An EDC Journey of Discovery

[Harry 1440]

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=dDNSSGxBZnR1bjZqQW5wdjAwMENVZlF4V1RLbmx3

 

[Harry 1440]

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=dDNSSGxBZnR1bjZqQW5wdjAwMENVZlF4V1RLbmx3

I was trying to post a photo to go along with the post but ran into the usual problems of using a computer while being old. I would appreciate any advice on how one writes a post with an included image. Thanks for your time.

Harry

 

[kobold]

Press Ctrl+P and paste the URL of your image in the field. Press Enter.

edit: you must do a right click and select "copy image link" first on the page you linked..

 

[Harry 1440]

Thank you Kobold for the command guidance pursuant to inserting images in a post. When one has a well developed 3 second attention span every day has the potential to become a grand adventure. It is true that getting old is really not for the faint of heart or cloudy of mind.

I have been searching for just the right combination of tools for EDC employment for the better part of the last 20 years or so. I try something for a while and then seem to wonder off into the wilderness of mirrors. I have lost count of the many SAKs and other cutting implements that I have purchased in my quest to discover the best selection of tools that work for me on a daily basis. I have enjoyed reading Jackknife's thoughts for many years starting well before he retired to Texas. His approach to evaluating what worked for him as EDC tools was very thought provoking.

His evaluation process was that one is best served by undertaking a realistic appraisal of just what exactly one needed the tools for in view of who they are, where they live and what real problems they might have to address on any given day. My problem has been my tendency to wonder off into the "what if this happens" realm of thought and end up with a tool selection better suite for carrying around in a tool chest rather than in my pockets. My recent EDC selection has been the Victorinox Executive paired with the Leatherman Squirt P4. I tried the newer PS4 and was underwhelmed with the performance of the scissors on it which had been inserted at the expense of the small screw driver and awl which I felt had more utility value.

I am retired so I don't have to concern myself with having to worry about addressing a crisis while too far away from my car or residence both places of which have tools available in them. The realistic issues are most likely to be small daily problems of an irritational nature as opposed to some earth shattering crisis where the question of the survival of Western Civilization is in doubt and a satisfactory outcome squarely rests upon my shoulders and what is in my pockets at any given time. The key for my line of thought process is to carry with me some basic tools that I can use creatively to deal with the small issues that seem to arise with a certain degree of regularity these days.

I have decided to retain the Executive in one pocket in view of the tools it provides me as well as its small foot print as it were. I decided to replace the Squirt P4 with the 2 tools that are pictured along with this post. I had put these together a long time ago and rediscovered them recently which wondering around my collection of various knives without benefit of adult supervision. The Micra idea was originally proposed by Mr. Noah Spurrier in an Instructables Workshop article that I happened to run across about 8 years ago. The concept fascinated me as I had a Micra sitting around so I tried his modification. The 2 screw driver bits were originally born in a Leatherman Multitool of some forgotten lineage that was also buried in the knife collection box. The Executive provides the scissors for light duty usage and the 2 screw driver bits provide better reach and sturdiness than those on the P4. It dawned on me that during the course of carrying the P4 I rarely had need of the small pliers but the screw drivers where used more often. The modified Micra tools will take a bit more abuse I think than would the comparative Executive tools will. Both the Micra and the 2 screw driver bits fit quite well together in the Leatherman extra small pouch which itself resides comfortably in my left front pocket.

Jackknife has always said by way of interjecting a note of realism into the "what is the best EDC selection discussion" that a substantial amount of actual work is being performed daily by utility knives with a whopping blade length of a whole inch. This concept makes a lot of sense to me and the more I pondered it the more I arrived at the conclusion that down sizing my EDC tools made sense for where I was out and about these days and what I was doing. It is my understanding that as one gets older there is a tendency to try and simplify one's daily existence. As I approach my 69th summer I can finally see the merit in that thought. My choices works for me and other folks will arrive at different choices that work for them as time marches on. I think the key take away is to be receptive to the changing nature of one's daily circumstances and try to arrive at decisions that will stand realistic appraisal in the cold surgical light of dawn.

Harry

 

[Shrub]

Is there a perfect edc?
I don't know. Even if there is, I'd bet it's variable from day to day. Just to keep us on our toes.lol. It always seems like if I get left alone with my "daddys toys"(I have two small children.lol) unsupervised for more than a minute or two I start to see the use of each and every tool, and all the available space in my pockets...
There's never enough pockets.
It always seems like something got left behind. Yet I rarely ever get to use more than a couple of the items I carry.
Always seem to want to pack for the most adventurous "what ifs", yet even when we get to go hiking and exploring, I rarely ever need much.
I could probably, comfortably get through most days with just a Huntsman, or similar sak. But who wants to do that? And what if..?

H Harry 1440 , thanks for sharing your experience. If I ever do figure out a perfect edc, I'll be sure to share it here.

 

[Harry 1440]

I guess that I finally arrived at the realization that walking around with a full size tool pouch on my belt would like rather strange on a day to day basis when out and about in public. It finally dawned upon me that the pocket tools were suppose to address life's smaller unexpected problems as opposed to being able to employ them to build a house or some other major undertaking. If I know that I will become involved in something that will require real full size tools then I bring them. So far I am comfortable with this current selection of tools and really appreciate the reduction in weight and pocket clutter.

