Wheelchair Accessible - Ben's thread

[pomsbz]

The problem with the zippo was that it was drenched. I wasn't getting good friction on the flint as a result and my thumb was just sliding on the wheel. A zippo is windproof, ish, but it needs a bit of shelter to get that alight in the first place. There wasn't all that much fuel in it also which is the biggest problem with a zippo. It was designed for smokers who would use it all through the day and then fill it on a weekly basis just as they sharpened their carbon steel tradition every week. I've wanted them to bring out a sealed version for a while. I'd pay good money for it, albeit not as much as the sealed versions sold from China ($140 for a Ti zippo case with built in rubber ring to create a seal). I've tried the ranger band solution but it makes the best part of a zippo, lighting convenience, into an annoying palaver. and even then doesn't hold the fuel in for more than a couple of weeks from my experience. I have thought of the Douglass Field S lighter but it's rather expensive.

[Aloha]

I'm not a smoker so a Zippo just doesnt make sense for me.  I have seen the inserts ( Thunderbird ) but I'd rather just get a different lighter altogether.  I get it makes sense for tradition sake.  Strike answhere matches have become a thing of the past.  I remember when those white top matches were the standard.  I don't rely on a lighter but we use one every day to light candles.  I have had to light other things sure but a Bic works for me. 

[pomsbz]

I'm not a smoker so a Zippo just doesnt make sense for me.  I have seen the inserts ( Thunderbird ) but I'd rather just get a different lighter altogether.  I get it makes sense for tradition sake.  Strike answhere matches have become a thing of the past.  I remember when those white top matches were the standard.  I don't rely on a lighter but we use one every day to light candles.  I have had to light other things sure but a Bic works for me.

Yeah that was pretty much my take on it. I always have a mini bic in my pocket. I'll have the matches for weather like it is currently. I just don't smoke my pipe enough to require an always lighting solution constantly in my pocket or indeed to justify the price of one.

[pomsbz]

I tried the matches out on Friday in similar conditions. They worked, well, but with a couple of caveats. In strong wind you only really get about 5-6 seconds burn time. That's not a huge amount for the size in comparison to a lighter, etc given how many you would need to carry. Another problem is that the flame, rapidly, moves down the match. That means that you have to keep moving the match into the thing you're trying to ignite. It's not light, place and forget. They're a good emergency solution but not something you'd really want to use as your primary fire solution methinks?

I think my zippo is toast. Even full of fuel and with a new flint it's taking multiple strikes to light. I'm trying to see if I can get it sent to the importer here for repair. They might make me take it in to a store which is a real pain. Parking is a nightmare in this city.

If it's a trip situation, not a BoB, a fully filled zippo and a few of these matches for emergency should be a good solution. I can use a firesteel, I've tried it plenty times with all sorts of material but I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't ever choose to. Certainly not when I needed a fire (cold/wet) rather than was just messing about. I heard a good line from a David Canterbury video once, he said that he can make a bow drill fire, has lots of experience, but would he ever want to make one when he's cold, wet, shivering and quickly losing his strength?

[Nix]

I tried the matches out on Friday in similar conditions. They worked, well, but with a couple of caveats. In strong wind you only really get about 5-6 seconds burn time. That's not a huge amount for the size in comparison to a lighter, etc given how many you would need to carry. Another problem is that the flame, rapidly, moves down the match. That means that you have to keep moving the match into the thing you're trying to ignite. It's not light, place and forget. They're a good emergency solution but not something you'd really want to use as your primary fire solution methinks?

I think my zippo is toast. Even full of fuel and with a new flint it's taking multiple strikes to light. I'm trying to see if I can get it sent to the importer here for repair. They might make me take it in to a store which is a real pain. Parking is a nightmare in this city.

If it's a trip situation, not a BoB, a fully filled zippo and a few of these matches for emergency should be a good solution. I can use a firesteel, I've tried it plenty times with all sorts of material but I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't ever choose to. Certainly not when I needed a fire (cold/wet) rather than was just messing about. I heard a good line from a David Canterbury video once, he said that he can make a bow drill fire, has lots of experience, but would he ever want to make one when he's cold, wet, shivering and quickly losing his strength?

