Life is too short to freak out about beat-up lights

etc

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
5,777
Location
Northern Virginia
Not that I have a huge or very expensive collection but you value what you have. Every single device I have is dinged in some way - that is, with the exception of Hound Dog Super. It's perfect and like new. So I freak out about damaging it in some way. So far it stays at home as a museum piece.

My other Hound Dog, the XML2 model, was nearly perfect for a year until I placed it in the car seat. It rolled between the passenger's car seat and the car door. I opened the pass. door, hoping to catch it as it fell from the floor and it did so too fast for me to catch it and in the wrong spot, hitting the asphalt pavement beneath the car. There goes perfection. Now it's a perfect work light.
I got another HD, used, and it's pretty much in the same condition. Works perfectly but dings here and there.

Then you come to accept battle scars.
 

Skaaphaas

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
255
I hate seeing silver aluminium shine through on my black anodised lights.

"Character", pah. I'm the guy that takes a black sharpie to the silver spots to make them black again.

I also don't like scratches on my blades, although I have come to accept them for some of my knives. Rust spots are obviously a big no.

Sure life is short. I just cannot get myself to like the look of something dinged up. To me it doesn't look used, it looks neglected, like I didn't care about it.
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
Certain lights i would freak out about(bit of an exaggeration, but would not be happy about anyway). Certain lights i have got round it by having a dupe, so for example i like the 6p's. So i use one in work(i call it a beater, as it does get dropped,dinged,caught regular). If i am climbing metal ladders, it will be in my hand clanging up and down them as i hold the rail. Doing that with my precisionworks c2 would not make me happy! I am one of them who cleans their tools after use, everything in its place and all that. So i do look after my gear anyway(be it in my blood or OCD). The 1st ding does hurt, but after that i do relax and find i can enjoy my tools more if makes sense.

Other lights i have gone stainless , this way ano chips(key ring lights for example) are a none issue. I have gone through many ano key chain lights, their life tends to be around 6 months, as once they are super scruffy and really worn, i swap them for fresh. No need for stainless, even ti as fine scratches can be buffed out if need be.

Yes life is too short, too short for many things, but if i have invested a good deal, rely on it or a gift which has sentimental value. I do take extra care/pride in use, either babying it or not using it for certain applications that guarantee scuffs and scrapes.
 

Modernflame

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
4,383
Location
Dirty Dirty South
I treat my rough and tumble lights as if they were porcelain. Can't help it. Even the ones with "Character" still get the white glove treatment. I chide myself for it, but to no avail.
 

Dicaeopolis

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 19, 2017
Messages
271
I have used the heck out of my Hound Dog 18650 pretty much since they came out. It has seen some pretty rough days. I don't think I can post pics on here or I would. I had a different name on the forum, but I couldn't get it to work, so I just signed up with a new one, at least I can post now. I did get the crenelated bezel recently, so it is still fairly unscathed, but it doesn't match the rest of the light, but I like it.
 

UVvis

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
322
Location
Florida
1Mgw79m.jpg


They are tools. They are not neglected, they don't care, they are used. This light is no more physically abused than I've been while holding it. Like me, it's hit concrete, I bleed and scar and repair, it doesn't. Rust on knives, it happens. Especially when working near salt water or CS gas. My s30v knives still corrode a bit from horrible environments. The rubber boot on the above is about worn smooth, much like the hikers I wear out every couple months. I don't know how many boxes of batteries this thing has eaten. But good stuff because it lasts and handles the use. This light has lasted through many a pairs of worn out pants.
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,349
Location
Dust in the Wind
As a rule I do not abuse my EDC lights, knives and other tools. Yet the inevitable "doink" is bound to happen. If it was a big deal they'd stay at home wrapped in bubble wrap, tucked in a climate controlled safe.

I did mistreat an Elzetta Alpha there at one point but I believe I heard it say "thank you, may I have another?" Idea there was throwing it under-hand knife throw tailcap first against a tree until it turned on. Then again until it turned off. The tree was none-too happy, but the Alpha seemed to like it.
 

