This thing has a +7 skill modifier.
wtf?
I suspect (as in don't trust me, ask the devs) that this is something they're still working on. It's a way of taking something that has limited use and making it more useful within the context of the game. They did this with the Katana; in order to encourage more melee, they took a good weapon and made it better by giving it the +10 for close combat. The policeman's intimate friend, I mean nightstick, was underhitting the baseball bat, so they gave it a + for agility. (Why ag and not CC is something you have to ask them, not me) And again the wrench, as g22 points out. In the case of the traffic cone, they're trying to find a way to make it meaningful. So far it's, umm, a work in progress.
A different way to do this is to have specific quests that require the use of a tool in order to complete the quest. I've suggested this earlier. You need to break down a door, but your measley 150 strength skill isn't enough, but equipping the prybar (or the lockpick) makes it possible for even a 30-strength weakling to open the door. (Oh, and after the door is opened, you have to do combat with a large group of disturbed zeds, and the tool you have equipped is your starting weapon. Hmm, I wouldn't want to be the one to write scenarios for the rubber chicken, the Santa hat, or the XXXL. "It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it"