New month, time for a pocket dump. 1st incarnation of my gear for March/spring 2013 Pantech C520 Vaughn mini pry bar(customized) Rofis JR10 Gerber EAB(modified for lefty OHO) Leatherman Wave (HIGHLY modified) Zebra pen Case Peanut 1951 ZIppo with Thunderbird insert Alaska mint Money clip Goody folding comb Custom pocket too kit.(Victorinox ratchet and wrench, Kobalt file and pick, Leatherman bit card & extention, Various 1/4” hex bits, tweezers, spare metal say for Wave, and Wave wood saw, ruller, Logerhead tools Bit Dr. ratchet extention head.)
So, I got to thinking maybe people that see me post a Wave here, might not know that its only about 10% still a Wave and nowhere near what Leatherman sells. So to be clear, this is what my Wave is currently; http://edcforums.com/threads/latest-version-of-my-wave-inc-ce-vic-scissors-full-profile-1-4-bit-driver.104259/ Vic SAK scissors Combo Edge blade; Re-ground Surge serrated blade. Dual Surge blade exchangers.-- I carry a file blade, and a Bosch metal saw in them, carry wood saw blade seperately. Straight driver, awl, can opener from ST300 Scraper/chisel like edge ground in the end of the file. Combination Leatherman bit driver/full profile 1/4" hex bit driver. Rebar pliers head. Swapped to Surge pivots because of thicker tools. Vic tweezers The only thing on it from a Wave is the handle frames themselves, and the bit driver, both of which are heavily modded themselves...
New toy this week, Those that follow my blog ( http://ak-adventurer.net/ ) have already seen this, but I might as well post here too, right? So, Tuesday Mom asked me if I had been using the speaker unit she gave me for Christmas… And I hadn’t, because I didn’t remember getting one for Christmas. Turns out in fact I didn’t get it, with everything that was going on, she forgot to give it to me. So, I got a new toy now! Its rather nice, I love it so far. Runs on 3xAAA bats, has dual speakers for true stereo sound, and a good amp., it gets a lot louder than the players output. Great tone, and good base-- the thing thumps hard, you can feel it while holding it. My Zune barely fits, but it does close without straining the zipper. The Sony Walkman obviously fits better. I ran around town all day Tuesday with it carabiner clipped to a belt loop, its surprisingly light and unobtrusive. And in times alone working/or in the truck I had it playing, still hanging on my side. A lot safer than catching ear bud cables on stuff, and I can still hear my surroundings; Fabulous! So far I've had it going at about 75% volume, for about 6 hours straight every night in the shop for 4 days... Still going strong. Had to charge the Zune twice in that time period, so this things power management on 3 cheap panasonic alkaline AAAs is Sweeet!
Updated the bit/driver kit once again, to a no pouch, no sheath, stand alone item. Full details here; http://edcforums.com/threads/my-custom-pocket-vic-leatherman-driver-bit-kit.106367/
Few misc. items from lately. Cut down some tweezers to fit my Leatherman spare blade holder, been dropping this in a jacket pocket lately. Got a Surge wood saw, and a spare Bosch metal saw in the other space. added some Velcro to the leather cover of my pocket moleskine, so I can run a patch once in a while. Need me a EDCF patch again.. Got a couple copper key rings from Corny! He threw in some black o-rings too and some groovy orange o-rings, used one to keep my p-38 closed, and stuck some orange ones on my lights.
Man, those orange rings look right at home on that Jetbeam We gotta work on that carabiner though I gave my uncle his first 'EDC trendyish' item (I say this because he does edc a wallet, keychain, iphone, and gshock already)...which was the p38 I happened to throw in my bag as an extra! That was one of my first unique edc loves, and I was so excited I told everyone about them, bought 10, and gave 9 away. Still just as functional as many of the OPMT's out there imho.
Thanks! Lol, yeah, Metro's been a pretty ''bad'' influence on me the last few months... his works have caused me to build 2 Surge, 2 versions of Wave, and some misc other mods... In case you havn't seen them; my Surge, the Improviser http://edcforums.com/threads/the-improviser-1-0-surge-mod.99169/ Surge from left over parts http://edcforums.com/threads/fun-with-leftovers-another-surge-mod.99324/ The first Wave build, the Swift Tool http://edcforums.com/threads/the-swift-iia-tool-v1-0-wave-rebuild.100037/ Leatherman bit driver on Vic Spirit http://edcforums.com/threads/bit-driver-on-spirit.104270/
I actually prefer its bigger brother the p51, when I found those, i did just that, bought ten and gave 'em away! I carry this p38 'cause its so useful, but also because of its history, my mom had it on her key chain and used it a lot, before she gave it to me. She got it from my brother after his tour of duty in 'Nam, in about '67 or '68... that can opener has a Lot of miles on it! G.
