The pocket clip, the one-hand opening, and the sharp edge.

hank_rearden

hank_rearden

Joined
Jun 7, 2002
Messages
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When was the last time you realized just how nifty those features are in your pocket knife? With me it was during the weekend in the garden. The three trees in the backyard need frequent pruning during the rainy season, as they sprout several leaders. I'm so used to pruning shears and machetes during gardening, even when using an extension ladder. However, the height of the trees are fast exceeding my reach on the A-frame. I suddenly thought of using the military. No risk of dropping it when climbing up, just clip it to your shorts. One-hand opening and deployment, unlike the shears. And the sharp edge allows me to make wrist-flicking cuts with the other hand firmly grasping the ladder or the tree trunk. A machete makes you shift your weight and that's risky when the ladder is propped loosely against a slender trunk. I spent a far shorter time trimming that day.

Errr... you might think this is little more than a mole hill. I'm 54 and a colleague died recently when he fell off his ladder in their house. Now my wife and friends are all telling me not to use the extension ladder on my own, and just hire professionals to do the work. But the millie just made things a lot easier.

And that's how the plain-jane, recently neglected s30v digicam millie became the favorite child once more.
 
Used the exact same configuration to do some yard work/trimming just this afternoon. Is and always will be one of the favs :cool::thumbsup:
 
Thanx for the kind words Hank.

Ladders are far more dangerous than people think. I know of two friends that died falling off of ladders doing simple repair jobs. I climb ladders VERY carefully.

sal
 
Yo either tie that millie to a stick or buy one of those long extension trimmers. Save yourself the trouble of falling.

Just open that Millie up and run a zip tie through the Spyder hole and around the stick. Then another one around the handle and stick.

Tada!!!
 
The Military is a great knife.

Last year, I had one dead tree and two others becoming overgrown in my back yard. I removed a lot of the dead tree's branches using one of those extendable saws/pruners, being careful of falling branches, of course. The tool I have is by Fiskars, and it can extend, I think, up to around 14 feet or so. Anything over that plus my reach I just left alone. I know; "Fiskars, meh," but that tool works pretty well. Eventually it became overwhelming, and I got a good professional tree trimming company to do it, including removing the entire dead tree. They did it a lot better and safer than I could have, in only a few hours.

BTW, I strongly dislike going up ladders beyond a few steps. I don't go up onto my roof.

Sorry for going a bit OT.

Jim
 
i really never thought about ladder damage!even though i have fell lots of times with medium damage in my years of construction work,and death never even past my mind!! think i am ether vary lucky and vary dumb at the same time:eek:
 
hank_rearden said:
When was the last time you realized just how nifty those features are in your pocket knife?
Click to expand...
Personally, I think the pocket clip and the Spydie hole are THE great innovations of the modern knife world. More so than any lock design or modern steel. And I love me some locks and super steel.
 
SpySmasher said:
Personally, I think the pocket clip and the Spydie hole are THE great innovations of the modern knife world. More so than any lock design or modern steel. And I love me some locks and super steel.
Click to expand...

Definitely the pocket clip. The Spydie hole, while one of the most elegant solutions, is not unique in its function. There are other systems which achieve the same thing, like thumbstuds.

On the other hand there is no substitute for a pocket clip.
 
hank_rearden said:
When was the last time you realized just how nifty those features are in your pocket knife? With me it was during the weekend in the garden. The three trees in the backyard need frequent pruning during the rainy season, as they sprout several leaders. I'm so used to pruning shears and machetes during gardening, even when using an extension ladder. However, the height of the trees are fast exceeding my reach on the A-frame. I suddenly thought of using the military. No risk of dropping it when climbing up, just clip it to your shorts. One-hand opening and deployment, unlike the shears. And the sharp edge allows me to make wrist-flicking cuts with the other hand firmly grasping the ladder or the tree trunk. A machete makes you shift your weight and that's risky when the ladder is propped loosely against a slender trunk. I spent a far shorter time trimming that day.

Errr... you might think this is little more than a mole hill. I'm 54 and a colleague died recently when he fell off his ladder in their house. Now my wife and friends are all telling me not to use the extension ladder on my own, and just hire professionals to do the work. But the millie just made things a lot easier.

And that's how the plain-jane, recently neglected s30v digicam millie became the favorite child once more.
Click to expand...

Try a Tasman Salt and you'll have a new favorite knife for garden work :D
 
Funny thing about ladders. As a kid I used to be daredevil and would climb even a 20-foot extended electrician's ladder. But now, even with my feet just 6 feet above the ground, I feel my mortality.

And now, a relevant picture. Americans must really love trees!
dh2ouyo7jdkx.jpg
 
OSHA statistics report that falls are the the number one cause of work place fatalities. Number one.
 
The military is on my list to buy soon. I've used my tenacious for yard tasks before. The pocket clip and Spydie hole are truly innovative features.
 
i simply wont buy a knife with out a pocket clip, its essential to me and thats all Spyderco.

i had a small period without spydercos in my pocket recently, but got the lil nilakkaI(i was praying for that knife after i had a nilakka but it was just too much in the pocket) FINALLY a delica, and FINALLY a slysz bowie which is making all my other knives feel less, even my high dollar ones.

the bowie is spyderco showing off imo and they show off very well.
 
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