I’ve been carrying my own EDC kit for as long as I can remember. It started out as a simple thing, just a few items that I had on me at all times. But over the years, it's grown into a more comprehensive collection of tools and gadgets that I find essential to my everyday life, and I’ve moved from pockets to a small carry case.
My EDC kit is always with me, no matter where I go; it gives me peace of mind knowing that I'm prepared for anything, and it has come in handy on more than one occasion. I've used it my engine in the dark, open a can of food, cut through wire and tape, sharpen a pencil, or treat a minor injury. I'm grateful for the peace of mind that it gives me, and I wouldn't leave home without it.
While the definition of men may have changed, for many of us, our needs have not. Simple, well-made daily use tools, handcrafted from top quality metals, and materials never go out of style, and leave you prepared for anything.
EDC is becoming increasingly popular, with more and more people carrying EDC kits with them on a daily basis. According to a 2017 survey, the average EDC kit contains 10 items. The most common EDC items are
Personally, I like to include a secondary wallet, or some folded emergency bills, a set of keys, flashlight, small knife, a multi-tool, and a basic first aid kit. I also like to have a few other items on hand, such as a pen, a notebook, and a snack bar.
For a very simple starter kit, we offer our EDC Starter Kits, with a simple matching box-cutter and flashlight set. (LINK)
If you're thinking about starting your own EDC kit, I encourage you to do some research and find out what items are essential for your lifestyle.There are a lot of great resources available online, and there are also a number of groups and forums where you can connect with other EDC enthusiasts.
Once you've put together your kit, take some time to practice using the items in it. This will help you become familiar with them and make sure that you know how to use them effectively in a variety of situations.
EDC is a great way to stay prepared for anything that comes your way. It's a simple concept, but it can make a big difference in your life. It’s an old-fashioned value that stands the test of time for modern day life.
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Well it depends on your criteria. Let's talk about requirements for a flashlight first:
1) Electrical conductivity
2) Thermal conductivity (the ability to absorb and radiate heat)
3) Durability
4) Cosmetics
5) Cost
6) Ease of manufacturing
We'll talk about electrical conductivity today.
So obviously, seeing as a flashlight uses electricity to operate, an extremely important property is the conductivity of the metal.
I'll give you a quick simple overview of how a flashlight works just in case you don't know.
The battery goes into a metal tube. Positive side towards the driver (electronics), negative side towards the switch (in a light with a mechanical switch). The light uses the body of the light as a ground to complete the circuit.
Click the switch and electricity flows through the body to the emitter (LED bulb), and the light comes on.
The conductivity of the metal has a direct effect on how well the light works. Metals with good conductivity will be brighter than metals with poor conductivity.
So where does copper land in the conductivity world?
Well, copper is the benchmark that other metals are measured against for conductivity. Silver is better, but is really expensive and doesn't have great strength. Aluminum has slightly less conductivity, great strength and is lightweight. It's a great material for lights.
Why are we talking about aluminum now?
It's a close race between aluminum and cooper for the perfect material to make a flashlight. Aluminum is by far the most popular material for making flashlights.
So who wins the conductivity test? Copper of course. If copper's conductivity is 1, then aluminum's conductivity is 0.63.
But there's other factors that make a great flashlight.
If you disagree or I've gotten a fact wrong, by all means, let me know in the comments.
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In the current Enlightened Age (see what I did there😉) we need a little more finesse.
That’s where the driver comes in. The driver is the brain of your flashlight.
Drivers take the power from the cell (battery), regulate it and send it to the emitter (LED) to make light.
You'll hear terms like 7135, FET, PWM and firmware bandied about by the driver experts. Let’s break it down.
Let’s start with firmware. Your driver has a computer built into it. It controls things like all the different brightness settings, watches that the temperature doesn’t get so hot that it damages the electronics, monitors the voltage in the lithium-ion cell so it doesn’t over-discharge and cause an explosion hazard, memory options, strobe, etc. - Everything that makes your torch function.
I should mention that not all drivers have all these functions. Of particular concern is the low voltage detection. Low voltage protection stops a cell from over-discharging. Over-discharging is really bad for lithium-ion cells. Best case, you need a really good charger to resurrect the cell.
Worst cases get progressively worse. Best of the worst is that your cell is ruined by the over-discharge. Worst case is that it bursts into flames and explodes.
It’s very important to know whether your driver has this feature because it dictates what kind of cells you can use. If it doesn’t have over-discharge protection, you can only safely use protected cells.
If it does have protection, then you’re good to go with anything that will fit.
