Hi supergnat. You're certainly no phule.
My dad often carried a Buck 305. Like others here I'm understanding more and more the value of a tiny pen knife.
This was the phenomenon that I never understood when I was younger. Beingyoung and full of p--s and vinegar, I never understood the stereo typical white haired old geezer with the tiny pen knife. Total mystery to me. I mean, why carry a little joke of a knife when theres stockmen, barrows, large jacks, large sodbusters, and so on.
The joke was on me.
When I got my turn to get older, and the dark hair did a disappearing act to be replaced with strange light gray, some things that had been a mystery started to become clear. Like when I carried a lot of stuff in my pockets like extra bandana, lighter, pipe tobacco pouch, small pill container with arthritis meds and aspirin in case of vapor lock, RONCO pocket defibrillator in case aspirin doesn't stop vapor lock, hand sanitizer to clean up grandkids and other uses, and then the invention of the cell phone. Pockets became more loaded down than in my younger salad days. Pocket knives got smaller as I released I could actually do the same jobs with a much smaller knife. Cutting jute twine for the tomato plants, opening a UPS box, trimming fishing line, all can be cut with a little sharp piece of steel an inch and a half to two inches long.
Or like when I was back packing, and meeting up with other back packers on the A.T. I see them opening up their Mountain House freeze dried dinner with a Victorinox classic while I'm using a large Eye Brand sodbuster. After a while even I started to go Hmmm?
I think trued appreciation for small pen knives and peanuts are like compact binoculars and monoculars vs the big 8X50's. It takes a longtime to get to the point of life where you slowly realize you can use a small tool cut with effectively. Of course I also had the example my dad had set for me by using a little peanut his whole life. Like he told me many times, "It doesn't have to be big, just sharp."
