The small multitool.

[cbl51]

I don't skin buffalo, I haven't seen any hostile Comanche's coming over the hill of late, and I don't hunt. It seems like my need of a large knife is a bit limited to say the least, but that's okay as I've never been one to carry a large knife. I'm probably the only person who looked at the new Buck 110 in 1964, and thought what did I need with a big clumsy single bladed knife like that for? But living in modern 20th and then 21st century suburbia, I seem to have needed a tool now and then, on a pretty regular basis. Opening an accursed plastic blister package that seem designed to defeat tooth and nail of most humans and a good many animals, a nice small sharp blade is a good thing. For most my life I've been a fan of SAK's and they ranged from the little classic that was a constant on my keyring to the old Wenger SI that has been my stand-by old war horse. It's amazing what you can fix if you just have a screw driver on hand. It seems to me that our whole world is now held together with small Phillips screws.

Growing up, I used to watch my dad fix all kinds of stuff with some really basic things. A sharp little pocket knife like his old Case peanut, a Sears 4-way keychain screw driver, and some of the black electrical tape that was the duct tape of his day. Oh, maybe a paper clip or safety pin. He expressed his thoughts that paper clips were made of some pretty good wire. Dad was one of those old Great Depression era guys who lived through some rough times, then went off to fight a world war and came home and just went about with the business of life.

Growing up like that, and dad giving me a Boy Scout knife when I joined the Scouts set me to the habit of always having a few tools on my pocket knife. When I got my first SAK, I was really hooked. I can't count the stuff I've fixed out in the middle of somewhere away from home because I had a small SAK or some kind of screws driver on hand, no matter if a Sears keychain screw driver, the butt end of a P-38, or in the past 4 years, a small Leatherman squirt. Clothes drier door latch, Vespa mortor scooter, trolling motor on a boat, door knob mechanism on a family members home down in Florida while visiting, not to mention fishing reels and other stuff. The screw driver tip of the nail file on a Vic classic, the tip of the can opener on a bigger SAK, the little flat chips of the Leatherman squirt. All handy.

But I have to admit, I used to scorn Leatherman. There, I said it. I still have little use for the big full size ones that weight as much as a small handgun, and cost almost as much. But about 4 years ago I got gifted a micra, and gave it an honest try. It was a good tool, but the thing annoyed me having to pull it open and find the tool I wanted. Then I got a squirt. Whole different ballgame. Just take it out and open like a normal pocket knife. All the tools out there on the outside for the picking, and a good choice of tools. I never expected the small pliers to be so handy, but I have fallen in love with them. Being an old fart with some arthritis issues in my hands from cranking on Bridgeport mills and on lathe handles for many years left it's mark, and the old fingers have a bit of trouble with fine grasping. The little pliers are great.

I used to be a knife nut. But in my old age I've sort of reverted to a very pragmatic view of life. I've taken to carrying what I really can find most useful in my day to day life as a retired old fart in nice warm Texas, doing a lot of fishing and short over night trips to explore my new home state. The little pliers have been used for things like reaching in and getting a hook out of a fishes mouth to cracking the pistachios that aren't split. The screw driver has sighted in firearms on the shooting range and installed little batteries in electrical devises. The scissors have trimmed fishing line and an occasional broken nail. The knife blade has opened all kinds of packages and cut all kinds of cordage.

But if there's one spot the squirt fails, it's in the role as a cutting tool. It's a great little pliers with a small knife blade tossed in to give it some cutting ability, but it's not a pocketknife. I teamed it up with a Victorinox executive and it makes a great team. The executive is a pocket knife with a little tool ability tossed in. With two knife blades and a weird little serrated blade and a larger scissors, it sort of takes over a role the squirt can't. They sort of go together like gin and tonic. Or maybe Holmes and Watson. The Leatherman is more tool while the Victoriox is more pocket knife. The squirt rides down in the bottom of my left front pocket and the executive rides in the coin pocket of my Wranglers jeans or shorts. The squirt pops open those cold Modelo's while the executive slices limes for the gin and tonics.

