Day 30 and some toothpick usage! I used the toothpick of the Master Craftsman to punch open the seal on a travel size tube of toothpaste.
kamakiri Day 31:It was a busy day!Gotta apply for my Jack badge:(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)The '00+ Ranger has its period correct toothpick (with the DIP switch 'hook'):(Image removed from quote.)good for grabbing lint from the dryer:(Image removed from quote.)Master Craftsman helping with the Breakfast of Champions:(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)Should've removed some of the paper label first.
kamakiri Day 31:It was a busy day!Should've removed some of the paper label first.
Kamakiri! The Master Craftsman is probably my favorite SAK for a bunch of practical reasons, and also the NASA connection. I really wish Vic would bring it back to the US market. I also think Vic missed a huge opportunity for the Apollo 11 anniversary by going with the Tinker instead of the Master Craftsman for the anniversary knife. I've been itching to put it, and the Ranger, to use. Simon, sometimes it's just a matter of timing that determines the size of the challenge and nothing else. I've been involved in numerous challenges that took on a life of their own that were almost impossible to keep up with. This was a great time for me and I'm glad I could be here for it.
Great photos and usages...especially with the Jack-o-lantern! Well done!
Day 31As we are nearing the end of our challenge, I would like to share a few thoughts which occurred to me in these last weeks. First, I would like to thank you, Barry and Kamakiri, very much for accepting the challenge. It was a privilege sharing this experience with you guys. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed at first that there were no more takers. That's totally on me, of course: announcing this challenge on rather short notice and without looking into the badge system first was a rookie mistake. That said, I don't mind anymore. With only two fellow participants the challenge felt very personal and engaging to me. I felt obliged to keep our small party entertained and thought actively about use cases for the Ranger. And I found quite a few of which I had never thought before. I hope I will stay on this creative path even now that the challenge is (almost) over. In any event, I am not certain I would have felt equally committed if we had been a considerably larger group.One thing that keeps bugging me is the very limited participation from the audience. With approximately 3000 views, it looks as if a lot of people followed this thread. It would have been nice if more of them had offered their thoughts on the experiences and ideas we shared. A hearty thank you to the few who did though. It's nice that Barry, Kamakiri and I did not perform for an entirely silent audience. As for the setup of the challenge, although I screwed up the organization in general, I do think that setting a goal - i.e. to try and use as many different tools as possible - was a good idea. At least for me this was a strong motivation to go beyond the "classic" use cases (in my case: opening mail and packages, cutting foodstuff, clipping nails, opening bottles) and look for less obvious applications. What are your thoughts on this, Barry and Kamakiri?Now, what have I learned from the challenge? Certainly that celidor sucks: after one month of EDC in my trouser pocket, the scales of my Ranger look just terrible. I never dropped it or anything. This is really just from doing to this "Sackmesser" what it was built to do: getting carried around in a "Hosensack". That's not good enough, Vic! And while we are at it: a file that gets permanently scratched during it's first real use (on wood!) is disappointing. I don't care if this file may still have left a higher mileage than I. It just doesn't excude the quality that a SAK must.Other than that, after one month of EDCing it I just love my Ranger. It served me very well, never complained and was capable of dealing with (almost) everything I threw at it. And I tried it out on a lot more things than I normally would thanks to this challenge's goals. That said, some applications were more obvious than others: even if you normally don't use a file, it's not a far stretch to integrate it in your everyday life if you have one. Just as biting your nails can become a habit, so can using a file on them become one. You don't have to go out of your way for that. On the other hand, if you are living in a city, you just cannot make use of a saw. Let's face it: I would not have made that walking stick for my girl if I hadn't been in this challenge. However, I was and I did, and I am very happy about that (as is my daughter). Which brings me to the next lesson learned: it's invigorating to give a SAK with more exotic (for you) tools a spin occasionally and try to find a creative use for them. But it's not necessary in my opinion to carry those tools around in an EDC, where size and weight matter. In a post that preceded this challenge, I asked if the Ranger might be the quintessential SAK. After EDCing it for a month, I believe there are two answers to that question.Objectively, I would say yes. At a reasonable price, size and weight, the Ranger offers a tool for almost any basic survival situation. Subjectively, my answer is no. My everyday life is devoid of survival situations, so I would rather either save weight and size or renounce on several tools I don't realistically need for one or two I mightFor me, the necessary basics in a SAK are a blade, scissors and a caplifter. I like to have some screwdriver options and have little use for scale tools (except the pen and pin) and back tools (except the awl). I therefore used to think that only three SAK are viable EDC: Compact, Climber plus and Pioneer X. After the Ranger piqued my interest, I put all the above in question and wondered if I should not instead carry this little powerhouse around all the time. Although I know now that the answer is no, I did find that the Ranger's size and weight are manageable for me in my everyday life. I therefore realize I could let my hair down just a little and carry four layers henceforth. This offers interesting options over the aforementioned three SAK: I could treat myself to additional pliers, an inline Phillips plus magnifier, or a file to spice my stale EDC basics up a little. Well, I guess that's all, folks. Will report back later today with my last picture and the official farewell note Cheers and thanks again, Barry and Kamakiri,Simon
Good luck with the badge! It's only awarded once a year, and I think it gives us all another good reason to carve it. The small blade is just amazing for doing the carve.
Great write-up Simon! I agree with most of that. Just one aspect where my view on this challenge is a bit opposite - was to see how few features I can live with. I normally carry larger SAKs. My first was an '84.5 Champion and have a preference for having most of the tools available. As a modder, I am looking for the features that I use the most...and those that I have a hard time living without.
Congratulations to Simon, Barry and Kamakiri, you all did a fantastic job doing this challenge! I have enjoyed many good uses and pictures of it, and trying to find new use everyday is a great approach to be creative and find new uses to an old tool we are used to.That's really well written and I did think about this challenge in association with your Quintessential thread. And I think maybe the word 'quintessential' could have two layers of meaning--what we think is an 'iconic' model which everyone will remember Victorinox by(such as Griptillian to BM, Paramilitary to Spyderco, 110 to Buck, etc) or what model suits our lifestyle/use the most, so it will solve 80% of all our needs(which I think is the quintessence of owning a SAK).I think there probably will never be a model answer to either of those questions, since Victorinox do provide us many good models, and our needs are often different. But what I starting to realize is that quintessence of SAK may mean: there are great variety of options to choose from, and there is always one that will fulfill 80% of our daily needs.
It was a pleasure, Barry. I agree that if you like the Huntsman, chances are you will like the Ranger even more once you try it.
Justed wanted to add a thought to the above: while I think it would be obvious to choose a Ranger over a Huntsman, for the reasons set out yesterday I think the same cannot be said with respect to the Mountaineer. Even though you save very little in terms of size and weight, I would still go for it unless I clearly foresaw the need for a saw (or for any of the additional back tools). Barry, Comis, what is your opinion on that?
I like having the file, but I live in a rural area so the woodsaw (which actually saw some use yesterday) is more important to me. The great thing about the Ranger is you don't have to choose!
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