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Opening tin cans with your survial/camp knife is...
- Thread starter Rev. Pete
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2001
- Messages
- 843
You have the idea. It depends on what is in the can. Generally it takes a few of cuts around the perimiter to pry the lid open enough to get at the contents.
P.S.: You P-38 guys have convinced me to give up my Leatherman Micra. I'm going to find the smallest SAK with a can opener and carry that instead (the Micra has a cap lifter but no can opener).
.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2002
- Messages
- 3,179
when I worked in a restaurant BOTH of the big counter-top-mounted can openers broke. All I had with me was my old EZ-Out. It worked, but was hard on the edge. And I've done it with a CRKT because I didn't have a multi-tool on me and the can opener in the break room is worthless. One of the reasons I picked up a SAK Tinker. It may not have everything but it's small enough to always be with me. I would call it hard use. Throwing your knife at a tree, that's abuse.
Frank
Frank
Most user knives should handle it easily IMHO. However, I would hesitate to do it without locking blade or with a nice knife. When my army chow set opener bent (!!!) and became useless, I started opening cans (not those tough ammo cans though) with my sharpened chow knife or sturdy lockback Mikov hunting folder ( see http://www.sweb.cz/mikov-folders/Lockbacks/lockbacks.html ). The quickest way was:
-hold can in position on ground between feet
-hold the knife perpendicularly to lid (FIRMLY to avoid injury) with one hand and with other hand's palm gently hit on pommel to penetrate lid with tip
- you can cut around the lid with almost one move but must get a hang of the right angle and speed.
I would not hesitate to do it with any reasonable "survival knife". Just be VERY CAREFUL when trying!
BTW, if I am correct the P38 I am aware of was made by Walther and helluva fun can opener.....
HM
-hold can in position on ground between feet
-hold the knife perpendicularly to lid (FIRMLY to avoid injury) with one hand and with other hand's palm gently hit on pommel to penetrate lid with tip
- you can cut around the lid with almost one move but must get a hang of the right angle and speed.
I would not hesitate to do it with any reasonable "survival knife". Just be VERY CAREFUL when trying!
BTW, if I am correct the P38 I am aware of was made by Walther and helluva fun can opener.....
HM
A bit of info about P38 use, for those who have never used them.
1) They are MUCH smaller and lighter than a Swiss Army knife or multi-tool. They weigh about as much as a couple pennies, and take up about as much room.
2) They are also much faster and easier to use than the can openers on SAKs and multi-tools.
3) They break after opening a few thousand cans.
--Mike
1) They are MUCH smaller and lighter than a Swiss Army knife or multi-tool. They weigh about as much as a couple pennies, and take up about as much room.
2) They are also much faster and easier to use than the can openers on SAKs and multi-tools.
3) They break after opening a few thousand cans.
--Mike
- Joined
- May 17, 2002
- Messages
- 5,757
I think that if you bring canned food, you should not forget to bring a can opener either...
But if you really wanna do it you better have a "prybar" kind of knife (Busse, Swamp Rat, Strider etc). These companies manufacture with "hard use" in mind and advertise accordingly. Their blades should (and most likely will) stand up to this kind of "knife abuse" (opening tin cans constitutes knife abuse of the knife IMO).
But if you really wanna do it you better have a "prybar" kind of knife (Busse, Swamp Rat, Strider etc). These companies manufacture with "hard use" in mind and advertise accordingly. Their blades should (and most likely will) stand up to this kind of "knife abuse" (opening tin cans constitutes knife abuse of the knife IMO).