The tool carrier's mindset

[AimlessWanderer]

My mind started drifting yesterday, as to how being a knife and tool carrier has enhanced the way I look at things. Although I started carrying a simple pocket knife in my late teens, it wasn't till I started adding other tools that I started adopting a "fix it" mentality.

Before then, I suffered the same mindset as many consumers - if I don't have something to do a certain function, buy one, and if something doesn't work as it should, I need a new one. It was only after I started carrying the tools to deal with problems as they arise, that I fully embraced the attitude of "fix it", "improve it", "make something" and "improvise".

It was being a knife and tool user, and as a result, a reasonably confident tweaker of stuff, that led me to try restoring a straight razor and learn to use it, and get my kitchen knives as sharp as they should be. It made me a better cook, pack less things when I go on holiday, do more outdoorsy stuff, and not be frightened or dissuaded by the "what ifs" in life. I started being less wasteful, and seeing more opportunities.

And the thing that started this train of thought? My nail clippers weren't clipping properly. I didn't throw them in the rubbish bin, or back in the drawer to fail me again next time, but instead found a torch which best matched the radius, and got some emery to wrap around it to sharpen them. As I was doing so, it struck me just how few other people in the developed world would do the same.

I realised that I don't just have pocket tools to thank for getting me out of a few irritating life situations, but also for giving me the mindset to not tolerate dull knives, loose screws, splinters on gates or picnic benches, dripping taps, torn pockets, poor electrical connections, worn door locks, power cuts, getting lost, and other people's apathy to problems and annoyances - nor relying on others to fix simple problems that I can address myself. Carrying tools didn't just make my surroundings better; it made me better too.

[lister]

I think for me EDC mentality is mostly based on some kind of escapism and emulating characters form fiction. I mean it is not my conscious decision to emulate anything like that but I thing that is where it all started really. And don't get me wrong, I find my EDC extremely useful and am capable of doing may a thing with it (shameless self promotion: for example making a pump from a vacuum cleaner). But deep down it mostly serves to alleviate the dullness of my day to day life... 

[gregozedobe]

My first thought when something is broken or not working properly is "can I fix this", followed by "while I'm at it, can I make it better ?".  More often than not I can, which suits me fine, and makes my life easier.  It is also quite satisfying to fix something that otherwise would be thrown away.

I extend this approach to things that don't belong to me if it impacts on what I want to do, and will advise staff at a shop or wherever if something needs attention (how else will they know if no-one tells them ? )

Over the years this mindset (and a garage well stocked with all sorts of tools) has not only saved me money, but also a lot of time that would otherwise be spent buying a replacement or organising someone else to fix it for me.

For similar reasons I always make sure all my vehicles have a spare wheel and the means to safely change it.  Where I travel it might take many hours for roadside service to get to me, and even in the city if it is busy you could be waiting for a few hours to be attended to.  But I know there are some people who believe they shouldn't have to get their hands dirty, but will complain if they have to wait more than 20 minutes to be fixed.

[Huntsman]

Interesting thoughts AW - And I agree with it all

Although for me my starting point was different
I come from a "Waste not / Want not" upbringing

No doubt due to a not very affluent family; parents and grandparents bring brought up in the war, and experiencing rationing; and a little bit of Scottish blood!
BTW The stereotype of a mean Scotsman is a total fallacy - I lived in Scotland for many years and they are some of the most generous people I know - However they are frugal and they don't waste stuff
 
So when something broke in my household it always went off to my Dad's workshop - and fixing things when they broke was all part of my upbringing
Dad was also very 'handy' - and majored in furniture design - So made things from scratch too
 
So tools were a means to do all  that - rather than the tools initiating that!!

[SirVicaLot]

I agree AW! A lot of times I don’t buy stuff when it looks like I won’t be able to repair it down the road. It is frustrating to see how much stuff goes to the trash everyday, that could be easily fixed. And it is even more frustrating when companies design their products in a way that makes it impossible to repair them. Glued housing and that kinda BS.

This is one of the reasons why I do more stuff by myself. I make stuff out of leather, and if I treat it well I know I will be able to use it for years. And should a stitching fail, I can repair it easily.

The same goes for woodworking. I am not perfect doing it, and have much to learn. But the stuff I do is made of “real” wood and not pressed wood pieces or ply wood. If it breaks, I can fix it. I can make it exactly the way I want it, and don’t have to take what everyone else has.

Multitools for me are an extension of that mindset. If I am out and about and something breaks or is not the way it’s supposed to be, I have the means to fix it and improve it. 

[Aloha]

I come from a background of not being able to afford to replace or have someone repair things.  I've always fancied myself a DIY'r so I enjoyed fixing things.  While time and knowledge has helped me to be much better the internet has also aided me.  Having a few pocket tools certainly is about convenience, at least for me.  Its about being able in most situations to resolve an issue there on the spot. 

[Dutch_Tooler]

My upbringing has been quite similar to Huntsman's it seems, maybe a tad later (and not Scottish) but my parents were still very much influenced by the general lack of everything during, and the decade following, WWII. Dad was a wizard at fixing or building everything from vehicles to house electrics to heating to TVs and radios, back in the times the components could be seen with the naked eye. Against that background my predilection for tools in general isn't such a miracle. Comes into the equation a kind of quest to find the most usefulness per kilogram or per cubic centimetre, and you very very quickly end up at multitools

[AimlessWanderer]

My upbringing was on the lean side financially too, but my Father isn't the handiest of people. His attempts at fixing something, usually made damn sure it stayed broke. However, when I started earning my own money, I thoroughly enjoyed spending it however I wanted, almost as if I was trying to use shopping therapy to drown out any hardship from my earlier years. So for me,there was certainly some "correction" and change of mindset from carrying pocket tools, and I developed skill sets which were not inherrited.

[ezdog]

I make a living building,maintaining and creating stuff and have really only been content while I am so.........I do.

A few weeks back I was out of town on a job when a terrible storm popped up there and it pitched the Hotel I was in into darkness and quiet,mostly.
I woke up from the insane rumble of the windows on the 6th and top floor of the brand new Hotel and there was water seeping on through the solid wall of the room and up from the toilet and sink backwards through the traps!
It was Crazy!

I got dressed and surveyed the scene a little and stated down the stairs to the Lobby picking up others along the way who were flailing in the pitch black stairwell until I came upon them.
In the Lobby the doors were forced to stay open by the sideways wind driven rain and it was dark mostly and everyone but the desk clerk was hunkered down in front of glass walls doing I don't know what really?

I grabbed some luggage carts and wedged the doors closed with them and then helped the clerk try to seal the rest of the place up while I had her get everyone else into a room without windows.

The storm lasted an hour or so and the power flickered the whole time while the emergency lights never came on and the fire alarm was tripping constantly as well.

There were a few Walmart Lanterns set on tables in the Lobby putting out almost no light while most people sat there complaining that the internet seemed to be out on their phones.

Eventually everyone started back for the rooms as the power stayed flickering and when I started for the stairs there was a line of sheeple waiting for the Elevator!?!?!?!

Most folks just do not have the capacity to deal with life in certain settings.

I had my usual EDC with me and made sure that I did before I left my room.

No Worries.

But who builds a new Hotel on Oklahoma City Today with no Basement or Shelter?