Harry

 

[SteeleJ1976]

Good EDC! I feel the same as you about a belt pouch. My own EDC is a Leatherman Wave with bit kit and extender in a belt pouch for work but on my own time I carry a SAK Climber and Classic SD. If I think I will need pliers which is rare outside of work I throw my 5 inch Knipex Cobra in my pocket.

 

[jackknife]

If one gives in to the "what if's" then you are doomed to carry around 4 times the amount of stuff you really need. A curse of the human condition is the ability of thought of the future, and the planing of, that most often is the victim of over thinking. I see this in the knife forums, gun forums, car forums, EDC stuff forums. When you venture into the realm of "What if?" then the sky is the limit.

But...keeping in mind who you are, what you are, and most of all, where you are, will keep things a bit more real. I think growing up with the heres I did, was what kept me and still keeps me grounded. I've never owned a full size multitool, and never will. My little Leatherman squirt is the most I will carry, and even that gets left behind sometimes. I'm not the caped crusader saving Gotham, just a retired working guy. So far, in the little problems life has tossed me way, a small SAK, or the Sears Keychian 4-way screw driver and P-38 have saved me many times. Add in a small sharp penknife size cutter, and its good to go.

So many times I've thought back and realize that as a kid, I learned from the best. Watching the men I grew up around, and idolized, set a path for me that I've tried to follow. Uncle Sony was one of those guys who flew B17's out of bases in England over Germany. Shot down once over the Dutch coast, spent two weeks hiding out in the top of a windmill before stealing a fishing boat and getting close enough to the English coast to be picked up by a patrol boat. There was Uncle Mike, who had a PT boat blown out from under him and came home with his face very disfigured. Went back to being a working waterman on the Chesapeake Bay. There was Dad, who was a wartime spook and made the transition to peacetime spook for a career in D.C.. There was Uncle Charlie, who wadded ashore in Normandy and walked to Germany. He did wonders on the go with a TL-29.

I can't count the times I watched one of them, faced with a small problem of life, take out a Sear's 4-way Keychain screw driver, and/or a small keychain size pen knife, and deal with whatever the on-the-go repair job it was. Sometimes a bit of rolled up tin foil or rubber band as a gasket, or some string rubbed with candle wax or gasoline used as gasket packing, tightened down with the keychain screw driver.

I can't take any credit for original thinking, I had some great men to look up to in my early life. They went off to do great things, then came home and went about a normal daily life with a job and kids. They went to work, managed keeping a home in good repair, fixed cars when needed, and didn't spend a lot of time wondering "what if..."

 

[kobold]

I am becoming a fan of the Victorinox SwissCard lately. A lot of utility in almost no space or weight.

 

[Harry 1440]

If one gives in to the "what if's" then you are doomed to carry around 4 times the amount of stuff you really need. A curse of the human condition is the ability of thought of the future, and the planing of, that most often is the victim of over thinking. I see this in the knife forums, gun forums, car forums, EDC stuff forums. When you venture into the realm of "What if?" then the sky is the limit.

I have struggled in days past with over thinking the near future potential need for small tools to address problems that might arise during the course of my daily life. Naturally after coming up with a list of tools whose weight would bend the back of a Sherpa Guide I never ran into the expected problems in the first place. I do not have to realistically plan for dealing with the rioting and rising crime rate endemic of the larger urban areas for the simple reason that we do not live in one of those locales. Individuals who do reside in that sort of area will have arrived at a decidedly different EDC load out based upon their practical daily experience living there. Their evaluation process may well be predicated upon the mantra that a sucking chest wound is God's way of telling you that you have been shot and they have planned their EDC tools and supplies accordingly. Our largest challenge where our home is located is addressing the bears and coyotes that could be a threat to our horse and the .357 Magnum as the selected tool of choice is not comfortable to carry inside my jeans pocket. As a side note She Who Must Be Obeyed has offered the considered opinion that while in my pocket this particular tool has a decided tendency to make my stern quarters appear visually more intimidating than they in fact are in reality.....but I digress.

It strikes me that in some quarters these days we are inundated with a plague of Biblical proportion of individuals who apparently have been trained from birth with the belief that when life's difficulties arise the correct response entails the renting of garments and gnashing of teeth along with raising one's arms heavenward and loudly railing against the inequities of life that apparently only darkens their personal horizons and not that of anyone else. It would be fair to think that based upon their behavior these same individuals would not have survived infancy in an earlier age.

Yes it is true that life today is in fact more complex in many regards than it was 50 years ago. Back then the car owner's manuals informed one how to set the valve clearance and today's manuals omit that instruction and instead tell you not to drink the battery fluid. I guess the point is that while there certainly are a whole host of daily issues whose complex nature will require the ministrations of specialists to adequately address there is still no shortage of simple irritations that a few small tools and a inquiring mind could take care of with the result that one is then again on their way.

