Multitool Madness Syndrome

[Captain Hook]

Well as I dug through a shoebox of knives and multitools i realised something. I'm no longer a "user", I'm a collector. 12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...and no hopes of rehabilitation in site. It doesn't help that MTO is basically AA for multis except we tempt each other to buy more rather than quit    They say acceptance is the first step to solving the problem, but is it a problem when your multis are so useful?

I've sort of got it down to a system here's how you catch MMS (Multitool Madness Syndrome)
1. You carry a knife, need more tools.
2.Carry a swiss army knife for a while,miss having a locking blade. You also like the allure
of full sized pliers
3. Buy a plier multitool
4. You feel like a tool is missing, or you need more variety.(at this point there is no turning back for you, the brilliant marketers and online forums you lurk in have already trapped you in the continuing cycle)
5. Continue to collect,buy, and use multitools the rest of your life. At this point you have accepted your fate and are now like an archeologist looking for the Holy Grail of multi tools which you likely will never find

Enter: The mod squad

[Vidar]

Step one: Accept that you don't have a problem

[ReamerPunch]

12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...

[Aloha]

You are among friends.   

[Don Pablo]

12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...

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I’ve got 5 or 6 SAKs, one pocket knife, one fixed blade and 2 plier based tools.   

[ThePeacent]

12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...

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I’ve got 5 or 6 SAKs, one pocket knife, one fixed blade and 2 plier based tools.   

and half of them are Pablo'ed 

[powernoodle]

Let me cast the giant spotlight of Truth on this one.

Compulsive behavior, including the hoarding (uh, I mean collecting) of knives, MTs, SAKs, etc., is an exercise in pain avoidance.

There is a trainwreck between our ears with which we do battle - consciously or not - on a daily basis.  We are frustrated with the old car we drive, with our job at Home Depot and with the knowledge that we will never play leapfrog with Kate Upton nor walk on the moon.  This creates great angst in our subconscious minds.

The act of hoarding MTs and SAKs is anesthesia for this pain.  The act of reading MTO, posting here, looking at MTs and SAKs on the interweb, putting those MTs and SAKs on our Amazon wish list, buying the MT and waiting for it to arrive in our mailboxes - all of this serves to distract us from the angst.  And it works.   When you are waiting for a new Rebar to arrive today, you aren't thinking about your crappy job or car, or wondering where Kate Upton is.  You are focused on the present.

After we go through this cycle, and carry the Rebar for a couple of days, that anesthesia starts to wear off and the real world creeps back in.  And so we start the whole process all over.  And over.  And over.  Do this for a few years, and you end of with a box full of dozens or maybe 100+ MTs, SAKs, lights, guns and Maxpedition bags.  I own quite literally hundreds of items in these categories.  This is how hoarding begins, and how it is sustained.  Its a sickness.  But in many respects its a fairly harmless sickness, so long as your personal finances are not affected.  And knowing that it is a sickness in some small way helps you to survive it.

[Don Pablo]

12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...

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I’ve got 5 or 6 SAKs, one pocket knife, one fixed blade and 2 plier based tools.   

and half of them are Pablo'ed 

In one way or another, that’s more true than you think. 

[Captain Hook]

12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...

(Image removed from quote.)

correction it's actually 6 plier based multi tools based multi tools I miscounted  nice meme btw 

[Captain Hook]

Another sign you have MMS- you jump up out of your chair when the UPS truck drives by, not necessarily because you were expecting a package but because you spend so much tine on ebay you may have ordered one unwittingly.

[Vidar]

The act of hoarding MTs and SAKs is anesthesia for this pain.  The act of reading MTO, posting here, looking at MTs and SAKs on the interweb, putting those MTs and SAKs on our Amazon wish list, buying the MT and waiting for it to arrive in our mailboxes - all of this serves to distract us from the angst.  And it works.   When you are waiting for a new Rebar to arrive today, you aren't thinking about your crappy job or car, or wondering where Kate Upton is.  You are focused on the present.

I don't know... You still seem to think quite a lot about Kate Upton. 

Clearly you need more tools! 

[gerleatherberman]

I quit drinking a few weeks after I started collecting MTs. The stupid booze was getting in the way of acquiring more of those precious MTs and knives.   

[Captain Hook]

I quit drinking a few weeks after I started collecting MTs. The stupid booze was getting in the way of acquiring more of those precious MTs and knives.   

A good reason to kick an unhealthy habit

[gerleatherberman]

I quit drinking a few weeks after I started collecting MTs. The stupid booze was getting in the way of acquiring more of those precious MTs and knives.   

A good reason to kick an unhealthy habit

Indeed! 
These multitools get me high as smurf.

[dks]

I quit drinking a few weeks after I started collecting MTs. The stupid booze was getting in the way of acquiring more of those precious MTs and knives.   

I find it usually helps me buy more toys....

[gerleatherberman]

dks,
Indeed, that is a good way to put it. MTs are like toys for adults. 

[Captain Hook]

Yup. Just bought my 7th leatherman. The cycle continues 

[gerleatherberman]

 

Wait til' it appears as if the MTs are having babies. "When did I buy that one?" Where did it come from?"
J/K about that, but I have to think really hard about where I bought some of my collection and what I paid for them.
When the MT hoard hit 100+, it also started feeling unmanageable in some ways. So, there may be a good reason to keep a certain number of tools in mind as a cap.

[gregozedobe]

When the MT hoard hit 100+, it also started feeling unmanageable in some ways. .

