"The wing nut spanner is used for making sure nobody else can get them off later on" Brilliant :-)

In the 1960s all skilled workmen in the UK had the same style of bag as you have, almost as obligatory as the donkey jacket. They were a generation that had all served in the armed forces and many, like my father, had done their service in WWII. I remember the smell of my father's as much as what it looked like. He was a fitter and turner at the time so it was a mixture of different oils, grease and Player's Navy Cut cigarettes along with that unique canvas smell. I know the bag itself isn’t what the video was about but I had to say thank you for the memory.

One man's flat head screwdriver is another man's Chisel

i have every thing loanable painted with hi view pink paint and it hasn't failed me in 3 years to come back

See how in the states, we help boost our economy by requiring all our tradesman to buy every tool twice, a metric, and an imperial one.

It's good to see you use the same kind of highly organised tool storage that I myself employ in my tool bag.

Hi Clive , I think the term you were looking for was "Improved it Worse" I use this saying whenever designers come out with the Mk 2 or 3 or 4 , sometimes the original is just the best .

I have one of those bags, or perhaps slightly smaller! Bought in the early 1970's from an army surplus shop. The material is really thick and tough & almost impossible to wear out. I use mine for tools when doing unwisely adventurous DIY in precarious places up ladders and the like.

interesting note about the headlamps. i built a (measured, 5-6-ish watt) torch using 3 18650s repurposed from a laptop battery, and off the shelf (50w) components from ebay. im planning on adding more batteries in parallel to up the brightness in the future. it is unbelievably bright used inside or at night. seems almost as bright as a car head-light. it has come in very handy for getting in awkward places because, even though its very bulky, i can put it down wherever, and ill be guaranteed to get plenty of ambient light. i would recommend trying out this approach, my light is quite bulky because i built a basic wooden box for the components to go in, but im sure if you repurposed something the right size, you could make it fairly compact.

Clive I also brought that meter from Maplin for about £7. I had to take mine back as it turned out to be a random number generator rather than a multimeter.

i also found if you go to the dollar store and buy hi view pink paint and paint all your tools they come back not without comment but back no less

"[Leatherman] is not suitable for anything electrical" ... oh come on, it's a nice makeshift high current fuse ;).

Awesome Kit Clive. Keep up the great work. Nick.

I have the same Stanley two tone screwdrivers, didn't know they were professional quality. Proud to have some of the same things as a really cool guy (you). I even have the same type multi purpose canvas army bag, using it for sailboat first aid kit.

I have the same yellow/red snips, I bought them when I went to technical school about 15 years ago, and they have cut things you should never do but still work as new.

I really enjoy watching your videos! Lately I've really liked watching your hacking videos where you repurpose or make things better; i wouldn't mind seeing more of these as they're as practical! Keep up the great work :)

The pliers are bahco. Very good make.

A distinct lack of garish pink!

I will be adding to my lighting field maintenance kit now.Though the big item I need is a 4 way podger spanner. and now also a wingnut spanner. I put all my tools in a waterproof road case though as I can chuck it in the truck and not worry about it getting damaged. I also found that a impact driver/drill (12V) is very useful. Especially when pulling apart panels with 50 screws in them.

About voltage testers: I could highly recommend the Benning Duspol Digital. It is a very useful device, you can measure AC and DC, it comes with a LCD that gives you pretty accurate reading of all parameters, it can also check ohms, diodes, has a low-V-program and, of course, you can easily check for continuity with it. You can also check rotating field with it (left / right), which is very useful. It's Cat III 1kV / Cat IV 600V. And you can add load, for checking for what we call "blind voltage" here in germany (wires, that are not live, but read live, due to capacitive coupling). The only BIG disadvantage compared to the Fluke is, that you cannot properly store it in your bag, as you cannot attatch both probes together, and so the protection thingy for the tips ALWAYS comes off. ALWAYS. That's a proper pain in the hoop. But except this, the Benning is really a great tool. I use it almost every day. Sorry for my bad english :D

My grandfather served with the Toronto Scots in the second world war. He ended up in Italy and Holland. He brought back his kit and I used those bags all through highschool. They were great!

