First up is the Fish Scaler. I wanted to measure the depth of this tin that had contained a Christmas present to see if it could be repainted and repurposed as a small tool box. Needed at about a two inch depth. Didn't want to go get the calipers as close counts here (measure with micrometer, then mark with chalk and chop with an axe). The Champion Plus and its fish scaler was was right at hand, and I remembered its fish scaler. Looks to be 2-1/8th inches, a little more than needed when the top is on. It's a nifty pocket depth gage for small approximate depths, marked in 1/8th inch increments on one side, which can be approximated to nearest 1/16th inch (all you old fart slide rule users should know you can eek out another half an order of magnitude at the mid-point between the tick marks) and it's in half centimeters on the other side (could probably get nearest 2mm reliably with that).
Now for the non-blackout OPT collection. There are a few more than needed here. I included the P-38 and P-51 in the event someone had not seen a P-51 before, the big brother to the P-38, even though they technically are not OPTs as they have two parts. The P-51 came much later and was distributed with "tray" meal type B-rations. Normally they would have only been seen and used by company or battalion level cooks. If they look new, they are very new and have never been used. I've got one that's about 40 years old in a key case, and it looks 40 years old too, from the era when they were still putting cigarettes in C-rations (God those unfiltered things were rough but better than nothing if you smoked; quit smoking some years ago; stage IV cancer can be the extreme motivator to do so, even if it's not the least bit smoking related). A "church key" was an essential OPT before pull-top cans, which was a few years before I reached drinking age, but it was also essential EDC for opening soda bottles (that's my story and I'm stickn' to it) and oil cans to put oil in the car engine, if, like me, your first car was on the verge of being classed a vintage, and needed a quart of oil about once a month. These church keys have been around for a while! Carling Black Label ("Hey Mabel, Black Label!") originally started in London, Ontario, Canada and established a massive brewery in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a national brand into the 1970's, well known to Vietnam vets. They were done in financially by Miller and Anheuser-Busch using their deep pockets to slash prices while sponsoring everything in sight using massive advertising to kill off competitors. It is now owned by Pabst Brewing in the USA (someone else has the rights overseas) and it's no longer available in the Western USA, but can be found occasionally in the East. Ballantine IPA has been around for a while too, but has had its ups and downs, now owned by Pabst, with some effort being made to recreate its original recipes that were thought to be lost.
I do NOT recommend wearing a P-38 or P-51 on a key ring in the pocket, much less wearing one on a dog tag chain. They have a bad habit of easily opening when they get older and worn. Much better to have it in a key case (like I do), or if on a dog tag chain, keeping it taped shut. The pointy part can be painful, especially if you dive onto the ground and it's opened up on your dog tags (been there, done that, JUST ONCE). In your pocket it can put a hole in it if it opens up.
John
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