Lone Wolf Project: Post All Your "Experiments" Here

[Hawkings]

Hehe alox will do that to you

 

[flyfishrman]

Hehe alox will do that to you

Alox it is. The soldier is in my pocket right now. I love my One hand trekker , which is why I will pick up the farmer when I find one. I use that saw quite a bit in the field. In any event I love the selection of tools in the soldier and I couldn't resist breaking down and carrying it.

I'm a weak man

 

[ElCuchillo]

One of the things this experiment has made me do is think. Think about how to use what I have, think about how to be more efficient in many aspects of my life and work, and also made me think alot about our forefathers. I know this has been touched on before, but since this is a whole new batch of guys, I figured I'd hear what they had to say. Most of our forefathers were working men. They USED their tools rather then collect them. They got by with just a peanut or a Barlow because it was all they had and they had to make do. However, what if...................?
What if they had leatherman multitools back then? Would they use them? Would they have used a SAK, with it's plethora of tools, rather then beat on a cutting blade? I know SAKs have been around for over a hundred years, but before WWII, they really weren't that popular here in the states, so for the sake of this post, they are a relative new comer on the scene. Would they have carried those instead? I mean, on my SAK I find myself using the can-opener for just about EVERYTHING. Prying, cutting boxes and letters open, opening clam packages, a whole LOT of uses. It saves my sharp cutting edges from constantly getting worn down, and then sharpened, which in turns causes them to become more worn down over time. As pragmatic as they were, wouldn't our forefathers have used the other tools on a SAK or multitool and just save the blades for cutting?
I'm just curious.

 

[flyfishrman]

As pragmatic as they were, wouldn't our forefathers have used the other tools on a SAK or multitool and just save the blades for cutting?
I'm just curious.

My guess is that they would have used a SAK or other multi-tool, but they wouldn't have owned 50 of them. My granddad was hard on knives and as he would abuse one he would then put it in a box and buy another(I'm now the proud owner of all of those knives). As I've mentioned in the past he didn't own a blade that didn't have the tip broken off. I think a small pry tool like the soldier has would have suited him. My general feeling is that most of the men in his generation bought tools to use. I don't remember him buying flat head screwdrivers in every color handle they came in. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

 

[jackknife]

One of the things this experiment has made me do is think. Think about how to use what I have, think about how to be more efficient in many aspects of my life and work, and also made me think alot about our forefathers. I know this has been touched on before, but since this is a whole new batch of guys, I figured I'd hear what they had to say. Most of our forefathers were working men. They USED their tools rather then collect them. They got by with just a peanut or a Barlow because it was all they had and they had to make do. However, what if...................?
What if they had leatherman multitools back then? Would they use them? Would they have used a SAK, with it's plethora of tools, rather then beat on a cutting blade? I know SAKs have been around for over a hundred years, but before WWII, they really weren't that popular here in the states, so for the sake of this post, they are a relative new comer on the scene. Would they have carried those instead? I mean, on my SAK I find myself using the can-opener for just about EVERYTHING. Prying, cutting boxes and letters open, opening clam packages, a whole LOT of uses. It saves my sharp cutting edges from constantly getting worn down, and then sharpened, which in turns causes them to become more worn down over time. As pragmatic as they were, wouldn't our forefathers have used the other tools on a SAK or multitool and just save the blades for cutting?
I'm just curious.

I agree that some of our fathers would have used the tools if they had them. Scout knives have been made almost as long as sak's, and durring WW2 they made a tool very very similar to a Leatherman for the aviators bail out kit. The O.S.S. also had a plier/wire cutter hacksaw and file type tool for escape. Chuck Yeager in his book tells of sawing through the bronze bars of the Spanish jail he landed in when he made it over the Pyrennies into Spain. They did not search him very well and they did not take away his bailout kit.

In the years just after WW2 there was a huge flood of both the all steel scout knife and the TL-29's on the market. Many an old timer glomped onto the Tl-29's as a edc heavy use pocket knife. The screwdriver/wire stripping blade added a whole new dimension to the knife for prying, scraping and such.