13mm spanners always go missing. Pretty sure there is some supernatural force at work there.

Interesting multimeter, seems to have a nice price IF it's really CAT III. I have a fluke 179 usually but i use the 289 too. Have the same insulated knipex cutter, very nice tool i have it since 2008 and still works perfectly.

Two other possible topics could be either what phantom voltage actually is, and the "magic" of how a non contact voltage meter works. Those non contact are amazing helpful, especially on very old hose wiring where both wires look black sheathed. How they can tell the line side with no current passing through makes me curious quite often. Again thanks for all the videos, they have been helpful in passing time away while we are trying to figure out why I am fatigued and unable to work. I have picking up on my small electronics knowledge with some led lighting and I have some Bang Good kits coming.

I was hoping for a sonic screwdriver

Another good video Clive. All the clues leading to the yellow brick road

Your pliers are Bahco ergo series, I have some they are very good. In germany they call shifters 'englande's', but they dont have about 15 diffrent specs of bolt head sizes to deal with.

A "podger" screwdriver? - I kept my dad's miniature podger bar after he died, and it now resides in the tool bag in my car. It's one of the most used and cherished items he left behind. As for the tool bag itself, you'd have made my dad proud, using ex military kit. He used a WW2 "respirator pack" (bag) for his lunch bag. Other ex military bags were used for tools and materials. You have an interesting mix of 'good stuff' (Fluke, BAHCO and the like) and the cheaper stuff. I guess that's where years of experience tell you "For this aspect of a job you need quality" or, "For that part of the job, any tool that gets the job done". As for wing nuts - Isn't that what podger bars are for?! 🤦😱🙈🙉🙊

The Leatherman is very very useful, i have one always with me. And we can always use those rubber gloves they provide electric protection ...

Instanty from the thumbnail I recognize that Knipex cutter! I use one just like it in my toolbox at work, and it's great!

Nice Glasgae chib - yed need that up the Plaza in East Kilbride on a Saturday night years ago!

another interesting one man. ,cheers.

Nice selection there, and a vintage gas mask canvas bag to boot too, just goes to show they made those to last... :P

Now I'm not sure what you mean by lights, but I run a tech crew and we run lights for a stage and it actually seems like I should carry around more of my tools. I'm always looking for something becuase I'm never really prepared for the job. I never know if anythings live, or what its voltage may be, or the resistance between the ground and positive on a cable I suspect to have burned out a relay. I've diagnosed alot of circuits for a 17 year old kid, and I find alot of your content super inspiring for my more technical interests. I bought a book about maxwells equations that I intend to make good use of. And I'm saving up for a fluke meter I can count on, my harbor freight ones don't have the nice protection circuits. The other day I used some of what I saw here to diagnose a dimmer box with a broken relay and replace it for my tech director. I saved the school 750$ at least for the repair. Not to mention that it actually had 8 relays which were dual channel progressive relays, and one channel was burned out on two, so I made little extensions I crimped out of 10 gauge wire and a kit. Also, some arduino pigtails to extend the reference voltages. As save them the cost of buying another relay. I'm not even sure they understood what I did. All these tools and I could have actually done the repair in a timely fashion. I could have voltage tested the whole machine and easily diagnosed it but instead I was stuck using a home depot multimeter that can barely make contact to test stuff and never having and flash lights or screw drivers or wrenches for lights on grids. I'm rethinking all of my life desicions. especially becuase I have to omit so many things that I like from my bag becuase schools are too idiot proof these days. Not to mention I never know what current anything is drawing. That would be good to know.

One my biggest pet peeves with tools is cheap quality bits for the screwdrivers and such. Some of them are bad enough that you can just break them in use.

I can’t help thinking this was prompted by those articles on “What’s in the Queen’s handbag!”

