Worlds smallest multi-tool?

P-38 is truly a marvel! I saw this somewhere al ong time ago and sild a small paper clip through the hinge of my P-38. You can position the clip so that the the blade is in the middle between the clip and the main body of the opener. I'v carried it on my keychan for years this way and only a couple of times has the paper clip worked it's way out of the hinge. You might have to experiment with the way the clip is formed, I seem to remember that some worked better than others, not sure...
 
I have several, and I keep them stashed in various places.

Here's a list from a while back of it's uses; I don't know who to credit this to, but I've seen this several places on the 'net over the years:

---------------------------------------------------
Uses:
# Can opener
# Seam ripper
# Screwdriver
# Clean fingernails
# Cut fishing line
# Open paint cans
# Window scraper
# Scrape around floor corners
# Digging
# Clean out groove on tupperware lids
# Reach in and clean out small cracks
# Scrape around edge of boots
# Bottle opener
# Gut fish (in the field)
# Scale fish (in the field)
# Test for 'doneness' when baking on a camp fire
# Prying items
# Strip wire
# Scrape pans in the field
# Lift key on flip top cans
# Chisel
# Barter
# Marking tool
# Deflating tires
# Clean sole of boot/shoe
# Pick teeth
# Measurement
# Striking flint
# Stirring coffee
# Puncturing plastic coating
# Knocking on doors
# Morse code
# Box cutter
# Opening letters
# Write emergency messages
# Scratch an itch
# Save as a souvenir
# Rip off rank for on-the-spot promotions
# Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
-----------------------------------------------------


~Chris
 
Here is one way to keep a P-38 from opening up in your pocket. Pretty happy with myself for figuring this one out, but I'm probably not the first person. Others have used shrink wrap, a paper clip, rubber band or a twist tie. And the bonus is that the safety pin has its own utility.

p-38.jpg


ring.jpg
 
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I agree that the P-38 is not a multitool...but it's a very practical and usable tool for sure.
Thanks to an extremely kind forumite (three posts up :) ) I got one of these some time ago (along with a 4-way Sears SD). I kept it closed with the paper clip trick, and carried it...and it has proved to be very useful. The funny thing is, I never used it for its intended purpose (as a can opener) :D and now I think about it, I never used the 4-way SD as a screwdriver either...to me, they proved to be the "wrong" tool but for the right job :rolleyes:

:cool:
 
kozak6 said:
Carl, what is a peer clip? I wasn't able to find anything useful with google.
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That was supposed to be paperclip. My bad, I corrected the spelling. I've always kept a spare paper clip in my wallet. It can make things, lie a latch, hook, also opens handcuffs. If you put a little bit through the hole in a P-38 nd give it a 90 degree bend it makes a good lock pick.

Carl.
 
When I open a can of S-L-X alcohol, I grab my P-51. It’s just the thing to pop the lid lose.

I’ve read that Marines like to hold their P-38s in their hands in a fight. The blade sticks out so every time they slap someone they leave a bleeding gash behind. But I can’t figure out how to make that work.

Which segues into a story I got off the web. In this case the can opener was a weapon.

Back in the 70's I worked with an ex-Green Beret who was also an ex-POW. "Big Dave" had some great stories about Vietnam. I bugged him one day to tell me about how he got captured. "It was fast," he said. He and four other Berets were going someplace to blow up something and they were jumped and all of the guys that were with him were killed. Dave was wounded and the VC grabbed him. His attackers were all very young and proud of what they had done and decided to take Dave back to wherever they reported and show him off.

They made him strip. One guy tied knots in the legs of his pants and stuffed his clothes in them and carried them, and another guy carried his rifle. The only thing he had on was his dog tags which they didn't make him take off. They walked all day and at night they tied him up and took turns watching him. On the second day two of the young guys made a small cage out of sticks and fastened the sticks together with reeds which were strong. They made Dave carry the cage during the day and at night they would put him in it and fasten the door with reeds. It was so small that he had to bend almost double and could not sleep.

The third night he was wondering how he could get out of the cage and he remembered his P-38 that he had duct taped between his dog tags. He said a lot of the guys that he was with had sharpened their P-38s and would use them as a small knife. He had his taped between the tags like everyone else had done to prevent them from rattling and making noise. Dave untapped the tags and took out the P-38 and went to work on the reeds and cut them enough to get out of the cage.

Dave said the young guys were all asleep because they knew he wasn't going anyplace. He grabbed his rifle and checked to see if they had left it loaded, which they had. He shot all of them where they slept. He got his clothes and got dressed. His feet were so sore he had trouble putting on his boots and his wound in his arm looked and felt infected. He headed back in a hurry the direction they had come in. It took him four days to meet up with some friendlies. He finally got back to his company only to find out that they had him down as being AWOL. After telling his story and showing them his wound he was given a nice R&R in Japan and a pat on the back..
 
mnblade said:
I was actually considering Super Gluing the cutting blade to the larger part. The thought being that if/when I ever need to open a can, I could slide the blade of my EDC knife in and break it loose. Make sense?
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If it was me I wouldn't do that. Put it in your wallet or something instead.

Also I've never owned a p38 but I want one. :D

Sent from Ash forum mobile
 
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Knife Crazied said:
If it was me I wouldn't do that. Put it in your wallet or something instead.

Also I've never owned a p38 but I want one. :D

Sent from Ash forum mobile
Click to expand...

