Hobo EDC

I was distributing food in a soup line about 10 years ago. There was this guy who came to the line daily, believe he called himself “cowboy”. One day “cowboy” got into an argument with another individual.. short lived dispute. Cowboy came up to the serving table where I was standing. I noticed that “cowboy” was carrying a rickety aluminum cane.. the handle was detached from the canes pole - attached to the handle was 9 inch rusty ice pick blade in about .24 diameter steel. I don’t think I’ve seen many things anything as unnerving as “cowboys” point driven tetanus injection tool. Hobo weapons are viscous.
 
luethge said:
I was distributing food in a soup line about 10 years ago. There was this guy who came to the line daily, believe he called himself “cowboy”. One day “cowboy” got into an argument with another individual.. short lived dispute. Cowboy came up to the serving table where I was standing. I noticed that “cowboy” was carrying a rickety aluminum cane.. the handle was detached from the canes pole - attached to the handle was 9 inch rusty ice pick blade in about .24 diameter steel. I don’t think I’ve seen many things anything as unnerving as “cowboys” point driven tetanus injection tool. Hobo weapons are viscous.
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That would be a tad unnerving. :eek:

Sitcomdad83 said:
With all the impending doom coming a hobo would be a valuable person to learn from.
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I do pay attention to what the ones that have their wits about them have to say.
 
DocJD said:
30 or 40 years ago , I picked up a guy hitchhiking along the highway near town .

His "EDC" was everything he owned , stuffed into a bulging old Army duffle bag .
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Still true today. Whether it all fits in a backpack or requires a shopping cart as well, they bring all their stuff with them.
But what gets kept on the body/clothing. is the real EDC in a way.

Ran into a homeless girl not too long ago who went to a Tim Horton's for a few minutes, only to find her tent had been sliced open and someone stole a bunch of her stuff upon her return. She still had the things she had been carrying on her person (such as her knife).

Other people have had their backpack stolen when they went to the washroom (bunch of places here won't let you in the washroom with a backpack now), or while they slept. Stuff in their pockets was left though.
 
stabman said:
You may or may not have heard the term "Hobo Tactical."
But I'm more interested in Hobo EDC.

It took me 6 months, but I finally got a pretty decent EDC collection from a local hobo.

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First I got the fighting ring.

Traded him a couple of stainless steel rings for it (he likes rings). Took a bunch of cleaning, including a bit of sanding to remove the skin that had adhered to the inside of the ring (he had been wearing it for quite a while).

Got the knife next. Traded him a brand new Mora Companion for it.
Stamped "Hobo Knife" with letter punches into the scale, but due to the knurling it can only be seen in certain light at the correct angle. You can see from the broken then rounded tip and the attempt at sharpening on concrete and rocks that he carried it quite a while. Originally from the local gun store; I recall seeing them for sale there many years ago.

Next was the dog ring. This is a pretty nice stainless steel one. Traded him two rings for it...once I found him again! It took a month and a half and at least 50 miles of walking to find him because, you know, hobo life.

Traded a skull ring for the skull ring. The one I traded him was far better quality, but this one was authentic hobo EDC vibes to it. Hard to put a price on that.

The 1972 "silver" dollar I got by trading him another ring. Some guy owed him $40, and paid using this coin. Due to the condition it is in and the fact that it contains no silver at all, he did not get his $40 back. At least the value of the ring I traded him gets him closer to what he was owed. :)

He also has a hatchet and a butane torch lighter lighter as part of his EDC, but I don't need those things. I feel I got a pretty decent Hobo EDC kit out of the adventure, and got to hear some pretty wild stories while drinking some Tim Horton's coffee, many of which I'm sure only happened in his imagination. ;)

Just about all the homeless folks around here carry some sort of knife, and many have a hatchet in their backpack.
Seen a few with a crowbar sticking out of the pack, but that is not nearly as common.
Just as with the general population, folding knives are most common, but you do see some belt knives as well, generally in the 4-5inch blade range. Some carry longer ones though.If you are a fan of Dragon Ball, you can refer to the game Power Warriors Mod APK 16.5 on the https://getmodnow.com/power-warriors-mod-apk.html website with safety and free so you can experience it with peace of mind.
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It's interesting to note that many homeless individuals, like the general population, carry knives for various purposes. It's not allowed in my country to carry knives like that
 
Ran into the same hobo again on Friday.
As I figured might have been the case, he no longer had the Mora he got from me; the hospital had taken it when he went for back surgery about a couple months back (has dozens of staples along his spine).

So I traded him an old Buck clone made in China from 1988 and $10 for a Playboy Zippo he had acquired. He headed off to Popeye's to buy a chicken dinner right afterward.

So here the Zippo is along with the rest of the EDC kit:

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He's still fine for fire needs; he prefers his butane torch lighter.
 
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