When I play with the thought that a MT is the only blade I bring to the woods, camping for a couple of days, what tasks would I like it to be able to assist me with?
What comes to my mind is:
- Preparing wood for fire (sawing and carving)
- Making other tools out of wood (eating utensils, tent pegs, walking stick)
- Setting up camp (tightening rope work, cutting string, lifting bundled branches)
- Food preparation and cooking (cutting ingredients, beer and can opening, lifting a hot Billycan or kettle out of the fire)
- Fishing purposes (removing hook, cutting line, scaling)
- For fire making (carving feather sticks, as a fat wood scraper, a ferrorod striker and an ember poker)
- Taking down camp (loosening rope as a marlin spike, cutting down stuff)
- Doing small fixes of gear (cutting Gorilla tape, making a hole, tightening a screw on the storm kitchen, squeezing a broken zipper on the hammock or backpack together)
- First aid (cutting bandaid mostly, at which Vic scissors rock)
- Recreation (whittling)
Another important thing for me is ease of carry and easy access. The method should be secure, so I don't drop and loose it. Hi-vis is preferable, but can be added in a lanyard, since I tend to mindlessly put it on the ground when working. When I reach for it again in the forest bed, it has seemingly packed up and left without me. I have on more than one occasion used a considerable amount of time on all fours searching for a folder, because the earthy colors I prefer, leaves it next to invisible there. It's strange, because I never do this with my fixed blade, which goes in and out of its sheet as second nature when I'm working.
My Workchamp does pretty well on all of these tasks since I tend to not need strong pliers in the woods. The small one on the Workchamp lifts hot kettles just fine, and the hook on my Huntsman does it beautifully also. A good sturdy stick does the job as well to be honest.
And since I use the scissors very often, one of the SAK's is often what I reach for when heading out.
I always find new, good uses for my MT when out and about, and I'm sure I must have forgotten something?
But I believe that the above covers most of my recurring needs.
Does anyone have other needs? Perhaps some hunters here surely might have?
Reflecting on this, the Signal comes to mind as the one MT, that ticks most of the boxes, right? Perhaps I should start saving. Seems many here are pleased with theirs?
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