Last Fall I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of a major hospital in a definitely dodgey part of a large city while waiting for my wife to return from inside the hospital while at the same time trying to avoid being abducted and sold into white slavery when I noticed that the exhaust system of the Rav 4 parked in front of me was hanging down onto the ground in such a manner that if it caught anything on the road it would probably be driven up into the passenger compartment. The car's owner appeared and approached me. He informed me that he had driven his wife for treatment at the hospital and was aware of the exhaust issue. He inquired if I had any bungee cords that he could use to tie up the exhaust so he could drive home an hour away. Much to my surprise I discovered that I did in fact have 2 bungee cords in the truck of my car that I could give him to make the emergency repair.

After he left I started to think that while I can no longer even identify much of the machinery under the hood of my car and truck much less work on it like I used to be able to do in the 70s there are still every day problems that I can address on my vehicles with a bit of imagination and a few bits and pieces. When I returned home I put several bungee cords in the trunk and made an evaluation of just what I could do to fix the potential common on road issues. I then made sure that I had the necessary parts and tools for those repairs stored in the trunk. This is a sort of an automotive EDC with the car carrying the tools instead of their being in my pockets.

The whole idea of these EDC forum discussions is to afford folks the opportunity to start thinking about what they can do themselves to remedy a problem rather than stand by the side of the road of life waiting for the tow truck to hopefully arrive before they end up just another faceless entry on a local police blotter. Life as an entity is neither for you or against you.....it just is. If one tries to make an effort to take personal responsibility for what happens on this journey they just might find that things in general go a little smoother for them in spite of the unexpected difficulties. A few tools and an open mind can be invaluable and quite comforting when things become a bit sporting. Just a thought.......

 

[jackknife]

Its a shame that we can't like a post more than once. On a 1 to 10 scale, I'd rate the above post a 14.8.

 

[Harry 1440]

Its a shame that we can't like a post more than once. On a 1 to 10 scale, I'd rate the above post a 14.8.

Thank you Carl for your kind and generous words. I continue to derive a great deal of pleasure in reading your thoughts in the various forums. Hopefully we will both march forward clear of eye and light of heart into whatever the future holds in store for us. If nothing else our continued existence would appear to be prima facia evidence of the old bromide that once again science and technology overcome ignorance and superstition......or something.....

Harry

 

[Harry 1440]

I am becoming a fan of the Victorinox SwissCard lately. A lot of utility in almost no space or weight.

I will have to take a look at this item as I have not seen one in the wild as it were. It may make a nice selection for my wife's purse. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

[Grateful]

Much to my surprise I discovered that I did in fact have 2 bungee cords in the truck of my car that I could give him to make the emergency repair.

I would think bungee cords would melt pretty fast. Anyone actually seen this work?

 

[Harry 1440]

Is there a perfect edc?
I don't know. Even if there is, I'd bet it's variable from day to day. Just to keep us on our toes.lol. It always seems like if I get left alone with my "daddys toys"(I have two small children.lol) unsupervised for more than a minute or two I start to see the use of each and every tool, and all the available space in my pockets...
There's never enough pockets.
It always seems like something got left behind. Yet I rarely ever get to use more than a couple of the items I carry.
Always seem to want to pack for the most adventurous "what ifs", yet even when we get to go hiking and exploring, I rarely ever need much.
I could probably, comfortably get through most days with just a Huntsman, or similar sak. But who wants to do that? And what if..?

H Harry 1440 , thanks for sharing your experience. If I ever do figure out a perfect edc, I'll be sure to share it here.

I would be interested in reading if you are able to find the best tool for your specific usage.

 

[Harry 1440]

I would think bungee cords would melt pretty fast. Anyone actually seen this work?

It was my understanding at the time that the owner thought that he could attach the cords to what was left of the exhaust system hangers themselves as opposed to directly to the soon to be hot exhaust pipes and then jam the cord hooks into the underside of the body somewhere. I gave him the cords and left him to make whatever repair he thought would get him home. I did not offer to crawl under his car because being in that prone position struck me as a less than ideal situation in view of the nature of the surrounding neighborhood and perhaps more importantly I preferred not to have my pistol possibly fall out of my trouser pocket while I was rolling around under the Rav and possibly get dinged up in the process. Mechanic's wire would have been a better choice but I did not have any in the trunk at that time.

Harry

 

[jackknife]

I would think bungee cords would melt pretty fast. Anyone actually seen this work?

One of the few things I keep in the emergency tool kit in the car trunk is, a small role of real bailing wire. I picked it up at a Tractor Supply years ago, and once on a while some wire comes in handy. Some bailing wire, duct tape, adjustable wrench, flat and Phillips screw drivers, and of course, pliers with wire cutters.

 

[kobold]

I will have to take a look at this item as I have not seen one in the wild as it were. It may make a nice selection for my wife's purse. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I think there are at least three or four versions. There is one dedicated to nail care, a "classic" without scissors, a "lite" with a built in LED and I also have one with a small protractor.

 

[Harry 1440]

I think there are at least three or four versions. There is one dedicated to nail care, a "classic" without scissors, a "lite" with a built in LED and I also have one with a small protractor.

Thank you for the information I will look into this tool as a gift for my wife.

 

[Grateful]

Double post.