- Joined
- May 18, 2011
- Messages
- 1,476
"Shoot, where did that can opener go?!"
"Bob, where do you keep your screwdrivers?"
"My belt doesn't fit, anyone got a knife so I can make a new hole?"
"I hate these zip ties and clamshells, anyone got a knife?"
Life throws us many curve-balls, and sometimes, you are caught with your pants down. There are times when you feel unprepared, you don't have that tool for the job, or things just aren't going your way at all...but that's life, eh? Well, like many of you, I have felt this many, many times in my short time I have spent on this Earth, and I have continually felt that way a good portion of the time. That may be why I now carry the gear I do in my pockets (Jute twine, cell phone, a knife or 2, my wallet, a flashlight, a bandanna and my keychain with a whistle, lighter, P38, Vic Classic, etc...); I like to be prepared.
Following this philosophy, I have been attempting to find the perfect knife, that one EDC, that meets all of my need perfectly without feeling under-equipped. Over the years, I have tried every avenue I could possibly think of, but have always found an issue with my daily carry: it's too bulky, not enough blade length, the lack of a point, the steel was too soft, it seemed cheap...I appreciated many knives for what they were, but I could never be content 100% with what I had. I even tried SAK's, but my stubbornness made me put them back on the shelf due to the lack of patina and the softness of he steel. Honestly, I found the plastic scales unattractive...I guess aesthetics were more important to me than I thought.
Anyway, getting to the point, I have tried everything it seems, stockman, jacks, TL-29's, Opinels, Trappers and a Sodbuster, but I still felt as if I was missing out on something. Last night and today, however, have shed a lot of light on my predicament. The quotes above are just some of the problems that I came across whilst setting up for the Christmas Eve party at my Uncle's, and at my home today.
I was able to solve these problems with my Wenger Soldier without any problems...
This made me realize that a lot of the emergencies that I thought I would come across, were nothing more than speculative. I mean, do I really (in my daily life, yours may vary...) need a wood saw everyday? Do I really need that shaving sharp edge? Do I really need a bunch of fancy gear in case a problem may happen once a year? Do I really need a knife that can hold it's edge forever? Does my blade have to have a patina to be pretty? Should I really be treating my knives as anything other than tools? Is it really that important to baby my knives and protect the edge so it stays sharper longer?
In short, the answer many of you would say is no, and I came to that same answer last night. I do not need all of these things, I need something practical that I can use every day...not only that, but it is a tool, nothing more, so I should not treat it any differently. I should carry something because it will do what I need, I should force myself to like a pattern that will do nothing for me.
Well, I finally found that pattern that works, it is something that I completely overlooked and never appreciated until now...the Soldier-type patterns and SAK's.
It has everything I should ever need to use in such a light and compact package, nothing more, and nothing less. I think that I should have paid more attention over the years. Even my collection should have given away what works for me.
Even though the steel may not hold an edge forever, even though it may not patina, even though they may not have fancy handle materials or be necessarily elegant, it is their simplicity and ruggedness that I find so attractive. It is the epitome of tradition, modernization, evolution and functionality in my opinion. It may not be the best in many of your eyes, but I haven't found anything else that works for me like this...I have been ignoring stainless steels and SAK's for too long, I put forth aesthetics before functionality, a big mistake!
Much has changed, but they are still the same in their usefulness.
I think I have finally found the pattern for me,and it feels wonderful to say that. I still have much to learn, and I have a lot of time for my mind to change; I guess I should say that this is 'the pattern' for the time being.I am young, who knows, I may find out that there is something else out there for me!
I guess the etching was right so far:
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and I thank those of you whom took the time to read my unnecessarily long thread. Have a wonderful rest of the night everyone!!!
-Deadfall
"Bob, where do you keep your screwdrivers?"
"My belt doesn't fit, anyone got a knife so I can make a new hole?"
"I hate these zip ties and clamshells, anyone got a knife?"
Life throws us many curve-balls, and sometimes, you are caught with your pants down. There are times when you feel unprepared, you don't have that tool for the job, or things just aren't going your way at all...but that's life, eh? Well, like many of you, I have felt this many, many times in my short time I have spent on this Earth, and I have continually felt that way a good portion of the time. That may be why I now carry the gear I do in my pockets (Jute twine, cell phone, a knife or 2, my wallet, a flashlight, a bandanna and my keychain with a whistle, lighter, P38, Vic Classic, etc...); I like to be prepared.
Following this philosophy, I have been attempting to find the perfect knife, that one EDC, that meets all of my need perfectly without feeling under-equipped. Over the years, I have tried every avenue I could possibly think of, but have always found an issue with my daily carry: it's too bulky, not enough blade length, the lack of a point, the steel was too soft, it seemed cheap...I appreciated many knives for what they were, but I could never be content 100% with what I had. I even tried SAK's, but my stubbornness made me put them back on the shelf due to the lack of patina and the softness of he steel. Honestly, I found the plastic scales unattractive...I guess aesthetics were more important to me than I thought.
Anyway, getting to the point, I have tried everything it seems, stockman, jacks, TL-29's, Opinels, Trappers and a Sodbuster, but I still felt as if I was missing out on something. Last night and today, however, have shed a lot of light on my predicament. The quotes above are just some of the problems that I came across whilst setting up for the Christmas Eve party at my Uncle's, and at my home today.
I was able to solve these problems with my Wenger Soldier without any problems...
This made me realize that a lot of the emergencies that I thought I would come across, were nothing more than speculative. I mean, do I really (in my daily life, yours may vary...) need a wood saw everyday? Do I really need that shaving sharp edge? Do I really need a bunch of fancy gear in case a problem may happen once a year? Do I really need a knife that can hold it's edge forever? Does my blade have to have a patina to be pretty? Should I really be treating my knives as anything other than tools? Is it really that important to baby my knives and protect the edge so it stays sharper longer?
In short, the answer many of you would say is no, and I came to that same answer last night. I do not need all of these things, I need something practical that I can use every day...not only that, but it is a tool, nothing more, so I should not treat it any differently. I should carry something because it will do what I need, I should force myself to like a pattern that will do nothing for me.
Well, I finally found that pattern that works, it is something that I completely overlooked and never appreciated until now...the Soldier-type patterns and SAK's.
It has everything I should ever need to use in such a light and compact package, nothing more, and nothing less. I think that I should have paid more attention over the years. Even my collection should have given away what works for me.
Even though the steel may not hold an edge forever, even though it may not patina, even though they may not have fancy handle materials or be necessarily elegant, it is their simplicity and ruggedness that I find so attractive. It is the epitome of tradition, modernization, evolution and functionality in my opinion. It may not be the best in many of your eyes, but I haven't found anything else that works for me like this...I have been ignoring stainless steels and SAK's for too long, I put forth aesthetics before functionality, a big mistake!
Much has changed, but they are still the same in their usefulness.
I think I have finally found the pattern for me,and it feels wonderful to say that. I still have much to learn, and I have a lot of time for my mind to change; I guess I should say that this is 'the pattern' for the time being.I am young, who knows, I may find out that there is something else out there for me!
I guess the etching was right so far:
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and I thank those of you whom took the time to read my unnecessarily long thread. Have a wonderful rest of the night everyone!!!
-Deadfall
. I would personally prefer to have a belt sheath sized LM, but only because the small LM's I own have scissors. I can see no problem with the weight of this whole outfit, holding the carabiner of keys/tools on the right, and the LM on the right.
