I know the debate rages on what to carry your psk in -- from altoids tins to cigar tins to the Ritter PSK -- but has anyone considered a deerskin leather pouch for edc? It seems like it would be flexible in the pocket and hold a lot of stuff. I found one on ebay today and so I thought I would get your opinions

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...09&rd=1

I've used pouches like that before (not deerskin). Have a big one that came with some luggage as a shoe bag which we dump sample size product into and take on trips with us. Have an old bank money bag like that, IIRC people used to drop in their coinage and carry in a jacket pocket and such. I prefer soft cases inseatd of hard (like the altiods tins) because they flex a bit so you don't have to jigsaw things into them.

Personally, I don't like that pouch for a psk. It'll be troublesome if wet (e.g. the laces may bind) and it doesn't offer any water protection.

That being said... I carry the very same pouch whenever I travel by air. Empty, it goes through TSA security with no glitch. On the ground, filled with a hand full of change or even gravel.. and in my right back pocket with the lace hanging out.. well. Let's just say that in Amsterdam once I calmed down a pickpocket with a short stroke to side of the head.

The cop who picked up the guy suggested that in the future I keep coins, not gravel, in the pouch. That way there is no question that I was carrying a coin purse and not a sap. He did admire my gravel collection, and suggested I leave it there on the ground.

But I don't like it for a PSK.

Great idea. Why not have the change in it all the time, afterall it IA a change pusre. So what if you have $10 in quarters in it. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Oh yeah, a possibles bag. I like the idea. You can waterproof leather fairly well these days.

A lot of people these days think a possibles bag was what muzzleloaders kept their reloading supplies in. Not so. A possibles bag was the original psk/bob. Old timers kept a lot of important stuff in there, like firestarting tools, food(pemmican), letters from home, and yes, also sometimes a separately packed reloading kit and tools.

Leather is more resistant to fire than nylon, and holds up to UV better too. I like leather.

look at Fred Perrin's wallet (near the bottom of that web page )

And yes, you can actually use it to store coins....

I actually do have that Fred Perrin coin wallet, have never used it yet, but did buy 20 Eisenhower silver dollars to carry in it if I need it as a defensive weapon. Who wants to mess with quarters when you can carry silver dollars

That Perrin wallet is a heck of an idea. ... Unfortunately, I've got a feeling that if a cop in the urban parts of Illinois found that on a civilian, it would be confiscated as a weapon. And the cop would probably happily carry it off duty for the rest of his days. Call me cynical.

hey, is that what's called "style" ?! <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Do you mean they recruit ex-TSA people ? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Sorry ! I could not resist the pun.

Reading all your posts about TSA behavior, I'm wondering :
- the "efficiency" aspect is one thing ; one may agree or disagree with this kind of procedures and their capacity to really prevent new attacks. That's more of a political position.
- but the "stealing" part is more difficult to accept : that's outright theft and nothing seems to be done to correct this problem inside the TSA administration (if that's what TSA is).
I mean ... that kind of behavior is commonplace in third world countries, where corruption prevails and where employees may not have other means to make a living... but in the U.S.A. ?!?
Or are the thefts only a rare occurence (due to a "normal" proportion of dishonest employees ...) and the fact that only malcontent posters recall their problems on this forum just make things look worse than they are ?? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Are there any credible statistics available ?

BTW : just asking ; no intent to hurt anyone's feelings...

I invite everyone here to look around, real hard. The only thing that is keeping America going is our reputation. The dollar is toilet paper if we loose that. Our industry is going, going, gone!. And we need way too much gas to keep this country running.

I figure our grandkids, maybe our greatgrandkids, will be living in the largest "third world" country.

Re Frenchy's questions:

Let me preface this by saying I don't hate police officers.There are about four people I've met in life whom I would follow blindly if asked to because I was impressed with not only their abilities, but their character ... one was my father, another was an editor and two others were tough-as-nails street cops who were, at heart, gentle and uncommonly decent men.

With that said, Frenchy, I've noticed in the part of America where I live a growing trend for people in authority to abuse authority. They do what they want because they can, without thought toward another's rights or even dignity. On them, the idea of "public servant" is lost.

It is particularly galling to many Americans, I think, because we were raised under an ethic that says "Go your own way. If you are not harming another, you have every right to."

Our country was founded by people who had first-hand knowledge of abuses by a large, uncaring government, yet our government .... and in a way, we ourselves ... are becoming like those we once rallied against. And it saddens me, because I think both government and media are, utlimately, merely a reflection of society at large.

In short, I think something has changed in the American character, and characteristics that we once held as ideals ... courage, personal leadhership, a care for the less able ... are becoming rarer and rarer. It seems to me, at times, that our American society has become one of self-involvement.

I'm no great thinker and have no clue if it is attributable to the economy and modern U.S. business practices, overcrowded urban life or some general widespread failure in personal leadership. There's something amiss in the land of the free, and it's hard to pin down exactly what it is.

Someone once said, "I love my country; I fear my government." In a land where we taught to believe in a government "of the people, by the people, for the people," it is an unsettling sentiment, but one hard to avoid.

Or maybe I'm just a boy from the country who has been too long in the city. Truthfully, I haven't got a clue.

In the life of civilizations, I suppose America is still a youth.

MGF:

Would you double post this over to the thread on searches? It is particualrly apt for that discussion.

I agree with you completely.

I think I can tell you when it became common for people in possitions of authority to abuse it. When they started calling those they serve "civilians", rather than "citizens". I had to laugh in a town road manager's face once when he did that- sorry, the town had one stop light and eight stop signs on it's paved roads. (I was working for a road marking company.) His pompacity was amazing when I yelled at him for going the wrong way on a one way and almost squashing a painting rig. "It's ok, I'm not a civilian."

Still makes me chuckle.

To me, "civilian" is a semi-derogitory term applied to foriegn non-combatants by persons serving actively in a military capacity. If they are Americans, they are "citizens".

But I was raised funny, I think.

That's why I keep saying the U.S. is going to Hades in a handbasket... it's definitely not the country I remember growing up in, and it hasn't changed for the better. We've had the rise, now we've begun the fall... LOOK OUT BELOWWWWW!!!

My fault !
I should have opened a new post "around the campfire", and not divert this thread from its original direction...

but that question just sprang (?) in my mind, when writing the joke about TSA.

I think you're hedging your bets with "grandkids". Do ya REALLY think it's gonna take that long???

I'm being optimistic with my pessimism.

"When they started calling those they serve "civilians", rather than "citizens". "

That's the truth. TV news has propagated that crap but now, unfortunately, it's become ingrained.

Regards, Vince