In article ,
"Leo Lichtman" writes:

"Jorg Lueke" wrote: A good article though I am not sure about carrying a
tire iron.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In this context, I am sure that "tire iron" should be interpreted to mean:
any compact, light weight device that will enable you to pop the bead on and
off the rim. OTOH, a heavy tire iron that resembles a car spring or abalone
pry bar might be useful for fending off dogs ;-)

I remember tire irons for bicycles. And that's
what they were indeed called, and made of. Well,
probably steel, but "iron" is more poetic. You
know all that; you've got a few years on me.
But I bet there's a bunch of youngsters here who've
never heard of a tire /iron/, nor used a bumper jack,
whose handle is a combination tire iron/lug wrench.

My dad had a ratcheting screw jack whose handle was also
a tire iron. IIRC, he said it came from a Model T.

I used to have a set of bicycle tire irons handed down
to me from my older brother, but I've lost them somewhere
along the line. I wish I hadn't lost them. I still have
the old cone wrenches, though.

So, I still call 'em tire irons, even though their
made from a different, more plastic-y material.


cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca