StuntDouble made me do it!!!!

[jackknife]

You know, theres always that one guy who starts it. an innocent comment here, a statement there. I was going along, happy as a clam in the mud, with a small SAK and some 'other' knife in my pocket. A real knife. A dedicated knife. An outright cutting tool. Then StuntDouble started his self imposed challenge.

Okay, okay, I admit I was already drifting in that direction, and had over the years, liquidated almost all my knife 'collection' that had accumulated over the years of my knife obsession. Admittedly an obsession that had been fading in its own. But my SAK's, most of them anyways, survived the culling.

Then, inspired by StuntDouble, I've gone into a self imposed SAK only mode. My ever present classic on keyring had been an on and off again stand by, but its been phased out because of the over lap of the Leatherman squirt that has been on an extend trial for 6 years. Of late, the classic has been in the sock drawer while the Leatherman has been my EDC, literally everyday. For those occasions where I need more blade, a Victorinox alox bantam or cadet has been in my coin pocket. Flat, unnoticed, but the flat ground SAK blade cuts like the dickens, and has a tool or two on it. I've been on the multitool only mode now, and I like it. Although I feel a bit weird ignoring my old Christy knife and Opinel. Both with those thin flat ground blades that cut like the dickens. I thought I'd miss them. I haven't. Okay, maybe a wee bit, but not enough to go dig them out of the sock drawer when leaving the house.

Maybe I've been fooling myself all these years. I mean, short of some Comanche's coming to take my scalp, or Chinese paratroopers falling out of the sky, or getting marooned in the Alaskan bush country, why do I need more than an inch and a half to two inches of blade? on the other hand, how many times have I been up th creek without a paddle when something breaks/malfunctions/comes apart on me and I really needed a screw driver or other tools? I know I've numbered the time my Vespa motor scooter went dead on my on a very deserted dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Or the time I had to fix the electric trolling motor on our boat or have a very long paddle back to the other end of a long and winding lake against the wind. Or many other times I used a SAK or my Leatherman to fix, finagle, jury rig, or manage to cob things together again and make it home. Just a few basic tools let me fix things to a functional level.

As much as I reach for a pocket knife to cut something, open a package, sometimes I just need a screw driver. I don't know when, but sometime in the past a decision was made to hold the whole world together with small to medium Phillips screws. For years my classic SD tip dealt with them, now I use the Leatherman or the corner of the bantam combo tool or the SD tip of the cadet.

The Opinel has moved back to the kitchen drawer, and the Christy is on standby in the desk drawer for any razor blade like jobs that come up. But for now, as I dress for the day and leave the house, I am multitool only. No more dedicated knife. Its a strange feeling, kind of like I've abandoned some good friends. But I tell myself that life is a constant evolution, and maybe I've evolved to a higher plain. But when I think back to my army days, I went for a couple of years with just the issued Camillus MIL-K-818 utility knife, AKA 'demo' knife. Basically just an all steel scout knife. A crude version of the SAK pioneer. In fact, my first SAK was the Wenger SI that I got because it was so much like the MIL-K-818. A scout knife, like dad gave me when I was 12 years old an in the Boy Scout.

"Be Prepared."

Maybe with just multitools I will be. It's kind of liberating.

That you, StuntDouble!

 

[Storm 8593]

The only constant is change, so they say.
Always interesting to hear how peoples needs/carry solutions change over time. And with a wee bit of Switzerlands finest in your pocket/keychain, you're ready for most everything that will actually happen.
PS Let us know if the scalping and paratroopers appear though, so we can all start carrying Cold Steel XL Espadas

 

[GIRLYmann]

set ways can lead to stagnation.
change could at times,
be also a little scary.
but life is about living new experiences every single day
with all its unexpected challenges
thrown at you.
to the man who thinks
he has been there and done that, the perspective is going to be somewhat refreshing once
one starts doing things
in reverse.
sometimes being naked and unprepared is just the jolt
one needs to regain
some of that lost enthusism.
being a creature of habit
leads to predictability.
different solutions
lead to different outcomes.
we owe it to ourselves
to pocket 'em all
in the end
one can only rightfully
blame onesself for
the choices made.
more options is the way forward!

 

[StuntDouble]

You know, theres always that one guy who starts it. an innocent comment here, a statement there. I was going along, happy as a clam in the mud, with a small SAK and some 'other' knife in my pocket. A real knife. A dedicated knife. An outright cutting tool. Then StuntDouble started his self imposed challenge.

Okay, okay, I admit I was already drifting in that direction, and had over the years, liquidated almost all my knife 'collection' that had accumulated over the years of my knife obsession. Admittedly an obsession that had been fading in its own. But my SAK's, most of them anyways, survived the culling.

Then, inspired by StuntDouble, I've gone into a self imposed SAK only mode. My ever present classic on keyring had been an on and off again stand by, but its been phased out because of the over lap of the Leatherman squirt that has been on an extend trial for 6 years. Of late, the classic has been in the sock drawer while the Leatherman has been my EDC, literally everyday. For those occasions where I need more blade, a Victorinox alox bantam or cadet has been in my coin pocket. Flat, unnoticed, but the flat ground SAK blade cuts like the dickens, and has a tool or two on it. I've been on the multitool only mode now, and I like it. Although I feel a bit weird ignoring my old Christy knife and Opinel. Both with those thin flat ground blades that cut like the dickens. I thought I'd miss them. I haven't. Okay, maybe a wee bit, but not enough to go dig them out of the sock drawer when leaving the house.

Maybe I've been fooling myself all these years. I mean, short of some Comanche's coming to take my scalp, or Chinese paratroopers falling out of the sky, or getting marooned in the Alaskan bush country, why do I need more than an inch and a half to two inches of blade? on the other hand, how many times have I been up th creek without a paddle when something breaks/malfunctions/comes apart on me and I really needed a screw driver or other tools? I know I've numbered the time my Vespa motor scooter went dead on my on a very deserted dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Or the time I had to fix the electric trolling motor on our boat or have a very long paddle back to the other end of a long and winding lake against the wind. Or many other times I used a SAK or my Leatherman to fix, finagle, jury rig, or manage to cob things together again and make it home. Just a few basic tools let me fix things to a functional level.

As much as I reach for a pocket knife to cut something, open a package, sometimes I just need a screw driver. I don't know when, but sometime in the past a decision was made to hold the whole world together with small to medium Phillips screws. For years my classic SD tip dealt with them, now I use the Leatherman or the corner of the bantam combo tool or the SD tip of the cadet.

The Opinel has moved back to the kitchen drawer, and the Christy is on standby in the desk drawer for any razor blade like jobs that come up. But for now, as I dress for the day and leave the house, I am multitool only. No more dedicated knife. Its a strange feeling, kind of like I've abandoned some good friends. But I tell myself that life is a constant evolution, and maybe I've evolved to a higher plain. But when I think back to my army days, I went for a couple of years with just the issued Camillus MIL-K-818 utility knife, AKA 'demo' knife. Basically just an all steel scout knife. A crude version of the SAK pioneer. In fact, my first SAK was the Wenger SI that I got because it was so much like the MIL-K-818. A scout knife, like dad gave me when I was 12 years old an in the Boy Scout.

"Be Prepared."

Maybe with just multitools I will be. It's kind of liberating.

That you, StuntDouble!

Man, and here I was thinking I was only ever a bad influence!

I think back to how much money I've spent on knives over the years, and oh man, I could have saved so much if I had mainly stuck to Swiss Army knives.

 

[jackknife]

Man, and here I was thinking I was only ever a bad influence!

I think back to how much money I've spent on knives over the years, and oh man, I could have saved so much if I had mainly stuck to Swiss Army knives.

I know what your talking about!!!

I've used the phrase before, but the knife obsession and the fading of, it was like waking from a form of temporary insanity and wondering what the hell I had been thinking?????

I wish I could go back and kick myself and tell myself to just stay with the SAK's. I mean, there I was from age 12 to 20 with a Boy Scout knife, and from 20 to 30 with a Camillus MIL-k-818. All through the 70's and 80's I carried a SAK and a Buck 301 stockman. Then in the 90's I lost sight of reality and went full bore knife nut. Then in the early 2000's I started seeing through the fog. By 2010 I was in retreat.

I went to the sock drawer and dug out my old Wenger SI. I hadn't carried that for a long while, and I've forgotten what a great EDC pocket knife it is. Rides very flat in a belt pouch.

 

[K.Coper]

I've been a multitool-only person for all of my knife-carrying life. As a European, a SAK is the defacto 'pocket knife' of choice. I have never known anything else.

 

[StuntDouble]

Reading through some of your posts on the Leatherman Squirt lately really has me considering picking one up. I already have a Micra, but find I don't use it all that much. I think I likely have more use for a small pliers based tool with scissors and small blade, over a scissors based one.

 

[afishhunter]

I've been carrying a pair of SAK (Evo Grip 14 and a Mini Champ) and a Leatherman Charge+ TTI multi tool for going on 3 weeks, maybe a little longer, and a Toferner tiny neck knife pretty much every day since Nov. 04, 2021.
I'm having difficulty giving up my stockman, however. I have managed to leave the 110 off my belt for the last week. HARD after having one on me (or a Old Timer 6OT/7OT) everyday since 1968 or 1969. Still feel a little nekked without it.
I don't know if the stockman will ever get left behind.

 

[jackknife]

Reading through some of your posts on the Leatherman Squirt lately really has me considering picking one up. I already have a Micra, but find I don't use it all that much. I think I likely have more use for a small pliers based tool with scissors and small blade, over a scissors based one.

I tried to like the micra, I really did. I was gifted one by a die hard micra fan, and I gave it a shot. I carried it and made it a point to use it as my first choice when I reached for a tool. But a romance was not to be. But I really tried.

First off, the all inside opening tools was a turn off. Need a knife? Open it all up. Need a screw driver? Open it all up. Need a bottle opener? Open it all up. Need a nail file? Okay you get the idea.

Then I got a squirt. Whole different ball game. All outside tools for fast and easy access. Need a knife? No problemo, its right there. Need scissors? Right there. And in day to day real life, the small pliers have proved WAY more handy than scissors. If I need scissors, the squirt scissors do the same job as the small SAK classic scissors. The scissors on the micra were over kill for the most part.

BUT...that huge three letter word...the small pliers for me and my lifestyle, were totally outstanding! As a genuine bonafide old fart with some arthritis in my hands and fingers from a working lifetime cranking on Bridgeport mills and Hardinge lathes, I have problems sometimes grasping small items like snap swivels on fishing lines, and such. I use the squirt pliers at least once or twice everyday. Sometimes more. Like when the pull ring comes off the sardine can, its actually easier to just use the pliers to insert in the small hole left by the torn off pull tab, and just pull the opening flap off with the squirt pliers. Or when my bride of 51 years comes to me with a piece of her jewelry that the clasp in not working. The small pliers makes it easy to re-bend the tiny hook so Karen can wear that necklace I bought her so long ago. Makes me the hero of the moment. Or bending a paper clip into a good lock pick to undo an old Master lock that the key is long lost. I can't count the times I've used the squirt pliers for some little job that I would have needed to walk out back to the shop for a tool. The little pliers has proved invaluable dealing with stuck zippers on both coats and tent flaps.

My squirt has screwed screws both flat and Phillips, pulled staples, filed rough edges, snipped stray hairs, cut all kinds of things from plastic blister packages to some nice harvarti cheese with caraway seeds, opened lots of cold brewskis, broke down boxes, trimmed the end cap off some good Dominican cigars, cut fishing line, fixed my better half's jewelry, pulled stickers from up between our dogs paw pads, and a zillion other things. Before we left the D.C. area in 2015, the squirt was often my sole EDC knife/tool while roaming the Smithsonian museum complex, the National Gallery Of Art, and other places in D.C. federal buildings where they had some security at the door. The squirt always went through without a second glance.

I LOVE THE SQUIRT!

There, I just told you how I really feel.

