The other day, Ty’s electric guitar stopped making sound.  His guitar teacher asked if we had a soldering iron.  In my house in the US, I kept a well-stocked garage. My tool collection included a broad array of hand tools, a circular saw, two different electric drills (corded and cordless), several pairs of safety glasses and, yes, soldering equipment. I like fixing things. I did not want to be judged as the kind of person who doesn’t keep a soldering iron around for potential repairs. I now had a mission: find soldering iron, repair electric guitar, restore handy soul.

When we moved to Hong Kong, I figured I wouldn’t need many tools. I was half right.   Building management sends help for blown lightbulbs, clogged drains, dodgy hinges and squeaky floors. But most repairs here are surprisingly makeshift. I’ve heard Hong Kong apartments compared to stage sets.  As long as you treat things very gently, and don’t look too carefully, you have nothing to worry about.

Let me give you a couple of examples of what pass for “repairs” here.  When we had water leak through our windows during the last typhoon, our building (eventually) sent workers to repair the water-damaged paint and plaster. Less than 24 hours after the wall had been repaired and repainted, they sent two more guys with a hammer, a silicone gun, and masking tape.  This is what the wall looked like when they left:

Another repair that left me shaking my head?  My boys play soccer in the squash court in the basement of our building. The soccer goal has suffered some abuse (not my kids, I swear), but it has been “fixed” by the building management. With masking tape.

Masking tape. Perfect in damp environments.

This is not to say there aren’t ingenious fix-its around.  I still marvel at the bamboo scaffolding used throughout Hong Kong (see the end of Gazelles Rock).  We have also seen a supersoaker water gun appropriated with surprising utility as a cleaning tool.  Just yesterday, we encountered this guy loading one with weed killer and then shooting at weeds growing in a rock wall. I particularly appreciated the orange safety vest.

Toy water gun as weed killer delivery tool: entirely inappropriate and totally effective.

So where to find a soldering a gun?  As it happens, mixed in with stationery shops and restaurants is a tiny shop stuffed with adhesive hooks and power strips. Toward the back, there was an entire display of soldering irons.

I love the screwdriver cage “lock” to the right of the display.

I was tempted by the HK$500 blue gun down in the corner, but settled on a an HK$88 model with middle-of-the-road wattage.  A few links of solder were contained in the kit, and I bought an extra packet for good measure.  After all, I may be soldering a lot now that I have the right tools.  Mission accomplished.