I've got a couple of stainless ones made by Credo of Germany. I used to get them with each can of Drager O2 Booster pump drier cartridges. They about 4cm long, wish I'd kept more now.
I'm going to have to get a few P51's. Funny, I haven't seen them at the local gunshows in a very long time.
I bought two of the Coghlan's P-51 style openers, absolute rubbish they were. They just bent. But the genuine Shelby P-38 works great.
I have a couple of can openers like these, and one ride on my EDC keychain. (If I still have any others, they're floating around somewhere and cannot be pinpointed at this moment.) The one on my keychain is not likely to be "genuine" (although I don't know exactly who makes the "genuine" ones in the first place). It is engraved, "U.S. Speaker" on one side. I cannot remember where I got it. Might have been from an outdoor outfitter store that has since gone out of business around here. It's not a Coghlan's, near as I can figure, and I suppose that's good. I've opened cans with it and it has not bent. It is a bit tarnished, though, that's for sure. Now, about this mod... I gave it a shot, made a nice little doohickie with my Leatherman and a paper clip. I installed it, and then quickly determined for myself that not only was this a solution in search of a problem, it also was likely to generate a problem all its own. It seems to me that the tips of the clip would likely be dangerous the way loose ends of staples are dangerous when sticking out of paper. (I encounter that kind of problem all the time at work.) Apart from that, my knockoff here has a peculiar quality: it seems to hold itself closed, and when you open it for use, it snaps open. Then it sort of snaps closed, too! It never opens on its own more than about 20 or 30 degrees from flat. I don't generally pocket my keychain, but even outside my pockets, it doesn't seem to want to snag anything anyway. Thanks for the idea, though. It seems to be a good find for lots of others!
My first encounter with the P-38 was in JROTC, during survival training. My school's assistant army instructor had worn one on his dog tags since Vietnam and instructed us to put one in our survival kits. Many of the NCOs I trained with held their P-38s in very high regard and never loaned them out. The devices were kept under a watchful eye and an understood threat of violence was associated with attempting to walk off with one. Sometime later in life I was shown a P-51 and fell in love. Its larger size was so much easier on my large hands. Always wanted one of my own, but I'd never been able to find one. Thanks for the link! I think I'll have to nab a package of 10!
I just picked some up at a surplus store in Central City, Iowa for .50. By the way, that is a great store with many bargains.
Got a P38 & P51 in different bags. These tools are very handy, they ain't your regular can opener. LOL
I have a FRED instead of a P-38 or P-51 I have one that I have modded that turns the spoon into a spork...how handy is that
where can one get FREDs? I know there are some that are in camping stores but they are a really soft amterial and bend easily.. shade
Freds are Australian from what I hear they are basically the same as a p38 but no bottle opener and no big end. not nearly as nice. Freds>38/51
I have a little strip of black electrician's tape holding mine shut and the end is folded back on itself to make a narrow little nonadhesive tab to use to pull it off. unobtrusive as all get out, works, and you can, of course, reuse it. I've had the same P38 since 1967. The more I use it, it seems, the sharper it gets.
I carry a P38 I got from a case of C-Rats in 1981, just before the Army switched to MREs. It used to live on my dog-tag chain but now resides on a keyring. If you are really after "authentic" or "vintage"... or are interested in the history of that little gem, check out this website: Georgia Outfitters He sells them all, and there are lots of great stories behind them. It's amazing how people get attached to such a thing (like me! :idiot2: ) I bought a bunch of P-51s to give to my Boy Scouts...
Im not quite willing to pay the price for shipping. it runs me 8 dollars in shipping. its crazy. take the 15 min drive down to the army navy store even though they cost 3$ apiece.
If I could make a suggestion regarding the loose blade on older P-38s: You know those little magnets we stick on the ends of flashlight batteries to fit them into chargers designed for larger batteries? Glue one of those on the handle of the P-38 in the area where the blade folds onto -- that will keep it closed even if the hinge gets loose.
Even brand new P-38s/P-51s have developed loose blades after even a single opening. I've used cellotape to keep my P-51 closed. Granted, electrical tape does probably have quite a few more uses in it, but I'll go that route later. ^^;