In the 1950's and 60's the cheap Kamp Kings were sold in just about every hardwear and auto parts store I set foot in.

Even way back in the 1900's there were tool knives with blades that served as screwdrivers, wrenches with notches for different size nuts, tools for adjusting the carbide lamps on the automobiles they had. Horsemens knives in the 1800's with tools for cleaning the hooves of your mount. They were around for a very long time, but for some reason the tool type of knives just never got as popular as a plain old fashioned pocket knife with a couple of cutting blades. I don't know why this was, and it does indeed puzzle me. Look at how many old pocket knives have at least one broken blade from being misused as a screwdriver, prying tool, or what ever. You would think that the old timers would have used a sak type of knife as they were around, but it seems as though they would rather buy a regular 2 blade jackknife and abuse it by risking breaking a blade. Go figure, I can't.

Sure, there were men around like Mr. Van who went through the trouble of saving up for his prized Remington scout knife when he was a scout, and my dad who made sure he had a 4-way keychain screwdriver on his keyring so's not to abuse his prized little peanut. But for every one of them I've known some idiot who would buy a pocket knife and break it up. I saw one joker take a very nice Schrade-Walden in the 1960's and was using the small pen blade to tighten a screw. When I went to hand him my service issue scout knife he dismissed me saying his pocket knife would do. Just after that he snapped off the end 1/3 of the blade. He was not upset at all, just said "Well, I have a screwdriver end now." He just did not care.

I think we may find it impossable to understand the non-knife knut. To him its just a pocket knife to be used up or broken up, then you go buy another. Unffortunatly, for every one of the beautifull little knives that smiling-knife or sunny shows us, there are a hundred that went into the trash all broken up by abuse. I think this mentality is some of the reason behind the cheap Chinese or Pakastani pocket knife. it's just a tool to be tossed in the trash if it breaks.

There's two kinds of people out there- the knife knuts and the non-knife knuts. Those others that are non-knife knuts, they're just not like us.

 

[kidwholaughs]

Well, I can attest to awl on my Wenger SI. It's saved my blade many a times. It opens boxes, pokes holes, scribes. A very useful tool indeed.

 

[camo kid]

Well it has been 20 days since I started using only my CV amber bone jackknife. It has done every thing, and I don't miss my other knives too much any more. So far I skinned and dressed that road killed deer, and tonight I used it to skin a raccoon that was trying to get in at my girl friends chickens. I sharpen it every few days if I use it a lot. It had all most no patina when this "test" started, and now the blade is a uneven mix of light and dark gray. I have been a big fan of 2 bladed jacks since my first cheep colonial plastic handled one when I was young, but I never cared for the case small Texas jack. But now after almost 3 weeks, I am growing very fond of it. It seems perfect for my edc uses.

I have not strayed from the one knife rule yet, although my girlfriend gave me a More Maker yellow handled trapper, and that was kind of tempting. But instead I oiled it and put it on my shelf until I decide that I have had enough of this experiment.

Over all this hole experiment has changed my way of looking at things, and prompted me do down size in the long run. I have given away hunting knives that I don't need, and a few axes. I have given away most of my Griswald, and Wagner cast iron to friends that are just starting off, and that appreciate it. It does feel good. I also spend less time on the computer now and more time with my Cross pen and moleskine cahiers note book's by the in the dim light of oil lamps. It is funny how things change when you step back and look take a look at the reality of it all. Joe

 

[ElCuchillo]

It is definitely interesting how something like this experiment can affect a whole lot of other aspects of one's life. The Buddhists believe that everything in life is connected. I guess this proves them right to a degree.

 

[jackknife]

I also spend less time on the computer now and more time with my Cross pen and moleskine cahiers note book's by the in the dim light of oil lamps. It is funny how things change when you step back and look take a look at the reality of it all. Joe

It is amazing to step back and do things an old way for change, isin't it?

When I took my cross country motorcycle ride in 2000 I wanted to keep a journal of my trip, so I had my old beat up dented Cross pen from 1963, and a composition book in a zip lock bag. Every night after making camp I sat up in my tent and wrote up my day's experiances by the light of a minimag in a headband holder. Imagine, once upon a time people wrote long letters to far off family and friends.