I had a fluke 87 true RMS (state of the art in its day) hanbdtools mostly Klien, amprobe, simpson analog meter, toolpouch. pen and paper. The rest of the crap was to heavy to tote everywhere and too numerous to list. One thing nobody has anymore is a folding wooden ruler, tap tool for common electrical screw sized such as 6 and 10-23. Klien was our goto hand tools. I've still got almost all of them.

I watch your videos a lot and I find them all very interesting. One time many months ago I seen you wearing a tee shirt with a company logo on it. I asked myself if you currently work for a company I worked for years ago. Not to pinpoint exactly where it is. Leith area just off Baltic Street.

That's a WWII US army courier bag. Those are still being sold at the surplus stores, so that makes me wonder how many they actually made! Had one since my student days. Indestructible.

I'm a huge Wera fan for screwdrivers I highly recommend them.

Nice tool advise, I would like to see ya get some new Screwdrivers though, like PB Swiss, Wiha, Felo, Witte, Wera, Gedore, Stahlwille, NWS or Knipex ones. I can tell ya need some new ones, I bet you could get a sponsor with how many subs ya got. I would like to see a comparison of all of them and see what ya think of the quality and how well ya like them. And also a comparison on Screwdrivers bits expecially PB Swiss compared to the German ones and see who's really are better.

Looks about like mine out side of a roll of black electrical tape, Kline scissors the kind for phone and cad6 wire and Channel locks ajustable slip joint pliers. All very handy 30+ feet off the ground. I found myself putting a few zip ties in there now too for some strange reason. Interesting.

"Pointy things that you can stab air hostesses with..." I remember when they started bringing these ridiculous enforcements in; I was off on a day trip to Melbourne (from Sydney) to repair a basic installation and didn't even bother taking my standard toolkit - I just bought a generic "50-in-1" screwdriver kit from Jaycar and headed off... Only to be told at the airport that I'd have to put the kit into checked luggage because of the screwdrivers being "potential stabbing weapons." The idiocy of the rules becomes really obvious when you consider that a pen (which can be taken aboard a 'plane) can just as effectively be used for stabbing in the hands of a suitably-deranged lunatic. The plastic cutlery supplied on flights with meals can similarly be used (after snapping to form a sharp edge) to inflict bodily harm. However, I can't imagine how nail clippers (which are *not* allowed to be carried onboard) could possibly inflict damage to a human (unless you threaten to cut their nails too short perhaps?). As a kid, I used to wonder why older people were so cynical... Now that I've "come of age," I realise that it's not cynicism - it's simply realisation of the realities of this thoroughly screwed-up world. OK, who's next on the soapbox? :-P

It's an old video, but that's certainly a gas mask bag, I have one very similar I got from a surplus store. May have to start using it for tools!

I would seriously recommend some good quality locking pliers AKA mole grips AKA vice grips

hi Clive, what make is the small precision screwdriver you have with the interchangeable bits?

when it comes to pliers knipex are the best by far. once you use them you throw all other pliers in the bin 😁. that's why snap-on sell them........... they can't beat them so they sell them. only pliers I've used that came close to knipex were hazet........ once again some SERIOUSLY good German tools.

A decent Fluke ScopeMeter is always handy.

I find CK tools are generally fairly good. Insulated up to 1kV

The pliers are Bahco. I've the same ones. The teeth are shite on them and wear down quick. But the cutting part seems to last forever.

I had my most handiest tool in my tool bag -- a Progressive toner and tracer. Dealing with datacomm and telecom, those are absolutely necessary. I'm surprised the electricians don't use similar devices.

I use a PDI CA 300 clamp which connects to any meter, though you may need something with a bigger jaw capacity My meter is a isotech IDM93, which is said to be the poor mans fluke, but it's a great meter, seems to only be sold by RS

Good video. Just wanted to add, the other pair of pliers are Bahco, from their Ergo line. Same manufacturer as the bigger adjustable spanner. Since you have a older pair it might even be made in Sweden.

