Hi all!<br>I'm reading the huge amount of old posts and I have some questions about tools, I hope someone may answer me:<br><br>what about a solitaire maglite? a friend of mine gave me one, but I don't know pro and cons.<br><br>don't leave at hone knives:<br>beside my loyal Handyman SAK, I have a CRKT Kiss,I don't know what do you think about it, and I'm thinking about a neck knife, but I don't know what to buy: I see some Cold Steel's products, may you say me which is the right one? :)<br><br>Thanks in advance for the answers,<br>MacG<br>

Mac,<br><br>Although knife preferences are a pretty contentious issue around here, you should be able to get some very good advice. What would help though, is if you could say what sort of tasks you have in mind for the knife. No one knife will do all jobs well (although some will come close). Also, keep reading through the past posts; this particular issue has been discussed many times.<br><br>As for your knives, I still have about five SAK's, and although I no longer carry them, I still like them. I have come to prefer locking knives, and given that I carry a Leatherman, toting a SAK is TOO redundant. I don't care for the CRKT Kiss, I have a thing against chisel ground blades on anything but a chisel (It is a chisel grind, right? Or am I confused?) Cold Steel makes good knives. I think they're a little overbuilt, but good knives. Just make sure you get one appropriate for whatever it is you want to do. I can personally reccomend their Kukris and the smaller Voyager lockbacks. Their SRK has a lot of fans here, as well.<br><br>As for myself, I have settled on (for now, at least) an A.G. Russel Woodswalker, a Kershaw DoubleCut (Double cross? It's the smaller one), and a Leatherman Wave. At any given time, I have at least one of these on me. I still occasionally wonder at the safety of carrying a fixed blade in a leather pocket sheath, but no problems so far. And the Woodswalker is so handy. I have a Spyderco Wegner that I am inordinately fond of, but I no longer carry it daily, reserving it instead for hunting. I have never been able to settle on a single GP medium to large sized fixed blade knife, but it hasn't been for lack of trying. Oh well, it's fun looking....<br><br>Andy

Hi, MacG!<br><br>Since you have the Solitaire... use it, eh? I believe there are a number of folks here who carry one on their person. I have used MagLite products for a long time and find them useful and pretty rugged - and I've been glad more than once that they pack a spare bulb inside the case, as I've dropped them from time to time with the predictable consequence to the bulb. My personal daily carry is a turquoise Photon II in my right pocket and a red Photon II in my left pocket, plus a large Maglite in each vehicle (personal and work).<br><br>What sort of environment are you equipping yourself for? That would probably help the knowledgable folks here suggest some knives for your consideration.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

Mac, Richard Dean Anderson lives in my community. I have met him a few times, and yes, he carries a SAK ( discreetly to avoid the tedious jokes.) You need to consider what your tools will actually be used for, and what are the laws? We don't want the Carabiniery after you! Neck knives are a very convenient carry, and not just as a "hideout" option. I regulary carry an inexpensive Scandinavian blade of 4". Do not use any paracord or synthetic type lanyard! The small, but meaningfull risk of injury ( rope burn, strangulation etc.) is very real. I use a length of leather secured with a "breakaway string"- a few stitches that will snap under tension. Do not ignore the rich knife making tradition of Italy! Regional products have a rich association with their users. Think globally and buy ( and survive) locally.

I carried a Solitaire Magite for years on my keyring and used it quite often - it meets my criteria for a useful flashlight of carrying a spare bulb as well as a suspension point so it can be firmly attached and retrieved. I now carry a small LED because of the bulb and battery longevity. If you have one as a gift, you will probably go through about two batteries a year and maybe a bulb every two years, unless you use it a lot.<br><br>I happen to be a big fan of CRKT's stiff kiss - particularly the MDP which has the traditional grind and is about the right size for backpacking and other light weight uses. It is just barely possible that some members of the forum may have differing opinions. It all comes down to the situation in which you will employ the tool, which gives many of us an excuse to own lots of neat stuff...

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>It is just barely possible that some members of the forum may have differing opinions.<p><hr></blockquote><p> Gasp! Say it ain't so, Hikerdon! hehehehe<br><br>Knives bewilder me - there are SO many choices out there! I was doing fine all these years by being blissfully ignorant... now I find out there are more BRANDS than I ever dreamed of, let alone models...

Who could go wrong with a benchmade?

>Since you have the Solitaire... use it, eh?<br>Sure! I know my questions may be a little strange: since I already have a maglite why don't use it?<br>I ask this to know what about a maglite for a "don't let at home" gear.<br><br>Thanks for your answer.<br>It seems that a lot of you changed their maglite solutions for a led flashlight.<br><br>>What sort of environment are you equipping yourself for? <br>Oh, I'm re-thinking my all-day gear and I'm starting to build up a systematic PSK: I'm following the Doug's notes about it.<br>The neck knife question is for an outdoor environment: I don't think it may be safe for me to carry a neck knife in an urban environment.<br><br>thanks again,<br>Mac

You talked about laws: I'm thinking about them from a while: italian laws says that you can't carry a weapon unless you may justify the reason of. I ever walked care free with only my SAK, but since I have added a CRKT kiss (the biggest one) I wonder if a cop may say something on it..<br>So I think that for my urban day I have enough edges, but I wonder about neck knives for an outdoor environment: I trek often in my alps and beside my sak I carry a sheat knife: or a Martinii one or a Buck. But a neck knife may be more practice to carry: even if don't have a belt or a backpack to put it.<br>Do you carry the neck knife usually or only in the camp?<br><br>Knife traditions in Italy: there are so many knives in Italy that you can't count them! I tried to learn about them, but it seems to be a huge task! And I ever think about the law: italian knives seem too much weapons than useful knives (they are not huge or whatsoever, but for a "mental tradition", I don't know if I can explain it in english..)

Thanks hikerdon!<br><br>I like crkt knives too, but my love is for the tanto blade! even we two have different opinions about crkt ;)<br><br>