Inspired by a number of other forum members who wrote several posts on small SAKs, I wondered how it would be if I carried a small SAK only. So last sunday, before I went to sleep, I emptied my pockets of my jeans and put the alox Soldier and Opinel #7 away. I took my blue saphire Midnight Manager from the keyring and put it in the right front pocket.
I had already used the Midnight Manager in that weekend. With some friends we ate in a tapas bar and I used the pen to write down the numbers of the dishes we wanted to order. The pen works really great. I also use it frequently to write down the mileage on the receipt after refueling. It is a very handy backup pen or main pen in my case. I know there are people who EDC a nice pen, but I don't. I have a few in my laptop bag, but not in my pockets.
When I put on my pants on monday morning, I immediately noticed the Opinel wasn't in the left front pocket and the Soldier wasn't in the coin pocket. But there was a small bump in the right front pocket.
During the week I have opened many envelopes and cardboard packages with the blade. I used the scissors several times to cut some paper, cord and plastic packaging. I also used the blade to open bananas and peel oranges. Thus far, the blade, scissors and pen are the items that I used most.
The flat head screw driver was used once. I was visiting a friend of mine and he told me that he couldn't attach his DVD-player to his new TV. When it comes to such electronic devices, he is all thumbs and he is a bit scared of damaging it. It turned out that the plug that should be used to make the connection did not fit in the socket of his TV, it was too large because of a plastic housing. I noticed that it could be removed by unscrewing two small screws. So I took my Midnight Manager and opened the nail vile, on top of it is a flat head screw driver. It did fit and I unscrewed the screws, opened and removed the plastic housing and put the plug in the socket.
Normally, I would have used my Opinel to cut food and use the Soldier for everything else. But in the past week, that little Midnight Manager did it all. What surprised me was that I didn't miss those bigger knives. Do I really not need a bigger blade? Probably not very often, at least not in my daily life, which is mainly in the city where I live and an other city where I work as a software engineer.
I also replaced the Fenix LD10, that was often in my left front pocket next to the Opinel, with a Fenix E01. I still carry the LD10, but it is in my jacket now. Since days are getting shorter and it is getting colder now, I never leave the house without my jacket, so the LD10 is still with me outside. But, the E01 is in the pocket. On monday I had it attached to the Midnight Manager, but I didn't like using the knife when the flashlight was still attached. I know some people use the flashlight to create a longer handle when using the knife, but I didn't like it, so I put them both loose in the pocket.
My pants are a bit lighter now, but the main advantage is that I have more space in the pockets now. I can now easily slip my wallet in the pocket.
Will I ever return to the Soldier-Opinel-LD10 system or other system for EDC? I don't know, but I am currently very satisfied with the Midnight Manager as my primary pocket knife. For outdoors I will stay with the Soldier or Farmer, but for daily use in my situation, the Midnight Manager is just fine.
I had already used the Midnight Manager in that weekend. With some friends we ate in a tapas bar and I used the pen to write down the numbers of the dishes we wanted to order. The pen works really great. I also use it frequently to write down the mileage on the receipt after refueling. It is a very handy backup pen or main pen in my case. I know there are people who EDC a nice pen, but I don't. I have a few in my laptop bag, but not in my pockets.
When I put on my pants on monday morning, I immediately noticed the Opinel wasn't in the left front pocket and the Soldier wasn't in the coin pocket. But there was a small bump in the right front pocket.
During the week I have opened many envelopes and cardboard packages with the blade. I used the scissors several times to cut some paper, cord and plastic packaging. I also used the blade to open bananas and peel oranges. Thus far, the blade, scissors and pen are the items that I used most.
The flat head screw driver was used once. I was visiting a friend of mine and he told me that he couldn't attach his DVD-player to his new TV. When it comes to such electronic devices, he is all thumbs and he is a bit scared of damaging it. It turned out that the plug that should be used to make the connection did not fit in the socket of his TV, it was too large because of a plastic housing. I noticed that it could be removed by unscrewing two small screws. So I took my Midnight Manager and opened the nail vile, on top of it is a flat head screw driver. It did fit and I unscrewed the screws, opened and removed the plastic housing and put the plug in the socket.
Normally, I would have used my Opinel to cut food and use the Soldier for everything else. But in the past week, that little Midnight Manager did it all. What surprised me was that I didn't miss those bigger knives. Do I really not need a bigger blade? Probably not very often, at least not in my daily life, which is mainly in the city where I live and an other city where I work as a software engineer.
I also replaced the Fenix LD10, that was often in my left front pocket next to the Opinel, with a Fenix E01. I still carry the LD10, but it is in my jacket now. Since days are getting shorter and it is getting colder now, I never leave the house without my jacket, so the LD10 is still with me outside. But, the E01 is in the pocket. On monday I had it attached to the Midnight Manager, but I didn't like using the knife when the flashlight was still attached. I know some people use the flashlight to create a longer handle when using the knife, but I didn't like it, so I put them both loose in the pocket.
My pants are a bit lighter now, but the main advantage is that I have more space in the pockets now. I can now easily slip my wallet in the pocket.
Will I ever return to the Soldier-Opinel-LD10 system or other system for EDC? I don't know, but I am currently very satisfied with the Midnight Manager as my primary pocket knife. For outdoors I will stay with the Soldier or Farmer, but for daily use in my situation, the Midnight Manager is just fine.
