Tiny Tools For The Boy Scout In You

"I would need a screwdriver. Or I would be at someone's house, and they would need something fixed," recalls Larry Legg, a machinist in Mentor, Ohio. But Legg never seemed to have the right tool. On the other hand, "I always had my keys with me," he says. "So I designed something that would fit on a key ring."

Thus was born Swiss-Tech's Microtechnician, a folding set of pliers and screwdrivers that can hang alongside your keys and weigh little more than an ounce. It's one of a new breed of minitools that make great stocking-stuffers for tinkerers or traveling executives (table). Many are more compact but less versatile than Swiss Army knives. Others are smaller variants of the all-in-one Leatherman tool--a 4-inch-long pair of pliers that hides a variety of blades, files, and screwdrivers in its handles. Closer in size to multiblade pocketknives, they feature sturdier implements.