WebHobbit

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
536
Location
Rockport, Indiana
I try not bang up my handguns, flashlights or knives. I use them all....I just try not to drop them on concrete or bang them around too much. Some do get dinged...but I try not to!
 

KuroNekko

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Messages
89
It's hard to accept imperfections when you're obsessive over the things you really like. I'm like that with my car too though it's really not anything too special. I avoid parking next to people to avoid dings and dents, but in the end, some damage is inevitable from everyday driving. Same with flashlights. If you use them or carry them around, an imperfection is bound to happen.
While I do admit I treat some of my lights like museum pieces locked away in a sealed box, some get the "duty use" treatment. It's not like I abuse them but I do accept that normal use will cause "wear and tear".

One thing that's important to always remember is that these lights are man-made tools. What that means is that they are replaceable and often with something even better as time progresses. If you have a limited edition product that's hard to replace then it justifies the "museum piece" treatment. If you still want to use it, then maybe get two; one for use and the other to save. Otherwise, it's often a relief to just use them as intended and accept that imperfections come with that. Again, in most cases, it's not like you can't replace it with something even better later on.
 

rayman

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
1,219
Location
Germany
I have that will alot of new gadgets. You are really careful until the first ding, which really hurts. And afterwards I still really care for my stuff but I will use it as it was meant to be used. And at the end I think that all the dings and scratches tell a nice story, especially for my EDC flashlights ;-).
 

eh4

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
1,999
it's a balancing act, like balancing between all of the other extremes, significance - insignificance, etc.
Minimize entropy so that as entropy inevitably occurs, its effects are minimized.
 

DaYoop

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 20, 2017
Messages
5
If I really like a light/tool, I will buy two, one to use and one to put away and admire. Scratches and dings over a period of time are real live testaments to how durable said product is. I Have edc an Eastshine T25 for about a year now. I love the thing so much I bought a 2nd as well as 2 rechargeable versions (RT25) and they are still in the un opened boxes. ( mostly because the guys at my work ask about my light and usually want one)
 

etc

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
5,777
Location
Northern Virginia
CPF rule #999: No matter how carefully you treasure you light, eventually and inevitably it will get banged up against something and no longer remain in showroom condition.
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Entropy is unstoppable. Over time both the user and tool will be dust. All that matters when it comes to a tool is the here and now. Is it there when needed. Did it do the job it was made for? That said I do understand gear collecting. So within that context the tool's job is to be a good safe queen.
 

Skaaphaas

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
255
Entropy is unstoppable. Over time both the user and tool will be dust. All that matters when it comes to a tool is the here and now. Is it there when needed. Did it do the job it was made for? That said I do understand gear collecting. So within that context the tool's job is to be a good safe queen.
I hear you. But. I want the tool to become dust only long after I do, ie it must be usable throughout my lifetime.
 

jorn

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
2,499
Location
Norway
When they get too bad, i just dunk them in draincleaner to remove the ano, and polish the alu. Nice and shiny in minutes
 
Joined
Mar 12, 2010
Messages
10,205
Location
Pacific N.W.
Entropy is unstoppable. Over time both the user and tool will be dust. All that matters when it comes to a tool is the here and now. Is it there when needed. Did it do the job it was made for? That said I do understand gear collecting. So within that context the tool's job is to be a good safe queen.

While that's certainly true for the user, it doesn't have to be the fate of the tool. No, not if it's well cared for. I have a wood chisel past from my grandfather to his son to me. I use it whenever it's needed and plan on passing it to my son then he to his and so forth.

I've collected over 100 flashlights; one of them is a BOSS 70. I told the boys, "If I should die suddenly, do what you want with all the lights, except this one. This one is to be handed down from father to son."

~ Cg
 

bltkmt

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
747
Location
Connecticut
I tend to feel the same way, generally...except when my $300 Aeon Mk III developed a nick in its deep indigo finish and aluminium is now showing through.


funny+angry+face.JPG
 

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