A 16 inch Stilh chainsaw in the case.

I have found a variety of tools......pipe wrenches, sockets, paint scraper, old Ford pliers with the flathead on the end of one the handle. Also found two matching Peugeot's that I went back for in my car.

Me too!

A mult tool on the bike trail. My dad found a Gibson acoustic guitar in a hard case and gave it to me when I was 16. I was dumb enough to let an ex keep it about 5 years ago...

350' landscape tape measure
30' Stanley tape measure
asst sockets
a couple of asst screwdrivers
hammer (needed a new handle)

I found a first gen. park tool 3-way stuck in the stem bolt of a POS at goodwill once. they let me have it for $.25

It works brilliantly, but I can't take credit for the idea. I saw that hack on Velospace of all places.

Just the other day, I found a small adjustable wrench on the side of the road. It was not only rusty, it was really rusty so I picked it up and promptly put it in the back of the service truck where I work :). My usual finds would have to be zip ties, and work gloves.

I seem to have lost a Park multi-tool on a ride last week, so if anyone sees it, let me know!

Neal

I live near a huge Air Force base, and about ten years ago I was working as an engineer on that base. I was riding the bike one Saturday morning, and I spotted a couple of small silver bags beside the road. I recognized the bags as anti-static bags that are used to package sensitive components.

I stopped to pick them up and saw that the bags each contained a small electronic circuit board and had tags that I recognized as Federal stock number tags... so I threw them in my saddle bag. As I continued my ride, I kept coming across more of these bags and picking them up. I guess they must've been blowing off the back of a truck or something, because I ended up with about 30 of them by the time I was through.

The next week I took them in to work with me and had one of our supply clerks check the stock numbers to see what they were. It turns out that they were components of a RADAR system... and each of the boards cost almost $3000.00. In the course of my ride, I had picked up about $100,000 worth of government parts.

For turning in $100,000 worth of lost parts that I found, the U.S. Air Force gave me a reward... a baseball cap that said "Quality is our Focus"!

Picked up a socket set of 3/8 and 1/4 in in both SAE and Metric in the case. A Craftsman screwdriver which was turned in for a new one and others I can't remember.

an almost brand new sledge hammer. (I-95) an almost new 12 foot aluminium ladder (I-95) 4 brand new heavy duty tie down straps. (I-95) a like new bicycle multi tool. (Fairmount Ave.) a like new hachet. (Delaware Ave.) and I once found a brand new looking Colt 45 semi auto on the corner of 5th and Clearfield Streets, called the cops and let them pick that one up. ;0)

Bastards!

Hmm. I've picked up a lot of tools over the years. Knock-off Swiss army knife... kitchen knives, lots of them. An antique silver spoon --plated, not sterling. Tape measures, usually near the end of their useful life cycle. Screw drivers, so many I can't count. A very nice ESGE pedal wrench, this one in an alley in Chicago in '85, I still have that one. A pretty nice craftsman wood saw; still have that, too. Sockets up the wazoo. Cell phones, pagers, and the like; maybe a dozen, though not all were functional.
The most useful thing I've ever found at the side of the road, well, there were the two very nice crispy $100 bills I found in the midldle of a numbered street, maybe 37th st, Manhattan several months ago; I was torn, should I look for more, or should I get the heck out of here before someone says yo, those are mine? I looked for about fifteen seconds, then hopped on my folding bike and headed for Penn Station.
One time my wife and I were walking along and I found a little gold ring with like twenty tiny diamonds studded around it. I know, that doesn't count since I wasn't on the bike, but it was good that I was with my wife, 'cuz I handed it right over to her, and it fit. Now she can't say I never gave her nothin'.

You found a 1911? I would have had a hard time not keeping that aside from the obvious reasons not to.

I found a rusty 4mm wrench and allan key,
a 12 and 10 inch flat screwdriver, Craftsman
a cursed 10" crescent wrench, 4 miles later i got 6 wires in my tires on a 97 mile ride.
a 3 lb sledge hammer head ,i carried it 65 miles home.
The phones i found were thrown away i think.

The last ride out i saw a boat oar in the ditch, that had flown out, i guess. Bungy cords are useless.

Being a professional mechanic for more than 35 years I have found enough tools on the road to fill a small tool box. Lots of wrenches, srewdrivers, hammers, pliers of all types, complete 3/8 metric socket set...... I can't remember all of them.
My personal tools are mostly Snap-On tools, with a mix of specialty tools from various manufacturers.

Mike

Last summer I found a 1/2" Gearwrench and a Gerber multitool.

I kept the Gearwrench and gave the multitool to my son.

In Philadelphia, there's a very good chance that it was discarded recklessly for a very good reason. I hate guns as a rule, but I'd never touch any guns found on the streets of Philadelphia.

Yup, but if you pick up a "lost" gun you'll also pick up all the bodies that come along with it. :twitchy:

I make it a rule not to touch any gun that isn't mine, and I'm very found of guns! LOL! ;0)

+1 on numerous sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers over the years. I did find a 3/8 hand impact driver last week. Best tool to date was a 1/2 Milwaukee corded drill.
I've found a few cell phones, last was a new Blackberry, so new it only had a couple of numbers in it. Usually I look for Mom, Dad, or Home to call and have usually gotten a reward for their return. I have yet to find the elusive and secretive Ipod though.
Usually find a couple of bucks every year too. Biggest was a $20. I don't even stop for change anymore unless I'm stopped at a light or something anyway.
Usually I'll stop for a good bungee. Last year picked up a pack of 10 new in the bag.

Found some, wrenches, screwdrivers, knives, new bungee cords, (cheap) sunglasses, nice leather gloves, cash. Lost some too.

I definitely found a nice $20 last weekend while cab driving, don't ask... 15 or so 1/2" drive craftsman sockets on a cold winter ride a few years ago, black diamoond adjustable ski poles.
It is always cool to inspect wildlife that is freshly road killed (with a heavy vegetarian heart). sounds grim, but when else do you get to see mink, badgers, and martens up close?

That's got to be the best find yet! All I've picked up is a lousy crescent wrench and a couple of screwdrivers. Once I stopped to cut the rattles off a rattlesnake that had just been run over...My son still has them in his nightstand drawer.

Aside from curb picking, I think the best tool I found on the roadside was a $20 bill stuck in the drain hole of a bridge. Especially nice since I was down to $2 at the time with three days until payday and no groceries.

I'm still not sure how I recognized it as money while cruising along at night, tired, with a cheap headlight, but somehow it got my attention.

I also found winning scratchoff lottery tickets all the time; some people didn't think $1-$2 were worth cashing in, and others apparently didn't understand some of the more complex games. I once found one worth $70 at a bus stop.