This gave me the idea of making personalized pokey tools for people.
Here are the ones that I made for some of the beautiful staff (and a few volunteers) at the Community Cycling Center.
Here's some other variations.
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fancy! (but make sure you get a tetanus booster next time you're at the doctor's office!
ReplyDeleteVery sweet, Dave. Just makes me think how much I'd like to have beads (or bead-like things) on my spokes...
ReplyDelete