Just wait 'til you get over 1,000         

[Aloha]

Its easy to hit 100 when you buy doubles and triples.  When your focus changes or you find nuances that you must run down ( PSTs and Mr Pinchy ) come to mind.  As long as you are having fun and not forgoing paying bills etc etc then s'all good. 

Myself I ran down many tools really early on.  I had the most fun chasing them down.  Now I have a lot of fun waiting to see what I find at the flea market. 

[tosh]

I can remember putting my Explorer, Wave and Swisstool in a shoebox and thinking it looked ridiculous using such a large box
Within a year the 2nd shoebox was full

Moved everything into a shiny red toolbox
Filled that, so bought another larger version....
When both toolboxes were full, I began using shoeboxes again as overspill

I now just give up, I have boxes piled high with lids that won't close!!

Too much I know

[Chako]

I have no clue what is this madness you speak of?

 

[gerleatherberman]

I have no clue what is this madness you speak of?

Rookie. 

[Chako]

Au contraire...

https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,14804.0.html

 
 
 

[gerleatherberman]

 
I am not nearly as far along as you are, Chako. But, I am definitely heading that way. 
Within a week or so, I am going to buy a storage cabinet or tool chest. I have mounds of multitools all over the living room and bedroom.

Lesson of my story?  No smurfs to give. MTs are awesome.

[Marcellus]

Let me cast the giant spotlight of Truth on this one.

Compulsive behavior, including the hoarding (uh, I mean collecting) of knives, MTs, SAKs, etc., is an exercise in pain avoidance.

There is a trainwreck between our ears with which we do battle - consciously or not - on a daily basis.  We are frustrated with the old car we drive, with our job at Home Depot and with the knowledge that we will never play leapfrog with Kate Upton nor walk on the moon.  This creates great angst in our subconscious minds.

The act of hoarding MTs and SAKs is anesthesia for this pain.  The act of reading MTO, posting here, looking at MTs and SAKs on the interweb, putting those MTs and SAKs on our Amazon wish list, buying the MT and waiting for it to arrive in our mailboxes - all of this serves to distract us from the angst.  And it works.   When you are waiting for a new Rebar to arrive today, you aren't thinking about your crappy job or car, or wondering where Kate Upton is.  You are focused on the present.

After we go through this cycle, and carry the Rebar for a couple of days, that anesthesia starts to wear off and the real world creeps back in.  And so we start the whole process all over.  And over.  And over.  Do this for a few years, and you end of with a box full of dozens or maybe 100+ MTs, SAKs, lights, guns and Maxpedition bags.  I own quite literally hundreds of items in these categories.  This is how hoarding begins, and how it is sustained.  Its a sickness.  But in many respects its a fairly harmless sickness, so long as your personal finances are not affected.  And knowing that it is a sickness in some small way helps you to survive it.

(Image removed from quote.)

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Good take on the subject and  tactfully phrased.

[Chako]

Except it doesn't apply to everyone. I collect because I enjoy it, not because it is some bandaid solution to reality. I have always collected something or other as far as I can remember. I tend to be attracted to the story or history behind the items I collect. That is just the way I am wired. Never has the need for collecting been a negative for me. It is something that I enjoy doing. I may joke about being a hoarder, but I am the furthest removed from such as hoarders tend to not take care of their stuff and they are driven to keep buying. A true hoarder has a psychological problem.

I tend to have a few rules that govern me.

1. Only collect things that interest you.
2. Collect only what you can afford. At the end of the day, collections aren't all that important compared to food, shelter, family, and bills.
3. I never sell anything. This way I minimize any remorse down the road. With that said, if financial needs arise, this is a rule to break.
4. Share your collection. No point in collecting in secrecy as there is joy in sharing with folks.
5. Related with point 4, learn and educate with the community.
6. Collect up to a point. That point may be financial, difficulty in procurement, or storage space.
7. I never collect as an investment. Putting a financial spin on collecting, especially in the speculation of future gains/losses would have a negative impact on my enjoyment.

So there you have it. I am a happy go lucky collector that is not controled by his collections. I tend to move from hobby to hobby based on my interest at the time. I am sorry, but there is no pain involved.

 

[Mechanickal]

Reading this, I think Chako and I think quite alike...

[gerleatherberman]

Very eloquently stated, Chako!

I feel your statements, more accurately, describe how most collectors feel about their hobbies. 

[pfrsantos]

Well as I dug through a shoebox of knives and multitools i realised something. I'm no longer a "user", I'm a collector. 12 SAKS, 6 pocket knives, and 4 plier based multi tools...and no hopes of rehabilitation in site. It doesn't help that MTO is basically AA for multis except we tempt each other to buy more rather than quit    They say acceptance is the first step to solving the problem, but is it a problem when your multis are so useful?

I've sort of got it down to a system here's how you catch MMS (Multitool Madness Syndrome)
1. You carry a knife, need more tools.
2.Carry a swiss army knife for a while,miss having a locking blade. You also like the allure
of full sized pliers
3. Buy a plier multitool
4. You feel like a tool is missing, or you need more variety.(at this point there is no turning back for you, the brilliant marketers and online forums you lurk in have already trapped you in the continuing cycle)
5. Continue to collect,buy, and use multitools the rest of your life. At this point you have accepted your fate and are now like an archeologist looking for the Holy Grail of multi tools which you likely will never find

Enter: The mod squad

Miss Having!