It's finally time for the contest, and not too late!
Last week I was recommended this contest hosted by The Outdoors And More community. The contest deadline is this Wednesday, and there is a huge range of outdoor-related topics to choose from, so I decided to talk a bit about my knives.
What makes this endeavor a bit challenging is that I am currently involved in a project located beyond an international border that requires flying into. And in order to cut down on airport and border hassle, I have spread out my gear quite a bit. In other words, I don't have everything I want to talk about on hand with me, so I could take a quick picture of them. Still, I don't want to miss out on this contest, so let me see what I can show you:
The Sharpest Knife Ever!
Let me start out with my favorite knife, the French Opinel. I have two of these, on both sides of the border, so I won't have to transport it back and forth. If I had to pick just one blade, this would be it, simply because it can be made sharper than any other knife. The steel has a very high carbon content, which means it can get ridiculously sharp! The accompanying disadvantage is that it will get dull just as quickly, but with a fine whetstone it gives me a nice meditative activity on a regular basis. Also, the steel is not stainless, but cutting some tomatoes with it will give it a good protective layer of stain, so it won't rust on me. Finally, the steel is also a bit more brittle, making it prone to breaking, especially around the tip. But even though I need to be more careful with it, the super sharp blade makes up for all these shortcomings. Also, the wooden handle and the safety ring add up to a really decent knife. I can most definitely recommend it!
A Precision Multi-tool Kit
Whether for bike repair or any other ad-hoc construction project, I have come to value my Leatherman beyond anything. My Wave model has turned out to be everything a Swiss Army knife dreams of being, without even getting close. Seriously, after discovering everything a Leatherman offers, I have never picked up a Swiss Army knife again! Not only are its tools much better made, more precision oriented, and of higher quality, all of its implements, from the scissors to the multi-bit screwdriver have a safety lock. It is beyond me why the Swiss Army forgoes such a simple, yet essential feature. (Though it took me a close encounter with almost slicing my thumb off, before I realized this.) Seeing the pliers, one could think: Are those really necessary? My reply is: They are, once you've had to go without them!
A Dirty Knife for Dirty Cuts
Let's face it: occasionally all of us will be faced with cutting nasty things that makes you feel sorry for a good blade: cables, wires, cardboard, all sorts of plastic junk, anything with hidden rocks or metal pieces inside that can seriously mess up a fine knife. That's when a utility knife comes in handy, where you can simply change the blade, or snap it off, once it got used up. For things like this a cheap box-cutter will do. At the Earthship Academy, however, I got to know a much nicer type of utility knife: the Gordon. It's handy, clippable to your belt, can be opened and closed fast and safely, and you can change the blade without fiddling around with it too much. (Note how the knife in my picture doesn't even have a blade in it.) In my opinion this is the perfect extension to the Opinel and the Leatherman.
A Crude Type of Multi-tool Kit
For my final blade I can't provide a picture... unfortunately: a 60 cm (24 inch) machete. It's something I got to appreciate in Latin America, where people actually use it for a whole bunch of purposes: to cut down vegetation, to chop firewood, to do some rough construction, to prune trees, to dig up roots, to cut fingernails, and to use it as a type of crime deterrent. Of course, there are other implements that are better suited for each of these purposes, but if you simply don't have them, a machete is much better than nothing at all. I fondly remember seeing the socio-cultural importance of the machete, when I was wwoofing at a Costa Rican family: The mother was going out with her 9 year-old son to harvest coffee in their "back yard". Leaving the house, she reminded the boy: "Where is your knife? You know, men always have their knife on them when they leave home." So the kid went inside and came out with a machete on his side that almost reached the ground. That's how they went out to pick coffee... While my use of a machete is comparatively limited, it is still quite versatile and is great to have on hand.
You Don't Need Fifty-Seven Knives!
And that's it! Although I like knives, and appreciate a good blade, the minimalist in me likes to stay away from accumulating too many of them... just for the sake of having them. This is how I got to the four blades I mentioned here. On the other hand we all keep learning, making new experiences, and adapting to new situations. This doesn't stop at the knives. So maybe, at some point in the future, the few blades I consider my favorites will be made up of different ones. Until then, these are my preferred knives.