Hey all,
I haven't posted for about a year (my first year of grad school has kicked my butt) so I thought share how some of my PSK items have faired.
But First, why do cotton balls need to be soaked in vasoline? untreated cotton balls ignite just fine and for about 20sec. EtOH prep pads burn nicely too.


Arc-AAA flashlight: This is hands-down the best flashlight I have owned. I have beaten the crap out of it and it's still ticking. It has been on my key chain for a year and I've lost count how many times I've dropped it on the pavement.

tip: if your Arc-AAA flashlight is difficult to twist and turn on, simply unscrew the head and screw back in again. I noticed after a trip to high altitude it was difficult to turn on, I unscrewed it and heard a pop sound. I must have opened it at the higher altitude and the pressure difference had an effect.

Gerber Legend: Battery acid, gasoline (which dissolved half the rubber inserts on the handle), some hardcore sawing and filing, and 3 years of carry, and 2 months of being lost in the backyard, have beaten my Gerber Legend up- but it's still kicking.

Problems: The fisker-like scissors finally gave out after 3 years of my children using them during church to cut scratch paper. After the scissors broke my wife offered to buy me a new tool. NOT LIKELY! It only took my 3 hours, but I replaced the broken scissor wire with a piece of a diaper safety pin (same thickness and curve).

The tip of the small flathead screwdriver broke, so I had to file it down to a new tip. [u][/u]

Okay, there it is. As other stuff I own get abused I will report on it. I have to say, I may just purchase a Leather Ti or something, just so I can beat the crap out of that for a few years to see how it holds up.

Dave