They seem to make a fine dynamic duo!

[Poncho65]

Seems like you have found a great little duo in those 2, Carl I have always carried a SAK and a MT and they always seem to work together for the good I am trying to do without a SAK for a while ( still haven't gotten rid of the SAK yet as I can't seem to break the habit ) but I am glad that these two are making your life a bit easier

[LoopCutter]

Welcome Carl and it is good to find that you have found your duo tool combo.

For me, I have EDC a Manager (aka Vagabond), for its 3D Phillips and orange peeler tool. And as you, I require a needle nose pliers for grasping and holding small objects for the same reason as you, but I select a Rebar most days, a SuperTool300 on others or a WAVE when working my Part time maintenance job.  (then I have never handled a Juice model.)

Then also. you said this "The little pliers have been used for things like reaching in and getting a hook out of a fishes mouth to cracking the pistachios that aren't split."

I was told by a pistachio grower, raised in Greece or Turkey, that the nuts that do not split the the shell when roasted or whatever, are bad nuts, and do not eat, That was why he also recommended to always  buy nuts in the shell.

[gregozedobe]

I'm another LM Squirt fan, in fact my P4 is my only EDC.  Yes, the blade is quite small, but it works OK for most of my ad-hoc cutting tasks, and if I need something bigger then I just go and get that.

[cbl51]

I'm another LM Squirt fan, in fact my P4 is my only EDC.  Yes, the blade is quite small, but it works OK for most of my ad-hoc cutting tasks, and if I need something bigger then I just go and get that.

Sometimes with a short blade you have to be a little outside the box.

True story;

A few months ago my better half, Karen, and I were out and about in the Texas country side. We stopped at a little burger stand known for it's great burgers. Our order came and we sat down to eat and Karen wanted her burger cut in half. I took out my squirt and Karen expressed some doubt that it could neatly cut such a burger in half with a blade that was only about half or a bit less than the thickness of the burger.

I told her to turn it over. After a bit of hesitation she did so, and then I told her to take off the bottom bun. When she did, I then sliced the burger itself in half and told her to replace the bun. She did, and then I sliced the bottom bun in half along the same line as the meat was sliced. Then I told her to turn it right side up carefully. Holding it together she did so, and then I cut the top bun in half along the same line as the otters cuts. Her burger was now in two halves with three neat slices.

She looks at me for a moment, and then says, "I knew there was a reason I married you all those years ago."

Sometimes thinking outside the box will get you there in the end. 

[gregozedobe]

I'm another LM Squirt fan, in fact my P4 is my only EDC.  Yes, the blade is quite small, but it works OK for most of my ad-hoc cutting tasks, and if I need something bigger then I just go and get that.

Sometimes with a short blade you have to be a little outside the box.

True story;

A few months ago my better half, Karen, and I were out and about in the Texas country side. We stopped at a little burger stand known for it's great burgers. Our order came and we sat down to eat and Karen wanted her burger cut in half. I took out my squirt and Karen expressed some doubt that it could neatly cut such a burger in half with a blade that was only about half or a bit less than the thickness of the burger.

I told her to turn it over. After a bit of hesitation she did so, and then I told her to take off the bottom bun. When she did, I then sliced the burger itself in half and told her to replace the bun. She did, and then I sliced the bottom bun in half along the same line as the meat was sliced. Then I told her to turn it right side up carefully. Holding it together she did so, and then I cut the top bun in half along the same line as the otters cuts. Her burger was now in two halves with three neat slices.

She looks at me for a moment, and then says, "I knew there was a reason I married you all those years ago."

Sometimes thinking outside the box will get you there in the end. 

Yep, often the best tool of all is a working brain & some imagination.   

