Can't Open a Nano? Put Down the Pliers

February 12, 2014

Can't get that nano open?

You don't need to lug around a pair of pliers. Just add a couple of rubber bands to your TOTT kit. If you wrap them around the container, they should give you enough grip to get that stubborn nano open.

11.6k · February 12, 2014

Can't get that nano open?

You don't need to lug around a pair of pliers. Just add a couple of rubber bands to your TOTT kit. If you wrap them around the container, they should give you enough grip to get that stubborn nano open.

The nanos I've found are fused shut with corrosion. This required two pairs of pliers. I used a rag on the pliers' teeth to prevent extra damage, although the nano at that point is pretty much finished anyway.

2.6k · February 12, 2014

But I have these cool pliers.....

4.4k · February 12, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Then just sign the log, make sure the GC code is on the logsheet, seal, and drop in any mailbox - a little known feature of the postal service.

:lol:

Edited February 12, 2014 by Viajero Perdido

11.6k · February 12, 2014

I just swallow them.

That explains the corrosion.

:lol:

4.6k · February 12, 2014

The last jammed nano I opened was already due to be archived after being abandoned.

It took a two pairs of mole grips, after which there was almost nothing left of the original threads.

I don't think rubber bands would have been much use

February 12, 2014

Woah! You guys have found some extreme nanos!

I'm thinking the rubber band idea is much better than using my teeth (which I've done before).

Although...now that the pix of someone having eaten the thing will be running through my mind next time I can't get one of those little buggers open, I'll probably think twice before putting it in my mouth.

3.6k · February 12, 2014

You guys never heard of this?

1k · February 12, 2014

You guys never heard of this?

Somehow, I just can't justify $50 pliers to open a $2 nano.

7.3k · February 12, 2014

I've never had a tough time opening a nano. Maybe I just haven't found enough of them.

15.3k · February 12, 2014

I've never had a tough time opening a nano. Maybe I just haven't found enough of them.

I've found quite a few of them, and have never had much difficulty opening them. But I don't have difficulty getting the logs out of them either, and apparently a lot of geocachers use tools for that too.

2.6k · February 12, 2014

Getting the logs out is a nightmare and is why I hate nano's.

Some can be hard to open as well.

February 12, 2014

Though I may not like nanos much, I have yet to come across one I could not open with just my hands, getting the logs out at times took a little more/less finesse... I will still find them since they are the domenate species of cache in my area along with the the PX/film container under a lamp post skirt.

I regard caches like Pokemon, Gotta cache them all.

2.6k · February 13, 2014

My son and I found one a couple of weeks ago that we absolutely couldn't open, and I didn't have pliers with me (I usually carry some sort of multi tool), so I just took a pic of the nano in hand (in case the CO wanted proof) and logged the find. He never questioned it. I had found a bison tube a while back that I couldn't open, and that time I DID have my pliers. No luck.

I don't remember if I logged NM's on those two, but clearly they would have warranted it.

3.7k · February 13, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Hey, that's what I was going to say! :mad:

I found they go down nice and easy if dipped in ketchup first.

3.7k · February 13, 2014

Getting the logs out is a nightmare and is why I hate nano's.

Some can be hard to open as well.

On most of them, there is a magnetic material on the inner portion of the log, so you can just use the magnet from the base to "grab" the log.

Rolling it up and putting it back is a whole other story, though.

February 13, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Hey, that's what I was going to say!

I found they go down nice and easy if dipped in ketchup first.

I prefer Franks Red Hot for mine

February 13, 2014

Getting the logs out is a nightmare and is why I hate nano's.

Some can be hard to open as well.

On most of them, there is a magnetic material on the inner portion of the log, so you can just use the magnet from the base to "grab" the log.

Rolling it up and putting it back is a whole other story, though.

I will have to try this next time if the opportunity is there. Thanks for the tip

7.3k · February 13, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Hey, that's what I was going to say!

I found they go down nice and easy if dipped in ketchup first.

I prefer Franks Red Hot for mine

Peanut butter.

5.7k · February 13, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Hey, that's what I was going to say!

I found they go down nice and easy if dipped in ketchup first.

I prefer Franks Red Hot for mine

I put that....... never mind. :laughing: I buy it by the gallon.

1.3k · February 13, 2014

I've never had a tough time opening a nano. Maybe I just haven't found enough of them.
I've found quite a few of them, and have never had much difficulty opening them. But I don't have difficulty getting the logs out of them either, and apparently a lot of geocachers use tools for that too.

