If you were going to be dropped off...

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One for me would have to be a SAK Or Multitool . The other would probably be my CV wharny copperlock, It just hasn't let me down yet. Of course the obvious answer would be a high end custom, you could sell it for bus fare. If it were winter one could stop from town to town & find a meat processor who would let skin deer for some pocket money. If it weren't hunting season maybe a job breaking down boxes at a warehouse. Or I would probably hitch from town to town hitting soup kitchens and shelters along the way and living off the land in between as necessary. Neat topic, kinda makes you wonder if you could actually pull it off.
 
I love the idea of a high-end custom or collectible that could be pawned for bus fare.:thumbup:

Based on what I actually own, I'd pair a Victorinox multitool with my Bark River Mini Canadian. If the multitool is too non-traditional, I'd substitute it with a SAK Outrider.
 
Are sheath-knives allowed in here or only pocket folding knives? Can we take pocket sharpeners to keep 'em keen?

CASE Mini Copperlock in a situation where a lock would be useful and or SAK Pioneer or CASE Medium Stockman? If sheath knives are allowed then my latest local acquisition a Marttiini Skinner puukko in carbon.....

What's interesting here is IF you could work your way across a country/continent in these days of suspicious invasive bureaucracy and demands for electronic ID getting day work here or there could be really difficult.Paradoxically, for all the advances in communication&the alleged benefits of globalization, we are getting LESS able to move around freely and work here&there.

J-K what ARE YOU taking by the way???
 
willgoy said:
What's interesting here is IF you could work your way across a country/continent in these days of suspicious invasive bureaucracy and demands for electronic ID getting day work here or there could be really difficult.Paradoxically, for all the advances in communication&the alleged benefits of globalization, we are getting LESS able to move around freely and work here&there.

J-K what ARE YOU taking by the way???
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Thats a big "if". I'm more than halfway curious to see if it could be done, let alone be done by a couple of grey haired old farts. Would people be too suspcious to hire us for day work?

As for what I would take, it would be just my edc pocket stuff and a small pack with just what a hobo or tramp in the old days would carry. A small pot, canteen, spoon, blanket, rain poncho, a few odds and ends like a small survival kit and a change of dry cloths. A ball of twine and plastic sheet for lean-to roof. Roll it all up in a swag or nylon daypack for a lower profile. Carry a really stout walking/hiking stick. On me would be my sak and a small stockman, tobacco pouch and one of my Peterson pipes, Bic lighter, wallet with ID and a few bucks and small diamond home in the zip compartment, small LED flashlight. Dan and I would be depending on our wits and experiance more than anything. I guess our thinking is that it would be an acid test of our ability to improvise and make things we need along the way from whatever we could scavange. Da being a lifelong mechanic, and me a machinist, we should be pretty good scroungers and improvisors. That may start when the 'ol ladies think we're really serious and hit the roof.:eek: Karen and Mary may well have other ideas. Dan and I may have to do it on the lamb.
 
That seenario is a little bit different than what I was picturing. It has been done as recently as the 80's, but, IMO, would be more dificult today. As others have stated the present enviorment isn't conductive to this sort of thing. There probably still are people who do it as a way of life. Riding the rails never did really die out. It just became a lot more dangerous. Aproaching it as an honest, law abiding citizen looking for a chalenge and adventure makes it tougher. Kind of sad really. Still, you've got my imagination fired up. If I didn't have a bad back and a wife, who would kill me, I'd be sorely tempted to try this myself.

Leo
 
I guess I'd take just about any two Tony Bose knives. I'd sell one and travel across the country in leisure and still have one left to brag about on the forum when I got home:D
 
I'm game! The stuff you are taking in a small pack should be fine J-K! You try the States trip and I'll try the Euro version: from the Baltic to the Atlantic (Portugal) the climate at this time of year could be tricky but so what...

As for family or friends, they might kick up a fuss but leaving the job would be excellent! I'm looking at my boots now....
 
A Victorinox Mauser or similar for actually doing stuff and a big Bowie to make me feel good about myself. :D
 
A good SAK (gotta open those cans of stew when the livin' is easy, fix stuff with the awl, etc.) and a trapper (nice long slicing blades for the fruit and veggies I can filch from the workin' folks around and to cut up the panfish I'd catch in the canals along the highways and bi-ways). Think I'll go listen to some Woody Guthrie.
 
Vic. Huntsman (plus version ideally) or Farmer, and maybe a small-ish fixed blade - a carbon steel Mora would be ideal.
I'd kind of be tempted to take my Dad's old British Army knife (the marlinspike version), but if living rough I think the saw on the Vic may prove invaluable.
 
