Penknives

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 10:52:33 +0100, "Stuart" <[email hidden]> wrote:

|
| "Dave Fawthrop" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
| news:[email hidden]...
| > On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:38:11 +0100, Peter Clinch <[email hidden]>
| > wrote:
| >
| > | Dave Fawthrop wrote:
| > |
| > | > Mine is a Victorinox Champion Swiss Army knife, which I carry as a fob
| on
| > | > my car keys. I use all the attachments at least yearly, and when
| walking I
| > | > often use the wood saw to trim back branches overhanging footpaths,
| the
| > | > large blade is also useful for smaller branches.
| > |
| > | I usually use a "Mountaineer", but I was just given a Swiss Champ I
| > | wasn't really expecting, which does seem a bit over the top at well over
| > | an inch thick!
| >
| > Ah, but I was an engineer, so use *everything* on occasion
|
| a good engineer can usually improvise

My Swiss Army Knife does 80% of the jobs I do. :-)
The other 20% need my horrendously big tool kit :-(

--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk>
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

Stuart said:

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- To remove a splinter

Yo would be better off leaving it in then trying to hack it out with a
knife!

No, you use the tip of the knife to ease it back out the way it came in.
It's much the most effective way of doing it and there is no "hacking"
involved.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- To trim a piece of plaster for that awkward shaped blister

Sounds a bit unnesisary

Why?
Or more simply, if you use strips of plaster rather than an assortment
you use it to cut the size you need, rather than have 2 feet of plaster
over a small cut... Why carry a strip rather than an assortment?
Because you can use a strip as an "instant tendon" up the side of the
leg to help support a badly turned ankle.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- To spread cheese on biscuits
- To cut the corner off the drinks carton (which is easy to open with
dry, warm fingers)

are you on a walk or picnic?

Why do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- To tighten the screw in the walking pole handle

I would chuck that away as well

Well lots of people wouldn't. And with BD Flicklocks, where you use a
screwdriver to adjust the tension setting on the locks, it makes good
sense to have a screwdriver along

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- To cut the finger nail that got snagged on that last bit of
scrambling

use your teeth

There I agree with you.

Quoted message said:

In 25 years of walking and climbing I am yet to find a real need to carry a
knife!

On a day walk they're often not especially required, but on a camping
trip they're very handy IME. And this is before we get into ski touring
and paddling, where mechanical repair tools are all part of the game.

Quoted message said:

Although I have never actually had any use for the following, I do when wild
camping, carry a scalpel blade, it is very small, light and sharp enough to
cut or slice stuff

It must make slicing bread just /sooooo/ easy... (not) There are plenty
of jobs where the more contrived the blade the harder the job. Our last
wild camping trip involved gutting fish, skinning rabbits, cutting
bread, chopping veg etc. etc. This is harder with a pocket-knife than a
proper set of kitchen knives, but it'll still be a lot easier than
with a single scalpel blade, which also shoots down your "less need for
a comprehensive first aid kit" point because the more contrived the
blade the easier it is to cut yourself with it. And scalpels are
specifically made for slicing skin...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Judith said:

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 00:14:48 +0100, "stuart" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I really can't understand why someone going for a walk feels the need to
carry a knife of any description, what on eath might they need it?

- To remove a splinter
- To trim a piece of plaster for that awkward shaped blister
- To spread cheese on biscuits
- To cut the corner off the drinks carton (which is easy to open with
dry, warm fingers)
- To cut a length of para-cord to use as a boot lace
- To tighten the screw in the walking pole handle
- To cut the finger nail that got snagged on that last bit of
scrambling
+1001 reasons

since I seem to have fallen out of my tree just now I can add a bit
here.

All the above reasons are sound... mind you 1001?? ;-)

however, a pair of folding scissors is _much_ more useful /and/
lighter /and/ have tooly things /and/ are less controversial (sic.)...
I'm not preaching, but they are an order of magnitude more useful than
a pk, even a swak. Leatherman do a "Micra" that is best bought via
eBay.

Try it (or somesuch) you'll not look back ;-)

Chris Gilbert said:

Allan Gould said:

Also <blush>

:-D

Glad its not just me.

Chris

Not alone...lucky the lady at Edinburgh Airport let me through because
it was sealed!!!!

[Furthermore - I may need to reconsider carrying the six-inch long
sheaf knife in my rucksack........]

SteveO said:

however, a pair of folding scissors is _much_ more useful

Thobut my SAK has a remarkably good pair of scissors on it anyway...

Quoted message said:

lighter /and/ have tooly things /and/ are less controversial (sic.)...
I'm not preaching, but they are an order of magnitude more useful than
a pk, even a swak. Leatherman do a "Micra" that is best bought via
eBay.

