This Fenix E12 has been an auto mechanic’s primary work light for over 3 years.
It’s been dropped onto concrete from head height countless times and just keeps working.
Gaffer tape around the tail provides a soft surface for biting. It also allows a pocket clip from a Nebo to fit snugly.
Sorry for the lot of pics!
First this is a Nitecore P12 used in a factory for years to check something in a water as they submersed it and lighted underwater in every hour a few seconds.
It came to me in not working condition. The multi PCB driver has several peeled off joiner pads and some water ingress signs and a broken capacitor. I refered to them a Convoy M1 and I got the bad light because I don’t thought it is even repairable or could run reliable. But I made it work then so I have it.
After I made it work I wanted to try strip anodizing so I tried it on this flashlight.
Then it got some polishing:
The other flashlight what I got in weared condition I made on purpose. It is a Convoy C8 putted in a bottle of rocks and broken tile parts and used a wise, some screws, a block of wood and a lithium power drill to spin it.
Putted on kapton tape and power tape to protect lens.
And it spinned and spinned fot one and a half hour in my automatized thing 
It broken the rocks and tiles.
Year old Pineapple
Semi-retired backup light; Solarforce L2, alongside current work light - Convoy M2.
All markings from genuine use/abuse, & mainly being dropped onto a concrete floor :)
All of my lights are mint, never carry them in pocket with other items, never lay them on concrete or other rough surfaces, always wrapped in towels when packing more that one. Have a friend who can wear the finish off a light in a week or two, has even broken battery tubes in half before.
Early Gen 1 Maratac CU … Vinh Mod … Trusty AAA.
My Olight Trio … DIY forced “Hard Boiled Egg” patina.
What’s that clock next to the Maratac? It looks really cool ( and the Maratac too of course )
I tossed this titanium Rey Lan in my fireplace.
It really stayed in a bit longer than I anticipated. Our power went out later that afternoon and the fireplace became our heat source — for almost two days.
After finally fishing the parts out of the coals days later, I cleaned the whole thing up and then went at it with my dremel. A nylon “buffing” wheel and an emory wheel gently smoothed out most of the heaviest deposits. Then I “polished” the whole thing with a cloth buffing wheel and rouge, and finished with a microfiber and simichrome polish. I also had to really clean up all the electrical path contact points, those had to be brought back to bare metal. Then I put it back together and loaded it up with ice-blue trits.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect, other than dark - I wanted dark. At first it was a bit more mottled than I wanted it to be, but its really grown on me. It looks like the fire wanted it to look, and that’s cool I think. 
I really like how it turned out.
That is my Dievas Divergraph wristwatch. Great watch with trituim markers.
I don't really have any beat up lights but got some copper & brass patina coming along nicely.
12 year old SF 6P. Original Malkoff M60 with a USA made Cree XRE (the white-backed version emitter made in the US). I have way brighter, smaller, lighter, longer running lights, but this one I keep in-tact for nostalgic reasons. I used it at work inspecting telecommunications cabinets, it was also my main backpacking / camping, garage oil changer light for a good 8-9 years. I lost it under the laundry washing machine for about 6 months too. Surprising how dirty it got under there.
Its been bored for 18650 and the tailcap is gutted and rebuilt with an OverReady brass sping-less module. Bezel is solarforce, I dented the OEM surefire bezel and shattered the glass at some point around year-5.
I like to tell ppl I found it diving wrecks off the Florida Keys
Actually I forced it using a buncha stuff.
The burnished look? newspaper!
I posted this one some time ago in a ‘patina’ thread started by chinooker. This is my second BLF Copper A01 just after it spent some time inside a bag with crushed hard boiled egg. I carry it every day in my jean pocket and most of the texture is gone since then. It is now quite different but still the same.
And now:
That 6p looks awesome! Not many lights look better worn out, but the 6p looks at its best.
Mine took a 20ft drop last week from a scissor lift up high…………….how it only did this is a miracle
Its the old type head, actually off a z2……………so no bezel ring to help out. Still a few taps of a mallet rounded it back off
Then i dropped a works z2 from waste height, exact same thing…………dented. Managed to get the crapy plastic bezel ring undone, again mr mallet came out and attended to the dent, then a xeno in its place to help out for the next drop.
Workfires
Here is my dinky little custom made by the indomitable CRX out of copper pipe and magic.
Just dragged it out of my jeans pocket.
The patina comes and goes, sometimes bright, sometimes dull, sometimes burnished sort of look.
I love it.
I also have an Astrolux A01 in copper and an Olight S-Mini in copper, both of which I let get dirty. I never polish my torches. That sounds a bit rude. Although I suppose if I said I am constantly polishing my torch it would sound ruder.
:laughing: I just glanced the picture & thought “that looks like one of mine”. Cool.
Gets plenty of use Stevi. I’ll be gutted when she dies.
C`mon, give me a break! Are you guys USING flashlights?
Not for hammers no