Got anything you want to know about flashlights? Let me know in the comments and I'll add it to my How to Speak Flashlight list.
]]>Let's first talk about its history, then how it's made and finally why it might be the best boxcutter material.
Let's go back, way back! No even further back. Still not far enough. There you go, Earth is just forming. And what's there? Boom! Aluminum. Lots and lots of aluminum.
Aluminum is what's called a primordial isotope. That means that it has existed in its current form since the formation of the earth. (I was really excited to be able to say primordial😂).
And there's lots of it here. Aluminum is the third most abundant element (after oxygen and silicon) on the planet.
In Aluminum Article 2 there will be a little more modern history of aluminum.
Leave a comment with your thoughts on aluminum. I'm always happy to talk.
Come join my Facebook group if you like. I'm always up to something new.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/focusworks]]>
Titanium is the best!! We've brewed up some scary liquid titanium and now we need to turn it into a sponge.
But not a soft and squishy sponge. A brittle and porous one.
So how does the Titanium Tetrachloride (scary liquid titanium) get turned into titanium sponge?
It's done via what's called the Kroll process. What happens is that the titanium tetrachloride is vaporized and fed into an airtight container that is filled with molten Magnesium and an Argon atmosphere.
Once it's in there they crank the temperature up to around 1000°C (1830°F) and let it brew like a fine craft beer for 2 days. Then they let it cool for several more days until it's solid and ready to take out.
That’s the titanium sponge. A brittle mixture of now metallic titanium and magnesium.
But wait there's MORE! We'll continue the process in my next post.
Check back in next month for Titanium Article 4.
Feel free to agree with me in the comments 😁 (or disagree, I guess).
Come join my group if you like https://www.facebook.com/groups/focusworks
I'm also always happy to get a PM on social media as well.
]]>Well, battery isn’t the right word. The correct term is cell. A battery is made up of several cells. An example is the battery for a cordless power tool. If you open it up, you’ll find several cells inside making up the battery.
Most flashlights use a single cell for power.
If you’ve ever looked at lithium-ion cells you’ve probably been baffled by the numbers that they’re listed with. 18650, 14500,18350, 21700 etc.
It’s easy. The numbers are the basic dimensions of the cell in millimeters. The first two numbers are the diameter, the last three numbers are the length to one decimal place, for some reason.
18650 therefore means that the cell is 18mm in diameter and 65mm long.
You’ll also sometimes see three letters in front of the number. Usually, ICR or INR. I stands for lithium ion. The middle letter is the cathode material. C being cobalt, N being nickel, M being manganese and V being vanadium. And the R tells you that it’s a cylindrical cell.
Different size cells also have different amounts of energy they store. It’s measured in milliamp hours (mAh). To define that, if you have a electric circuit that uses 1 milliamp, a 1mAh cell will take 1 hour to drain.
Lets compare two fantastic cells (these are my recommended cells in these sizes by the way). The 18650 Samsung 30Q and the 18350 Keeppower UH1835P.
The Keeppower holds 1200mAh while the Samsung at the same diameter and less than twice as long holds 3000mAh, nearly three times as much. So capacity is linked more to the construction of the cell rather than the size. Bigger cells hold more energy but it's not necessarily proportionate to the dimensions
We’ll continue talking about batteries next week. Stay tuned…
Got anything you want to know about flashlights? Let me know in the comments and I'll add it to my How To Speak Flashlight list.
]]>Last week during the release of my new F2 flashlight someone commented that they wished they spoke flashlight.
So lets learn to speak flashlight in this Tech Tuesday series!
Today we'll start with the raw basics of flashlight tech.
A flashlight has a battery (Duh) that powers it. Any battery you can think of can be used to power a flashlight, with a few rules of course
Typically the positive end of the battery points toward the head of the light. When the switch is pushed it completes the circuit and the light comes on.
In metal flashlights the whole body of the light acts as a conductor (wire) so the switch needs to contact bare metal and there needs to be a path of metal to the electronics which control the LED. (Incandescent bulbs don't need electronics but I don't make lights that use those so I'm not going to talk about them)
Battery rules! You need enough voltage to run an LED. The Samsung LED's (emitter's) I use need about 2.9 volts to turn on. Your regular old Duracell alkaline AA battery only has 1.5V available. So you either need to stack them up to increase the voltage or work some trickery in the electronics to make them work.
That's why Lithium ion cells are so common in high end lights. They output 4ish volts so the electronics are relatively easy.
Next week, Battery's!!
Got anything you want to know about flashlights? Let me know in the comments and I'll add it to my Learn To Speak Flashlight list.
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