Peanut For a Month

r redden said:
I started thinking about carrying one knife for a month to really experience it about a year or so ago but I could never get my mind set to accomplish a month with just one knife. I finally made up my mind and thought about what knife to carry. I looked at and thought about the knives I already own but decided to try a knife I no longer own even though I have owned many of them through the years. The Case Peanut a knife I must admit has been somewhat an enigma to me I like them but never totally understand why folks love them so much as I have always preferred an knife the size of a barlow or medium stockman. I then I thought about covers stag, jigged bone, wood no I wanted to try what I consider the quintessential peanut knife.......jigged delrin with an SS blade. The knife an average guy looking for a small knife would most likely buy because it's a brand everyone recognizes and it's inexpensive. the one I bought from a BF registered dealer was $31.99.

It came yesterday so with knife in hand I started this one month journey today. First I'll talk about my first impressions. As tempted as I am to work a bit on the blade I'm leaving the factory edge to get the same experience as the average Joe buying an EDC.
F&F is spot on good centering on both blades with no blade rub, no gaps anywhere springs are flush, pulls are 5-6, both blades have half-stops and grinds are decent. The size of the knife for me makes it feel a bit cumbersome in hand. When cutting I have a tendency to curl my fingers around a knife with my thumb on the spine. With this little guy just my index and middle finger curl around with my thumb on the spine with this little guy my thumb naturally is placed a little ways up the blade which makes me a bit nervous that I might apply to much pressure on the blade and shut it on my finger. I will probably have to modify how I hold it for use.

I will be posting about the performance of this little knife all month and at the end give my impressions.

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TrapperMike said:
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Good luck. I have been carrying my brown delrin peanut everyday for 2 years. It has been great. I have big hands but have adapted fine to this little guy. Can't wait to see how you like yours. You might just have to join the cult.
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Randy, when you described what you had in mind, especially that you'd be using a brown delrin peanut, I thought of TrapperMike TrapperMike right away! :):thumbsup::thumbsup: I've always admired the way he stuck with the peanut (I think his kids gave it to him IIRC). :cool::cool:

I look forward to following your progress, Randy, and I'm sure you'll find the peanut adequate to your situation. :thumbsup::cool:
But don't expect me to join you in one of these "one knife for a week/month/year" adventures! ;) For the first 62 years of my life, I carried at most one knife the whole time. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time, and I'll be carrying over a dozen knives most days that I still have the strength to do so! :rolleyes::D

- GT
 
Keep us posted Randy! I think the Case Peanut can handle the majority of everyday tasks. I used to carry a Buck 305 Lancer and a similar sized Craftsman pen knife daily for extended periods of time.
 
5K Qs said:
Randy, when you described what you had in mind, especially that you'd be using a brown delrin peanut, I thought of TrapperMike TrapperMike right away! :):thumbsup::thumbsup: I've always admired the way he stuck with the peanut (I think his kids gave it to him IIRC). :cool::cool:

I look forward to following your progress, Randy, and I'm sure you'll find the peanut adequate to your situation. :thumbsup::cool:
But don't expect me to join you in one of these "one knife for a week/month/year" adventures! ;) For the first 62 years of my life, I carried at most one knife the whole time. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time, and I'll be carrying over a dozen knives most days that I still have the strength to do so! :rolleyes::D

- GT
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You are correct. My kids gave it to me 2 years ago Christmas. I cherish it and I use it for all my normal cutting. I havnt babied it either. I have used just like I would a full size trapper or Stockman. I don't abuse it but use the heck out of it with pride.
I dont blame you for catching up on knife carry. I always enjoy seeing what your carrying and have acquired.
r redden r redden glad to see you go for the humble little brown peanut. Excited to see how it goes for you.
 
Randy, you very well may be off on a knife life changing adventure.