It reminds me of a time years ago when I was tagging along with a surveyor marking out the boundaries of a bush block that I was buying.  He had a small chainsaw for clearing trees that were in the way (small so it was light enough to carry up and down the hills), it was going well until we came to a largish tree that was way bigger than the bar on his little chainsaw.  I thought this would be a problem and he would have to do some fancy (and time consuming) surveying to go around this obstacle.  But no, he just cut some portions of the tree out first to get access to the centre, and then this little bar was able to cut through the remainder with zero trouble.

[powernoodle]

Victorinox Executive.

[Aloha]

Great combo the Executive and Squirt.  I'm a big fan of the Squirt as well.  I've got a P4 and PS4 in service and both have not let me down yet.  I do prefer the P4 as my scissor chores are best handled with my Salesman or a 58mm. 

[ThundahBeagle]

Cbl51

Yes, the Buck 110 is large and unwieldly by today's standards, but when it came out, it was in fact the new fangled, mini, foldable version of something that was much larger.

I really only carry a Buck 110 on weekends, just because I can. But I do agree with you - a single large-ish blade is so removed from my daily needs I can't imagine only carrying a Buck 110. I've carried a Super Tinker since 1988 and a knock off before that.

As for your praise for the PS4, I agree whole heartedly. When I plan to "go light", it is the Leatherman PS4 and a Victorinox Camper II for me. That way, all together, I have 3 good blades (I've no use for a dedicated orange peeler, as I can do that with the little blade of the SAK), a scissors, a saw, a file and all the regular tools of a Spartan.

[pfrsantos]

I'm another LM Squirt fan, in fact my P4 is my only EDC.  Yes, the blade is quite small, but it works OK for most of my ad-hoc cutting tasks, and if I need something bigger then I just go and get that.

Sometimes with a short blade you have to be a little outside the box.

True story;

A few months ago my better half, Karen, and I were out and about in the Texas country side. We stopped at a little burger stand known for it's great burgers. Our order came and we sat down to eat and Karen wanted her burger cut in half. I took out my squirt and Karen expressed some doubt that it could neatly cut such a burger in half with a blade that was only about half or a bit less than the thickness of the burger.

I told her to turn it over. After a bit of hesitation she did so, and then I told her to take off the bottom bun. When she did, I then sliced the burger itself in half and told her to replace the bun. She did, and then I sliced the bottom bun in half along the same line as the meat was sliced. Then I told her to turn it right side up carefully. Holding it together she did so, and then I cut the top bun in half along the same line as the otters cuts. Her burger was now in two halves with three neat slices.

She looks at me for a moment, and then says, "I knew there was a reason I married you all those years ago."

Sometimes thinking outside the box will get you there in the end. 

 

[King_Gorilla]

 

 

[Serena]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

[cbl51]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

[McStitchy]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

Those real live experiences shared are always great to read. Thanks for posting them 

But what do you mean with "old fart"?
You're just about 20 years older then me.
Pull yourself together private 

[Serena]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

Those real live experiences shared are always great to read. Thanks for posting them 

But what do you mean with "old fart"?
You're just about 20 years older then me.
Pull yourself together private 

Well, according to your profile you're 100!!!

[McStitchy]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

Those real live experiences shared are always great to read. Thanks for posting them 

But what do you mean with "old fart"?
You're just about 20 years older then me.
Pull yourself together private 

Well, according to your profile you're 100!!!

    

[cbl51]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

Those real live experiences shared are always great to read. Thanks for posting them 

But what do you mean with "old fart"?
You're just about 20 years older then me.
Pull yourself together private 

Don't let anyone kid you, it's the miles and the years!

It's been a long rough road.

[McStitchy]

I LOVE those long stories some of the (sorry) older members write here. Describing their childhood and what a pocket knife meant for them.
Keep writing these great stories please!!!

Thank you, Serena, and no apologies needed. I'm an old fart now and I rely admit it. 

And I will write more!

Those real live experiences shared are always great to read. Thanks for posting them 

But what do you mean with "old fart"?
You're just about 20 years older then me.
Pull yourself together private 

Don't let anyone kid you, it's the miles and the years!

It's been a long rough road.

Yeah, well... I heart the same from my dentist last time