Soldier On! 2026

[Tuisto]

Hahaha, he certainly did, Gary! There's always the Corgi tax when we eat steak. So we alternate — one time Julia cuts a small piece of hers for the little guy, and I cut a larger piece for Kiwi. Then the next time I cut a smaller piece for Banzai and Julia cuts a larger one for Kiwi and so on and so forth. Although, they usually end up with quite a few pieces, to be honest. It's very difficult to say no to him...

[BPRoberts]

D+37

This was not supposed to be stapled.

[WECSOG]

I'm way too far behind now, with no realistic hope of catching up. But y'awl are doing great!

I hope you will continue to participate when you can.

Day 34: used the Soldier to cut some steak! Ended up being a bit more cooked than I usually like, but it was still delicious! Julia made some potatoes to go with the steak — definitely one of my favourite meals. The Soldier is razor-sharp and made quick work of the steak. It certainly worked better than some of the steak knives we have at home.

Yum! That looks great! 

D+38

Used the can opener again. It's a lot more of a struggle than some of my older Vics. I wonder if sharpening it will make it work better, or if the geometry is different? Maybe the geometry of the can itself.  Not complaining though; at least it does its intended job.

[IMR4198]

I have sharpened the can openers on SAKs.  Not hard to do.  Good to see a few members still 'soldiering' on.  Best wishes.  G
 

[BPRoberts]

D+38

Got a package from Parawolfe and opened it up w/ Ol' Red. Excited to carry the Minitool, and glad to get a "red banner" Swisschamp.

[WECSOG]

I have sharpened the can openers on SAKs.  Not hard to do.  Good to see a few members still 'soldiering' on.  Best wishes.  G
 

Thanks! What did you use to sharpen it?

[Tuisto]

This was not supposed to be stapled.

Oops!

And that's a very nice red banner Swisstool!

Day 35 I used the Soldier to cut off a few stray piece of plastic from the doggo's teethbrush, since he got a bit too excited whilst having his teeth brushed and left a few marks.

[WECSOG]

D+38

Got a package from Parawolfe and opened it up w/ Ol' Red. Excited to carry the Minitool, and glad to get a "red banner" Swisschamp.

Nice. I have a "used to be red banner" Swisstool. I've had it for about 30 years. Still tight, but the banner is mostly worn off.

[BPRoberts]

I assume this one will wind up that way eventually, but I wanted to grab one while I could. The engraving looks good on the Spirit, but I don't care for it on the original. The excuses we find to buy things...

[BPRoberts]

D+39 (I think. We'll see if we wind up with the right number at the end of April.)

This switchplate felt a little loose, but didn't really get anywhere when I tried to tighten it.

[WECSOG]

D+39

Used the prybar to hold down a plunger spring while positioning the plate over it.

[Tuisto]

Day 36: I used the Soldier's awl to pick some gunk out of its civilian cousin. I've been keeping the Soldier in its sheath, attached by a chain to a flashlight, which has proved very functional. I'll snap a photo of them tomorrow.

[BPRoberts]

I find the 93s a bit big to keychain, but curious to see your setup.

D+40

Yesterday was the first day of ice cream season at the local mom and pop. That calls for shorts and sandals!

[WECSOG]

D+40

Soldier got package opening duty. I'll just show one item from the box, because the small box had enough tightly wound packing paper to just about fill the room I was in, seemingly.
Got this Cold Steel Kudu for $8.99. I'm glad it wasn't more. I remember when Cold Steel first introduced these. They were carbon steel and had wood handles, maybe bubinga. This one is stainless and plastic. And, it didn't come with the ring. Good thing I had a split ring I could put on it, because there is no way to close it otherwise. I was about to use my Knipex Cobra pliers but realized that would be a great way to lose a finger. After I put a ring on it I was able to close it, but I need to search the web to see if there is some technique to it that makes it easier and safer. Otherwise it might become GAW fodder.

[Tuisto]

Day 37: as promised here's what the flashlight/keychain setup looks like. I got this sheath with the Soldier and it's worked really well for me. I've toyed with hanging them both from a carabiner on my belt loop, but for the time being I've just been keeping it in my pockets as is. Love the Kudu; I've actually been on the lookout for a Douk Douk for a while now — just can't seem to find a decent one for a decent price.

[WECSOG]

D+41

Used the saw to cut a bit of brush.

[BPRoberts]

D+41

I could open this MRE with my hands, but why would i?

Pizza was meh, but the apple slices were very good.

[Tuisto]

Oh, very cool! I've never eaten an MRE before. Pizza MRE sounds interesting.

Day 36: I used my Soldier to get some of my medication unstuck — I've blurred out the medication.

[nate j]

I've never eaten an MRE before.

