That weird moment when my old tool pouch finally gave out after 12 years

I was on a service call this morning swapping out a busted outlet in a 1950s house (you know, the ones with the cloth wiring that crumbles if you look at it wrong). My trusty leather pouch that I've had since I started my own shop split right down the side seam, dumping my strippers and a dozen screwdrivers onto the homeowner's nice hardwood floor. Honest to God, I felt a little pang of sadness because that thing has been through maybe 2,000 jobs with me, from attics in July to crawlspaces full of spiders. I ended up finishing the call with my tools just stuffed in my pockets, which looked ridiculous and kept poking me in the leg. So I swung by the supply house on the way home and dropped 60 bucks on a new canvas one that feels way too stiff and clean. It's funny how even a dumb piece of gear can feel like losing an old friend, but I guess the new one will earn its scars eventually. Has anyone else had a tool just fall apart on the job like that out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

bens8121d ago

Nah man you're mixing up your wiring eras a bit. Those crumbling cloth wires aren't from the 50s, they're from the 30s and 40s. The 50s houses started using that rubberized cloth stuff that's a little less crumbly but still sketchy. I get where you're coming from though because my grandpa's house was built in 52 and the wiring there is a nightmare too. But yeah that 30s stuff is the real nightmare where the cloth just turns to dust and the rubber underneath is all cracked and sticky. Anyway, sorry about your pouch man. I had my tape measure give out mid-measure once, snapped right at the hinge point and hit me in the face.

williamhill21d ago

Yeah @bens81 you almost got it right but that 30s stuff actually had rubber wrapped in cotton, not cloth. The cloth stuff came later in the 40s and 50s but it was still trash. I rewired a house last year that had that early rubberized cloth from the 50s and it was crumbling just as bad as the 30s stuff, honestly. The real difference is the 30s stuff has that tar like coating underneath that gets all gooey when it heats up.