8:22 I see you use that screwdriver in what seems like almost all of your teardown videos. I've been looking for a good multi-bit precision screwdriver for some time now. From what I've seen in your videos it looks like its magnet does a good job of holding the loose screws, is that actually the case? Looks like my local hardware store carries it for under $4, I'll have to pick one up next time I go in.

I'm intrigued that you have no 1000V rated electrical drivers. I too have the same canvas bag, only a black one, for my tools when I was mobile years ago, my Fluke 87V meter fitted perfectly into the end pocket. I made a rule to only carry the most essential tools through the high street to do my maintenance work. Yeah right, within a month my collar bone was almost snapped, most of the tools on the van were eventually compressed into it in the end, along with any "that'll come in handy" fixings left over from some job, weighed a bleedin ton 😂😂😂 JW did a tool box strip down ages ago. Great vid BC 👍👍

I pride myself in always returning tools to their rightful resting place.

again thank you

Several things from another electrician! I’m in the US though. 1: Don’t buy Leatherman multitools, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them by far, but! A Gerber multitool is both American made and better by one standard... Its on hand open. The pliers slide out instead of flip around and out. They’re fantastic, especially when you’re low on extra hands. 2: I wish I could pack this light, I do industrial construction and maintenance, my “daily kit” is about four bags worth of stuff, including my regular hand tool bag, my power tool bag, my PPE bag, and another smaller hand tool bag. 3: A hint for guys going into industrial work, it’s perfectly okay to carry lots of shit onto the job, I carry extra PPE on every job I go to. 4: You’ve heard it a million times, and you’ll hear it a million more. BUY QUALITY TOOLS, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Seriously guys, idc what you do, if you use tools even weekly, buy good ones.

The bag is either a 37pattern webbing small pack or a 57 pattern webbing small pack. if it was a gasmask bag it would only have the one buckle for closing

The Fluke is the T50? I have one of the older version (I guess the type you left on the IoM). It will be pried from my cold, dead batter...err fingers

Looks quite like a Rothco Musette Bag, tho not identical. The hardest part of making a minimal tool bag is pruning it down, instead of needing a 2-wheel carrier to bring it all with you to the work site, I think :)

Mr Clive, We love you. Just wanted you to know. AnywYs have you heard of a company called Atlas 46? I recently got myself a tool vest by them. It’s called a Saratoga. It has addons and magnets etc. I don’t know how I got along with out one for so long. Tool vest is so useful!

Thanks! Just the other day I was wondering how Ilett was pronounced , now I know. First I thought it was "Llett" instead of "ilett".

Odd that I should see this 5 years after the fact, I'm a Copier / Printer Tech and I do the same thing except I carry Paper work (Test Charts & Invoices) along with some basic cleaning chemicals. Every tool in my little service kit has a purpose and although a lot of them are cheapies (because I occasionally misplace or lose them), weight becomes a deciding factor as we age, and in my case ... my arms were growing longer from the weight !!

Adjustable spanner or Mexican nut rounder.

How do you hang tools in your workshop?

I work as machine mechanic and if I may I'd like to propose one tool for you. I've had similar adjustable wrenches in my tools for three different sizes. Two very similar you have and one super wide opening version mainly for bit bigger pipe joints. I've always had pair of Knipex Cobra water pump pliers in my tools but just a little while ago I happened to get Knipex water pump pliers with completely smooth jaws. I've been very surprised how well they replace common adjustable wrenches. I shit you not, but I've actually been thinking about tossing those two smaller wrenches away and leaving super wide opening model for use. I was very hesitant about the jaw profile how it would work, but it's really good. I highly suggest to try ones m

i prefer my martin dale voltage indicator and fluke 179 to the fluke your using i couldn't get on with mine

