Probably nothing you didn’t already know, but still worth a read.
I have opened cans with a knife before…it isn’t fun, but it isn’t terribly difficult either. I have not tried the spoon method yet. If you’re a survivalist of any stripe, you always have a knife handy even if you dont have a can opener or multitool on you. And, yes, a P38 works well and takes up no space on your keychain.
My experience is that the can openers on a Swiss Army knife or multitool do excellent jobs and have the bonus of being part of a larger ‘multitasker’…in other words, a multitool with a can opener is more useful than a can opener by itself.
By the way, when it comes to #10 cans of food for storage, I always tape a P38 to the bottom of every second or third can. Theyre cheap, small, and a far better choice than banging a screwdriver with a rock.
I never leave home without my Swiss Army knife. And my EDC choice a Buck liner lock.
Always follow Gibbs Rule #9. Sometimes I also carry a multi-tool.
Grew up on a farm and a knife in the pocket was like putting your pants on. An everyday thing.
I like that idea of the P38 , Glad I saved a bunch of them from my Army days when we were still eating C-RATS . yup I’m old
Some of those C rations were actually pretty good. Spaghetti and meatballs.
The hospital rations were great. Especially the chocolate chip pound cake. The early MREs weren’t that great. But they have gotten much better over time.
Anybody remember what the lima beans and ham were referred to as?
Ham and Mike Foxtrots! ROFL! I still carry a P-38 (shelby) on my key ring, have used it numerous times as a screw driver, and of course during power outages. We have one in just about every utensil drawer in the kitchen. I still live by the words “make sure the new guy gets a P-38”. I liked C-rats over LRRP’s. LRRP’s used too much water IMO, but were much easier to carry. LRRP rations were freeze dried meals from Mtn House. The LRRP (lurps) stood for Long Range Recon Patrol.
ham and lima beans were called beans and motherf#c%ers because they always damn near gave the eater the “runs”, not to mention the most explosive, foul smelling gas!
Ham and motherfuckers. Had a Marine in my battery who liked them ( Alex Crerar). The “new” C-rats had the ham’n’mothers with a chunk of (alleged) ham- the older ones had shredded mystery meat- about l968.
I’d use a P51 opener on the cans. I find them, easier to use, cost less (they sell a lot of the P38’s to collectors more than users), and just as well made if you get a real one.
Sportmans Guide has them on sale both kinds. A box of 100 each. Price was if memory serves about ten bucks.
You don’t see them as often as the P38, but the P51 is the same design, but bigger & easier to grasp.
Those are now off sale. P38 100 for 35.99. P51 100 for 51.99.
It’s odd only a few years ago p51 cost less than p38
Rub the top of the can on concrete to wear it away.
Thank you for building my Christmas wish list out!
A P38 is kinda overkill, isn’t it? I mean 9mm will splatter it everywhere, or worse, the .50 cals or 20mms will pretty much vaporize it.
A P51 isn’t any better.
Oh, wait…
Kurt
Bravo, Kurt! That brought a smile.
I had a P38 on a keychain for several years, and still do. (I wrapped it in a single layer of electrical tape to prevent it snagging on things in my pocket.) I was busted when I went through the metal detector of a courthouse. The LAPD deputy offered me a choice: take it back to my car, or surrender it. He said that he could not allow any bladed instrument into the courthouse. I suppose he thought that I might rush the bench and slash a judge’s carotid artery with it. Yet, rules are rules, even though this seemed to me to be hyper-enforcement.
A few years later, I went through security at LAX. This time, I had a P51 on my keychain that I had completely forgotten about. The supervisor examined it and gave me the choice of walking back to the airline front desk and checking it in, or surrendering it. My choice was clear.
As the supervisor walked away with it, I looked down into the tray with my wallet, change, and such, and then called out to her. She walked back and I said, “You guvs found the can opener, but you failed to spot this.” I took pleasure in holding up a box cutter that I had used a previous day and had forgotten about, not the full-size type box cutter, but the disposable type that is about 3/4″ thick and 6 inches long. She responded, “Thank you for your honesty, sir.”
Honesty? Honesty had nothing to do with it. I thought that I was just busting her chops about her taking my P51 and leaving the “terrorist weapon” for me to carry onboard.
“Good times. Good times.”