Wow that's awesome! Great reason to keep it! Crazy it's not rusted-mine was starting to rust and I'm guessing it's probably been 6 months since I bought it. I love telling the history of it, and I could even tell people how it was 'the Army's Greatest Invention'
Started carrying a large fixed blade again... Just 'cause I can. I’m sure you can guess the inspiration for this carry method and for my interest in it… just plain sweet to conceal carry a BIG @SS KNIFE And no better way that to pay homage to Mick Dundee. Works good, wore it all day today around town under a light denim jacket. Caribiner to front right belt loop, over my right shoulder and hangs at an angle down to clip off to a back left belt loop. Puts the handle about 2" above my belt, easy reach and draw. No, no need for rthis thing in my EDC. Just plain havin' fun. Cobra stitched brown camo 550 cord over reflective white 550. Sheath isa one off I had made by JRE Industries. Knife is a handmade custom from Andy Sharpe, ATS34, ivory and box elder burl. Kinda interesting how I got this knife. It was what I recieved from a KITH; Knife In The Hat. That when a bunch of custom knife makers get together and all make a knife on a theme, and then put names in, and draw names... everyone sends their knife to whoever they drew. Everyone makes, sends, and gets a cool custom knife. Here is the thread for the KITH; http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?s=79874370f04fb0994a33b7c117933fc9&t=35724 AND here is the dedicated thread for the Sweet wooden coffin box that the knife came with. http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38345 (if you read those, I was Ice Tigre on that forum) Amazes me that that has been 6.5 years ago... Whoa. G.
Dug out my brass zippo today for a pic elsewhere on the forum, and gave it some pocket time too. … Also, a few little items modded this morning. Added a simple 550 cord wrap to my custom pry bar. Its not really that psychedlic of an orange, but the stuff is semi reflectinve and don't work well with the camera flash. Industrial grade stick on velcro added to Nook cover for patches. A thread in the intro section, inspired me to add a concho to my skinth.
Well, Corny should be proud, I'm finally using my Skinth. Old school tool carry, as if plier based multi-tools didn’t exist. Logerhead Bit Dr. Crescent Vice grip 4” Ace hardware mini utility knife. Kobalt hex shaft diamond file, and pick My custom Victorinox/Leatherman driver kit. Actually wore it like this all day yesterday running around town. Compact, comfortable, and un-obtrusive.
My knife for today. One that I don’t carry often enough. Amherst Cutlery 1 of 6 hand made prototype. 5–1/4” folding hunter, sambar stag, and 154CM. Bloody $300 knife that I’ve had since 2006 and only carried and used maybe once a year… Aiming to remedy that! I've never believed in babying gear, or collecting, if I have it I use it. regaurdless of price, I use what I have... This knife is funny though... it came at a time when i Hated stainless steels, and I've never liked the look of stag. But I HAD TO have it. So I got it. I know one reason I wanted it; the pattern is identical to the knife my Dad carried for years, that I always loved, and that got me into traditional folders to begin with; A Schrade folding hunter. It also came at a time when I was finding that a Case Peanut was all the knife I needed, the big cutter in a little package. I stopped carrying big folders, and stopped carrying fixed blades altogether. And, its the one item, that the cost and rarity got to me... couldn't bare to think of loosing it. Why, I dunno. But now, I figure to ignore that apprehension. If I can get over the fact that I use and abuse $350 worth of custom multi-tool daily, I can at least carry and use this knife. Even if I do baby it some, it was made to be used, and I'm gonna use it!
How does that thing ever get bumped from your pocket?! Looks close to my perfect traditional. If I ever win the lotto I'll have to have someone make it for me.
Honestly, its a tad big for me for long term EDC. Years ago, Schrade made a folding hunter in this pattern that was 4" long--They called it the Mustang IIRC. I have a Rough Rider copy of it and it is PERFECT! If I can ever scrape the cash together I want to have an Ken Erickson custom built to that spec. Someday... G.
Something for you to drool over the original professional pics, much better than mine at showing the fit/finish and color in the stag. The lanyard was a piece of fossil mammoth tooth, (it now lives on one of my pocket watches.)
Just going through my blog looking for a pic for another thread here, and realized I've not posted my bracelet. I have this on, right wrist, opposite my watch, 24/7 except showering(wet leather is yuk) and sleeping( tends to make my wrist ache.. dunno why) spare 20mm one piece watch band and a simple reflective red 550 cobra stitch.
OK, so, I improvise, jerry rig and ‘Macgyver’ things A LOT. Comes from being raised by someone that grew up in the depression. And also my growing up doing it when ya don’t have any money, or new parts and proper gear is 100 miles away, and ya can’t get to it till ya fix the problem. And, I enjoy tinkering and being self sufficient too, so… Anyway, that’s one reason I always enjoy watching MacGyver… a lot of the time I am a step ahead of him in figuring out what needs done with what he has at hand lol… And I tend to use a lot of the things he does as well. If it works, it works! So, bored and nothing to do last night I got to thinking, I can put together a little kit to carry, that contains the items I tend to use the most in little engineering improvisations. A nice idea carrying the stuff purposefully, it expands what I am able to do on the fly, because I don’t have to scrounge for stuff first. Honestly doubt I’ll actually carry it often though, more of an exercise in what I could put together, than a real need to carry kit.. And I already carry the paper clips, safety pins, and electrical tape separately anyway… I dunno. Maybe I will carry it for a week or two and see if it helps having it on me. One thing missing here, I need to get a few 4” zip ties to add in. Didn’t have them on hand in the house when i put this together, they are in my truck already, for this very purpose.
