I am going through a bunch of stuff and I have a bunch of brake lines that are mangled and/or crimped and otherwise useless. The question I have from the Brake Fairies is should I cut the lines up and save the DOOOOHICKIEEEES that attach the lines to the caliper(that the lines go through, that are threaded, generally size 11mm). I do not know why but I am can not for the life of me remember the name of these little buggers even though I have sat for 15 minutes trying.

I would save them (or send them to me) if they are in good shape. The replacement lines you get at the parts store usually have a larger hex head and it's nice to swap in the original style.

Of course the catch is that in order to reuse them you need a brake line flaring tool.

I save all of mine. Most I cut the line off flush with the nut, and weld it up to make plugs. If the threads are fine, and the flats are also, then they are good candidates for making new lines.

Save 'em. If you throw them away you'll need some of the pieces. If you keep them you will not need them. Like the generator I bought after Hurricane Fran.

And I remember Peter Egan writing of a midnite raid on his junkyard to recover Lotus brake lines he'd tossed. Seems he needed the old lines to use as template to bend new ones.