The Bricoleur: Making Do

Claude Levi-Strauss used the term "Bricoleur", referring to a maker, of sorts, who makes do with the tools and materials at hand. Terry Frohm, principle technician at the CRRF Chuuk marine laboratory in Chuuk in the early 90s, used the term "Making Do" in reference to appurtenances and contrivances, innovations he cobbled together in creating a functioning laboratory, with a minimum of expensive and specialized equipment or hardware.

I recognized, in Levi-Strauss's descriptions of the Bricoleur, the Micronesian fishermen's use---of necessity---of available materials to solve their own technical problems: Marshallese fishermen used a piece of broken glass or a sharp piece of Aluminum beer can to clean a catch of fish on the beach; spears were fashioned of discarded heavy iron wire from water-tank bands, straightened and sharpened; their slings made from old airplane inner tubes. Goggles were carved from wood---using possibly a kitchen knife sharpened on a piece of pumice that had drifted onto the beach, their glass from a
relict World War II airplane. Gillette's study of Tuna fishing in Tokelau features a demonstration by a Tokelauan elder: trapping an air bubble in the hand cupped over one's eye to provide an air-water interface through which to see fish clearly.

This Blog cannot adequately honor the resourcefulness of those men, but I have borrowed the words of Terry Frohm, to describe the purpose of this proposed collection of solutions and innovations of various kinds. These solutions are embarassingly rich in their reliance on modern materials. The intention is to develop a repository of cheap and easy solutions to problems that are important to me. I I hope it can serve as more than a collection. Rather, by example, a reminder that solutions are often at arm's reach, and not in catalogs.


Monday, December 24, 2018

Retrospective Shopping List: Tools and Every Day Carry


Flashlight

Fenix UC35, rechargable.  Really fantastic, much to write about it.  But the USB charging port is not working well, so I will test the warrantee soon.


Pocket Protector and Pocket Notebook

For a number of years I wore a "Fanny Pack" as a pouch.  In the field, it was important to carry a notebook and a writing instrument, in particular, as well as other personal needs.  Spare ink, a picket knife, pencils, flashlight, perhaps a cellphone (after there WERE cellphones), some string, whatever.

Moving to the City, the Pouch became an anathema.  Family numbers were apalled.  That didn't matter, but before she passed away, when Mom wasn't doing well, I played down the pouch, and wore it only when important.

Then, when working as a substitute teacher or teacher, here in the Urban West Coast Northern Sprawl, a pouch didn't seem to enhance my personal appearance, so I started skipping it.  Three things led to dropping the pouch:

  1. My pants have pockets in the city.  Amazing innovations.  (I should find a useful and cheap kind of cargo pants?)
  2. A pocket Protector is a mini-pouch.  I carry a lens cleaning brush, two

Discovery (or perhaps RE-discovery) of the pocket protector is almost a fully functional replacement for the pouch. 

 Notebooks

A good small notebook, in the shirt pocket, is a reasonable option.  Since I carry a Messenger Bag, I also carry a larger notebook.  A good pocket notebook is hard to find.  And far too expensive.  They last pretty long if used just to take quick notes.

More later on this category, after I have researched more.  For now, the Rhodia pocket notebooks (at 2.50 a pop) are serviceable, but too small and a little clumsy.  I am not a fan of Moleskin, but the set of three or four plain pocket notebooks are ok, except the paper is not well suited for most fountain pen inks.  More in on that...

CHRISTMAS LIST: Stainless Steel Staples or one of those pressure based paper press-fusion devices. 

 

Pocket Notebook

See above

Ink for Fountain Pen 

I have lots of ideas about fountain pen inks. For field notebooks, I have used HIggens Waterproof Drawing ink in a Montblanc pen, in the past, when I could pick up a Montblanc Pen in a duty free shop for 30.00 (in the 80s).  I have written about that elsewhere.  Today, I am sold, as far as reasonable fountain pens, on Sailor Black, also known as Sailor Nano Kiwa-Guro Black. There was some confusion about this ink, because different names were used by different ink nerds for this ink.  I contacted Sailor, which was extremely helpful, and clarified that there is but one black pigment ink.  Found most places as Kiwa Guro Black, but if it's a pigment ink, and it's a Sailor Black, it is the same ink.  It is fine.  It writes ok on cheap paper, compared to other inks I have used.

I will write much more about this ink.

Fountain Pen

For now, the Pilot Metropolitan Fine is as good as I need.  I was also also able to find replacement nibs of chinese make, but while they are excellent, and write well, and they are advertized as fine, they are not as fine as the Pilot factory nibs, for which Pilot does not market a replacement.

Pencils and so on

The Kum long point sharpeners are fantastic.  I do not have the deluxe model, but the red one works really well for me on normal pencils (like the Ticonderoga No. 2 or a commodity drawing pencil). 

Messenger Bag

Timbuk2 is a "mixed bag."  The small messenger bag I have is so good I ordered a custom large model.  It is not nearly what I expected, was extremely costly, made of less robust materials (AFAICS).  The lifetime warrantee is good, so I will take the old one in for refurbishing, just hoping they don't try to foist a replacement (ie, a domestically manufactured) model off on me.  A medium is what I need. 

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For Grins and giggles.

Shocking insane simple head slappers
 
I don't really know who thinks of these. 

Nuf sed.
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