Since starting this experiment, I have become a bit more cycnical about the over abundance of our consumer society. I also have done away with my e-mail, and have wrote a few letters to some far off friends explaining that. To my surprise I got letters back. One friend razed me for my actions making him sit down and write, two other friends thought it a great idea and said it made them think more about what they said. Now we are writing back and forth, talking about how some of the civil war soldiers whose letters and journals were used by Ken Burns were so much more literate than now-a-days young people. I think slowing down and writing a letter makes one use their mind more. Maybe pen and paper lend themselves more to creative thoughts than electonic stuff. Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, and Mark Twain must have taken time over the written word.

An ink pen is like a well patina'd pocket knife, it still has a place in the world.

 

[ElCuchillo]

Cool, I reached 500 posts!! This is the highest I've reached in ANY forum I've belonged to. It's just as well, as I spend much more time on here then anywhere else. This is my home. I love this place.
I know this isn't the official experiment's thread, and I will continue to post the rest of my updates there, but since this is a milestone post for me, I'll make a little exception..... just this time.
I have been carrying just my Super Tinker, and it has done everything I've needed it to. Interestingly enough, the tool I've used the most I think is the can opener. It's been my pry-bar, scraper, box cutter, staple puller, etc. Since I DO have other tools other then my blades, I've been trying to not abuse the cutting implements, and the can opener on a Vic is SO handy. I've used the scissors quite a bit as well. I HAVE used the knife blades, but since my experiment was thrown a monkey wrench, and I had to switch from the minimalistic Peanut to the more equipped Super Tinker, I'm trying to see what all I can do with the tools. My SAK is definitely getting alot of mileage. From food prep to removing tape from a gator's jaws, it's been going everywhere and doing everything with me. I'm thinking of outfitting it with either the Plus scales, as they seem a bit more durable, or the Stay-Glow scales, just because they are friggin cool.
Man, I can't wait to get to my NEXT 500 posts, so I can look back and see all that I have done and how much I have grown.
Cool.

 

[jackknife]

Glad the sak is working out so well for you. I'm sure the Mrs. has noticed you using it. How is she doing these days, getting along okay?

 

[ElCuchillo]

Yes, she is doing great. I'm sure it's still in her mind.... you don't forget something like that, you know? However, with our daughter to take care of, and myself to tend to (she's old fashioned like that. Folksy, I guess you could say. LOL) she just does what she has to do, looks forward, and smiles at each new day. She's tough like that. A sweet, big hearted, charming southern girl, but under that big smile she has alot of toughness and durability.
Just like a slippie, i guess. LOL.

=

 

[jackknife]

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[mp510]

Ya know, I recall something my father said to me once. I was about 10 or maybe 11, and I had the Imperial Barlow grandad had gave me. Being young and full of enthusiasim i used the heck out of it. I had chipped off a tiny bit of the tip of the small pen blade using it for something a knife was not supposed to be used for. Dad shortly after gave me a Sears pocket screwdriver. I asked him what it was for.

I'll never forget his simple pragmatic answer that was so typical of the man. He said, "Why bugger up a good knife?"

Made sense to me.

I have an old, heavily beat on Case Stockman that I bought out of a junk-knife bin at a gun show. One of the blades had been snapped years ago, and a previous owner decided to add another feature, and ground the broken blade into a screw driver. It's not the pretiest done job- but he imporovised and made his stockman even for functional- made the best of a bad situation I guess.

 

[RobbW]

She's tough like that. A sweet, big hearted, charming southern girl, but under that big smile she has alot of toughness and durability.
Just like a slippie, i guess. LOL.

Nice wife, nice knife, nice life. You are a blessed man. Who could ask for anything more? Congrats on the 500 quality posts. :thumbup:

 

[James Y]

El Cuchillo:
I too had been thinking about whether or not my father/grandfather, or earlier generations period, would have used a Leatherman or SAK instead of only the pocketknife for everything. I have an impression that the SAK may have caught on earlier, as it's still a pocketknife (excepting the really thick ones). Esp. simpler models like the Soldier, Pioneer, Farmer, etc. However, on the farm, I guess a good Leatherman or other multi, with a convenient carrying case, would have caught on quite readily as well.

