I am referring to something you always find a use for. Whether a certain type of tool, a glue or tape, gadget, a type of bolt, something unique, doesn’t matter. Whether you keep it on your person or nearby.
mine is, a zippo lighter, a knife and i try to keep a roll of scotch super 33+ tape around now… i can temporarily fix about 75% of all problems with these 3 items:cool:
What about you all?
Duct tape.
I’ve done amazing things while camping/boating/living with duct tape.
Things I always carry:
A small pocket knife.
A bigger knife, for when the small one isn’t big enough.
A Bic lighter.
A pen. Really the most used item I carry. I was once in a spot where I needed a pen and didn’t have one. Never made that mistake again.
Dental floss, safety wire, zip ties, and gaff tape. There’s usually a multi-tool or swiss-army knife around, too.
Victorinox SA knife (Explorer model). I rarely use this fewer than a half-dozen times a day.
How anyone can get through life - or would want to try - without one is a mystery.
Gerber Dime multi tool. Small enough to carry in a pocket, enough features to be useful almost every day.
Smart phone. Used many times each day for info gathering, planning, entertainment, buying, etc. Also useful for making/receiving calls 
Now I’m intrigued. What kinds of things do you do each day that require this tool?
A question for those who mention a lighter. What problems are you solving with this? I’ll admit I’ve been in situations where I’ve been tempted to solve a problem by setting it on fire. But in retrospect I’ve generally realized that wasn’t a good solution so it was just as well I didn’t have a lighter on hand.
A flashlight is an essential tool.
If you cut a nylon rope, you can melt the ends to prevent unraveling.
The one I carry is occasionally used at home for candles and incense.
A small Kershaw Ken Onion 1620 pocket knife. It has spring assisted opening, which comes in very handy.
In the kitchen, it seems like I’m always reaching for the pastry scraper, but rarely for pastry. Great for shoveling ingredients into a bowl or pan, or for cleaning off a cutting board or the counter top.
I am curious about that myself. I have a very similar Swiss Army knife that I would certainly consider essential, but I only use it on a weekly basis. I guess if I used it for opening mail, then maybe it would used a half-dozen times a day.
I had a Swiss army knife with an awl. Its amazing how many times I needed an awl. Ive re-purposed dozens of coat hangers into many uses, even cutting pieces to use as nails.
After cutting off the heads of zip ties, it leaves a sharp edge, its useful to ignite it and blow it out, rounding it off. Also helps to remove stuck on tape and to heat vinyl paint spots to help remove them from some surfaces. Its much quicker to use a lighter as well to use heat shrink tubing instead of a heat gun or hair dryer. Mending small pieces of similar plastic, and melting small holes in plastic panels for small wire runs (low voltage/amperage applications) (no sharp edges). Also useful for getting lint off of socks and it looks cool when doing it. 
This is MacGyver material. Also, where do you find metal coat hangers these days, even the dry cleaners sometimes use rigid plastic ones.
Yard sales and thrift shops. Or you can buy 12-packs of them at WalMart’
Vice grips rank up there with duct tape.
As for daily carry, I’m almost always with my Victorinox Nomad. I like its longer blade, and the blade and screwdriver lock open. I use it almost daily.
I can see an awl coming in very handy, but I’m not finding good SAK examples with awls. Leather punches, yes, but not awls. Got a link to one?
Tell me more about this “safety wire” you speak of.
I believe it is some form of wire that makes things safe.
Honestly, I’ve seen it before, its braided steel wire that anchors something to another, to keep objects fastened in place or to each other or daisy-chained. It really does seem pointless though with Loctite around.
Aside from the previously mentioned knives, gorilla and frog tape, and multi-tools, I keep a blister pack of single use superglue tubes in the tool cabinet. Good for everything from miner breaks to moderate injuries.