I was out hiking in the cold a few days ago. A long hike, a long time out in freezing weather. I wore fairly minimal clothing to keep from becoming sweaty. While my core stayed warm--or, at least, not cold--I was shocked to find that my extremities became colder than I realized. I noticed that my left hand grip strength was really compromised by the cold: I had a tough time just undoing a simple velcro strap at one point. Fairly shocking. Decent gross motor strength, but no real fine motor strength or command.

I was thinking that if I needed to make a fire, I might have a hard time with such a disability. I'm not sure I would have been able to make a bow drill work (I have in the past, but not a lot of experience there.). There was a fair of downed wood around, snow covered, but not loads of easily collectible tinder. I realized that making a fire, even with a ferro rod, might be tough. It made me glad that I had a Bic in my pocket. 

[microbe]

Ben, you really should throw in a few coins for a jet insert. It keeps gas like a Bic, so no evaporation and no fuel smell. I smoke a pack a day, and most good jet insert brands last me well over 2 years before the igniter starts to go off. It's also a lot hotter burning the a normal flame, so you light up things much faster. My favorite are double jet flame ones.

What I like about Zippo's is that there are so many designs out there, that there is one for every taste and budget. Also, a Zippo lasts forever, as opposed to the plastic Bic that ends up in a landfill or in the ocean after it gets disposed of. I am not buying any plastic lighters anymore, and my 5 year old Zippo will probably outlive me.

[pomsbz]

Ben, you really should throw in a few coins for a jet insert. It keeps gas like a Bic, so no evaporation and no fuel smell. I smoke a pack a day, and most good jet insert brands last me well over 2 years before the igniter starts to go off. It's also a lot hotter burning the a normal flame, so you light up things much faster. My favorite are double jet flame ones.
(Image removed from quote.)
What I like about Zippo's is that there are so many designs out there, that there is one for every taste and budget. Also, a Zippo lasts forever, as opposed to the plastic Bic that ends up in a landfill or in the ocean after it gets disposed of. I am not buying any plastic lighters anymore, and my 5 year old Zippo will probably outlive me.
(Image removed from quote.)

Which gas insert are you using? I have been keeping away from them firstly due to the bad reviews and also because it's not a good way to light my pipe.

[microbe]

Ben, you really should throw in a few coins for a jet insert. It keeps gas like a Bic, so no evaporation and no fuel smell. I smoke a pack a day, and most good jet insert brands last me well over 2 years before the igniter starts to go off. It's also a lot hotter burning the a normal flame, so you light up things much faster. My favorite are double jet flame ones.
(Image removed from quote.)
What I like about Zippo's is that there are so many designs out there, that there is one for every taste and budget. Also, a Zippo lasts forever, as opposed to the plastic Bic that ends up in a landfill or in the ocean after it gets disposed of. I am not buying any plastic lighters anymore, and my 5 year old Zippo will probably outlive me.
(Image removed from quote.)

Which gas insert are you using? I have been keeping away from them firstly due to the bad reviews and also because it's not a good way to light my pipe.

Z-Plus is good, Vector Thunderbird close second. I am currently using a Z-Plus with a transparent reservoir, which is great to keep an eye on the butane level. As a matter of fact, Z-Plus has a special model for lighting pipes.
https://www.amazon.com/Z-Plus-Pipe-Flame-Insert-Lighters/dp/B00P2NA37A

[pomsbz]

Ben, you really should throw in a few coins for a jet insert. It keeps gas like a Bic, so no evaporation and no fuel smell. I smoke a pack a day, and most good jet insert brands last me well over 2 years before the igniter starts to go off. It's also a lot hotter burning the a normal flame, so you light up things much faster. My favorite are double jet flame ones.
(Image removed from quote.)
What I like about Zippo's is that there are so many designs out there, that there is one for every taste and budget. Also, a Zippo lasts forever, as opposed to the plastic Bic that ends up in a landfill or in the ocean after it gets disposed of. I am not buying any plastic lighters anymore, and my 5 year old Zippo will probably outlive me.
(Image removed from quote.)

Which gas insert are you using? I have been keeping away from them firstly due to the bad reviews and also because it's not a good way to light my pipe.

Z-Plus is good, Vector Thunderbird close second. I am currently using a Z-Plus with a transparent reservoir, which is great to keep an eye on the butane level. As a matter of fact, Z-Plus has a special model for lighting pipes.
https://www.amazon.com/Z-Plus-Pipe-Flame-Insert-Lighters/dp/B00P2NA37A

Probably not wind proof though?

