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I found some YouTube videos of people opening sealed USAF survival kits and your right. There was the squirt. I guess if it's good enough for the USAF it's good enough for me.
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Squirt at 5 years. An update.
- Thread starter jackknife
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By the way, the squirt is proving to be a very capable tool. I find my self doing more and more things with it. I guess my wife knew what she was doing getting this for me.
Hickory n steel
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That was my experience when I switched to the squirt, really small pliers based MT's in general have surprised me
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For me they handle the general stuff well at home or at work. If I need bigger pliers I always have a pair near by at work, home, or on the road. If I travel with the family I almost always take a small tool set with me for vehicle repairs. Our vehicles are older and just having some basic hand tools along can really get me out of a jam. Other than that the squirt is awsome at the mundane day to day stuff one needs a tool to help them out. The squirt is like a peanut, it handles most of the tasks I face each day and if I need more than the squirt can handle well then I will get the proper tool. I do find it interesting that the USAF thinks it is good enough for their survival kits. In the right hands a small tool can get you out of a lot of jams.
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I don't know.
He liked having small tools on hand, like the Sear's 4-way keychain screw driver and the P-38 he always had in his wallet. Add in the small pliers and it just may have got some attention to him. And he would have liked the all metal construction. He hated plastic grips on guns and knives.
He actually did have one mutltool that was in the glove box of his car. It was the 1950's and gimmick stuff was around. He had a small adjustable wrench that had screw driver, knife blade, and file that folded out from the handle. They had multitools way back before Tim Leatherman ever got the idea, but they never really caught on big for some reason. I can't imagine why, as they are soooooo darn handy!!!!
The squirt would have had a chance because it was so small, and dad liked small and compact.
Count yourself lucky for being a mechanic and able to keep the older ones running, This new stuff is okay until it doesn't run, then you need a 50,000 dollar computer to tell you what little sealed black box is bad. Computers are fine for the space shuttle, but its a figging car. I look under the hood of my 2019 Toyota and I don't have a clue!
Makes me yearn for the days when I could tune up my old '66 bug in 25 minutes, or replace the leaky valve cover gasket in my '64 Ford Falcon in a half hour and one beer.
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Yep. Computers in cars and trucks make life harder for even mechanics. They have to put service manuals on CD because if the printed them it would take a small truck just to carry the manuals around.
Hickory n steel
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Makes me wonder if my grandfather would have liked the squirt.
I know my grandmother had a micra, which I suspect he bought to try himself and didn't like.
Maybe he was just used to the pocket knife format as he settled on with the vic classic, or it was the inside opening tools.
The squirt is great, and if he was around today I'd love to be able to give him mine to try out.
I'd have to because it costs more than he'd have been willing to spend.
I tell ya the Sebertool m4 really hits the nail on the head for me so it's gonna be hard, but you guys are really making me wanna go back to the squirt for a while.
It was actually hard to swap out the squirt in the first place.
I know my grandmother had a micra, which I suspect he bought to try himself and didn't like.
Maybe he was just used to the pocket knife format as he settled on with the vic classic, or it was the inside opening tools.
The squirt is great, and if he was around today I'd love to be able to give him mine to try out.
I'd have to because it costs more than he'd have been willing to spend.
I tell ya the Sebertool m4 really hits the nail on the head for me so it's gonna be hard, but you guys are really making me wanna go back to the squirt for a while.
It was actually hard to swap out the squirt in the first place.
It does not surprise me that its being used by the Air Force. Its a very capable small tool, and is very capable of punching above its weight class.
The military has a protocol for stuff. If its being considered, some samples get purchased, then are subjected to testing, and if it impressed the testing personnel by not only surviving the test process, but actually functioning at its intended test, then it gets bought. Nothing goes into inventory in the military that is not looked at, tested and evaluated. If the squirt made it into bail out kits, then it must have been tested under conditions the Air Force thought it would used under.
You're gonna love it. Its such a competent little tool that is soooo easy to have along, but can actually handle a lot of small emergencies.
It was a bit of a shock, but I recently came to realize, that if someone held a gun on me, or some other ridiculous situation that I could only take one, either the squirt, or my beloved executive, the squirt just may be the one my hand grabs as I abandon ship.
Now I'm gonna have nightmares!
Edit to add; some of the more varied uses I've put the little pliers to, a sewing aid for pushing the needle through heavy material, makeshift nut cracker, forceps, small wrench for tightening antenna on old Toyota pickup, tightening loose battery cable on same, fixing a necklace for the better half while at an 'event', removing jammed coin from a parking meter, bending/crimping the sheet metal material of a gutter to put back together after clearing leaf blockage, pulling a plastic Molly out of a wall, cutting plastic zip ties on a landscaping project, and many more.