And the squirt is actually a very decent knife. The little chisel grind blade is a great florist knife for when I bring home some flowers for Karen, or when something needs to be opened or cut. It goes through jute twine like its not even there, and is very very easy to sharpen because of the chisel grind. Just home the one side and then when you have a burr, lay the flat side of the blade on the stone and take off the burr. Done. And you have a edge that really cuts like the dickens. It was the squirt that made me a fan of chisel grinds, liken the Victorinox florist/garden knife.

While the Leatherman micra annoyed me, the squirt has nothing but please me since I got it 7 years ago now. The only complaint I haves, the scissors spring broke on mine while not even being used. I noticed while opening the blade and a piece of metal was sticking out.

BUT...that word again... I sent it back to Leatherman, and they had a new squirt in my hands in like just under two weeks. Counting travel time in the mail, they must have dealt with it in a day after hitting someones desk. Thats really fast factory support!!!!

Yes, I will go 100% for the squirt over the micra.

Edit to add; But...sometimes the squirt blade is just not enough for slicing a nice fresh baguette out someplace, and some other things. Then the squirt teamed up with a SAK like an alox bantam, or cadet, is a match made in some multitool heaven. That baguette and cheese is toast!

 

[sodak]

You guys are killing me here. I'm not quite at this level of minimalism, I've finally divided out the knives from my collection that I don't need and want to sell. This is after giving several family members knives they wanted or didn't know they wanted, lol.

I've EDC's a SAK Climber for the last 5-7 years or so, and just love the combination of size and tools. Jackknife motivated me to try the PS4, and now I truly do prefer it to the S4. I'm not sure I can leave the climber at home, I might need it to.... climb something?

 

[StuntDouble]

I tried to like the micra, I really did. I was gifted one by a die hard micra fan, and I gave it a shot. I carried it and made it a point to use it as my first choice when I reached for a tool. But a romance was not to be. But I really tried.

First off, the all inside opening tools was a turn off. Need a knife? Open it all up. Need a screw driver? Open it all up. Need a bottle opener? Open it all up. Need a nail file? Okay you get the idea.

Then I got a squirt. Whole different ball game. All outside tools for fast and easy access. Need a knife? No problemo, its right there. Need scissors? Right there. And in day to day real life, the small pliers have proved WAY more handy than scissors. If I need scissors, the squirt scissors do the same job as the small SAK classic scissors. The scissors on the micra were over kill for the most part.

BUT...that huge three letter word...the small pliers for me and my lifestyle, were totally outstanding! As a genuine bonafide old fart with some arthritis in my hands and fingers from a working lifetime cranking on Bridgeport mills and Hardinge lathes, I have problems sometimes grasping small items like snap swivels on fishing lines, and such. I use the squirt pliers at least once or twice everyday. Sometimes more. Like when the pull ring comes off the sardine can, its actually easier to just use the pliers to insert in the small hole left by the torn off pull tab, and just pull the opening flap off with the squirt pliers. Or when my bride of 51 years comes to me with a piece of her jewelry that the clasp in not working. The small pliers makes it easy to re-bend the tiny hook so Karen can wear that necklace I bought her so long ago. Makes me the hero of the moment. Or bending a paper clip into a good lock pick to undo an old Master lock that the key is long lost. I can't count the times I've used the squirt pliers for some little job that I would have needed to walk out back to the shop for a tool. The little pliers has proved invaluable dealing with stuck zippers on both coats and tent flaps.

My squirt has screwed screws both flat and Phillips, pulled staples, filed rough edges, snipped stray hairs, cut all kinds of things from plastic blister packages to some nice harvarti cheese with caraway seeds, opened lots of cold brewskis, broke down boxes, trimmed the end cap off some good Dominican cigars, cut fishing line, fixed my better half's jewelry, pulled stickers from up between our dogs paw pads, and a zillion other things. Before we left the D.C. area in 2015, the squirt was often my sole EDC knife/tool while roaming the Smithsonian museum complex, the National Gallery Of Art, and other places in D.C. federal buildings where they had some security at the door. The squirt always went through without a second glance.

I LOVE THE SQUIRT!

There, I just told you how I really feel.

