Tile Stretcher-anyone else use one?

Several years ago, shortly after moving into our current home, one of my first projects was reno'ing the downstairs bathroom. It turned out great, except that the water softener was in the closet. The quote to temporarily R&R it seemed unreasonable at the time, so I left it and tiled around it. Years later when the water softener died, I removed it. The thinking at the time was that I would knock out the cut tile, and lay full tiles that I saved to finish the job. 

Here's a couple pics to show an alternative  fix that I thought was kinda cheeky. 

Good spot for a tubular body floor safe?

I would just replace the tile with the cut out of it it you have spares and you remember the grout color.

Nah, I'm good with my smilley face repair. I think about future owners discovering it and going "wtf?". lol

I'm surprised the sides didn't pull in on you. I always end up with concave sides when using the tile stretcher. 

My dad was in the tile business for decades and it was always amazing to watch him work a tile.  He could hold the tile in one hand, look at the spot that needed to be tiled, and just start nibbling at it with whatever you call that tool that sort of looks like a pliers.  Just by eyeballing it, he could get the tile to be the exact shape and size. 

Very cool result!