Opening and getting the logs out is usually the easy part. Rolling the log back up tight enough so that it doesn't tear all to hell...that's the hard part. Some nano's logs are so rough by the time I find them that the last six inches are basically dust, holding on by habit.

My son and I found one a couple of weeks ago that we absolutely couldn't open, and I didn't have pliers with me (I usually carry some sort of multi tool), so I just took a pic of the nano in hand (in case the CO wanted proof) and logged the find. He never questioned it.

I don't seem to find alot of nano's (or really small micro's) but when I do, I take pictures and if I'm not FTF, I don't bother with signing the log. Saves space on the log, saves wear and tear and I have proof that I found the cache. I've also never had a CO question the find or delete the log.

1.4k · February 13, 2014

Yea rolling them back up is the problem I have. I shouldn't mention this trick I learned from a local cacher as after this it wont help anymore but what I have sometimes done especially if there is a lot of muggle activity. Pull the log out and instead of unrolling it all the way to the last signature. Just unroll it a bit and sign on the first available spot! :grin: It is probibly unethical and a no no but I have done it a few times. This guy wasn't even having problems opening it on one of my caches!

1.9k · February 13, 2014

How about carrying a small can of WD-40? “If it moves and it shouldn’t; use Duct Tape. If it should move and it doesn’t; use WD40″

6.1k · February 13, 2014

I just swallow them. After a couple of days, the rust on the threads has softened enough that they're easy to open.

Then just sign the log, make sure the GC code is on the logsheet, seal, and drop in any mailbox - a little known feature of the postal service.

The problem is if you swallow 2 or more the magnets will stick together in your lower intestine and get stuck, causing major problems. Just carry extra presigned ones on you and substitute them without opening them. :anibad:

2.2k · February 13, 2014

I don't seem to find alot of nano's (or really small micro's) but when I do, I take pictures and if I'm not FTF, I don't bother with signing the log. Saves space on the log, saves wear and tear and I have proof that I found the cache. I've also never had a CO question the find or delete the log.

Same here.

4.4k · February 13, 2014

Hmm...

If the CO put out a nano, they're obviously not expecting a story on the tiny logsheet.

If they're not expecting a story on the logsheet, they're not expecting a story on the cache page.

If they're not expecting a story on the cache page, I don't need to log it as found.

If I don't need to log it as found, I don't need to open the little container.

Problem solved.

3.3k · February 13, 2014

I've never had a tough time opening a nano. Maybe I just haven't found enough of them.

I've found more than one nano. That means I've found enough of them.

3.3k · February 13, 2014

Hmm...

If the CO put out a nano, they're obviously not expecting a story on the tiny logsheet.

If they're not expecting a story on the logsheet, they're not expecting a story on the cache page.

If they're not expecting a story on the cache page, I don't need to log it as found.

If I don't need to log it as found, I don't need to open the little container.

Problem solved.

Posts like this always remind me of the nano I found at the top of a very long set of steps in the side of a mountain. The hike was up something like 1089 steps and then a mile along the trail at the top. The cache was a nano. I was sorely tempted to unroll the log and write "found at half past three on a lovely sunny September afternoon. The views from the top are amazing. Thanks so much for bringing me to this amazing spot", and then immediately logging NM on the basis the log was full.

2.6k · February 13, 2014

Yea rolling them back up is the problem I have. I shouldn't mention this trick I learned from a local cacher as after this it wont help anymore but what I have sometimes done especially if there is a lot of muggle activity. Pull the log out and instead of unrolling it all the way to the last signature. Just unroll it a bit and sign on the first available spot! It is probibly unethical and a no no but I have done it a few times. This guy wasn't even having problems opening it on one of my caches!

+1.....On Nano's and bison's I sign the first place I can !

February 13, 2014

All nanos I have found were relatively easy to open.

3.3k · February 13, 2014

Can't get that nano open?

You don't need to lug around a pair of pliers. Just add a couple of rubber bands to your TOTT kit. If you wrap them around the container, they should give you enough grip to get that stubborn nano open.

The nanos I've found are fused shut with corrosion. This required two pairs of pliers. I used a rag on the pliers' teeth to prevent extra damage, although the nano at that point is pretty much finished anyway.

Two pair of pliers and a spritz of WD-40. Use sparingly so as not to damage the log or swag inside the nano. :anitongue:

I thought this thread was about how to open nanos. Seems like it's turning into a nano hate-fest. Don't like 'em? Don't seek 'em.

Edited February 13, 2014 by wmpastor

1.1k · February 13, 2014

Hmm...

If the CO put out a nano, they're obviously not expecting a story on the tiny logsheet.

