Running Lean: An Experiment

[AimlessWanderer]

I've sold off most of what I've ever owned already, but still have left way more than most "non-enthusiasts" would own, and way more than I sensibly need. However, I've reached the point where there isn't really anything that I particularly want to get rid of, even though it feels like I own "too much" (which most of you will probably say is impossible ).

So I've decided to undertake on a little experiment, and condemn most of the current array to a cardboard box out of sight, and just leave myself a select few for swapping between. The box will only be opened if ...

a) I lose or break something, and need to fish out a replacement, or
b) I get the urge for something new, and need to remind myself how much surplus I already own 

Aside from that, the aim is to go without opening the box for at least a year. 

The following posts show both what I've left out for use over the next 12+ months, and also what's been stashed away. I'll give the reasons for the choices as I go along too 

Note: The experiment is not to see if I can get by with the tools I've left out (I'm already confident that I can deal with life's challenges quite comfortably with the shortlist), but whether I actually miss using any of them. It may be that I still feel as attached to the tools when I get them back out, or I might feel that (some of them) are just clutter to me, and should move on to new homes.

As usual, the pics may be of abysmal quality due to impaired eyesight.

[SirVicaLot]

Interesting experiment. I will follow along 

[Aloha]

Looking forward to this.   

[AimlessWanderer]

Full sized pliers tools first.



This is the array that I had to choose from, and the top row were the ones I decided to keep out, with the rest confined to darkness for the coming months.



A Victorinox Spirit X, a Leatherman Sideclip, and a knifeless MP400

Accompanying tools for the Spirit and Sideclip were left out too.




Also saved from the darkness are the following items, Gerber Grappler, Schrade Vise Grips LC6, SOG Powerlock, and my Gerber DEsTroyer mod. Those four live with the rest of my dedicated tools, as I don't have any "regular" locking pliers, compound leverage pliers, or heavey duty shear. I've also left out a disassembled second Sideclip, which I occasionally spend some time trying to nudge it towards a polished finish.



But for regular daily use and carry, the options for the foreseeable future for full sized plier tools, are just limited to just three.



The Sideclip was chosen as it's an excellent companion for a simple Swiss knife. Typically, if I'm carrying a Swiss knife and separate pliers tool, I rely on the pliers tools for the pliers and Phillips driver, letting me have the rest of the daily essentials on the knife. The Sideclip also has an excellent small flat driver which is perfect for minor electrical jobs such as terminal blocks, which confound the vast majority of Swiss knives.

The Knifeless MP400 was chosen as the addition of scissors, and decent range of other tools, let me carry a traditional or modern folding knife, instead of a Swiss knife. I Don't tend to carry a Swiss knife AND traditional folder - I don't see the point. The only time I double up like that, is if I'm carrying a modern pocket clipped OHO folder, as I might choose to carry a traditional folder OR a Swiss knife as well, so that I've got a knife that I can use in front of people who don't know me or my mindset, so I don't cause a stampede.

The Spirit X was chosen ... because it's a Victorinox Spirit It's the only locking bladed multitool that I will ever leave home with, and has all the tools I'm ever likely to need on a multitool. If I ever need a pliers tool that has gizmos on it that the other two don't, it's a pretty safe bet that this will have it. It does leave me without diamond file, and some other speSmurfpillsed items, but I'm unlikely to need those away from home, so I can always just head for the toolboxes for my regular tools.

[AimlessWanderer]

Swiss knives next.



Again, the top row shows the tools I decided to keep to hand. In this pic, the second row shows mod fodder. They're either sacrificial knives, or knives which I've already modded, and plan on revisiting for further modification. The bottom row is the stuff that will be confined to the shoebox.

So there's four full sized Swiss knives left to hand. A Cybertool 41, Voyager Lite, Deluxe Tinker, and Evowood 14 (I'll deal with the small stuff in a separate post later)



Cybertool 41: To me, this is the TRUE Swisschamp. Why on earth would I want a fish tickler, or a magnifier that's so small that I can only see part of what I want magnifying? The CT41 is everything that I'd want from a Swiss knife, but is more than I need to carry everyday. It does however need to stay in the available options for days where the usual daily carry tools won't have what's needed.

