PSA: My old knee kicker finally gave out on me yesterday

I was starting a job in a big split level house, and the pin just snapped clean off when I went to set the carpet on the first stair. That thing was a hand me down from my dad when I started in the trade back in 2005. I had to run to the local supply house and grab a new one, which set me back about $150. What do you guys do with your old tools when they finally quit?

4 comments

4 Comments

hollywhite24d ago

Man, that's a real bummer about the kicker. Honestly, I keep the really old broken ones. I cleaned up my dad's old broken hammer and put it on a shelf in the garage. It's not about the tool working anymore, it's about the history. That thing saw thirty years of work before I even got it. Letting it go to the dump just feels wrong, like throwing away a piece of the story. So now it's a rusted up paperweight that reminds me where I came from.

river_dixon24d ago

Throwing away a piece of the story" got me, @hollywhite. I used to just toss stuff.

the_piper24d ago

Yeah @river_dixon, I get that. My grandpa's old tape measure broke last year, the spring went. I cleaned it up and hung it on my workshop wall. Now it's just a cool looking thing that reminds me of him, and it doesn't matter that it can't measure anything.

taraross1d agoMost Upvoted

It's weird how we get more attached to broken things than the new ones that work.