My old man was a gal piece of work. Growing up in that just post WW2 era, when American cars were practically the only cars on the road, and life in America was the Cleaver family, dad was also a hero of mine. No matter what happened, dad could fix anything with his edc kit. You see, dad was one of those great depression era guys, who could fix an old Ford model A with some bailing wire and a pocket knife. Things must have been bad, because dad made it a point to always have 'stuff' on him. His wallet was a cache of emergency items that he could press into device if needed. The zipper part of his wallet was made for coins, but dad had far more important things to put in there. He always kept a few paper clips in his wallet, because he said they were made out of some pretty good wire. A safety pin or two was there, sometimes for splinter removal, or a malfunctioning zipper. His old army issue P-38 was used for opening cans, screwing screws, light prying, scraping. Later he added a Sear's 4-way keychain screw driver. The wallet was his MOnday thru Friday kit, as he was a suit guy who worked in downtown Washington D.C. But on weekends, his Prince Albert pocket size tobacco can kit was his go-to. Back in those days, tobacco tins were available in shirt pocket size, and dad used them as the Altoids tin kit of his day. A small half roll of black electrical tape, which was the duct tape of his era. Some small screws and nuts, a small hank of jute twine, a tiny tin of aspirin, a few bandaids, and a few dimes for emergency phone calls. No cellphones in those days, you just looked around for a pay phone. I think dad was an edc'er before the term ever became used. He aways had stuff on him, including a sharp knife. His little Case peanut was kept razor sharp, and he used that little knife for everything. I can remember him telling me that "it doesn't have to be big, just sharp." These days, I try to be like him, and my wallet is my edc reserve. It's amazing how much stuff I have muddled through, fixing it enough to get home with just what I have in my wallet. And the stuff goes through airport security. I add in my little Victorinox classic, and maybe a bigger SAK, and I feel fairly equipped to handle life's little unexpected emergencies. I find that the zipper compartment of my Eagle Creek wallet holds what dad would have carried.
