Jackknife inspired test of downsizing ... sort of ... maybe

[coyote711]

Make no mistake - I love my Farmer. And I don't find it too big in my pocket, and I love the feel of it in hand. Having said that .....

Jackknife and Spydutch have, in recent threads, extolled the virtues of the Alox Bantam. I don't happen to own a Bantam and I don't really want to go buy one for the purposes of a "test". But, I do have a Cadet! The Cadet has the same basic tools (albeit a little smaller) as the Farmer, except it trades out the awl for a pointed-tip nail file, and it has no saw.

Is this Maximum Minimalism? Of course not. Is this a step towards it? I don't know. I really don't have any doubts that the Cadet will do anything/everything I ask of it - probably as well as the Farmer. And with winter fast approaching I'll have little, if any, need for a saw. The awl gets used mostly for cleaning out under fingernails, so I imagine the pointed nail file on the Cadet will work for that. (I'm already having withdrawl pains from my Farmer and second thoughts about this whole "test", but we're going to give it a whirl anyway)!

P.S. I'll not be making a big deal of this - I'm pretty much doing it in a light-hearted manner and on a whim. But, I would appreciate your thoughts on "downsizing", "maximum minimalism", and your own experiences with "tests" such as this! Thanks! :thumbup:

 

[Iyonk]

Well,jackknife doing fine with just a small 58mm classic... and spydutch feel fully equiped with just an alox solo...

if those humble SAKs could serve them so well, the bigger and more tools one are considered bonus!

my best minimalizm is with the small and slim orange classic alox in my wallet,,,, serve me well in some situations...

but i feel more confident with a tinker small in my jeans coin pocket hehehe....

 

[spydutch]

I´m sure that you will be doing OK.
I hope you will like it so much that you´re gonna feel so enlighted that you eventually STOP POSTING PICS OF YOUR RED FARMER:grumpy:

But hey, what do you know????

Your Cadet has to be red as well.

Why am I not surprised?

All kidding aside Keith, you're gonna do OK

Good luck:thumbup:

Keep us posted.

 

[coyote711]

Arend, LOL ..... literally!!!

 

[znapschatz]

P.S. I'll not be making a big deal of this - I'm pretty much doing it in a light-hearted manner and on a whim. But, I would appreciate your thoughts on "downsizing", "maximum minimalism", and your own experiences with "tests" such as this! Thanks! :thumbup:

Every time I have undertaken such "tests," they usually don't last long. Almost always, something will come up sooner rather than later to remind me of why I prefer "big" and "several."

There are 2 truths that can't be overcome:

1. There is no substitute for mass. Too big might be overkill, but too small is useless.

2. Since there are surprises in life, it is better to have too many options on hand to meet them than too few.

 

[coyote711]

Iyonk and znapschatz, thanks for your posts and your thoughts are well taken! :thumbup:

I might mention that the Farmer or Cadet isn't the only knife I carry. I carry a Rambler, and a "traditional slip joint of the day" also - usually a Peanut or GEC #25.

 

[Harayasu]

A while ago I spent a week with only a Victorinox Midnight Manager, wrote a post about it too. On one hand it was a test of minimalism, just a single SAK and it's a small one, but on the other hand, the Midnight Manager itself isn't a minimalistic tool. It's loaded with functions; blade, screw drivers, bottle opener, pen and a few other functions.

It was a nice experiment and the Midnight Manager was used for a lot of things, but it has its limits, mainly because it's small. Sometimes I just needed bigger tools or tools that aren't available on the Midnight Manager, like pliers.

Out of curiosity I sometimes read discussions on (ultra) light weight hiking forums and some of those people go out into the wilderness with only scissors that they ripped out of a Victorinox Classic! They say the don't need anything else when it comes to cutting tools.

I like minimalism, but for me minimalism isn't about reducing weight, it's about finding out what functions I use most and assembling a set of EDC items that fit those needs best, without having too much tools I rarely need and still being prepared for life's surprises.

