Short list of essential tools?

[lmorin]

While I agree with everything, I think that a dental pick is not a good tool. I've seen many people scratch their valves trying to pick an o-ring out, which leads to rusting. I prefer to use a wooden toothpick, or even better a plastic toothpick. You can also use a brass pick as it will not scratch as a stainless steel would

Well, what you do with an o-ring that was baked and hardened in place to the extent that a poor quality dental pick broke when trying to get it out? A DM worked on my o-ring for 20 min before being able to get all the pieces out. The pick he used was made of iron, but not hardened stainless, like a dental instrument. His pick broke and the job was finished with my Swiss Army Knife, little piece by little piece. The point is, a wooden toothpick would do nothing about 25% of the time, in my experience.