Pocket knives are a very funny and personal thing. All about taste and what mentality you are in. For the most part, modern life beginning in the post WW2 era in America, there wasn't much call for a large knife anymore, with a few exceptions. The great migration to the city and the mushrooming boom of urban then suburban life in America caused many knife companies to go belly up. I remember growing up in the post war period and all men carried some kind of pocket knife. Usually a small one or two bladed jack or pen, that could be classified as a peanut class of knife. The humble little thing that was just generically called a pen knife.

Fast forward to now, and we have to ask just how much knife is really needed in modern life? Opening mail, cutting a piece of twine, cutting open a FEDEX cardboard box, cutting open an accursed plastic blister packages, and even cutting a quick slice of cheese off the block in the fridge required only a small blade. Even heavier construction work, needs only the length of blade you find on most Husky, Stanley, Milwaukee brand folding utility knives you see in the hands of construction workers, kitchen re-model people, and warehouse workers. The thin little one inch blade cuts drywall, strips cable for wiring, slices open the spout on caulking tubes with ease. Heck, I re-caulked the bathroom tub and used my Victorinox classic to slice off the tube at a 45 degree angle for a very fine bead. It worked fine.

But the real problem with modern life is pocket space. Modern life has been complicated by the cell phone and old age, at least for me. With keys, change, Bic lighter to light my pipe, wallet, bandana or two, cell phone, and my small revolver for concealed carry, pocket real-estate is in short supply. About the only spot I have left for a dedicated pocket knife is my coin/watch pocket on my jeans. So, the peanut class of pocket knife has reigned supreme there. My arthritic fingers have difficulty dealing with the small springy half stops of the peanut, but a mini copperhead, Buck 309 companion, Victorinox executive, Boker 240 penknife all ride there well. And all have proved they can do well in everyday pocket knife jobs.

BUT...food service can be a problem for the little legume size knife. A very thick sandwich can be problem. I solve that by turning it over and cutting as far as I can from the bottom, then carefully turning it right side up and cutting through from the top. That way a 2 inch blade can cut through a 4 inch thick sandwich. Why do I go though that instead of just carrying a large knife? Because food stuff is a very very small part of what I use a pocket knife for. It's the exeption to the rule. My coin pocket size knife is a mostly knife. It takes care of stuff that I mostly have to deal with by cutting it. Kind of like a small pocket pistol. Yes, a full size Glock would be a nice thing to have in a bad situation, but I'm probably never going to get in a gun fight. I'm not Rambo or the Lone Ranger. I'm not even the guy who brings oats to the Lone Rangers horse. But a small pocket size revolver like a S&W air weight snubby or a North American Arms Black Widow in .22 magnum makes a nice surprise for some low life who thinks this old senior citizen may be easy pickings. And like a peanut, it's easier to carry for the mostly times it's just sitting in there.

I remember something my old man once told me when I asked him why he carried a small knife like his peanut. He said "A pocket knife is something that is carried a lot, but used only once in a while in the course of the day. Why carry more tool than you need." This from a man who carried a Colt .22 Woodsman his while life.

Welcome to the world of small, Randy. Its a great trip.
 
Randy,
Carl has given me pretty much the same advice. It's good advice. I enjoy using my peanut. I have truly found that more times then not it's all I need. For the real down and dirty stuff I use a Stanley 99. Carl went as far as telling me to store all my other knives away and just use the peanut my kids gave me. That's what I did and it's been great. I am still a knife nut. That's why I still visit the traditional forum. I enjoy seeing all the beautiful knives all of you guys display. For me I will stick with my peanut.
 
I carried a Peanut as a primary carry for about a year. It did pretty much everything I needed to do. I did sharpen it though, and touched it up as needed.
 
I have been carrying a Case Peanut in the watch pocket of my jeans (when I have a watch pocket) for a while now. It still sees little use as I carry another knife. But honestly, I know that it is "enough" for 90% of the regular cutting I might do day to day. I just haven't restricted it to the only knife yet. It is really hard for me to sideline my SAK, which is why I have picked up the Vic Small Tinker as a possible option.
 