Currently I'm carrying a Victorinox Executive. It comes with the functions I use most (scissors, blade) and the only function I never use is the orange peeler, but there's a screw driver on the tip of the orange peeler. I carry an Opinel #7 too, in case I need a bigger blade. In by work bag I carry a Leatherman Kick, for more robust tools and pliers. I could leave the Opinel out, since the Kick has a big blade too, but I don't like carrying the Kick in my pocket and I want it to stay in the work bag, just so that I won't forget it when I go to work.

 

[coyote711]

I like minimalism, but for me minimalism isn't about reducing weight, it's about finding out what functions I use most and assembling a set of EDC items that fit those needs best, without having too much tools I rarely need and still being prepared for life's surprises.

I like this thought, Harayasu, and I think that reasoning was behind my "decision" to try the Cadet in place of the Farmer. I mostly figured I wouldn't need a saw during the wintertime and figured I'd give "downsizing" a try. I'm not sure why I didn't just drop down to my Pioneer instead of the Cadet (note for Spydutch: yes, my Pioneer is RED! ). Now I remember (!) - I was heavily influenced by Jackknife & Spydutch posting about their Alox Bantams, and I had this little Cadet that I'd never, ever carried .....

 

[jacknife]

The majority of people in the world get by with no knife at all in their pocket,
how they manage I don't know and have no desire to find out.

The Cadet is about as minimal as I'd want to go, though it can hardly be called a hardship with all the tools it has. You'll be fine with a Cadet.

I agree with Jackknife on just about everything he says, but maximum minimalism is a bridge too far for me.
We don't seem to be singing from the same hymn book on that issue.

 

[jackknife]

I like this thought, Harayasu, and I think that reasoning was behind my "decision" to try the Cadet in place of the Farmer. I mostly figured I wouldn't need a saw during the wintertime and figured I'd give "downsizing" a try. I'm not sure why I didn't just drop down to my Pioneer instead of the Cadet (note for Spydutch: yes, my Pioneer is RED! ). Now I remember (!) - I was heavily influenced by Jackknife & Spydutch posting about their Alox Bantams, and I had this little Cadet that I'd never, ever carried .....

Keith, the cadet is a perfect knife to experiment with downsizing. Put it side by side with a farmer, and you'll see the saving in weight and bulk. For a general pocket knife in modern America, how much do you need?

Cutting blade? Cadet has a good one. Can opener? Cadet has it covered. Bottle opener for a cold brew? Cadet will pop that top. Light poking and prying? The cadet nail file will do well. Loose screw? Cadet will handle it.

The only difference the bantam will give you is, it will do everything the cadet will, but is a layer thinner. The bantam does not have the nail file, but since I always team up whatever is in my pocket with the classic on my keyring, the nail file is covered. As is my need for a sissors and tweezers.

Maximum minimalisim is not for everyone, and I do tend to get carried away with it sometimes. Like going from a single AA pocket flashlight, to a single AAA pocket flashlight, to the little 2016 coin cell keyring flashlights like the Photon 2 and the Princeton Tech Pulsar 2. Or going fishing and bringing a sheath knife so's not to get my folder gunked up. But the sheath knife is a Buck Hartsook.

It's just another obsession.

Carl.

 

[coyote711]

..... maximum minimalism is a bridge too far for me.

I agree with ya there, jacknife! That got me wondering what SAK might truly represent the maximum minimalism possible ..... not sure if this is it, but its gotta come close: http://www.smartknives.com/Victorinox-Knives/Victorinox-Princess.htm ..... basically a classic with no scissors, no tweezers, no toothpick.

 

[coyote711]

Keith, the cadet is a perfect knife to experiment with downsizing.

Cutting blade? Cadet has a good one. Can opener? Cadet has it covered. Bottle opener for a cold brew? Cadet will pop that top. Light poking and prying? The cadet nail file will do well. Loose screw? Cadet will handle it.

The only difference the bantam will give you is, it will do everything the cadet will, but is a layer thinner.

Hi Carl! Thanks for your comments ..... I figured you'd stop by sooner or later.

