Every once in a while, some little thing happens to shake your faith. Like if the sun rises in the west, or your favorite gun malefactions the first time in 10,000 rounds.
I like SAK's, but mostly I love the alox basic boy scout pattern like the pioneer and my old Wenger SI. I grew up with a boy scout knife dad gave me when I was 12, left it home when I joined the army after high school and carried the army issue ML-k or demo knife for the next several years. So the basic scout knife is a stable item in my personal history. I've used from wooded campsites in the eastern hardwoods of the U.S. tot he evergreens of the Black Forest in Germany, to some jungle places in Vietnam. So when I find a situation that it fails, it's sort of like the sun rising in the west.
I went over a family members house to help with some project. I took my Wenger and a few tools since this project involved something where "Some assembly required." Yeah, I know. When I see that phrase I want a complete tool room and machine shop on hand if I can get it.
Everything was going good, and I was using the small tip on the Wenger SI's can opener to drive some small phillips screws. Worked like a charm. Then I got to the next step, and opened a small plastic bag with some very small phillips screws. Like in really very small. Using the tweezers from my classic to hold them since they were way to small for my arthritic fingers, I found the screw driver tip on the SI too big. The SD tip on the classic was too big. The small phillips driver in my tool kit was too big. I was looking at the project wonder ing what to do next when my son Matt, comes over and see's what the hold up is. He takes out his Victorinox cadet and hands it to me. I tell him the SD tip is too big.
"Use the nail file tip, dad. " is all he said to me. He's standing there with that smart grin on his face, so I open up the nail file tool on the cadet. It fits the tiny screws perfectly. Like it was made for it. I go and tighten them all down and hand the cadet back to him. He's still got the smart a-- grin on, and he tells me " Right tool for the job, dad. Isn't that what you told me all those times?"
"Yeah, right tool for the job. But is a nail file the right tool? " I ask him.
Matt thinks a bit. then he tells me, "Yeah, if it works. 'Improvise and overcome'. Isn't that what you told me?"
I hate smart a--es. Especially when it's my own kid, and he's too darn big to take down. At over 6 feet, he's bigger than the old man, so I let it go. But I will have to get it out of the better half what she fed these kids growing up. Sure wasn't Spaghetti O's.
I may need to pick up a cadet and give it a try for a edc.
I like SAK's, but mostly I love the alox basic boy scout pattern like the pioneer and my old Wenger SI. I grew up with a boy scout knife dad gave me when I was 12, left it home when I joined the army after high school and carried the army issue ML-k or demo knife for the next several years. So the basic scout knife is a stable item in my personal history. I've used from wooded campsites in the eastern hardwoods of the U.S. tot he evergreens of the Black Forest in Germany, to some jungle places in Vietnam. So when I find a situation that it fails, it's sort of like the sun rising in the west.
I went over a family members house to help with some project. I took my Wenger and a few tools since this project involved something where "Some assembly required." Yeah, I know. When I see that phrase I want a complete tool room and machine shop on hand if I can get it.
Everything was going good, and I was using the small tip on the Wenger SI's can opener to drive some small phillips screws. Worked like a charm. Then I got to the next step, and opened a small plastic bag with some very small phillips screws. Like in really very small. Using the tweezers from my classic to hold them since they were way to small for my arthritic fingers, I found the screw driver tip on the SI too big. The SD tip on the classic was too big. The small phillips driver in my tool kit was too big. I was looking at the project wonder ing what to do next when my son Matt, comes over and see's what the hold up is. He takes out his Victorinox cadet and hands it to me. I tell him the SD tip is too big.
"Use the nail file tip, dad. " is all he said to me. He's standing there with that smart grin on his face, so I open up the nail file tool on the cadet. It fits the tiny screws perfectly. Like it was made for it. I go and tighten them all down and hand the cadet back to him. He's still got the smart a-- grin on, and he tells me " Right tool for the job, dad. Isn't that what you told me all those times?"
"Yeah, right tool for the job. But is a nail file the right tool? " I ask him.
Matt thinks a bit. then he tells me, "Yeah, if it works. 'Improvise and overcome'. Isn't that what you told me?"
I hate smart a--es. Especially when it's my own kid, and he's too darn big to take down. At over 6 feet, he's bigger than the old man, so I let it go. But I will have to get it out of the better half what she fed these kids growing up. Sure wasn't Spaghetti O's.
I may need to pick up a cadet and give it a try for a edc.
