Re: Photos of my new EDC kit
thnx you everyone for all the nice compliments!
to answer your queries-
wholeflaffer: "do you carry the lighter out of "habit", or just in case it's needed?"
i'm a non-smoker. i live in the mountains and having the ability to make fire is a must. i considered carrying a mag bar but so far have been lucky having these mini bics work when i ask them too. they work one-handed and quickly, and i generally have a spare stashed somewhere nearby in my kits, vehicles, saddlebags, etc. (in fact i do carry a mag bar in my survival pack, along with eight other methods to start a fire)... reguarding your spare battery comment: like most CPFers, i usually have another LED light (or 2 or 3 or....) on me. plus, with a low-beam runtime of 140 hours, the Ion itself is probably enough.
bitslammer: "squirt P4 for the pliers and the MiniChamp for the scissors?"
correct. and having both allows me, for example, to hold something with the pliers while using the SAK to screw or cut. i also found the the quality and feel of the tools in each unit were slightly different (sizes of the screwdrivers, etc). and there is no ballpoint pen, tweasers or tiny-tiny true-phillips screwdriver in the P4 (and i prefer the blade quality in the SAK). generally, i use the sak for "fine" work and the P4 for ranch-work.
xracer: "Stitching leather can be tough, how did you stitch it ?"
i stitched it on my 1950's singer featherweight sewing machine. first i folded the glove-thickness leather and stitched one side, placed a tool in that corner, marked it and stitched it. with that tool in place, i marked the leather again with the next tool in it, on and on. as you can see, my stitching has a lot to be desired. i just couldn't get the thread tension correct.
greenled: "Do you roll it up, or it sits flat like that inside your pocket?"
it lays flat with a slight curve to mate the curve of my thigh. this occurs cause it can flex at each of the seams i stitched. i once tried making something like this with hard non-flexing leather and found that it wasn't anywhere near as comfortable to carry and that it left a much too obvious bulge when observed by others.
Arc AAA-P vs Ion: i too edc a modified Lux 1 arc AAA. the reason it wasn't included in this kit was it's length. all four tools are approximately 2 1/4" long. the Arc AAA is 2 3/4" long so it went into yet another pouch that holds 2 3/4" long tools (the Arc, a William Henry T9-CF folder and two Seecamp magazines). this one's my "City" kit. you want a photo of it?