I actually gave my dad a SAK in 1981, and he did use it some, but he eventually went back to his old 2-blade jack knife and sometimes his old Buck 110.

To take this thought further, I also wondered if the one-handed clip knife, like the Delica, would have caught on, once they got past the comparatively odd look. Or any other one-handers. Hard to say.
Jim

 

[mnblade]

Most of our forefathers were working men. They USED their tools rather then collect them. They got by with just a peanut or a Barlow because it was all they had and they had to make do. However, what if...................? What if they had leatherman multitools back then? Would they use them? Would they have used a SAK, with it's plethora of tools, rather then beat on a cutting blade?

In short, I think the answer is yes, a lot of our forefathers would have opted for "tool knives" (I think far more would have opted for SAKs simply because of the price difference: To a thrifty, Depression-worn old timer, a $15 SAK and a pair of pliers they already have is going to beat a $70 Leatherman every time).

But even if SAKs had been widely available in the States back in the day, there still would have been that prevailing prejudice against stainless steel that - right or wrong - would have kept away guys like my grandad.

 

[jackknife]

In short, I think the answer is yes, a lot of our forefathers would have opted for "tool knives" (I think far more would have opted for SAKs simply because of the price difference: To a thrifty, Depression-worn old timer, a $15 SAK and a pair of pliers they already have is going to beat a $70 Leatherman every time).

But even if SAKs had been widely available in the States back in the day, there still would have been that prevailing prejudice against stainless steel that - right or wrong - would have kept away guys like my grandad.

As a matter of fact, the first boy scout knives with screwdriver and can opener blades was made in 1911 by the New York Knife company. Victorinox started in buisness in 1890, and those early sak's and scout knives were carbon steel.

Assited opening knives have been around well back in the 1800's in the form of the switchblade.

For some reason they just didn't get popular like the old pocket knife.

 

[RobbW]

Assited opening knives have been around well back in the 1800's in the form of the switchblade.

For some reason they just didn't get popular like the old pocket knife.

I bet the switchblades weren't more popular because they were less reliable than a good old, simple slipjoint. Getting a blade to release when you want it, but not to release when you don't (like in your pocket), requires higher tolerances. Add to that some kind of locking mechanism for the open position, and you have introduced a lot of variables which are not necessary in a slipjoint, and which increase the potential for failure. Next, consider this is going to cost our frugal forebearers more money, and I'm not surprised switchblades weren't more popular.

I don't have a clue as to why scout knives weren't more popular, unless the increased expense, in and of itself, were enough to tip the scales in favor of a regular old slippie with one or two blades and nothing more.

I have seen very old keychain tools, like from my grandfather's and great-grandfather's day, such as a keychain bottleopener and a keychain screwdriver (looked like an old fashioned door key, but with a slotted end). So I know they had use for more tools than just a jackknife blade--for some reason those tools must have been more common on keychains than on their knives.

 

[jackknife]

I have seen very old keychain tools, like from my grandfather's and great-grandfather's day, such as a keychain bottleopener and a keychain screwdriver (looked like an old fashioned door key, but with a slotted end). So I know they had use for more tools than just a jackknife blade--for some reason those tools must have been more common on keychains than on their knives.

Robb, you just made me think of something. Thanks.

Maybe our grandfathers were even smarter than we gave them credit for.

Separation of componants.

Maybe it was by some design for reasons unknown to us that they had a prefference for separate tools from the knife. Maybe it was a reliability thing. I do remember seeing alot of the men in my grandads day with keyring do-dads, bottle openers, P-38's, 4-way keychain screwdrivers. I can only speculate why they would have the tools very seperate by choice from their knives. I know my dad always kept his keyring in his left front pocket, and his knife in his right front pocket. I just never gave it much thought that there was a method at work there, just that was the way he did it.

There must have been a good reason. Those old timers always had a reason.