I am sure many of us have purchased and used items different from their original advertisement.
@Toronto416 and @ccj have previously posted about using bamboo chasen for whisking egg on tinned copper pan.
I have recently bought a set of spice jars and rack for tea leaves.
What tools/items have you used different from the advertisement?
A sad iron makes a good press for bacon, chops, panini, etc.
We use a Turkish coffee grinder as our tabletop pepper grinder.
I used to keep my spatulas and ladles in a vase, because I had too many vases. But the spatulas outgrew it, and now I just have a boring old spatula holder.
Those spring mounted tea infuser balls
They are useless for tea. They’re not big enough for full leaf teas to allow them to unfurl, and they don’t seal well enough to keep the fine ground teas contained.
What I use mine for: dusting baked goods w powdered sugar / cocoa. Dusting cake pans with flour. Sprinkling cinnamon on cinnamon toast.
Also, playing like it’s Pac-Man and annoying the cats.
Nice. The Pac-Mac is a good idea too.
Alton Brown calls kitchen tools that work better for a different task than the one they were intended for doppeltaskers.
This won’t be a revelation to anyone here, but a prime example is a coffee grinder with blades works better for spices than for coffee.
oh yeah! got one of those too! (the not-coffee grinder, I mean).
My version–which does work for teas–I use mostly for bouquet garni and things like mulled ciders.
I use an old iron to make tuna (or chicken) melts.
I use a tea strainer for that, so, yes - that’s the best use of tea accessories, I guess.
Nice racks, Chem. Hopefully you have the ideal place for them.
I’ve long given up on trying to get matching herb/spice/salt containers. My surrender came in the form of stackable plastic tubs, labeled A-C, T-Z, etc. The nonmatching tins, jars, bottles, bags swim together in these tubs, and the whole ugly mess goes on cupboard shelves with other tubs of salts, peppers and bottled sauces.
My small sieve is used mostly for dusting. I like the top being open so that instead of tapping or shaking, I can run a spoon around inside to get a very even dusting if needed.
I don’t suppose using the weights from a set of barbells in a plastic bag to press tofu counts? 
I use a pot full of water, which I guess is not the pot’s intended use.
Wow… this is a tough one. I use small heavy sauce pans to smash burgers, chicken, and pork… my meat grinder to do falafel and some salsas… but can’t really think of anything that is out of the ordinary.
Oh, I used a pasta sauce jar to mash potatoes the other day. (I also use them for storage and as blender jars, but those are closer to their original purpose.)
I am going to show my tea strainer later
My grandmother’s - but I use it as a bookend.
On the other hand, this is my go to champagne cork remover. Not chic, but I don’t have a saber.
The last one is just an universal tool