Many years ago, this scenario would have been intriguing to me, and probably would have resulted in what my wife and mother cringingly refer to as one of my "adventures." Now, happily settled down and, (after much turmoil) financially stable, it seems nightmarish. Guess I'm getting old...

Assuming that I couldn't just fix all of this with a phone call to my wife/friends/banker/professional or fraternal or veterans organization/etc...,

I guess I'd chose a Vic Farmer and an ordinary box cutter with lots of extra blades in the handle. I used to work as a lumper (a person who loads/unloads trailers by hand at warehouses), and if in this predicament, I'd present myself at the nearest large warehouse terminal and start lumping if allowed (usually not a problem, but some places have union/seniority issues). Working hard, I could probably make enough money for a bus ticket in a day or two. Greyhound is $204 San Francisco, Ca. to Norfolk, Va. right now (anyone care to guess which branch of the military I was in the longest?) I might even be able to bum a ride on an east bound truck. The box cutter would help me lump, and the Farmer would handle everything else.

Your knapsack full of stuff would be fine with me, JK.

Take care,

Andy
 
A blanket is so bulky, it is much easier and smaller to carry a good sleeping bag.
So carrying a blanket only works if you use it as a ponch (cut a slit in the middle) instead of a coat, and wear it under a rain ponch.
And using a blanket ponch as a swag bag does not work when you have to wear them!
So you are left with a rucksack with sleeping bag and a coat and ponch.
Been there, done it.

For about two years I travelled selling my skills as an electrician and a carpenter.
But I was mostly on a bicycle.
One trip I walked in up Wales and ended up doing gardening labour.
One trip to France by bike, I worked renovating a 14th century farm house, putting in the electric and building the window frames, plus labouring.
Another trip in Scotland I stayed almost a year trading electrical work for living in a community.

I carried a small SAK with blades, can openers and a cork screw.
And a small Bucklite, till I was given an Opinel in France
(and a Vic Classic sterile in my First Aid)
 
Ade said:
Many years ago, this scenario would have been intriguing to me, and probably would have resulted in what my wife and mother cringingly refer to as one of my "adventures." Now, happily settled down and, (after much turmoil) financially stable, it seems nightmarish. Guess I'm getting old...

Assuming that I couldn't just fix all of this with a phone call to my wife/friends/banker/professional or fraternal or veterans organization/etc...,

I guess I'd chose a Vic Farmer and an ordinary box cutter with lots of extra blades in the handle. I used to work as a lumper (a person who loads/unloads trailers by hand at warehouses), and if in this predicament, I'd present myself at the nearest large warehouse terminal and start lumping if allowed (usually not a problem, but some places have union/seniority issues). Working hard, I could probably make enough money for a bus ticket in a day or two. Greyhound is $204 San Francisco, Ca. to Norfolk, Va. right now (anyone care to guess which branch of the military I was in the longest?) I might even be able to bum a ride on an east bound truck. The box cutter would help me lump, and the Farmer would handle everything else.

Your knapsack full of stuff would be fine with me, JK.

Take care,

Andy
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A unique viewpoint I had not considered, Ade. Lumping, I have to remember that one. Also good info on bus ticket price.

I don't know if I would consider it a nightmare, but I know it would be very uncomfortable and a bit of an ordeal to be away from my comfortable surroundings and family at this stage of my life. Not many crocks over 60 go wandering around the country trying to re-capture something. But of late I've been feeling a curious restlessness, like one more good adventure to tell the grandkids about. My friend Dan has been feeling it too and we've talked about it. Not really sure what it is, but it makes us feel kind of antsy.

Not even sure we'll really do it, but its something we're having fun bouncing back and forth.
 
i would carry my EDC-my opinel #7 and my shrade minuteman

the opinel does all the work, the minuteman is for whittling mostly, and for avoiding scaring people around me.
 
I would definitely carry my Vic Farmer for sure. If this was a true "hobo adventure" I would feel compelled to carry a hobo knife.
I would have to give my other gear some thought but wool keeps coming to mind. I would probably want a good wool jacket and military type wool blanket. Certainly a cook pot, spoon, canteen, twine/cord and sewing kit would be obligatory. I would definitely have a modest fishing kit as well as fishing is always an easy way to get food. Maybe a small towel and a bar of soap as well as a toothbrush would be handy. Much more than that and it is going to get harder to keep track of and carry.
I would suspect that I could find all types of jobs using my past experiences. Perhaps I will hang out in the same areas the "day workers" or "jouneleros" hang and try to beat them out for jobs as I speak English.
I have read about folks who still hop freight trains these days but it also sounded even more dangerous than in the past.

Pretty cool thread. THanks JK.
Bill
 
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