There is a lot to be said for assessing the items which you have to have with you all the time in terms of their use as a weapon. In the final section of the Lähitaistelu film, we see fighting with and against the small shovel. It is important because it is something everyone in these circumstances had on them, so you can use it if you have to and someone may use it against you.
If you gave me a choice I wouldn't select a fake metal fan to fight with, however, if it was all I was allowed to carry when I went to many cultural events then I would try to make the best of it as a weapon.
Against the rifle, we see a common thread of short weapons - when the opponent armed with a longer weapon inevitably gets the first shot at you, deflect it and move in.
You wouldn't equip a soldier with a baton (or a jutte) however there is a congruence with weapons of a certain size be it a small shovel, baton or the kama on a kusarigama.
This is why weapons don't really become outdated - they have attributes, and the skills and approach to utilising them transfers to anything else with similar attributes. If you are required to use a certain item or weapon then you practice the body of knowledge you have for those types of weapons with that specific weapon - if you aren't required to use a certain item or weapon, you house the skills and approach in either the last relevant weapon, the most representative weapon or the most available weapon until they are needed again.
If those skills and approaches work combatively, you should be cautious in throwing them away. Just because something does not appear immediately relevant doesn't mean it isn't useful - the key question for long-term martial artists is "does it actually work".