Ash, if you run into one, make sure it's marked either U.S. Speaker, U.S. Androck, or U.S. Shelby Co. Those were the only companies that had the real military contracts. Too many people have bought the cheap Chinese knock off's and they ain't worth spit. I'm gonna look around, if I find a real one I'll send ya one.

Carl.
 
Knife Crazied said:
If it was me I wouldn't do that. Put it in your wallet or something instead.
Click to expand...

Problem is, I like to carry a small wallet ..... really small. It's actually a leather case designed to carry business cards. I generally carry a few bills, my bank card and insurance card, and maybe a business card or two.
 
jackknife said:
Ash, if you run into one, make sure it's marked either U.S. Speaker, U.S. Androck, or U.S. Shelby Co. Those were the only companies that had the real military contracts. Too many people have bought the cheap Chinese knock off's and they ain't worth spit. I'm gonna look around, if I find a real one I'll send ya one.

Carl.
Click to expand...

Until now I never heard of these makers, but absent those markings, a P 38 may still be the real article. Mine don't have them, but are definitely GI, retrieved from all too many C ration cartons while I was on active duty. They are sturdy stuff. None ever broke or buckled on me.

A thought; my army was quite some time ago. Maybe the markings you posted about were stamped into later P 38s.
 
jackknife said:
That was supposed to be paperclip. My bad, I corrected the spelling. I've always kept a spare paper clip in my wallet. It can make things, lie a latch, hook, also opens handcuffs. If you put a little bit through the hole in a P-38 nd give it a 90 degree bend it makes a good lock pick.

Carl.
Click to expand...

You know, this made me think it might be handy to have a paper clip and/or safety pin hanging on my keys. Just might help me out of a jam some day. Thanks for the tip, Carl!
 
All mine are the US Shelby ones. I was in the Marines 1980-84. C-rats were phased out around '82. All my key-chains have them. I avoid "hasty" key grabs outta my pocket. My index point on my key-chain is a small LED light so the "John Wayne " usually stays shut between keys.
Bill
 
Raymond1000 said:
When I open a can of S-L-X alcohol, I grab my P-51. It’s just the thing to pop the lid lose.

I’ve read that Marines like to hold their P-38s in their hands in a fight. The blade sticks out so every time they slap someone they leave a bleeding gash behind. But I can’t figure out how to make that work.

Which segues into a story I got off the web. In this case the can opener was a weapon.

Back in the 70's I worked with an ex-Green Beret who was also an ex-POW. "Big Dave" had some great stories about Vietnam. I bugged him one day to tell me about how he got captured. "It was fast," he said. He and four other Berets were going someplace to blow up something and they were jumped and all of the guys that were with him were killed. Dave was wounded and the VC grabbed him. His attackers were all very young and proud of what they had done and decided to take Dave back to wherever they reported and show him off.

They made him strip. One guy tied knots in the legs of his pants and stuffed his clothes in them and carried them, and another guy carried his rifle. The only thing he had on was his dog tags which they didn't make him take off. They walked all day and at night they tied him up and took turns watching him. On the second day two of the young guys made a small cage out of sticks and fastened the sticks together with reeds which were strong. They made Dave carry the cage during the day and at night they would put him in it and fasten the door with reeds. It was so small that he had to bend almost double and could not sleep.

The third night he was wondering how he could get out of the cage and he remembered his P-38 that he had duct taped between his dog tags. He said a lot of the guys that he was with had sharpened their P-38s and would use them as a small knife. He had his taped between the tags like everyone else had done to prevent them from rattling and making noise. Dave untapped the tags and took out the P-38 and went to work on the reeds and cut them enough to get out of the cage.

Dave said the young guys were all asleep because they knew he wasn't going anyplace. He grabbed his rifle and checked to see if they had left it loaded, which they had. He shot all of them where they slept. He got his clothes and got dressed. His feet were so sore he had trouble putting on his boots and his wound in his arm looked and felt infected. He headed back in a hurry the direction they had come in. It took him four days to meet up with some friendlies. He finally got back to his company only to find out that they had him down as being AWOL. After telling his story and showing them his wound he was given a nice R&R in Japan and a pat on the back..
Click to expand...

Well, if you got this story off the web, it is undoubtedly true :rolleyes: , but for some reason, it trips my BS meter. As former military, participant in veteran organizations and just hanging out, I have known a number of guys who had stories to tell. In time, I could pretty much figure out which were authentic or fake. This tale has two things in common with a lot of bogus war stories; (1) improbable behavior on the part of an enemy, (2) no corroborating witnesses (they all died). I'm not saying it didn't happen, but there is a twenty dollar bill in my pocket that seems to think otherwise ;) .

The annoying thing is that this sort of story reinforces the idea that war is a fine adventure. It isn't.
 
znapschatz said:
Well, if you got this story off the web, it is undoubtedly true :rolleyes: , but for some reason, it trips my BS meter. As former military, participant in veteran organizations and just hanging out, I have known a number of guys who had stories to tell. In time, I could pretty much figure out which were authentic or fake. This tale has two things in common with a lot of bogus war stories; (1) improbable behavior on the part of an enemy, (2) no corroborating witnesses (they all died). I'm not saying it didn't happen, but there is a twenty dollar bill in my pocket that seems to think otherwise ;) .

The annoying thing is that this sort of story reinforces the idea that war is a fine adventure. It isn't.
Click to expand...

Here's my source. Make of it what you will. http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml
 
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