[pomsbz]

Apologies, been a while.

Some new toys. Firstly a phone upgrade. Nokia C5-00. Best of 2012 Nokia! Comes already loaded with myspace and similar apps from the history books. Replacing my Nokia C2-01 and thank goodness this one works with my car's bluetooth!  I am of course defending my right not to be enslaved 24/7 to the information highway and specifically the boss.  I bought the new Nokia Banana phone, the 8110 4G. My first Nokia ever was the original banana phone from Matrix. I was so excited and then it arrived. The Nokia of old is turning in its grave. This was cheap, nasty, horrible plastic. The flip kept falling off. The buttons were unusable. The screen awful, the OS appalling. Worst of all, you can't even delete whatsapp! It went straight back in the box. If anyone wants it, pay me the shipping and it's yours. Serious offer and please don't take offence at the offer of this animal droppings as a gift.



Oh and as you can see, there's a new SAK in there. A Spartan. What a great little pocket knife and cost me $20 including shipping. Unbelievable value for a pocket knife. I feel like I've been trying to reinvent the wheel searching for the perfect pocket knife solution just to find that the Swiss have been making 100's of versions of said perfect solution for a century! This one is headed for a mod, specifically to remove the opener layer and leave me with the two blades and corkscrew (for use with knots, my fingers don't like knots). Now if only Swiss Bianco Canada would ever answer their emails, I could buy the Ti scales I'm thinking of to complete the mod!



Another addition to the bag is this Anker Powercore+ Mini. Advertised as lipstick sized. Um, not unless its a clowns industrial sized lipstick. That said it seems to work well. With this in my bag I can charge up both my phone and Kobo e-book from empty to full on a single charge.

[pomsbz]

New toys!

First of all a knife I've been waiting for for about a year. Was a special group buy from Buck. Two blade stockman, FFG, CPM154, Elk handles. Before I even got mine I heard that these were quite thick behind the edge so paying almost as much as the cost of the knife itself I sent it away for a regrind, it's now 0.015" behind the edge. Really nice and slicey! It just about fits in my belt pouch, one of the nice things about leather is that it has a bit of give in it.





I'm a big fan of this kind of configuration in a pocket knife. Big blade for food use, small blade for packaging and stuff.

I got a (slight) raise from work and treated myself to some other toys.

A new zippo to go with the knife.



Some camping type goodies:



and another Suunto Clipper for my Trike bag. I really like this little compass.

[styx]

the camp goodies are excellent

[ThePeacent]

 

[Nix]

Great looking knife, Pomsbz!

(Sorry I missed out on that.....I'd have gone for a 154cm Buck in a heart-beat!)

[pomsbz]

Thanks folks! I'll have a report on the Thrym Pyrovault soon I hope.

[pomsbz]

The knife had really sharp bolsters, the corners were painful in the hand. Ten minutes with my LM Charge diamond file and they've been radiused subtly but enough that the knife is now comfortable when using. The file didn't leave any scratches, worked fast and you would have to know that the corners had anything at all done to them to see it and even that very close up. I also rounded off the spines slightly and they were sharp underhand when using the opposite blade. The diamond file on the Charge is one of the unsung hero's of the LM tool compliment. I like it a lot. 

[pomsbz]

I got a parcel from Canada today!



Spartan, Camper (both in Nylon), Classic and Esquire.

I really like the Nylon scales, far prefer it to the regular celluloid covers. Rather impressed with the Esquire actually, I prefer it to the Classic.

[ThePeacent]

I really like the Nylon scales, far prefer it to the regular celluloid covers. Rather impressed with the Esquire actually, I prefer it to the Classic.

[Nix]

Another fan of the Esquire, here.

Vic now makes that model as the "Executive 81".

It seems to me that it might have been better named the "Executive 65", or even the "Ambassador 65", but we can't have everything.... At least Vic is keeping this great little SAK in production!   

[pomsbz]

Did my first ever real SAK mod!

I turned a Spartan:



Into a 91mm Gourmet.



One layer, nylon scales, eyeglass thingy and a perfect tool compliment for urban knife carry in an non permissive environment. Two great blades (my favourite combo, spear and pen!) and the red scales and good old corkscrew to make it all totally non threatening.



So thin and light in the hand!

