Sunday 13 July 2014
Saturday 12 July 2014
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The Wingman , A huge improvement on the Kick , Esp. The knife blade fitted to the outside of handle |
An ode to multi tools and gadgets
It only fitting that I start this blog with a homage to the multi tools in our lives .
In the days of my grandfather , Almost every male carried some sort of a knife , More often a folding pocket knife with two blades .
My EDC for many years was a Leatherman Kick and a LED Lenser P3 mini torch . As I am in the repair and manufacturing industry , I never leave the house without both these items on my right hip , I will often reach for the Leatherman perhaps 50 times a day . Whenever I misplace it while working , It would send me into a frenzy trying to find it .
Often the thought of loosing it would depress me , as over the years it has became like a appendage to my . My wife often jokes that in my next life , Ill be born with one as a right hand .
Both these items I bought from Cape Union Mart for what I thought then was a Bundle of cash , Turns out to be one of the best investments I ever made .As over the years these two items worked very hard and survived a lot of situations .
The Kick was once lost overboard on a jetty I was building , I remember the sinking feeling as it disappeared underneath the fast flowing tidal water . Over the next month , no amount of diving or fishing with magnets on a rope could locate the Kick and I started to resign to the fact that I have lost it , and properbly would not be able to afford a replacement soon .
A month later , I return to jetty as spring low tide was out , and I could do the last work underneath the structure . Low and behold I drop my hammer and as it hits the silt , I hear the unmistakable sound of metal on metal .
There have been many adventures and situations over the years that was saved by the Kick and a bit of McGuyvering from me .
Last June the inevitable happens ..... 11 PM at night while trying to loosen a bolt on a piping hot Lister powerplant ( Did I mention we stay Off Grid ) in the pitch dark while holding the Lenser in my mouth . The Kick gave its final bite and snapped on the hinge , At the same time pinching a large piece of my palm in handle as it snapped shut .
Needless to say that U cant shout and curse with pain , and at the same time clench a torch with your lips . ... The Lenser hit the ground and its once bright beam , that could blind a person at two meters turned into a pale flicker that send out mores like distress signals as it rolled underneath a pile broken lawnmowers , chainsaws and other assorted junk that U would find packed away in every corner of a tinkerers property .
I moped around for weeks as my two most treasured items laid broken in the drawer . Even my missus remarked that I dont seem to be complete anymore .
I contemplated buying a Chinese knock off , But the thought of cheating on my Kick was just to much . As we live quite remote , any attempt at ever getting it repaired seemed impossible for now .
So I went back to coping without , reverting to running up and down for first this tool , and then the next . often catching myself in the act of going for the now empty space on my belt where the two always sat .
So with a upcoming work trip to the city it crossed my mind that this would be a opportunity to see if something could be done by the agents for Leatherman . The lenser , as in life also together in death , traveled with the Kick . The agents for Leatherman in Cape Town is Awesome tools http://www.awesometools.co.za/ . What a pleasant surprise and AWESOME experience .
Not only did they replace both tools on the spot , They also upgrade me to a much improved Wingman and a Lenser P3 . I now again have that familiar weight on my belt and the assurance that I could tackle any task .
In the days of my grandfather , Almost every male carried some sort of a knife , More often a folding pocket knife with two blades .
My EDC for many years was a Leatherman Kick and a LED Lenser P3 mini torch . As I am in the repair and manufacturing industry , I never leave the house without both these items on my right hip , I will often reach for the Leatherman perhaps 50 times a day . Whenever I misplace it while working , It would send me into a frenzy trying to find it .
Often the thought of loosing it would depress me , as over the years it has became like a appendage to my . My wife often jokes that in my next life , Ill be born with one as a right hand .
Both these items I bought from Cape Union Mart for what I thought then was a Bundle of cash , Turns out to be one of the best investments I ever made .As over the years these two items worked very hard and survived a lot of situations .
The Kick was once lost overboard on a jetty I was building , I remember the sinking feeling as it disappeared underneath the fast flowing tidal water . Over the next month , no amount of diving or fishing with magnets on a rope could locate the Kick and I started to resign to the fact that I have lost it , and properbly would not be able to afford a replacement soon .
A month later , I return to jetty as spring low tide was out , and I could do the last work underneath the structure . Low and behold I drop my hammer and as it hits the silt , I hear the unmistakable sound of metal on metal .
There have been many adventures and situations over the years that was saved by the Kick and a bit of McGuyvering from me .
Last June the inevitable happens ..... 11 PM at night while trying to loosen a bolt on a piping hot Lister powerplant ( Did I mention we stay Off Grid ) in the pitch dark while holding the Lenser in my mouth . The Kick gave its final bite and snapped on the hinge , At the same time pinching a large piece of my palm in handle as it snapped shut .
Needless to say that U cant shout and curse with pain , and at the same time clench a torch with your lips . ... The Lenser hit the ground and its once bright beam , that could blind a person at two meters turned into a pale flicker that send out mores like distress signals as it rolled underneath a pile broken lawnmowers , chainsaws and other assorted junk that U would find packed away in every corner of a tinkerers property .
I moped around for weeks as my two most treasured items laid broken in the drawer . Even my missus remarked that I dont seem to be complete anymore .
I contemplated buying a Chinese knock off , But the thought of cheating on my Kick was just to much . As we live quite remote , any attempt at ever getting it repaired seemed impossible for now .
So I went back to coping without , reverting to running up and down for first this tool , and then the next . often catching myself in the act of going for the now empty space on my belt where the two always sat .
So with a upcoming work trip to the city it crossed my mind that this would be a opportunity to see if something could be done by the agents for Leatherman . The lenser , as in life also together in death , traveled with the Kick . The agents for Leatherman in Cape Town is Awesome tools http://www.awesometools.co.za/ . What a pleasant surprise and AWESOME experience .
Not only did they replace both tools on the spot , They also upgrade me to a much improved Wingman and a Lenser P3 . I now again have that familiar weight on my belt and the assurance that I could tackle any task .
I am pretty sure that Richard Dean Anderson , The Man With the Mullet himself , Would have chosen a Leatherman if he had to choose . A few year back I managed to save somebodies life with the blade of the EDC . This person had a severe asthma attack and the inhaler were apparently empty , Using the point of the blade to drill a small hole into the bottom of the inhaler , and releasing the last bit of medication that has remained under pressure , The patient recovered in a couple of minutes and also to this day carry a EDC .
And just this afternoon I managed to slay two dragons , 7 orks and save a princess from some evil king , Or so I have been told after fixing some kids Playstation with my Wingman .
Im sure there are many new adventures waiting for us in the years to come
Im sure there are many new adventures waiting for us in the years to come
To be Continued :)
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The new generation P3 , The slightly protruding switch button at the back makes it much more easy to operate while wearing cloves |
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