When I go out the door on a typical out-and-about day, I have my wallet (with some unusual items inside but no cash), a folding knife, a lighter, spare car key, money clip with bills, a Chawley Changer pocket coin dispenser (okay, that’s a little weird, but it’s fast, convenient, and I hate having loose change sloshing around in a pocket), a full-sized multi-tool, one of may folding knives (occasionally two), a lipstick-sized flashlight around my neck on a stainless dog-tag chain .. and of course my phone. That’s not counting the stuff on my key chain, miscellaneous keys, a tiny titanium peanut lighter, the tiniest ferrocerium rod I’ve ever seen (Boy Scouts of America, smaller than a house key), a photon lighter, a P38 can opener, and the car-door opener/alarm remote control.
Survival – Is anyone really enthusiastic about the new Leatherman Signal?
All in all, this just reinforces the impression I have from pretty much all of their carabiner-tailed tools and impression that Leatherman has completely lost direction in recent years. I’ve been disappointed with every Leatherman tool I’ve seen since the Charge series, and even more disappointed with the ones I’ve actually tried (Wingman). This looks like it was designed to appeal not so much to even the casual but serious camper as to young kids and armchair survivalists, like Gerber’s BG stuff, like almost all multi-function “survival” tools, it just seems gimmicky and toylike.
The Essential Great-Start Zero-Status Zero-Snob-Appeal Cooking Tool List
A word about the status and snob appeal: it’s tempting, when starting out, to equate expensive tools with great results and assume that they’ll improve your cooking. It’s tempting to “celebrate” gains in proficiency by buying gadgets (and people tend to give you gifts) that you/they hope will make things a lot easier in the kitchen.
By and large they don’t, much.
Survival – PC Kills- on the water too
It seems that the same insane “PC” mindset that has decided, against all and ongoing evidence, that the best way to deal with terrorists and pirates is to render all of their potential victims as helpless as possible has invaded into life at sea. I’m very, very sorry to hear it.
Knives in Space… 1
I don’t mind going into more detail about any or all of this, at least what I know and can find out about the subject, in fact I’d rather enjoy it, but my personal interest is even more about the future, and especially the key question of how useful and necessary knives are likely to be for those leaving the planet in the decades and generations to come… or not.
The bargain RAT-1 folder now in D2 steel
I just became aware (late to the party again) that the venerable Ontario RAT-1 is now available in D2 steel, and (although it’s currently sold out, no surprise) it looks like it won’t be much more expensive, street price, that the old AUS-8 version, which typically goes for about $30.
The Urban/Suburban EDC/Get-Home kit list
I’m a firm believer in versatility. The more detailed the scenario, the more specific you get in trying to predict the future, the more likely you are to be wrong, so I believe in just generally enabling yourself to handle more situations as they come up. Knives, flashlights, and multi-tools are among the most versatile tools there are, and can make you a whole lot harder to kill in a “collateral damage” sense. Insulation, water carrying capacity and the ability to make fire are almost universal needs.
Gibbs’ Rule #9
“Never go anywhere without a knife.”
That’s Gibbs’ rule number nine, from the TV series NCIS, in its better days, when they weren’t afraid to discuss such things a little… or afraid to portray knives in a positive light, or afraid to portray men in a positive light, maybe even… gasp!.. as possible role models.
A multi-tool with a truly unique quality
To the best of my knowledge the SOG Powerlock Traveler is the only full-sized multi-tool available that has no knife blade. All of the full-sized multi-tools from Leatherman and Gerber that I’m aware of (and I have a number of them) have knife blades longer than 2.5 inches.