[styx]

oddly enough I too prefer the Nylon scales to cellidor

[ThePeacent]

oddly enough I too prefer the Nylon scales to cellidor

[pomsbz]

Warning, long knife story ahead. 

I started out looking for 'the one'. I wanted a single pocket knife that would live on my belt. Not a collection, not a rotation, one EDC for my day to day life of home, office, restaurant, shopping mall, etc. (outdoors is a different kettle of fish of course).

I've tried many combinations within the limitations of legal carry here (basically slipjoints only). 420 mystery steel through to M390. Single and multiple blades. Thick, thin, beautiful, utilitarian, carbon steel, stainless and practically every type of blade that you find on a slipjoint. Clip, Spear, Pen, Sheepsfoot, Navy, Wharncliffe. I've had multiple and single layers. Straight blades through to horrifically overly crinked blades. Screws and pins. Handles from Titanium through to plastic with plenty combinations of bone, horn and wood in between. Small blades and big blades, small blades in big handles and big blades in small handles. Expensive limited editions through to cheap as chips. FFG, sabre and hollow grinds.

I quickly realised that what I wanted was this. A true FFG single layer clip or spear blade with pen secondary with very minimal crinking and a pleasant spring tension and action. A handle big enough to be comfortable in hand when cutting, thin very slicey blades and a steel that holds a good edge for EDC use without the need for either constant touch ups or pain in the neck sharpening routines. It had to be people friendly and be a good stainless that didn't require over cautious drying after washing up. The main blade had to be long enough for slicing apples (2.5") but not longer than UK legal (3").

Sounds like a lot but it's not all that much to expect in what is after all a simple pocket knife recipe. At least to my mind.

I'll walk you through the stages I passed to reach the above conclusion. There were plenty other knives along the way but these were the ones I carried the most.



Firstly the Case Sodbuster Jr. Carried exclusively for 6 months.
Pros: Very stainless, very cheap, very tough.
Cons: Hollow grind, very tough spring, the steel simply wouldn't hold an edge well enough. Had no point for piercing whatsoever, even piercing into a loaf of bread was difficult.

Was followed by:



I got this for my birthday. Northwoods Willamette Whittler. Carried exclusively for just a couple of weeks.
Pros: Utterly beautiful, wonderful in hand, beautifully made, showed just how well a pen blade can work with the  main blade in a single layer. It also taught me to prefer the serpentine pattern handle from an aesthetic perspective.
Cons: Carbon Steel gave a horrible taste to food. Edge didn't hold for EDC use very well, the wharncliffe blade didn't work well for food use (what I mostly use the main blade for).

Was followed by:



Queen Copperhead. Carried exclusively for over a year.

Pros: After extensive regrind to thin it out it became a slicing demon. Didn't impart metal taste to food despite being non stainless, beautiful, really nice in the hand.
Cons: D2 wasn't stainless enough. I had to be careful to dry properly every time it got wet or it would start to patina and even pit. This was the Achilles heel of the knife. Giving it a coke patina worked but then just made it look ugly. I could also have done with a a second blade. Cleaning packing tape gunk off the blade using nose grease so that you could slice your salami and apples for lunch was a limitation!

Was followed by:



BF 2015 Knife from Canal Street Cutlery. Carried for 4 months.

Pros: This looked like it would be 'it'. A 3" clip and a sheepsfoot blade in a 4" serpentine frame, 440C stainless steel. Beautiful wood handles.
Cons: Simply badly made. This was the last run before the company went bust and you can see that the employees knew it. Badly ground blades (I had them fixed but couldn't remove the recurve entirely), Horrifically crinked main blade, sharp edges everywhere, bad gaps, bent liners, proud pins, the list just went on. It bugged me too much to hold onto.

Was followed by:



GEC #15 Navy Knife. Carried exclusively for 6 months.

Pros: Well ground thin 440C stainless blade. Nice action. Nice looking handles.
Cons: The wood was intensely soft, I had to refurb it after a few months and stabilise it myself. That really bothered me. Only a single blade and the blade style while people friendly was not fun to use with food.

Was followed by:



Victorinox Pruner with SB Lake Lucerne Blue Alox Handles. Carried exclusively for 1.5 years.

Pros: Beautiful. Super thin. Main blade holds an edge far better than it should and more than enough for EDC. The pruner blade is a package opener par excellance! Blades barely crinked at all. Utterly stainless.
Cons: Main blade could be a slight drop thinner, just noticeable when slicing apples. The 2nd blade is a one trick pony. I had to grind off the keyring nub.