Ah, I think I know what you mean now you're citing Leathermen in
particular. I have a Leatherman (pliers rather than scissors) and I
find it does some things better than a SAK but others less well (it's
more of a faff to deploy stuff, for a start, and IME the can opener
isn't nearly as good, and there's no corkscrew, and so on). And though
any given Leatherman may be lighter than a Swiss Champ, it isn't
necessarily lighter than the less full featured models of SAK: you've
got twice as much casing, for a start.

One of those things where a given configuration of some random multitool
will fit someone's particular needs, I think. For me the SAK
Mountaineer is usually that thing, but on a ski trip and maybe a
paddling trip the Leatherman will go in for its better repairing stuff
options.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In article <[email hidden]>,
SteveO@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

however, a pair of folding scissors is _much_ more useful /and/
lighter /and/ have tooly things /and/ are less controversial (sic.)...
I'm not preaching, but they are an order of magnitude more useful than
a pk, even a swak. Leatherman do a "Micra" that is best bought via
eBay.

Try it (or somesuch) you'll not look back ;-)

Got a Micra and it is a good bit of kit. Great scissors but the blades
are small and the screwdrivers are not very strong. It usually
accompanies my Spartan SAK :-)

--

Dominic Sexton

Dominic Sexton said:

Got a Micra and it is a good bit of kit. Great scissors but the blades
are small and the screwdrivers are not very strong.

hehe, you're not supposed to change cylinder head gaskets with it ;-)

Peter Clinch said:

Ah, I think I know what you mean now you're citing Leathermen in
particular. I have a Leatherman (pliers rather than scissors)

Inadvertently, yes. I was thinking functionality, i.e. carrying
something because you can get some use out of it. Over the years I
can't recall the number of times I've needed a knife, its been so few
times. Tools I own (being a bit of a magpie) include permutations of
SWAKs (now lurking in dusty drawers); currently have an LMJuice but
I've rarely used anything bar the blade and the scissors... so it
comes under the label of "excess baggage" [even in my climbing sac
where weight isn't exactly an issue].

So, I looked at getting rid of excess baggage and looked at the
functionality I used on a SWAK or an LM and the scissors beat the
blade... plus there's duplication of "tools" and anything I needed the
blade for could be done by the scissors, plus a few extras; cutting
nails for one ;-) don't think I'd like to try cutting my nails with a
single blade :-O

Because the carry/leave discussion about pen knives is about
functionality, i.e. what tools do you need; the LM micra [scissors + a
few other v. small tools] currently wins the day for me. I'm usually
erring on the side of caution for everything... thinking "but the
screwdriver is so-oo small so It makes sense to carry something
reasonably substantial" but the bottom line is I've never needed the
"more robust" tools so carrying "for every eventuality" is just me
carrying for the sake of it. The best compromise for me is a pair of
[folding] scissors its a bonus that the LM Micra comes with a few
other bits and bobs.

Its horses for courses, of course and for me I'm chuffed to bits with
the benefits of carrying the LM Micra now that I've ditched the
bulk/weight of the larger LMs or SWAKs.

Quoted message said:

One of those things where a given configuration of some random multitool
will fit someone's particular needs, I think. For me the SAK
Mountaineer is usually that thing, but on a ski trip and maybe a
paddling trip the Leatherman will go in for its better repairing stuff
options.

Exactomundo, best tool for a given [range of] situation[s], maybe my
baseline seems lower than others?

SteveO said:

carrying something because you can get some use out of it.

I carry a Swiss Card, which is a credit card sized toolkit
from the SAK people. It contains a (very sharp) knife, scissors,
pin, pen, toothpick, and file. For its size and convenience it
is very useful.

Chris

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 14:15:52 +0100, SteveO wrote:

| however, a pair of folding scissors is _much_ more useful /and/
| lighter /and/ have tooly things /and/ are less controversial (sic.)...

Agreed the tiny scissors on my Swiss Army knife are *very* useful.
--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk>
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients.

stuart said:

I really can't understand why someone going for a walk feels the need to
carry a knife of any description, what on eath might they need it?

Some people never, or rarely, find themselves in a situation where a
knife would be any use, you are obviously one of those people and I
doubt you'll ever understand how useful they are no matter what people
like me say.

Some people look at a knife and unless it's cutlery they think weapon
and a dangerous one at that!

I carry a pocket knife with me all the time, have done for years.
Sometimes a trusty Swiss Army knife, sometimes a small very sharp
1.25" single locking blade. They are a superb multi purpose and very
useful tool, it's amazing what you can do with a knife other than cut
up your food!

During the day all kinds of kit arrives at the lab, boxes to open and
then flatten, cables to cut, insulation to strip etc.. Then there's
the screwdriver blade for changing cards in servers and PCs when you
can't be arsed to get the tools out. They are also great to cut those
plastic zip ties as well.

When walking, cutting and/or peeling fruit. Cutting bread, spreading
stuff. In the garden, dead heading cutting twine. If I see something
that needs pruning I can do it there and then, I don't have to go to
the shed and get the secateurs.

There's hardly a day goes by that I *don't* use my knife.