This Cadet is a fine knife - no doubt about it! I used to have an Alox Bantam, but there were two things I didn't like about it: 1) Being a single layer alox it felt too thin (I guess "thinness" is in the eye, and hand, of the beholder), and 2) I didn't care for the combo-tool, although I may not have given it a fair chance at the time.

But, as you (and I) said, this is a test or experiment with downsizing ..... not an attempt to find my personal "maximum minimum". I can already tell that the Cadet could replace my Farmer. Will it replace my Farmer? Don't know yet!

 

[Voltron]

I agree with ya there, jacknife! That got me wondering what SAK might truly represent the maximum minimalism possible ..... not sure if this is it, but its gotta come close: http://www.smartknives.com/Victorinox-Knives/Victorinox-Princess.htm ..... basically a classic with no scissors, no tweezers, no toothpick.

Woaw!!!

What happened to that Classic!?!?!?!?

 

[jackknife]

Woaw!!!

What happened to that Classic!?!?!?!?

Hang on, don't panic!

My classic is still my maximum minimalisim knife, but the alox bantam or cadet is the teem's back up, for the jobs the classic just can't handle. Let's admit it, the classic can't deal with food/snack duty too well. It's taken for granted that whatever member of the teem is in my pocket, the faithful classic will always be in it's little pouch sheath on my keyring.

I would never, never, do without the VW beatle of pen knives.

Carl.

 

[Stelth]

Minimalism? Not for me. I've never had a day where at the end of it I've thought, "Gee, I'm so glad I didn't carry around my (whatever) I wouldn't have needed it today." But I CAN clearly remember the times when I didn't have something and sorely missed it.

 

[znapschatz]

The majority of people in the world get by with no knife at all in their pocket,
how they manage I don't know and have no desire to find out.

On the whole, that’s true, but there are communities where the custom is just the opposite. Two places:

One of my friends is a now retired marine engineer formerly working on Ohio River motorized barges. He tells me that in the riverfront towns, all locals and boatmen carried multiple knives. On Saturdays there was always a morning turnout for the traditional eggs and whiskey breakfast, followed by everybody gathering in groups for knife “show and tell,” where bragging and trading sessions took place.

Another friend lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an outdoorsy guy who
spends a lot of time exploring Southwest deserts, and he knows NM pretty well. During a visit this past summer, while on the way to one of his favorite locations, we stopped at a roadside general store/gas station to fill up and get some breakfast. Inside, there were a quite a few other customers and soon I noticed clips on the pockets of most guys. This was was something seldom seen in my big midwestern city, so I mentioned it my friend. His response was that everyone had a knife, even though all were not visible, and half were also carrying guns while the rest had them in their trucks.

That’s the way things are in those parts of the world. Maybe the difference is between city and rural, but knife cultures apparently still exist.

 

[Harayasu]

I think it are mostly city people who do fine without a knife (sometimes aren't even allowed to carry one). Knife cultures certainly exist, in the northern parts of Europe for example: for the Sami people a knife is still a very important tool and they make beautiful knives.

 

[Iyonk]

honestly... some friends saw me bring a very small folder and a 84mm sportsman... one of the say "why do you have to bring a knife? are you going to stab people with it? you dont seem like a badguy..."

i told them i bring them not as a weapon, but as a usefull tool... but some people just cannot ever receive it...

but thats just a small comment... some actually thank me after i help them with a situations that need a sak... i will always will bring a knife with me... but it got to be conceal...

if i got an alox bantam... i'll be fine with it as long as i still got my classic!

yes, i appreciate maximum minimalism...

 

[Harayasu]

Yes, people react weird sometimes. I think the only way to convince people that a knife is a tool (in fact it is one of man's oldest tools) is by demonstrating its use in many situations.

 

[Iyonk]

yup... got to do some do lots of "knives evangelism" hehehe

what part of the saks doesnt look friendly -- still it make some people paranoid... really crazy...


the goodthing with minimalism SAK for me is becouse of the thin size, its more pleasure to carry, and wont be noticed by other people to much...