Was followed by:

 

Lionsteel Roundhead (first batch). Carried exclusively for a year.

Pros: Incredible materials, incredible action, double sided nail nicks, utterly stainless, lovely in hand and to the eye.
Cons: M390 steel didn't hold to its reputation, would lose its fine edge faster than a SAK (!). Was too thick a grind and a full regrind would have cost the same as the knife itself. Simply wasn't a slicer. Only had one blade. Point was too thick for piercing.

Was followed by:

 

BF 2018 Knife by Buck. Carried exclusively so far for two weeks.

Pros: CPM154 steel. Clip and sheepsfoot blades (almost perfect). Looks good. Seemed to be a better version of the solution expected from the BF 2015 knife which was so let down by its build quality. Cheap.
Cons: Had to undergo an expensive and extensive regrind due to having thick blades. The main blade is only just long enough and rather short for the frame. The frame is pretty large for carry compared to what I'm used to. A two layer knife not single layer as I prefer. I had to grind down the corners of the bolsters as they were very sharp in the hand when cutting. The blade had a spot of rust from not drying properly after washing up. This is worrying me the most about this knife to be honest. I thought the steel was more stainless than that.

I'd only carried the above for two weeks when I came up with the idea of this one.



91mm Victorinox Gourmet Mod. Carried exclusively for just 3 days.

Pros: Everything I wanted in my list above. Addition of Nylon scales for good grip (looks better too). Corkscrew for opening knots and to give the harmless SAK look. Thin, light and super cheap. Can be replicated cheaply and easily. Thin blades are slicing demons.
Cons: The main blade could be a drop longer, even just 1-2mm longer would help. It's not an exciting or classy look.

So some years later, I think I've achieved my goal, with a $25 Spartan and $10 worth of drilling. I could still wish for it in a serpentine frame, say a GEC #56 but the blades wouldn't be as thin or as well nested. I could wish for say S35VN steel but it would be far more of a pain to sharpen and to be frank, I don't need it for EDC in comparison to the edge given by the combination of the SAK steel and its superlative geometry. I could wish for nicer scales. In fact I initially was going to order Ti scales from SB (despite them being rather less than easy to work with). Or I could order wooden scales similar to the ones I had made for my Rambler. Thing is. I can still do all of this.
So is this the one? Will this be the one I grow old with? I don't know but I think it's the closest I've ever got. It's only been a few days but it already feels as in place on my belt as the buckle does. Handling and cutting with it is like an extension of my hand and thought.

[styx]

nice write up

[Nix]

It's a funny thing, I started my life-long love affair with knives with a Victorinox SAK, and I suspect that's where I'll end up in the end.

[SteveC]

Nice minimalistic mod  !   

[Aloha]

I enjoyed the write up very much.  Thank you very much. 

This knife journey is one heck of a  ............ journey.  Its no wonder we end up with such a variety of knives.  I find and am finding that through my journey revisiting certain knives just makes sense.  It happens almost instinctively.  We seem to long for something, prettier, more substantial, seemingly better quality, better steels, better materials, etc etc.  What I find curious is the simple SAK ticks a lot of boxes purely from a practical stand point but we tend to desire those "upgrades".

I wonder if thats why SAKs are carried in addition to other knives by a lot of folks  .  I see EDC pocket dump pics and see high end knives with other high end gear and a SAK.  As you say, you can "upgrade" your SAKs scales with a variety of materials so thats a good thing.  SAK steel while soft certainly gets the job done time and time again.  The simplicity of the SAK is its genius. 

Its hard to beat the SAK for a variety of practical reasons.  We read hear on MTO a lot about members who took journeys thru many knives only to realize the SAK all along was the right fit. 

Whats fun is the journey, at least for me.  It can get expensive yes.  Trying out the knives however is fun and eye opening.  When you finally come to a point where the SAK makes sense, its almost a relief.

Whats neat is, you can now dress your SAK up in whatever scales you like and have the "perfect" EDC for any occasion.  Wood, metal, G10, plastic, nylon, and so on. 

     

[pomsbz]

Thanks all for the comments!

[pomsbz]

Some Nylon goodness, My wife's Outrider, a Camper and my 91mm Gourmet.

[pomsbz]

Some stag and elk.