5 Adorable Mini Tools You Can Get At Ace Hardware

Shopping for tools and miscellaneous convenient implements isn't just about buying the biggest, most expensive gear you can get your hands on. Sometimes it's nice to just browse the little racks near the cash register for underrated tools at Ace Hardware that you can keep on your keychain or in your car's glove box.

These are the kinds of tools that you probably don't need in your everyday life, but they might just prove themselves to be convenient when you least expect them. Just about all of them are small enough to fit cleanly in your pocket or in a discrete nook of your toolbox and may have either one or a handful of different functions. Part of what makes them appealing for a last-minute impulse purchase is the fact that they usually cost less than $15, perfect for a little indulgence when you're already shopping for must-have home garage tools at Ace Hardware.

The purpose of a bubble level is to ensure that a surface you place it on is perfectly flat, or at least as perfectly flat as you can reasonably manage. Most professional-grade levels are fairly large in size, as they often incorporate rulers or steep angles. If all you need to do is check the level on a little piece of plywood in your workshop, though, a huge ruler level is a little excessive. Instead of that, just pull the Hillman Mini Level out of your pocket.

This tiny bubble level has the same basic function as a full-sized level: just place it flat on any surface, and the little bubble suspended in the liquid will show you if it's flat or bumpy. It comes with a rust-resistant steel split ring, which you can use to clip it to your tool belt or attach it to your car keys for easy transport. This little doodad is available at Ace Hardware for $3.99.

Have you ever had to perform a task that requires really fine motor control, but your fingers are just too big to get it done? This includes stuff like pulling a wire or needle through a small cover or fabric, pulling small staples out of wood, or even just grabbing a very small component off the floor. If you can't seem to get a good grip with your own hands and fingers, that's what the KeySmart Nano Pliers are made for.

These bite-sized stainless steel pliers are designed to give you a tight grip even on tiny tasks and materials. They're small enough to fit on a keychain or in a multi-tool, but thick enough that you can press them firmly between your thumb and index finger without damaging them. If you have a small crafting task that you would normally use a pair of tweezers for, the Nano Pliers could provide a slightly firmer grasp on the situation. They're available at Ace Hardware for $9.99.

Here's an annoying scenario: you get a small package in the mail and want to open it up right away, but you don't have a box cutter on you. You try to tear the tape on the top with just your finger, but it's either not enough to pierce through, or you end up with a nasty paper cut from the cardboard. The next best option would be to use a small implement like your car keys or something, but rather than scuffing up your keys like that, it might be better to just use a dedicated opening tool like the KeySmart SafeBlade, available at Ace Hardware for $7.59.

This compact box cutter is made of thick PA46 plastic, with an edge just sharp enough to cut through thick packing tape. However, since it's plastic, it's not actually sharp enough to pierce human skin, so even if you fumble around with it a little, you don't need to worry about hurting yourself. It fits on either a multi-tool or a keychain, roughly the same size as a typical house key, and a generally safer and cleaner choice than trying to slice through a package with said keys.

A good rule of thumb for making a product cute-looking is to make it look like some manner of animal. For instance, have you ever noticed how some of the wrenches and openers on a Swiss Army Knife kind of look like a shark's head? Well, KeySmart wanted to make a multi-tool, and apparently, it read the writing on the wall and made it a full-on shark. Thus, we have the KeySmart Shark, available at Ace Hardware for $11.99.

This baby shark has a handful of different tools located around its body. Its primary offering is as a wrench, with 5.5, 7, 8, and 10-inch notches located around the shark's body for tightening and loosening various fasteners. Besides that, the dorsal fin functions as a bottle opener, denoted by the small bottle symbol on top. The shark's bottom fin functions as a Phillips-head screwdriver, while its tail is a flat head screwdriver, which can also be used to pry open small lids like that of a paint can. The entire shark is made of stainless steel, so it can handle a little rough treatment.

The impetus of hunting for the best budget-friendly tools worth buying at Ace Hardware is to get as much potential function in the bargain as you possibly can. As nice as it would be to store a multitude of different gizmos on your keychain, carrying such a thing around in your pocket would produce an awful cacophony. Rather than having five different tools clipped to your keychain or belt at once, it would be a little easier to just have a single tool that can do five things at once like the Nite Ize DoohicKey, available at Ace Hardware for $8.99.

The DoohicKey has five small tools in its compact body for various quick and small tasks. If you need to measure something, there's a 2-inch, 40mm reversible ruler on the side. If you need to screw something in or open a package, the bottom edge serves as both a box cutter and a flat-head screwdriver. If you need to open a bottle, the side divot bottle opener can handle that. If there's a screw or bolt to tighten or loosen, the inner wrench can handle fasteners 1/4", 5/16", or 3/8" in size. Rather than a traditional key loop opening, the DoohicKey clips onto keyrings or belts via a carabiner clip, making it easier to remove and use.