If they're not expecting a story on the logsheet, they're not expecting a story on the cache page.

If they're not expecting a story on the cache page, I don't need to log it as found.

If I don't need to log it as found, I don't need to open the little container.

Problem solved.

Posts like this always remind me of the nano I found at the top of a very long set of steps in the side of a mountain. The hike was up something like 1089 steps and then a mile along the trail at the top. The cache was a nano. I was sorely tempted to unroll the log and write "found at half past three on a lovely sunny September afternoon. The views from the top are amazing. Thanks so much for bringing me to this amazing spot", and then immediately logging NM on the basis the log was full.

I take it the CO mistakenly listed it as something other than a micro?

3.4k · February 13, 2014

All nanos I have found were relatively easy to open.

You should find some of those I did in the last week. Steel and Aluminum are rotten materials for places it rains as both oxidize and jam up nicely. Sometimes other cachers crossthread "bison" tubes, too. A pair of Big Ol' Pliers never goes amiss in my caching kit. Sometimes I'm real nice, though, and if I have a spare bison in my kit I replace a really corroded one. Back before the prices went up I got a couple gross for around ten cents each.

13.7k · February 14, 2014

I thought this thread was about how to open nanos. Seems like it's turning into a nano hate-fest. Don't like 'em? Don't seek 'em.

Well, since nano isn't a cache size, it's really not as simple as you make it out to be.

February 14, 2014

Interesting.

All of the nanos I've come across have been have been recent hides that were just frozen and hard to hold on to.

After thinking about it... it makes perfect sense that the old nanos would be corroded shut. When you stick an aluminum object to a steel object you form a steel-aluminum galvanic cell, a tiny battery that selectively corrodes the aluminum.

3.3k · February 14, 2014

I thought this thread was about how to open nanos. Seems like it's turning into a nano hate-fest. Don't like 'em? Don't seek 'em.

Well, since nano isn't a cache size, it's really not as simple as you make it out to be.

Nano is a subset of micro. So some people are willing to search for micros but they're peeved if it's a nano???

If so, yes, they're screwed - they'll need two pliers to unscrew the corroded or cross-threaded threads mentioned earlier in this thread.

9.3k · February 14, 2014

Don't like 'em? Don't seek 'em.

Not always a viable solution. Locally, the size choices of "Other" and "Size Not Chosen" mostly translates to micro, or their erstwhile cousin, nano. I'm not seeing any reasonably effective means of filtering out just nanos.

3.7k · February 14, 2014

I dunno...I live in Atlanta (very humid and rainy) and have never found a nano I had trouble opening. For me, all the difficulty is in pulling out the log and rolling it back up. It took me finding about a dozen of these before I accidentally figured out the magnet trick for extracting the log.

9.3k · February 14, 2014

Back on topic:

Our EOD guys don't bother with pliers to open a bison.

Plastique does the job ever so much faster.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=ba687a31-b486-4ef7-9d05-9c77bacd49dc

3.3k · February 14, 2014

Can't get that nano open?

You don't need to lug around a pair of pliers. Just add a couple of rubber bands to your TOTT kit. If you wrap them around the container, they should give you enough grip to get that stubborn nano open.

The nanos I've found are fused shut with corrosion. This required two pairs of pliers. I used a rag on the pliers' teeth to prevent extra damage, although the nano at that point is pretty much finished anyway.

Two pair of pliers and a spritz of WD-40. Use sparingly so as not to damage the log or swag inside the nano.

I thought this thread was about how to open nanos. Seems like it's turning into a nano hate-fest. Don't like 'em? Don't seek 'em.

If only it were as easy as "don't seek 'em", but there's no way to filter them out of pocket queries because they are treated the same as micros.

1.9k · February 15, 2014

Back on topic:

Our EOD guys don't bother with pliers to open a bison.

Plastique does the job ever so much faster.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=ba687a31-b486-4ef7-9d05-9c77bacd49dc

I wonder why they bothered. It doesn't seem to me to pose much of a hazard.

9.3k · February 15, 2014

Back on topic:

Our EOD guys don't bother with pliers to open a bison.

Plastique does the job ever so much faster.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=ba687a31-b486-4ef7-9d05-9c77bacd49dc

I wonder why they bothered. It doesn't seem to me to pose much of a hazard.

My guess? Because they can.

Why join EOD if you don't get to blow stuff up? :lol:

5k · February 16, 2014

I've never had a tough time opening a nano. Maybe I just haven't found enough of them.
I've found quite a few of them, and have never had much difficulty opening them. But I don't have difficulty getting the logs out of them either, and apparently a lot of geocachers use tools for that too.

