Necessity is the mother of invention. I keep misplacing my tamper and have used a corkscrew and a pencil. What’s whackest thing you have used as a tamper?
Craziest tamper
- Thread starter n14rl6
- Start date
Gutter nail, roofing nail, 10p nail, bolt, finger, golf tee, random piece of round stock, back of drill bit, screwdriver handle, and pretty much anything else that's laying around and will fit in my pipe.
I'll add empty cartridge cases, bolts. Golf tees make the list quite a bit, there always seem to be at least one or two rolling around in my truck.
Wouldn't call it craziest, but .223/.556 and .308 shell casings make great tampers.
Pick up a stick outdoors of desirable diameter, break it to length, take my pocket knife and carve the bottom flat and cut a taper. Worked many times in a pinch.
G
Gimlet
Guest
I have a tamper that lives in my van and one on the coffee table at home. That seems to cover all eventualities.
More serious is when I forget to take a spoon to work for tea making and have to stir my tea or fish around for teabags with a pen or a screwdriver.
More serious is when I forget to take a spoon to work for tea making and have to stir my tea or fish around for teabags with a pen or a screwdriver.
H
HRPufnstuf
Guest
Car keys, I think most of my other improvized tampers have been mentioned.
@TheIronMonkey and I are likely the only two Americans who own one of these (below). An old Austrian made multi-tool instrument, bottle opener, tamper, possible Allen wrench LOL... and it's made to be carried in your front shirt pocket.
If I don't have a tamper on me, which is never....I use my finger. I hate using my finger, because of the crap that gets stuck in my nail, but it works.
It's my regular tamper and perfect for popping tins. It stays at home because I never want to risk losing it.
Whatever is handy and will do the job including the fingers.
I’ve only used a Czech tool or my finger. The Czech tool seems to have the perfect weight for the job.
I don’t use anything wacky. I like using a fingertip for light tamping, and if I’ve misplaced my Czech tool, I’ll pull out a key to move tobacco from the periphery to the center.