Voyager Lite: Many people don't like electronics on Swiss knives, but this is a brilliant overnight or short stay tool, be it a hotel, or stopping with friends and family. A pocket watch, alarm clock, torch that's bright enough to find the lightswitch in a place you're not familiar with, or find whatever just rolled under the bed/couch, and  all the essential Swiss knife implements, all rolled into one pocketable tool. It also has all the "plus scale tools" too.

Deluxe Tinker: When I first signed up here, however many years ago that was, and before I went of a mission of trying everything under the sun that might work for me, I had a Deluxe Tinker. I ended up trading that away, as it didn't really gel with my lifestyle at the time, as I always needed "better" pliers. Now life had gotten more sedate due to health challenges, a Deluxe Tinker is a much better fit for me, so I got myself another. This is a fantastic daily carry tool for me, and many days, this and a light are all I need.

Evowood 14: For me, a "Climber-type" set up, is the basis of what I want for a full sized Swiss knife. I've become a little more flexible on the backspring Phillips vs corkscrew barguement than I used to, and while I lose the option of the eyeglass driver on such as the Deluxe Tinker, I have another on my keys anyway. So for this "Climber" role, I had a number of Wenger Travelers to choose from, a Compact, and a modified Duke of Edinburgh. I opted for this one, as it's the most like a traditional folder, and I really like the walnut scales.

(actually, the Evo88 in the bottom row, should have been in the mod fodder row, and it has been put away in the correct box)

[AimlessWanderer]

Next up - traditional folders.



Again, the top five, the ones shown open, are the ones I've chosen to leave out. This does mean that I am condemning to the shoebox some of my most recent purchases - but that just goes to show that they weren't as "necessary" as I thought, and that I was right to try out this experiment. I think some people here might be surprised that there weren't more traditional folders to have to choose from, and I mush admit, I was quite pleased to see how far I'd managed to cut back on them.



This old workhorse, is my oldest knife. I got it as a gift in my late teens, and it's had a lot of use over the years. It was made by one of Sheffield's "Little Mesters", but I'm not entirely sure which one - whoever was resident at Kelham Island Industrial Museum in the early 1990s. It was used and abused before I knew how to properly look after a knife, but managed to survive my neglect. Despite being nearly 30 years old, with many hours of use, it's lost very little in the way of blade steel, as I tend to steel it to eek out edge life before I have to take it to the stones. I'm sure there's a good few year's life left in this 



This barlow is also in remarkably good condition, again from steeling before sharpening. When I first got this, I carried it for around a year as my main pocket knife, before drifting off to other things, and it's seen a fair bit of carry since then too. Of all my barlos, this is the one that finds itself in the pocket most often, and son had to be in the shortlist.



This Rough Rider canoe is actually quite a recent addition, but I gelled with it straight away. A canoe is a knife pattern that I've been meaning to get for years, but never did. Now it's here, I intend to get more use from it, and see whther this pattern could stay the course for me.



This Rough Rider Baby Copperhead has been chosen to fill the "penknife" role. The little knife when I don't need anything more. Be that waistcoat carry if going somewhere formal, minimalist carry in shorts, or just when I fancy carrying something lighter than the regular suspects.



This cheapo barlow fills a very important role - the sacrificial knife. This is the one to carry if I'm going somewhere where there's a risk of knives being prohibited. If there is a risk of confiscation, this is carried so that I don't have to part with any of my other more precious shineys. So far I have never had to part with a knife that way, thankfully - but it would be foolhardy to put a shortlist together without something to reach for in times of doubt.