In my experience, Mountain House meals are far tastier.  Though MREs do have the advantage of being self-heating.

[WECSOG]

In my experience, Mountain House meals are far tastier.  Though MREs do have the advantage of being self-heating.

One of my friends used to joke about meat being self-heating if you leave it out long enough! 

D+42

[Tuisto]

Day 37: I cut more food with the Soldier — in this case some lamb. It was tasty.

[BPRoberts]

MREs have one advantages over freeze dried food: Everything you need to eat them comes in the bag. Down to that freaskishly long spoon and the tiny bottle of Tabasco.

Everything in them (except for the drink) can be eaten cold and without needing water or anything. Most of them aren't great cold (one or two of them are arguably better), but they're safe and edible. You get the entrée, sides, etc. all in one pack. It's cool that I can just pull one out and have a 3 or 4 "course" meal and a drink. Freeze dried is more practical in a lot of situations (and usually tastier), but you have to have water and they're not all in one bag (unless you repack them yourself).

The reality is, 90% of the time, I eat them like people eat a TV dinner. The wife's out, I don't feel like cooking for just one person (I do most of our cooking, but I don't have a lot of motivation to do it just for me), and there's no good leftovers in the fridge.

I have them rarely enough that it's fun to pop them open and see what's in "Menu 23" or whatever. Crackers or bread? Is there a candy? Which military grade Kool Aid did I get? I could just go get a Lean Cuisine or a Hungry Man or whatever at the store, but the food is (usually) better, and marginally more healthy.

And I can buy them by the case and leave in the closet instead of singly and having to freeze them like a regular TV dinner. SOMEDAY we'll be snowed in without power for a week and I'll be able to go, "Good thing we have all these MREs to pick from!" (Also, I save all the toilet paper. I'm probably up to the equivalent of a large roll now...)

D+42

Home network upgrades.

[Tuisto]

"Military grade Kool Aid — " I like that phrase a lot, haha; it sounds like a good grunge band name. I've never actually tried an MRE but I think I will at some point. I'm also very curious at this 'freakishly long spoon'! You've gotta show me what that looks like!

[Tuisto]

Day 38: Here's what I've been carrying for the most part for this challenge (alternating the 110 with my Spyderco Merlin). This is effectively the minimum I carry on me: a dedicated knife, a SAK, a pen, a flashlight, a pry bar, and a coin. Also, I almost always have a cotton handkerchief (which I use more than I'd like to, to be honest). The absolute minimum I'll leave the house with is a knife, pen, and flashlight.

P.S. I'm posting a similar photo to the Swisschamp Sunday thread

[BPRoberts]

D+43

Both my knives (went to a hockey game and I know the venue has their scanners cranked up to 11, still set it off on the way in even without them) and the big MRE spoon. Figure Ol' Red is a good enough scale.

[Tuisto]

Day 39: more food cut with the Soldier — lamb again but this time with a healthier side, haha.

[WECSOG]

The discussion of MREs has got me thinking about the upcoming GSMRE Challenge: https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,94730.0.html

D+43

Had a Mexican Coke today. Unfortunately it came to me awlready opened, so the Soldier didn't have the opportunity to do the honors.

[Tuisto]

Wait, BPR, I just realised that you'd included the 'freakishly long spoon' in the photo! That really is a heck of a spoon. Is there any particular reason why it's so enormous?? I love those Mexican Cokes. Coke in a glass bottle just tastes better period. I always thought that was because Coke is technically corrosive (to a certain extent) and thus eats away at whatever material it's held in but I'm no longer certain that's the case. Or at least I'm no longer certain that that's the reason why there are taste discrepancies between the different containers. I've always thought it's Coke in glass bottle > aluminium can > plastic bottle. There's actually the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta pretty close to us, and whenever one of my friends comes to the US to visit us we take them there. There's a 'testing room' (not sure if that's the official name) where there are just machines and machines dispensing different Coca-Cola products from all over the world. There are just some absolutely delicious flavours out there. There's a flavour of Fanta called Shokata that's just unbelievably good IMO. It's definitely a fun outing, going there.

[BPRoberts]

I'm not saying the plastic doesn't make a difference (my dad swears he can taste it), but I think cane sugar vs corn syrup is the bigger factor. I drank way too much Pepsi Throwback in college when they rolled it out.

The long spoon is so you can reach the bottom of the pouch, which is (according to a quick google) around 8 inches deep. At home, I usually just dump it out on a regular plate or bowl, but like I said before, the fact that you can eat the whole thing using just the contents of the pack is a big plus.

[WECSOG]

I'm not sure which factor makes more of a difference, but both the cane sugar and the glass bottle make a difference. I've awlso had a canned Coke right off the line, before the lid was added. It's amazing how much better it tastes when it's that fresh.

D+44

Snow today.