I have always wondered what some of the Porch members are actually doing with their knives when I hear things like: "That knife is too small" or "I need a knife that has a better grip" or "I need a super steel" or many such things. Want is one thing, but "need" is quite another. I tend to believe that some of it is a hold-over from their foray into the modern knife mentality where everything is compared on steel choice, tactical size, durability, and ergonomics. I much prefer a small knife that is invisible until I need it to cut something, usually a small something.
 
Old guys carry small knives not because they don't cut much of anything but because they're smarter from a life's worth of experience using pocket knives. Most aren't out to win any beauty contests with their knives. They just want something that cuts when they need it to and something that does not take up a lot of valuable pocket space.
 
Just dug my small tinker out of the box in my storage cabinet (still new and unused). It just barely fits in my watch pocket (angled). Thinking seriously of dumping the other knives for a while and see how it goes with the Small Tinker. Unfortunately, that would mean the Peanut gets sidelined too.
 
r redden r redden

Good luck Randy, does that mean you're not going to fondle any other knives for a month :D

I carry a Case Swayback a lot but the Peanut is too small for me.
 
JB in SC said:
r redden r redden

Good luck Randy, does that mean you're not going to fondle any other knives for a month :D

I carry a Case Swayback a lot but the Peanut is too small for me.
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I'm going to try my best to only carry the Peanut I not only want to really get a feel for the knife but I also want to see if I can discipline myself to carry only one. This is going to be even harder because I have just obtained several really nice knives.
The peanut opened a pack of bacon this morning and that's all she's done today. :D:rolleyes:
 
r redden said:
... The size of the knife for me makes it feel a bit cumbersome in hand. When cutting I have a tendency to curl my fingers around a knife with my thumb on the spine. With this little guy just my index and middle finger curl around with my thumb on the spine. In this position my thumb naturally sits a little ways up the blade which makes me a bit nervous that I might apply to much pressure on the blade and shut it on my finger. I will probably have to modify how I hold it for use.
...
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This part of Randy's original post has had me thinking about how I grip a pocket knife. I use a number of grips, depending what task I'm trying to accomplish, but I don't think I EVER hold a knife the way Randy described (I hold a hammer that way though :rolleyes:). I wonder if there is a lot of grip variation from one person to the next, and one type of "cutting job" to the next. I once started a thread about how people open their traditional folders (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/how-many-ways-do-you-open-a-slipjoint.1245274/ ) and was amazed by the number of methods used. Maybe the same is true for the grips we all use.

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
This part of Randy's original post has had me thinking about how I grip a pocket knife. I use a number of grips, depending what task I'm trying to accomplish, but I don't think I EVER hold a knife the way Randy described (I hold a hammer that way though :rolleyes:). I wonder if there is a lot of grip variation from one person to the next, and one type of "cutting job" to the next. I once started a thread about how people open their traditional folders (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/how-many-ways-do-you-open-a-slipjoint.1245274/ ) and was amazed by the number of methods used. Maybe the same is true for the grips we all use.

- GT
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Teeth work well (for opening AND gripping). ;)
 
JohnDF said:
I have always wondered what some of the Porch members are actually doing with their knives when I hear things like: "That knife is too small" or "I need a knife that has a better grip" or "I need a super steel" or many such things. Want is one thing, but "need" is quite another. I tend to believe that some of it is a hold-over from their foray into the modern knife mentality where everything is compared on steel choice, tactical size, durability, and ergonomics. I much prefer a small knife that is invisible until I need it to cut something, usually a small something.
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Here's what mine is doing today. We are installing some peel and stick vinyl flooring in the entry way of my wife's store. The peanut is opening boxes and trimming the paper along the sidea of the planks so I can fit them before peeling. The Stanley is scoring the planks so I can just snap them to length like drywall. Just tru-sharp and what ever the razor blades are made of is good enough for me. ;)
 
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