[AimlessWanderer]

Modern folders



This is yet another area where I've cut down significantly. All the ones in this pic are non-locking, which is perfect for me. I do have one locking folder that Isn't shown here, which is my dirty use knife, which I'll use on jobs that I don't want to knacker up one of my nicer knives - however, it's not something that I'd consider for general daily carry, so it didn't need including in this pic. The three in the bottom right hand corner, are more sacrificial knives, all SanRenMu H02, and should I become parted with the sacrificial barlow shown earlier, these are what would replace it.



Only two of these knives made the shortlist. A Byrd Tern, and a Byrd Wings Slipit. The Tern is I believe the most carried of all my clipped OHO folders, and I even saw fit to get a spare in case of this one ever failing or getting separated from it's owner. The Wings Slipit is the only other modern knife that I might have carried as often, and is also the only serrated blade that made the shortlist. While neither of these would be first choice for using in a public place, around people who may have been brainwashed by the media that every knife is a weapon, they have had a lot of daily carry, both when I've had specific knife needs (such as work, and outdoor pursuits) and when I haven't, and the "sub 3" slippie" rule comes into play. These two had to be in the shortlist, as these are the two from the sub-array that I'd most hate to be parted with.

[AimlessWanderer]

Sheath knives

I didn't bother digging everything back out of their current hiding places for a pic, so this is an old pic from ages ago to show what I had to choose from.



Every single one of these is a good knife in it's own way, but for the purposes of this experiment, there could only be two knives which absolutely must be left available - the two that I made myself.

[AimlessWanderer]

Combos and small stuff

I actually set upon this little experiment a few weeks ago, but fell at the first hurdle, and had to rethink my choices. The reason? Combos. I hadn't left out items that paired well.

While there are some tools that I've shown so far, such as the Deluxe Tinker and CT41 that can stand alone, everything else works better for me as part of a combo. I did touch on some of them in the earlier posts, but here are the pairing options that I'd use for each of the pliers tools.



The Sideclip and Evowood 14 go great together. The Sideclip providing the pliers and Phillips, and the Wenger knife providing all the other basic essentials



The MP400 has enough tools on board to be able to leave a Swiss knife in the drawer, and just needs a cutting tool to compliment it - be it modern or traditional. Obviously, I could choose to take any of the full sized Swiss tools instead.



If away from home for more than a day, these two would likely be first choice. Aknife that handles everything I'm likely to need in a public area, backed up with a pliers too that'll handle pretty much any other scenario that crops up.

However, these aren't the only combos. There's other, smaller stuff, that hasn't had a mention yet.



Along with the baby copperhead and Cheeta barlow mentioned earlier, there's a few other small bits that I've left available to choose from. A mini pliers tool in the form of the IDL T7, a stainless Wenger Pocket Tool Chest, and a Micra that I really can't decide on whether it has a role or not in and amongst the other stuff. There's a single AAA light in this pic too, but haven't bothered doing a specific picture for the rest of my lights, as while I'll mainly be sticking to a select few - none of them will be stashed away like the other tools.  I wanted to keep them all available so I can check on them, and so I have a spare readily available should any of my regular ones not function - even if that's just due to a flat battery and I don't have time to swap it.

There's also other regularly carried items such as my keys, and the stuff I might have around my neck.



A Nitecore Tube, Gerber Dime, and Utilikey reside on my keys. One chain has a True Utility Eyeglass and a medical alert tag, and the other has a few useful tools for when pocket space is limited. These hang at two different heights, so they don't clatter together too much, or get knotted up.

[AimlessWanderer]

I told you some of the pics might look abysmal  It's only when they were full size on the laptop that my defective vision could see how bad they were 

So there you have it. That's all the items that made the final choice, and most of the stuff that didn't (I didn't bother with pics of all the keyring sized tools). As I said before, I don't think the choices that I've left out will leave me wanting in terms of function, but I don't know if I'll have to break into the box to scratch the itch of wanting something different, or how I'll feel about the stowed stuff after not laying my eyes on it for an extended period.

Will I need to replace something?
Will I miss not having more options?
Will I need to remind myself that I really don't need more stuff? 
Or have I simply chosen the wrong items - again?

  Only time will tell. 