And the squirt is actually a very decent knife. The little chisel grind blade is a great florist knife for when I bring home some flowers for Karen, or when something needs to be opened or cut. It goes through jute twine like its not even there, and is very very easy to sharpen because of the chisel grind. Just home the one side and then when you have a burr, lay the flat side of the blade on the stone and take off the burr. Done. And you have a edge that really cuts like the dickens. It was the squirt that made me a fan of chisel grinds, liken the Victorinox florist/garden knife.

While the Leatherman micra annoyed me, the squirt has nothing but please me since I got it 7 years ago now. The only complaint I haves, the scissors spring broke on mine while not even being used. I noticed while opening the blade and a piece of metal was sticking out.

BUT...that word again... I sent it back to Leatherman, and they had a new squirt in my hands in like just under two weeks. Counting travel time in the mail, they must have dealt with it in a day after hitting someones desk. Thats really fast factory support!!!!

Yes, I will go 100% for the squirt over the micra.

Edit to add; But...sometimes the squirt blade is just not enough for slicing a nice fresh baguette out someplace, and some other things. Then the squirt teamed up with a SAK like an alox bantam, or cadet, is a match made in some multitool heaven. That baguette and cheese is toast!

It's sounding like the Squirt is going to be right up my alley. I'll take anything that can make me a hero, even if it is just in my wife's eyes. It'll be nice to have one more option when something comes up that doesn't require me to run to the toolbox, or when I'm at someone else's house and they don't have a tool handy. Hopefully I'll find out by Friday, when it's supposed to get here.

You guys are killing me here. I'm not quite at this level of minimalism, I've finally divided out the knives from my collection that I don't need and want to sell. This is after giving several family members knives they wanted or didn't know they wanted, lol.

I've EDC's a SAK Climber for the last 5-7 years or so, and just love the combination of size and tools. Jackknife motivated me to try the PS4, and now I truly do prefer it to the S4. I'm not sure I can leave the climber at home, I might need it to.... climb something?

I'm not sure I could be considered a minimalist at this point, but that's all the knives I have right now, users and sentimental pieces. There still might be a couple there that will end up leaving me at some point.

I've really liked my Stayglow Climber. It's the perfect combination of tools for me, without being too much. I imagine that with the Squirt PS4 would handle the majority of the tasks many of us deal with on a daily basis.

 

[jackknife]

You guys are killing me here. I'm not quite at this level of minimalism, I've finally divided out the knives from my collection that I don't need and want to sell. This is after giving several family members knives they wanted or didn't know they wanted, lol.

I've EDC's a SAK Climber for the last 5-7 years or so, and just love the combination of size and tools. Jackknife motivated me to try the PS4, and now I truly do prefer it to the S4. I'm not sure I can leave the climber at home, I might need it to.... climb something?

The SAK climber is a very fine EDC tool for life in general. The whole small multitool over a dedicated pocket knife is just an evolution of my life. I use to be a dedicated knife nut, but time and life's experiences have changed a great deal of my viewpoints. Living in a urban/suburban environment, I often have need of a screw driver or other tool almost as much as a knife. In modern life, theres not a whole lot to cut. No hostile enemy paratroopers to be taken out while yelling "WOVERINES!" or any hostile Comanches with war paint on coming to take my scalp.

BUT...I often need to fix something, if only to cob it together enough to get home or finish the job. I actually can't count the number of times just a basic tool has let me do a quick fix, no matter a Vespa motor scooter conked out on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, or a boat motor a long way from the dock. Just having a screw driver to get a cover off, to access the thing, and even make a return spring from a paper clip, worked well enough. A bit sloppy, but it worked enough to get back to the dock a long ways off. I had just my old Wenger SI, but I used the wire stripper notch to bend the end of the paper clip enough to make a small loop the the screw went through and held in place. If I had my squirt back then, it would have been even easier. A dedicated knife would have been useless as tits on a boar hog.

No, I have very little use for a knife these days, with small SAK's and Leathermans available. I will admit on open forum that when I do carry a dedicated knife, its more often out of sentiment that particular knifeman have. In the real world, nothing beats a small multitool or SAK. Maximum minimalism!

 

[Storm 8593]

Like a wise man once said; "a SAK isn't just a knife, its a bundle of solutions to lifes little problems "