P38 - when in need

Pilsner

Pilsner

Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Messages
4,464
Not a multi-tool or SAK, but I recently scored a new-old Shelby P38, for a couple of quid on fleabay. I put in on my key ring and forgot about it. Making pinto beans today, and the ring pull on the tomato purée snapped off. Hey, it’s hardly the best, but I rather enjoyed using the P38!
iC27ChB.jpg


:thumbsup::cool:
 
hsherzfeld said:
I carry one on my keychain with a safety pin through the hinge to keep the blade from opening. That also gives me a safety pin that I can use for many things as well.
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Great idea. I like that. :thumbsup:
Stelth said:
The can opener on a Vic SAK works so much better.
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It does! And I have plenty. But on my keychain is a SAK classic. I got it on a whim. :D

CAP55 said:
I don't carry one anymore, they have a nasty habit of opening in the worst locations at the worst times.
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Haha! Yep, I can see that happening. ;)
 
Pilsner said:
Not a multi-tool or SAK, but I recently scored a new-old Shelby P38, for a couple of quid on fleabay. I put in on my key ring and forgot about it. Making pinto beans today, and the ring pull on the tomato purée snapped off. Hey, it’s hardly the best, but I rather enjoyed using the P38!
iC27ChB.jpg


:thumbsup::cool:
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Good use!

SteeleJ1976 said:
The P38 is the original multitool! Good use
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Definitely a handy tool back in the days.

hsherzfeld said:
I carry one on my keychain with a safety pin through the hinge to keep the blade from opening. That also gives me a safety pin that I can use for many things as well.
Click to expand...
That's a brilliant idea, thanks to that!
 
I have a SAK in my car, truck, boat, and work backpack. As long as I’m around one of those things I’m good. But sometimes I’ll jump in a rig with a buddy or one of my daughters and the only thing I’ll have are the keys to the house and whatever knife I’m carrying. I have a few P-38’s lying around...you’ve got me thinking...
 
Wonderfull Maximum minimalism!

I got my first P-38 curtesy of Uncle Sam when I was a young guy not longest of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army. It didn't take long to discover how useful it was as a can opener, as well as a scraper, screw driver, small pry took for those jobs a thumb nail is just not enough. Its also a scribe, for scratching a cut line on 2x4's. An old semi rusty Speaker U.S. is still in my wallet. They make a P-51 that is even better.

For a long time, I carried two and three layer SAK's, but later in life I went back to the Sear's $=way keychain screw driver and P-38 in the zip compartment of my wallet. That eliminated one whole layer of SAK. Like the 58mm classic being able to deal with 98% of pocket knife jobs, the keychain screw driver/P-38 can deal with 98% of the loose screw jobs in daily life. With a SAK classic on the keyring and a P-38 in the wallet, you're pretty set for the unexpected little emergencies of life. Add a Sear's keychain screw driver or the Victorinox quatro, and you've got all the driving and opening capability a 84mm or larger SAK without the lump in the pocket. This leaves more room for a dedicated cutter if you need, like an Opinel or Victorinox florist knife with that wonderful chisel ground blade.
 
jackknife said:
Wonderfull Maximum minimalism!

I got my first P-38 curtesy of Uncle Sam when I was a young guy not longest of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army. It didn't take long to discover how useful it was as a can opener, as well as a scraper, screw driver, small pry took for those jobs a thumb nail is just not enough. Its also a scribe, for scratching a cut line on 2x4's. An old semi rusty Speaker U.S. is still in my wallet. They make a P-51 that is even better.

For a long time, I carried two and three layer SAK's, but later in life I went back to the Sear's $=way keychain screw driver and P-38 in the zip compartment of my wallet. That eliminated one whole layer of SAK. Like the 58mm classic being able to deal with 98% of pocket knife jobs, the keychain screw driver/P-38 can deal with 98% of the loose screw jobs in daily life. With a SAK classic on the keyring and a P-38 in the wallet, you're pretty set for the unexpected little emergencies of life. Add a Sear's keychain screw driver or the Victorinox quatro, and you've got all the driving and opening capability a 84mm or larger SAK without the lump in the pocket. This leaves more room for a dedicated cutter if you need, like an Opinel or Victorinox florist knife with that wonderful chisel ground blade.
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Man, I love reading your posts. So much experience and wisdom. :thumbsup:
 
A word of warning about the safety pin, though: sometimes it gets jostled open by keys or pocket contents, and then you have two sharp things in your pocket! Small safety pins, like the one in powernoodle's photo, have less length to get caught on things, so they work best.
 
hsherzfeld said:
A word of warning about the safety pin, though: sometimes it gets jostled open by keys or pocket contents, and then you have two sharp things in your pocket! Small safety pins, like the one in powernoodle's photo, have less length to get caught on things, so they work best.
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This!

Thats why I prefer to just carry the P-38 in my wallet. So far in life, I've never been attacked by a can and needed a fast draw for my can opener or screw driver. o_O
 
Stelth said:
My dad carried a P38 on his keys when I was a kid. He kept a small piece of masking tape over the sharp part to keep it folded. An inelegant solution, but he said it never accidentally opened up on him.
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Some the guys in my squad would carry the P-38 on their dog tag chain, and use a rubber band around it. Like you say, an inelegant solution, but it worked and kept it with them.
 
Got my first p38 out of a C-rats case in 1962. There were about a half dozen of them in a case of the rats. I collected a bunch of them back then and have one on each key chain to this day. The one on my truck keys is one I got out of the original case of rats. I just think they are a neat little tool even if they don't get used much. Memories of earlier life when I was young.
 
I don't carry mine anymore, but shelby co still makes them, and here in the US they're readily available for 50 cents and 99 cents for the larger p51.

They are very handy for many things, but I just never found myself really needing mine and stopped carrying it.
 
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