Opening and getting the logs out is usually the easy part. Rolling the log back up tight enough so that it doesn't tear all to hell...that's the hard part. Some nano's logs are so rough by the time I find them that the last six inches are basically dust, holding on by habit.

My son and I found one a couple of weeks ago that we absolutely couldn't open, and I didn't have pliers with me (I usually carry some sort of multi tool), so I just took a pic of the nano in hand (in case the CO wanted proof) and logged the find. He never questioned it.

I don't seem to find alot of nano's (or really small micro's) but when I do, I take pictures and if I'm not FTF, I don't bother with signing the log. Saves space on the log, saves wear and tear and I have proof that I found the cache. I've also never had a CO question the find or delete the log.

It's probably been two years since I have found a nano. I don't seek them out, but if I do find one, I simply retrieve it and put it back, then log my find. Tweezers and quill rollers are simply not my idea of caching tools. My most important caching tool is my hiking stick.

I do carry a pair of old fashioned pliers, as well as a small roll of 20g baling wire in my backpack, along with a roll of duct tape. It's my understanding that with the three, I can fix anything.

5k · February 16, 2014

Hmm...

If the CO put out a nano, they're obviously not expecting a story on the tiny logsheet.

If they're not expecting a story on the logsheet, they're not expecting a story on the cache page.

If they're not expecting a story on the cache page, I don't need to log it as found.

If I don't need to log it as found, I don't need to open the little container.

Problem solved.

Posts like this always remind me of the nano I found at the top of a very long set of steps in the side of a mountain. The hike was up something like 1089 steps and then a mile along the trail at the top. The cache was a nano. I was sorely tempted to unroll the log and write "found at half past three on a lovely sunny September afternoon. The views from the top are amazing. Thanks so much for bringing me to this amazing spot", and then immediately logging NM on the basis the log was full.

WOW! We really do share some ideas. Like I said, I don't sign them. I have never had a problem with a cache owner, but I have made it clear that if I did, I would simply go back, sign my name across the entire log and then post a NM because the log was full.

February 16, 2014

I've never had a problem opening them, but always have trouble rolling the logs. Once I dropped the nano top and lost it in the grass. I emailed the CO and offered to replace the container but they said not to bother.

4.5k · February 16, 2014

I've never had a problem opening them, but always have trouble rolling the logs. Once I dropped the nano top and lost it in the grass. I emailed the CO and offered to replace the container but they said not to bother.

There you have it folks! The cache owner himself figured out his mistake in hiding the nano and realized it wasn't worth bothering with. :unsure:

I've found a few of the rascals myself and can't think of a time where i had any trouble opening. The harder part is getting the log out and then rolling it up tight enough to go back into the container.

6k · February 16, 2014

I hope no one is reading whose cache I have found but some time ago I stopped signing nanos. I always get it in my hand and then replace it. I know the rules but it can be a real pain to get it back in that little container. I know I found it. I don't think any CO checks the logs and if they did and chose to delete my log that would be fine since there are SO MANY CACHES now it wouldn't be missed.

3.3k · February 16, 2014

Who says a full signature is required? If the log's crowded, I'll squeeze it in somewhere and maybe say in the online log something like "signed as 'w'" or "signed after the 07-01-12 log."

How to open nanos? Consider two stiff drinks and soaking in Bourbon!

There is nothing that can't be handled with two stiff drinks and a bourbon soaked, rare, bonein Ribeye.

1.1k · February 16, 2014

I hope no one is reading whose cache I have found but some time ago I stopped signing nanos. I always get it in my hand and then replace it. I know the rules but it can be a real pain to get it back in that little container. I know I found it. I don't think any CO checks the logs and if they did and chose to delete my log that would be fine since there are SO MANY CACHES now it wouldn't be missed.

A much more respectable point of view than some I have read here.

7.5k · February 16, 2014

I find this attitude amusing. Why not go all the way and say, "Sometimes I look for a cache, and it turns out that it's hidden. Well, I don't want to be bothered looking for the cache, so although I know the rules say I'm supposed to find the cache, I don't bother, but I claim the find, anyway. If a CO has trouble with that, then I'll just go back, find the cache, scribble all over the log, and then report that it needs maintenance"? Some these positions so silly, I'm hoping you're thinking it's so obvious you're joking, you didn't bother to add smilies. But I can't shake the feeling that you're serious.

If you're disappointed to have found a nano, that's fine with me. But why are you bothering to claim a find?

Can't Open a Nano? Put Down the Pliers

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