I prefer to use a volt stick over a neon driver. My step dad has been converting an old static home into a workshop and he wanted the double gang light switch moved as for some reason it was above the door. So, I took the switch off and when I had the switch removed I noticed there was four cables and not two. I was like "Crap, what cable is what?" So I thought logically and figured one is feed, one is looping to the next room (or where the next room was lol) and the other two went to the two main sets of lights. After saperating all four cables I put the fuse back in (yes the static is so old it has re-wireable fuses) I used my volt stick to determine the feed cable. As all neutrals were connected together I pulled the fuse out (obviously) then connected the feed live to the other lives one by one to determine which cable went to what light lol. Never have I seen lighting wired in such an obscure way.

that bag i would assume is a military medicalbag(similar bags are atleast sold as such, same looking material, look adn size)

Clive you need a set of 6inch knipex plier wrenches (thats what they call them). live the bacho shifter, ive got the one that is a lso a very shitty pipe wrench.

Does somebody know in which video he is showing his device open tool?

yeaaaah thanks bigclive

Nice

Nice :) As we say here: "you can buy wire cutters or you can buy proper knipex cutters."

Kind of wish dollar stores around here sold tools so I could compare them to the tools we got in my HVAC class (at a heavy discount courtesy of the school).

Cheap allens with the spring un-retainers and a mains tester susceptible to phantom voltage, you're a masochist!

general purpose or generous purple?

Basically the same stuff as my 'roving' toolkit. + small hammer and files, and a bit more practical than Julian's. My 'handbag' is an ex VCR camera flightcase, (minus camera and foam inlay.)

You can't put those stabby probey tools in your checked luggage?

I've never seen tools at a dollar store but we have Harbor Freight Tools.

Clive is Lord!

I think you can take anything you like when you fly as long as it's not in your hand luggage. By that I mean pointy stabby things, cutty bits and shooty bits. If you only travel with hand luggage I'm surprised they let you take the stabby meter probes, the wrench of blunt trauma and the screwdrivers of impalement. :)

I learned many many years ago. To never lend out tools to anyone!!

just like my old school bag

One way to make sure your guy friends don't "permanently borrow" your tools is to have tools in feminine colors. It also generally stops them from borrowing them in the first place. :) However, getting feminine-colored tools at your local store is very hard to do...at least in my area. Most of the household tools I have in pastel colors I had to get online. Of course, I guess if you're a guy having feminine-colored tools might give people the wrong impression of you. Oh well...just one woman's opinion.

Those bags are everywhere in Australia, they are made in India.

you never covered the groat the was tangled in your alan keys???! 75% of this is the staple of any engineers tool bag. As a gas lad i use the same tools day in day out. But I'm glad to see some one with you experience still uses the cheaper options when they are as good as any.

Can anyone help me on choosing a earth leakage tester, where budget is a consideration, thanks,

I would loan out tools for usually 50 and 100 dollar deposits. So if they never came back I can buy another one. Strangely enough people stopped asking to borrow my tools.

Stabeeee ! :)

Any suggestion on multy bit screwdriver cause I broke way too much :?

Do you by chance wear arc flash protection when working on voltage higher than SELV?

So who do find anything without empting the whole bag, or do you rummage around till something sharp sticks in your fingers?

"for light jobs, like lights and stuff like that" lololololololollololol

when loaning a tool ask for their id card or driver's license

+bigclivedotcom Where can you get one of those refillable (?) butane canisters ? i can't seem to find them on eBay...

I think it's interesting to point out, the bag is probably canvas, doesn't look the right size or shape for a mask, from my experience I'd say that it's likely an eastern European mil-surp kit bag. One can find versions with all sorts of mag and frag pockets which are very handy indeed.

It's funny how different Clives "my toolbag" is compared to other ones :-D Clive have what he really use and not the whole Snapon catalog

i gave my wera, or was it felo, side cutters to somebody to cut cable ties... it came back and later i noticed that two sides are misaligned now. i did cut a lot of things before with them, that never happened so i have no idea how to do that in just under a hour. i'm pretty sure just cutting a tie won't do it : P i have been wondering if i could somehow twist-bend them back the other way. but yeah, why i like my tools with me