EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES. The goal of these periodic tool application segments is to provide some food for thought, specifically to focus attention on considerations that will help users maximize the functional potential of the tools they carry. And, if one of those tools of choice happens to be a Hawk Tool, we hope the concepts presented here will trigger the user’s own creativity and further expand its day-to-day utility.
DEALING WITH CHAIN-LINK. One mischievous feature that shows up commonly at structure fires is chain-link fencing. Its significance can range anywhere from being a minor nuisance to forming a critical, life-threatening barrier to access and escape. Clearly, there’s no better defense than knowing our district (including known and likely barriers), weighing options, and arriving with a solution in hand before encountering a problem. But, things are seldom as simple as that. Ultimately, when you encounter the unexpected– or the unimaginable– you may have to couple your experience, your ingenuity, and the “tools” at hand to formulate a solution. Here’s some food-for-thought with regard to chain-link fence:
These last two illustrations are best thought of as two steps in the same process. Collectively, they involve using the talon (curved point) of the Raptor tool end to disconnect chain-link fence mesh from its supportive metal tube framework. After using the talon as a wedge to spread and disconnect fasteners from the mesh (illustrated above), the mesh can be rolled to the side to create a fairly quick duck-under passage through the fence. But, for greater convenience, you might as well go ahead and shorten the top tube– by kinking it, as shown in the lower illustration– and sliding it out of the way or removing it all-together.
SO?… The point of these illustrations is not to suggest these as instructions for using the tools. It’s more to encourage a process of listing some of the tasks you’re potentially going to encounter, then trying to come up with as many ways as possible to use the tools that you actually carry to deal with them. So, the goal is to cultivate and promote creative use of tools in general.