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Picks are miracle tools that every DIYer should own.

Work on your car for any amount of time, and you’ll come to realize just how important your fingernails can be. Whether you use them to scrape off stickers or peel back gaskets, your nails can be subjected to a ton of abuse while working on your car. But if you have a set of picks by your side, you can save your nails from some suffering.

Picks are exactly what they sound like. They’re long, thin pieces of metal with a sharp point at one end and a handle at the other. Think of it as an oversized thumbtack with a really long pointy end. The sharp points can be simple and straight or bent at an angle, depending on the kind of pick you’re using. Usually you can buy them in packs so you have the perfect pick for the job you’re tackling.

Picks can be used to do all sorts of jobs on your car. I use them most for removing stubborn o-rings from tight or tough-to-reach locations. There’s nothing more annoying than having to pick a tiny, dried-up o-ring from its seat with your fingernails. But with a pick, the same job takes just a few seconds.

Depending on how creative you are, picks can be used for a whole bunch of other stuff, too. Releasing plastic clips, completing tough wiring jobs, and scraping out dirt from hard-to-reach locations are just a few of the other uses I can think of. You can even use them to save items you dropped deep into the engine bay without having to scrape up your hands. There’s no limit to how useful picks can be, even on the most simple jobs.

Because picks aren’t terribly complex tools, they’re not terribly expensive. This four-piece bundle from Horusdy can be yours right now for just $6.49 on on Amazon. It includes all the basic bends you’d need for 99 percent of jobs. If you want a collection of picks more suitable for a professional environment, This nine-piece set from QISF comes with both large and small picks, as well as a scraper tool for removing gaskets and other tough-to-remove material. It’s yours for just under $20.