--
Regards

Nick

Dave Fawthrop said:

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 10:52:33 +0100, "Stuart" <[email hidden]> wrote:

|
| "Dave Fawthrop" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
| news:[email hidden]...
| > On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:38:11 +0100, Peter Clinch <[email hidden]>
| > wrote:
| >
| > | Dave Fawthrop wrote:
| > |
| > | > Mine is a Victorinox Champion Swiss Army knife, which I carry as a fob
| on
| > | > my car keys. I use all the attachments at least yearly, and when
| walking I
| > | > often use the wood saw to trim back branches overhanging footpaths,
| the
| > | > large blade is also useful for smaller branches.
| > |
| > | I usually use a "Mountaineer", but I was just given a Swiss Champ I
| > | wasn't really expecting, which does seem a bit over the top at well over
| > | an inch thick!
| >
| > Ah, but I was an engineer, so use *everything* on occasion
|
| a good engineer can usually improvise

My Swiss Army Knife does 80% of the jobs I do. :-)
The other 20% need my horrendously big tool kit :-(

You really *are* an engineer! :O)

--
Regards

Nick

email hidden said:

lucky the lady at Edinburgh Airport let me through because
it was sealed!!!!

Lucky? Or rather worrying?

--
Oppose ID cards and the database state - sign the pledge at
http://www.pledgebank.com/refuse

SteveO said:

Quoted message said:

+1001 reasons [ for carrying a knife]

since I seem to have fallen out of my tree just now I can add a bit
here.

All the above reasons are sound... mind you 1001?? ;-)

however, a pair of folding scissors is _much_ more useful /and/
lighter /and/ have tooly things /and/ are less controversial (sic.)...
I'm not preaching, but they are an order of magnitude more useful than
a pk, even a swak. Leatherman do a "Micra" that is best bought via
eBay.

Try it (or somesuch) you'll not look back ;-)

I carry my Swiss Army Knife in my purse or handbag when I'm being a
girly, and my Leatherman PSII on my belt (or in my rucksack) at all
other times.

I was given my first penknife for my 10th birthday (by my parents)
although it was confiscated later that day as I was "frightening the
First Years", apparently. Pah! They should've stood still!

I would feel under-dressed going on either a walk or a picnic without
a folding knife.

Judith

Simon Caldwell said:

Quoted message said:

lucky the lady at Edinburgh Airport let me through because
it was sealed!!!!

Lucky? Or rather worrying?

Airport security seems hit and miss (if you'll pardon the expression).

I used to fly quite often and got used to putting my penknife in my
hold baggage. However, one day, when I got back from the airport, I
decided to completely empty my small (cabin-luggage) rucksack and
found I'd been carrying a screwdriver for who-knows-HOW-long and must
have been through at least 4 airports.

On another occasion, whilst queuing to be scanned at Prestwick
airport, I saw a man squeeze through the side of the barrier and
completely miss out the queues and the scanner. He was a photo-fit
terrorist! Long black coat, black beard, black hat, black
bomb^Wbriefcase. The "security" staff seemed very confused when my
colleague and I explained what we had seen. We had to almost drag
them round the airport (luckily a small airport) until we found the
chap. They asked him to go through the scanner; I'd have had him
searched, x-rayed, interrogated until 1 minute after his plane
departed.

Judith

Judith <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I carry my Swiss Army Knife in my purse or handbag when I'm being a
girly, and my Leatherman PSII on my belt (or in my rucksack) at all
other times.

I was given my first penknife for my 10th birthday (by my parents)
although it was confiscated later that day as I was "frightening the
First Years", apparently. Pah! They should've stood still!

I would feel under-dressed going on either a walk or a picnic without
a folding knife.

Judith

Titanium?

I carry a Swiss card, takes up very little room, has everything I might
need and nobody points and says "Ha ha! Look at that guy with a Swiss
Army Knife".
--
Gordon Harris

Stuart said:

a good engineer can usually improvise

A better engineer refuses to compromise!

Jim Ford

Real men need a Swiss Army knife with scissors to trim their nasal hair
- and their ear hair when they're older!

Jim Ford

Peter Clinch said:

Ah, I think I know what you mean now you're citing Leathermen in
particular. I have a Leatherman (pliers rather than scissors) and I
find it does some things better than a SAK but others less well (it's
more of a faff to deploy stuff, for a start, and IME the can opener
isn't nearly as good, and there's no corkscrew, and so on).

I pretty much agree here. I have a Swiss Champ and a Leatherman Wave.
The Champ is far more versatile, but the Wave is far more rugged. When I
go backpacking I'm torn between the two, but usually settle for the Wave.

Jim Ford

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 21:44:22 +0100, Gordon <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would feel under-dressed going on either a walk or a picnic without
a folding knife.

Judith

Titanium?

I carry a Swiss card, takes up very little room, has everything I might
need and nobody points and says "Ha ha! Look at that guy with a Swiss
Army Knife".

So what *do* they say?

;-)

Judith