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Now that is an interesting question if you own and use a Squirt and a favored SAK. If I chose the Squirt, I'd have to get used to using the knife blade. Probably would choose the Tinker in your scenario over the Small Tinker I normally carry....It was a bit of a shock, but I recently came to realize, that if someone held a gun on me, or some other ridiculous situation that I could only take one, either the squirt, or my beloved executive, the squirt just may be the one my hand grabs as I abandon ship.
I had a tinker and gave it away. Just didn't need the features on it if I had the Sear's 4-way and P-38 in the wallet. I rarely need the bigger blade for foodstuff as I will carry my Buck fixed blade camping or in the woods. My wife has her Opinel number 8 in her purse, so again, in the car on the road, we have a food capable knife.
I've been out and about in D.C. for days with the squirt as my Sole EDC, and never had a problem. But then I also have got by for long periods with a classic as my keyring pocket knife and had no problem. For most things I cut, the 58mm SAK or squirt blade is fine. How much blade do I need to open packages, mail, cut garden twine, break down a pizza box for recycle, or other typical pocket knife jobs? My yardstick is the box cutter/utility knife blade. If a one inch blade Stanley 99 will do 99% of it, why do I need a pocket sword?
If you try going out with just your squirt, you may be surprised at how much it can handle. Last fall on the way out to the daughters place in California, we stopped at Big Bend national park in west Texas and camped for two days. My usual carry of executive and squirt were in my pockets. That was all I needed in mountain desert country. On the way back from California, we camped over night at Carlsbad, New Mexico. Again, grilling some beef franks over a campfire, the executive and squirt was all I used. We had a spoon for the potato salad we had in the cooler. The beers had twist off caps.
The days of hacking a living out of the wilderness is long gone. I haven't found the need of a knife bigger than a classic or executive in a very long time. Its been years since I needed a SAK as large as even a small tinker.
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J
jackknife
It is mostly what you have gotten accustomed to using and expecting out of a particular SAK, multi-tool, or knife in general. They are like old friends and you hesitate to rid yourself of them. I downsized because I wanted to give it a reasonable try back a year or so ago (your peanut thread). I rarely cut food with a pocket knife. But it happens on occasion. I have no doubt that the Squirt blade cuts and will handle most (probably 2/3 of cutting need in the warm months) of my needs day to day. But the blade is not as convenient to open as a pocket knife. It is not enough in the woods for me, but would serve as a backup in an emergency (and it does). The Small Tinker is only just a little bit larger than your Executive model.
The scenario you painted was in fact a survival situation (abandoning ship).
Good to see you still camp on occasion. Been years since I visited Big Bend NP. Interesting place especially if you enjoy a desert like environment.
The scenario you painted was in fact a survival situation (abandoning ship).
Good to see you still camp on occasion. Been years since I visited Big Bend NP. Interesting place especially if you enjoy a desert like environment.
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I broke my squirt. The spring for the pliers on one side broke and allowed one side to break over backwards. So I put it on my keys and continued to use the other tools. I opened the pliers yesterday and for some weird reason they started working properly. I looked and the spring that opens the pliers up has slid over and now allows the pliers to work properly. I will see how long it lasts.
That sounds like the spring slid out of position, which is very weird.
But my only experience with Leatherman service was excellent. I think no matter what happens, they will take care of you.
Hickory n steel
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Decided to go back to mine for a bit.
I have to agree. I broke the pliers on a Wave with just hand pressure and twisting (must have been a bad heat treat), and they replaced it, no questions asked.
Chronovore
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It's nice to see the Squirt holding up for everyone. I carried a Dime for years and I can't give it the same praise. I've really come to prefer the Squirt to the Dime. The only reason I don't carry the Squirt every day is because I still haven't figured out a lanyard for running it in my pocket organizer.
I'm still wishing that Leatherman would release an updated version of the Squirt. My wish list includes better blade steel and different case material. The pocket organizer solves a lot of the pocket wear issues but aluminum can get all scuffed up if attached to keys or let loose in a pocket full of change. I'd also be open to a non-bladed or "travel" version since I always carry in addition to a medium folding knife.
I'm still wishing that Leatherman would release an updated version of the Squirt. My wish list includes better blade steel and different case material. The pocket organizer solves a lot of the pocket wear issues but aluminum can get all scuffed up if attached to keys or let loose in a pocket full of change. I'd also be open to a non-bladed or "travel" version since I always carry in addition to a medium folding knife.