Rules and EDC for the Year of the Oldster
Homemade Pocket Screwdriver
This was made from another tool that I had laying around in one of my tool bags. I used an angle grinder to cut the plastic handle off of it because all of these tools are going in my phone pouch with my phone itself so they all need to be small enough to fit into such a small space. I couldn't find my flat bastard file so I grinded down the burrs on the end of the shaft of the tool using the concrete on my driveway, and then electrical taped a very archaic handle onto it.
Power Zone Pen Flashlight
This flashlight is quite bright, it's only about 300 lumens, but it's got a very focused beam. I had to put a little bit of electrical tape around the edge of the lens because as it's carried in my pouch it slowly unscrews itself and I can just imagine different flashlight components floating around in a bag with other steel tools getting knocked around. I'm mostly quite happy with this flashlight, I actually dropped it into a sink at my job full of dirty water and it survived no issues. I checked it and it does have rubber gaskets that prevent water seeping into the main electronics of the tool itself and that's fairly good. The battery life on it however is less than stellar, I use it for a few days and then it's empty. Not a huge fan of that. I will eventually make a run to harbor freight to purchase some inexpensive rechargable AAA batteries for it so I can just charge them every few nights and keep it going perpetually. I forsee this being a potential weak link in this EDC kit, however I have spent the money on it ($12) and I will therefore use it no matter what. The whole point of this year is to embody the spirit of an oldster like my father, to emulate their positive attributes, one thing my father always does is use the things he has as long as physically possible before he purchases anything new. I have 2 other flashlights, they aren't as good or as handy, I will use one of them in the case of this one biting the dust.
Buck Trapper 382 knife
Buck is a good brand of knife. This is unfortunately one of their imported models. However the price is right for about $30 and it's still covered under their forever warranty. So far I've put it through it's paces, I've technically used the month of December as a soft launch for the year of the oldster. I do intend to learn the proper form of sharpening since I have never used a whetstone before so I will be purchasing an angle guide at some point, so far though this is the nicest knife that I own. It retains it's edge much better than many of the other knives that I've owned. I like the two blades since I've got one for general utility use, and one for cutting food (spey blade). This is a very solid knife and I believe this will be my go to for many years to come.
Rules for the Year of the Oldster!
- Fix things - if something is fixable DO NOT THROW IT AWAY! We live in a throw away society, if something is broken and you have the know how to fix it, regardless of how it looks fix it! Only pay somebody else to repair something if it's the best physical option. Once things are decided to be provably irreparable then throw it away or recycle it.
- Don't avoid doing hard things, just get them over with. This one is a very broad rule, but fairly self-explanatory. This one leaves a little bit of wiggle room for ones own mental health, but is to be applied to my life all the time otherwise.
- Don't miss work - My father never misses a day of work, he had a heart attack and went to work two days later (I know, it's crazy!) if he can manage that then I can get my fat ass out of bed on a rainy day when I'm sick and make it happen
- Don't Eat Out - I'm a very terrible cook. I've been working on this recently. My dad almost never eats out at restaurants, he rarely grabs anything to eat on the way home from fast food. Everything he eats he either buys from the grocery store, or he makes himself using ingredients. This one I foresee being one of the hardest rules for me. I have a real convenience problem whenever it comes to food and it will be a real struggle.
- Live by a strict schedule. My work schedule is changing in the new year. I will be working very early in the morning into the afternoon. These are hours I've had at every other job that I've ever had. I've been at my current job for about 3 years and I've been asking them for these hours almost the whole time. I miss getting home while the sun is still out and the day maintains life. I intend on rising before the sun, eating breakfast whether it be simple eggs and bacon, or oatmeal, having some caffeine and then leaving for work.
When I think of more things I will add to this list in future posts, but to get started these are what I intend to do.