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#124224 - 02/18/08 02:41 PM Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38
dd61999 Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/15/08
Posts: 22
Can Opener
Seam Ripper
Screwdriver
Clean Fingernails
Cut Fishing Line
Open Paint Cans
Window Scraper
Scrape Around Floor Corners
Digging
Clean Out Groove on Tupperware lids
Reach in and Clean Out Small Cracks
Scrape Around Edge of Boots
Bottle Opener
Gut Fish (in the field)
Scale Fish (in the field)
Test for 'Doneness' When Baking on a Camp Fire
Prying Items
Strip Wire
Scrape Pans in the Field
Lift Key on Flip Top Cans
Chisel
Barter
Marking Tool
Deflating Tires
Clean Sole of Boot/Shoe
Pick Teeth
Measurement
Striking Flint
Stirring Coffee
Puncturing Plastic Coating
Morse Code
Box Cutter
Opening Letters
Write Emergency Messages
Scratch an Itch
Save as a Souvenir
Rip Off Rank for On-the-Spot Promotions
Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
Knife sharpener
shuck oysters

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#124227 - 02/18/08 03:31 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: ]
dd61999 Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/15/08
Posts: 22
you can find them at any army surplus store that is local to you

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#124235 - 02/18/08 04:37 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: dd61999]
BobS Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/08/08
Posts: 924
Loc: Toledo Ohio
Here is a site with more then you will ever want to know about P-38s & P-51s

http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml
_________________________



You can run, but you'll only die tired.


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#124247 - 02/18/08 06:22 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: BobS]
Dan_McI Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 12/10/07
Posts: 844
Loc: NYC
A couple of those things have me scratching my head about "how" you would do it, like the knife sharpening. The only reason I do not have a P-38 is because I have a P-51 on my key chain.

Also, I hope you don't follow this list in line. After cleaingin your boots, you might not want to use it right away to pick your teeth.

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#124251 - 02/18/08 06:39 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: Dan_McI]
Hacksaw
Unregistered


...or gut a fish.

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#124254 - 02/18/08 07:05 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: dd61999]
xbanker Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/21/05
Posts: 484
Loc: Anthem, AZ USA
Open those emergency pistachio nuts carried in your PSK.
_________________________
"Things that have never happened before happen all the time." — Scott Sagan, The Limits of Safety

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#124255 - 02/18/08 07:25 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: Dan_McI]
massacre Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 781
Loc: Central Illinois
I was thinking about the same thing "You might want to clean it thoroughly before pursuing the next task" :-) I've scratched some stuff off my boots that would make me never want to use that tool to clean my fingernails let alone open a can of food or pick my teeth.

Anyone want to enlighten me on how to sharpen your knife with this? Seems like it would be a dismal failure and a rather large harzard.
_________________________
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.

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#124256 - 02/18/08 07:25 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: xbanker]
ki6lbc Offline
Stranger

Registered: 10/11/07
Posts: 3
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
I never understood the popularity of p-38/p-5 (other than one due to sentimental value for ex-army people: that I can understand).

Presumably anyone who is 'equipped' has a SAK/multitool (or both). Any SAK or multitool will do everything p-38 can and more.

So what is the point, just because it's cheap?

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#124260 - 02/18/08 07:51 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: ki6lbc]
dd61999 Offline
Stranger

Registered: 02/15/08
Posts: 22
Obviously the list is far stretched, but it gets the point across of the versatility of a p-38.

The list was published in a Army Newspaper.

I do not use my p-38 for all things listed. But it is a great can opener, screwdriver, package opener,mini pry bar.

Yes the Swiss army knife can do the samething. But the p-38 is a better can opener. It is so small you can put it on the keychain and not know it is even there till needed.

Plus it is disposable with no great loss.

I am not a fan of the blades on SAK or multi-tools. But the p-38 fills a void for the times when I do need one.


Edited by dd61999 (02/18/08 08:09 PM)

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#124261 - 02/18/08 07:53 PM Re: Why everyone should have a 50 cent P-38 [Re: ki6lbc]
Dan_McI Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 12/10/07
Posts: 844
Loc: NYC
Originally Posted By: ki6lbc
So what is the point, just because it's cheap?


Have you have ever tried to open a can of beans with an SAK? Tough job. Nothing in an SAK is designed to cut along the side of a can so you can remove the lid. A P-38 or P-51 does just that, with some effort. That's what is was meant to do.

Also, there are times when i jsut do not have any knife on me whatsover, because I cannot birng one with me, like on an air plane. No one looks twice at a P-38 or P-51. It would be of minimal use if you tried to use it as a weapon, unless maybe you had the person around the throat. Still, you'd need to hit the right spots.

In short, it is a useful little thing that you can bring anywhere, and if you have it on your key chain, like I do, it is with you all the time.

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