Thanks for reading 

[pomsbz]

You still have enough for a minor apocalypse.... 

[AimlessWanderer]

You still have enough for a minor apocalypse.... 

Thankfully yes... considering how many things I break on a weekly basis

As I said though, it's not about whether the tools I've left out can get me through the year. I know I've chosen some good tools for that 

[Sos24]

Interesting experiment.  You definitely left out a good selection of choices.

[ezdog]

Boy..........
I either need to step up my game now after reading this or I really am ready to admit that I have already arrived?!?!?

I thought I have a decent collection myself but I could easily just live with what I carry every day already and not feel that I am missing anything.

In fact I pretty much do carry the same thing EDC anyway once finding a combo that I know works.

I might switch out the Folder or switch to the Swisstool X based identical Skinth but otherwise I am good to go.

[AimlessWanderer]

Interesting experiment.  You definitely left out a good selection of choices.

Thanks Sos 

[AimlessWanderer]

Boy..........
I either need to step up my game now after reading this or I really am ready to admit that I have already arrived?!?!?

I thought I have a decent collection myself but I could easily just live with what I carry every day already and not feel that I am missing anything.

In fact I pretty much do carry the same thing EDC anyway once finding a combo that I know works.

I might switch out the Folder or switch to the Swisstool X based identical Skinth but otherwise I am good to go.

(Image removed from quote.)

Good to hear you've found a winning combo 

I must admit, I might have found something that could easily handle the vast majority of days, and that's the Deluxe Tinker. Since I first started dabbling with this idea (before I got the combos all wrong), the Deluxe Tinker has been carried most of the time. I've occasionally swapped for one of the traditional knives, but keep going back to that one knife. 

I'm certainly not ready to get rid of everything except that one though 

[Max Stone]

A great exercise AW, and very interesting to read the motivation across each tool category and the combo options. Also how your needs have changed (matured - in the good sense) over the years, putting a different perspective on your carry options. Thanks for the detailed explanations, and don’t worry about the pic quality, the read is the more valuable aspect of what you’re sharing. 

[AimlessWanderer]

A great exercise AW, and very interesting to read the motivation across each tool category and the combo options. Also how your needs have changed (matured - in the good sense) over the years, putting a different perspective on your carry options. Thanks for the detailed explanations, and don’t worry about the pic quality, the read is the more valuable aspect of what you’re sharing. 

Thanks Max 

I would say my needs have more than just matured, they've pretty much retired 

In years past, some of the tools that have currently been sidelined, were needed on a very regular basis. Running an engineering company, plus owning a boat and running the boatyard, plus being involved with a stage society, all brought a variety of challenges that needed far different toolsets to what are needed today. As life has moved on, all those needs have been left behind. However, as I reassess my needs, of which this experiment is part of, and evaluate what has importance and what doesn't, there is one extra function the tools have that isn't readily visible. Providing memories.

There may be some tools which I look at with fresh eyes in a year's time, which bring back vivid memories. Should that happen (and assuming the memories are good  ) the tool will most likely stay, even if only for that "function". Others might just be good to get my mitts on again, and make me want to get it back working again. Others might just make me think "oh, yeah I forgot I had that", but not really care much for it.

I think when you see the same things week after week, it's different to seeing thing you haven't seen for a long time - which I think is what I'm trying to capture here, that fresh perspective. That and seeing just how comfortable I feel only having access to a small percentage of my full tool array.

[Max Stone]

Nicely put AW. 
The needs of today with the memories of yesterday. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Cheers Max 

[SirVicaLot]

Good read, AW 

I think you have a solid selection there, and doubt you will ever have the need to switch out something. One question though: You said you would lose the eyeglass screwdriver on the Evo 14; yet in the photos it looks like that there is one mounted in the corkscrew. Am i seeing that wrong? If not, how did you get in there? 

[Aloha]

Great read AW.  Just narrowing down to what you've chosen, I'm certain you are set for the experiment.  You had quite a wonderful selection to begin with so well done.     

