Saw blade function worked well
After that I tried out the blade on whittling a point and no surprise there because it was sharp as delivered:
Whittling with straight blade
It was a beautiful day outdoors. We'd just had some rain the night before and everything was fresh and green, like this Hummingbird Sage [love the tea from this]:
Hummingbird Sage makes a nice tea with
Decongestant medicinal properties
I saw a lot of Dusky Footed WoodsRat dens scattered off the trails in the woods:
WoodsRat den
I wore the knife and sheath to work last night at my second job [stock clerk] pulling pallets and stocking shelves...lot of movement. I checked the sheath and just as I'd expected the flimsy web loop was already stretching. The stitching was starting to stretch as well:
Stiffer belt loop fabric needed
The sheath needs a thicker/stiffer piece of nylon, sewn flat against the backing...such that you can barely slide belt through. It'll stretch a little with time, but this is not going to last. You'd have to carry it in a pack to avoid losing it.
Camp craft whittling
I attempted to sharpen my pruners with the file blade, but the file is too soft and couldn't scratch the pruner's blade. In fact, the double-cut checkering started wearing away. I tried it as a wood rasp and it worked okay, so that's the most you can expect from the file function. That was a disappointment:
File will function as a wood rasp
I also tried the Phillips Head screwdriver out. I tried screwing a wood screw into some Douglas Fir 1 X 3. This is one of those "Half Phillips" in which the cross tips are ground short so it doesn't require as much space in the handle [and thus a slimmer handle profile]. These are stinkers because they slip out of the Phillips slot, but worse, the Phillips blade kept collapsing under pressure because it does not lock. So, I gotta say, there's room for improvement here. But KILIMANJARO GEAR does offer a Lifetime Warranty [original purchaser/no abuse] and that's not bad!
Anyways, it was a good outing. Oh, and I managed to gather up about a pound of litter from the park and trails. Last time I added it up a couple of months ago I figured I'd gathered over 50# of litter:
Take some litter out with you. Leave the
Trail better than you found it!
I've got some more testing to do on this multi-tool, so we shall see. It's an attractive design and I really like it, but there's a few things as mentioned that I'd fine-tune to make it an even better product.
Have a great week!
WOODS DEVIL / GOBLIN RANGER
Yet another well written and informative article from the Goblin Ranger. I look forward to the follow-up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind remarks Dan. You'' appreciate this...today, I took this Kilimanjaro Gear multi-tool to S.L.O.CAMP N' PACK [cnptactical.com] to get some opinions from the staff. As you know, I have a lot of respect for these folks. The business is owned by a USAF veteran and all of the staff have outdoors experience; they sell quality products and know equipment and blades very well. The feedback was good. They rated the retail value in the $35.00-50.00 range. The actual MSRP is $39.99, so I was pleased to hear they thought the price was right. Jason, a BCUSA forum member who works at the store, thought the quality was good. He felt the Phillip's screwdriver should be changed to a full Phillips tip even if another tool had to be ditched. I was thinking possibly the small screwdriver blade could be placed on the can opener like a VICTORINOX and ditch the separate blade. He also said a spring to open the Plier jaws [like the GERBER "Suspension"] would save a lot of manipulation effort.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to take a look at it when I come out later this year. I carry the Leatherman MUT. which as an armorer is an appropriate tool for me, but is not overall a good bushcraft tool. BTWYou should send your 200 back to Leatherman as it does carry a 25 year warranty.
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