Thank you for putting this together, Barry. I really enjoyed my first challenge and am looking forward to future ones.For the benefit of other newbie Knights out there like me, how do we put in for the badge?I looked under Available Awards > Challenge and see many challenge badges, but not one for the Pocket Rocket Challenge.
This challenge should qualify you for:(Image removed from quote.)
Hi, Steve.If I am not mistaken, we will be applying for "30 day challenge - 58, 65 and 74mm SAKs" as shown in the picture below:(Image removed from quote.)You'd probably know this, here is the link for the application:https://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,59292.0.html
Day 30!On the last day of this challenge, finally it arrives: The Ambassador.(Thank you Nix, you are the best enabler on MT.o)This knife is great! The blade size, the weight... I will spend some time carriyng It.This challenge was very funny for me!I really like the 58mm series. They are the GTI of the SAK'sThank you Barry for hosting!(Ambassador, encircled by the pocket rocket team)(Image removed from quote.)Enviado de meu moto g(6) usando o Tapatalk
Excellent work, everyone! The calculator theme was an added bonus!Thanks to Barry for getting the ball rolling!Day 30 bonusTime for a celebratory beer, with the Midnite Minichamp doing the opening honours. And a pic of all my pocket rockets together with a Wenger watch case opener branded for Omega and a Victorinox baker’s knife branded for Alipro to add some blue and green Alox loveliness!
Day 30 (Image removed from quote.)Well here we are, the end of the line. It's been a fun month - I've only done a small number of challenges in my short time here, but this has probably been the most enjoyable just for seeing the inventive ways people have been able to use the smaller SAKs.As a mainly urban office dweller who needs to be wary about what he carries where, the 58mm line is definitely one I can get away with having on me and the Classic and Mini Champ have certainly come in handy for the majority of things I've needed to do. I've certainly come to appreciate them more and I'm now going to have to remember to take the Classic off my keyring next time I go abroad or to somewhere I'm likely to be searched.
Day 30:Another busy day for the Esquire!Beans to open for soaking....(Image removed from quote.)The inevitable bit of garden twine to clip....(Image removed from quote.)And I got to play Sir Galahad and rescue fair Mrs Nix from a fire breathing dragon inch worm that had dared to assault her cherished person....(Image removed from quote.)Another good challenge nearly wrapped up here. Like most of you, I found that the small 65mm knife did very well for most of my daily pocket knife tasks. There were several times when I needed a can opener. Fortunately the kitchen has one. There were a couple of time when a tool on a Gerber MP 400 was "needed". I wasn't carrying the MP400 on a regular basis, I just took it with me when I suspected I'd be able to use it. I could have carried a proper tool or two instead, but it was nice to use the MP400 a bit.In the kitchen, dedicated kitchen knives or a food processor got used for a few jobs. I don't see this as a negative finding with regard to the 65mm. If I'm in my kitchen or garage, I'll have an appropriate tool close at hand. Regardless, the number of times that the Esquire did come in handy was pretty remarkable. And I think that's where these knives really come into their own: they are always on hand and ready for those small surprise tasks. For me, I find that it is very easy to reach into a pocket and pull out the Esquire to use the scissors for a small task or the knife for a larger task. In my day-to-day life, there just aren't that many tasks that a small knife can't handle. It may not be the optimum tool for the job, but it will be capable. Which brings me to the Compact. I started to think about how the tool set in the Compact and the Classic overlap quite a bit. The one tool that I really would have like to have had on hand during this challenge was a can opener. Yup, I used the kitchen can opener, but if this had not been a challenge and I had had the Compact in my pocket, I would have used the combo tool to open my cans. It is just easier (and more fun). This challenge has made me start to think of the Classic/Esquire/Ambassador as being smaller versions of the Compact. Or, perhaps, the Compact as being a really big Classic or Rambler with a can opener. And the Esquire just seemed to be missing a bit of horsepower during this challenge. Even if it was able to accomplish what I need, I missed the ergonomics of a bigger handle or the reach of a larger blade. Because of this, I don't think the 58/65/74mm will be a real EDC choice for me. Sure, they get 80-90% of what I do done. But that Compact just seem more capable and more pleasant to use. This challenge has made me look at the Classic as being a good augmenting SAK. A SAK to be carried with another multitools. For example, I like the Vic Camper...but no scissors. Classic to the rescue. I think the combination of pliers based multitool and Classic would be fantastic. The Classic would manage 80% of the day's tasks because it is just easier to fish the Classic out of a pocket and use it. But the Gerber MP400 would be there to drive a Phillips, loosen a nut, or bend a wire. Could it be a solo EDC tool? I think so, this challenge has demonstrated that well enough. Will it? I doubt it. Perhaps on some lazy days, but I think this challenge reaffirmed my fondness of the Compact more than anything else. Addendum: for the record, I missed my Rambler's combo cap lifter/small Phillips driver tool....*** runs to check tally sheet ***....zero times.
Clearly you have not seen my one and only tattoo......(Image removed from quote.)Now...I don't think that the Classic is the #1 seller because it is the most popular EDC or most popular SAK secondary to some theoretical populist appreciation. I suspect that between all the challenge participants, we're responsible for 1/2 of awl Classic sales. And some of the other 8 billion people on the planet have picked up a few as well. They sell well because they are cheap, readily available, recognizable, innocuous, non-threatening, and easy to lose/replace/repeat. Which is no bad thing.
Now...I don't think that the Classic is the #1 seller because it is the most popular EDC or most popular SAK secondary to some theoretical populist appreciation. I suspect that between all the challenge participants, we're responsible for 1/2 of awl Classic sales. And some of the other 8 billion people on the planet have picked up a few as well. They sell well because they are cheap, readily available, recognizable, innocuous, non-threatening, and easy to lose/replace/repeat. Which is no bad thing.
That TdeF Opinel is a fine looking thing Barry. I don't have an Opinel but maybe I should make an exception now
and I couldn't agree more.
Badges awarded
Day 31?OK, I know the challenge is over, but had to pass on that I was sitting at breakfast this morning and had an orange that just wouldn't peel by hand. I remembered the Mini Champ's cut and picker blade and thought why not? I'll give it a try.Sure enough, it cut through the skin like a ... hot SAK through orange peel. Curiously enough, though SAKWiki still calls it the cut and picker blade, in the list of tools on the Mini Champ on Victorinox.com it's an orange peeler. Might be time to update the wiki?
Congrats on the badges everyone!!For my part, I believe I'm going to attach the Esquire to a zipper on my fly fishing pouch. After 30 days of using it, I would think it would be right at home there. As a side note at lunch time yesterday ( final day of challenge ) I broke the toothpick. I just grinned as it has served fairly well these last few weeks.
Day 31 entries always appreciated! I believe that tool started life as a pharmacy tool, hence "cut and picker". I guess contemporary users think of it as an orange peeler....or clam shell opener.
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