[AimlessWanderer]

Good read, AW 

I think you have a solid selection there, and doubt you will ever have the need to switch out something. One question though: You said you would lose the eyeglass screwdriver on the Evo 14; yet in the photos it looks like that there is one mounted in the corkscrew. Am i seeing that wrong? If not, how did you get in there? 

  Apologies for the confusion. I think I was rambling a bit at that point.

I lost the eyeglass in the Deluxe Tinker, as after years of carrying only corkscrew backed knives, I finally started warming to the backspring Phillips a little more. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Great read AW.  Just narrowing down to what you've chosen, I'm certain you are set for the experiment.  You had quite a wonderful selection to begin with so well done.     

Thanks mate  It's taken me several years to cut down to the whole ensemble I own today, so choosing just 20% of what's left to keep accessible, and stashing the rest away, wasn't easy. 

[SirVicaLot]

Apologies for the confusion. I think I was rambling a bit at that point.

I lost the eyeglass in the Deluxe Tinker, as after years of carrying only corkscrew backed knives, I finally started warming to the backspring Phillips a little more. 

Ok, that makes sense 

[AimlessWanderer]

I had a couple of packages arrive in the mail today, and it was the canoe that was in the pocket, so I used that to open them up. As I did so, I noticed that I tend to use this knife differently...

I've occasionally griped about the "redundant" small blade on Victorinox knives, and that being replaced by a nail file is one reason why I tend to carry one of my Wenger Travelers rather than a Climber (I even have one Climber small, but still more often reached for one of my four remaining Travelers). Yet with the canoe, even though it's about the same size,  I seem to be mostly using the smaller blade. In fact I think the only time I've used the larger blade is for eating apples. Had my Deluxe Tinker been in my pocket instead, I would have almost certainly used the larger blade.

I think on the two blade barlows, I tend to use both blades equally - but I can't be certain. Maybe there's more to be learnt and understood on this little experiment than I expected 

[Max Stone]

I try to use the small blade as ‘default’ and the larger only when a longer cut is needed (apple a good example!). Of course, this assumes you have a small blade to start with... 

[AimlessWanderer]

All the full sized Vics I've left out have the small blade, and there's only the Evowood 14 that has the nail file instead. I had the Deluxe Tinker in pocket today, and when the last couple of second hand CDs I was expecting dropped through the letter box, I instantly defaulted to the large blade.

I wonder if it's because it's a sleeveboard pattern, and using the small blade feels like the handle's the wrong way round  It's the only reason I can think of for not using the small blade like I might on the canoe or barlow. Or maybe it's because it's on the wrong side of the tools (nearest the thumb, instead of the forefinger)  I do seem to be happier using the small blades on traditional (blade only) knives for whatever reason.

I am kicking myself for leaving it so long to get a canoe pattern knife. I've hardly reached for one of the other patterns since this arrived. Sadly, on a lot of canoe patterns that i've seen, etching the blade seems to be quite common, which is not something I'm a fan of. That was the main reason I got this one, as it's just a plain polished finish

[Aloha]

I do believe there is a lot to be observed in our uses.  I use the larger blade of SAKs as default.   If the SAK I am carrying has the small blade I use it in place of the scissors if the SAK doesn't have scissors ( Tinker/Recruit/Cadet 2 ) for example. 

On my SAKs with scissor layer Explorer/CT34/Deluxe Tinker the small blade is generally not used much. 

[AimlessWanderer]

I think we do get "conditioned" (behaviourally) by our past tool use (both what we had, and how we used it), and some tools took a while to click with me, because I wasn't using them as they needed using, or the benefit it offers Person A, being an obstacle to Person B. Locking blades are very much like that for me, being so used to not having them on my pocket knife, they can get infuriating real quick when I do use them.

I thin that's one of the reasons I took such a dislike to the Pulse. The operation was just too different to what I was used to. It took me two attempts a few years apart to understand and appreciate the Sideclip too. I had to discover the benefits of carrying combos for it to click.