My dad was a quiet man, a man not much given to “blue” language; a pair of traits I must confess I didn’t fully inherit. However, there were a couple of incidents that could usually make my dad loose his cool and mutter an oath or two (and not always under his breath, either). One of those things – for both of us, in fact – is a good shot on the thumb with your hammer.

If you’ve ever put up wire fencing, then you know the pain of trying to drive those *#%_+?)!! galvanized wire staples. They’re nearly impossible to set, since one leg is always longer than the other and they invariably twist the first time you whack! ‘em with your hammer. I’ve tried holding them with a pair of needle-nose pliers, but that just doesn’t work. You gotta hold ‘em between thumb and forefinger, and learn to suffer the agony in silence.

At least that’s what I always thought, but thanks to Kelly over at Farm and Fleet, I’m a new man, 'cause I’ve got me a Cooper Tools Fencing Tool! No more blue air at fencing time, cause this baby's slicker'n snake snot!


Puttin’ Staples In

There’s a pair of holes in the tool’s face, holes the proper width for the legs of a standard fencing staple (real 9-gauge staples, not those eensy-beansy things you use for chicken wire). Slip in a staple, position the tool and staple over the wire at the post, and give the staple head a whack! with your hammer. Once the staple’s set, you can open up the pliers and drive the staple the rest of the way in.

To be sure, it would be simpler to use an air- or electric-powered fence stapler, but those things cost thirty to fifty times what a fencing tool costs. And good luck on even finding one!


Takin’ Them Out, Too

The fencing tool has a sharp-pointed prong on one end of its head (sharp enough to pick you teeth with, I hear) that slips under an old staple on the post, then you can use the long plier arms to lever out the old staple. If the point won’t “slip” under a staple, you can drive it under with – you guessed it – a whack! of the hammer on the opposite end of the head, which is shaped like a hammer with little meat-tenderizer cross-hatching. It beats the heck out of driving an awl under the staple to try to get it started out. By the way, that flattened end can also function as a hammer, too.


Still More Functions

So that you don’t have to keep searching through pockets for your wire-cutters, the fencing tool also performs that task. And you get all this in a single tool about 11 inches long – for better leverage, and to keep your thumb as far as possible from the hammer. Plus, it comes with cushioned handles. What more could you want? Before you hit your thumb one more time trying to set staples, run down to your neighborhood farm or ranch supply store and get a pair – they’re worth every penny!

Just watch out for the point of that prong. Ooch! eech! ouch! It’s sharp!




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