In praise of the P38 can opener....

[orangetom1999]

While up at the furnished cabin just outside of Waynesboro, Virginia.....we stopped at the local Wal Mart to get groceries to see us through the week.

While preparing dinner the first evening...the olde type hand can opener did not seem to work...it appeared to just be worn out...and was one of those olde squeeze together handle types where you squeeze and turn the butterfly knob...


I remembered that I had brought my daily BOB as it had in it my 2 meter walkie talkie, shortwave receiver and MP3 Player with FM radio. But it also had in it a small supply of P38 military can openers.

I took one out and proceeded to open the two large cans of corn to be prepared for dinner.
That got us through the night and a few other dinners to follow.

I don't like to leave home without a P38 and often have one on my various key chains. I just knew to put some extras in my various BOBs.

Great invention the P38 can opener and one which is "Almost" GI proof.

However...I think I am going to update my stash of P38s with the some of the newer larger ones..the P51s .....with more mechanical advantage by design. The P51s work the same way ...just a bit larger...more leverage.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[eagle326]

Yep still carry mine that I had in Nam from 70 to 71. She's old but runs like she did back in the day. :)

[orangetom1999]

Yep still carry mine that I had in Nam from 70 to 71. She's old but runs like she did back in the day. :)


Wow Eagle...you were in about the time I was in the USAF...69 to 73. Was supposed to go to Na Trang in 72-73..but by then they were winding down the war. I wound up in Iceland for my last year.

Still...I always try to keep a P 38 around. They come in handy for the strangest things including opening cans.

But as I get older...it is a bit harder on my wrist. Yup....time catches up with us.

I am thinking about upgrading to a P-51 can opener.

Thanks for your time in country.


Orangetom

[Sniper-T]

I wonder if you put a wrap of tape around it if they would 'notice it' at the airport?

[eagle326]

Wow Eagle...you were in about the time I was in the USAF...69 to 73. Was supposed to go to Na Trang in 72-73..but by then they were winding down the war. I wound up in Iceland for my last year.

Still...I always try to keep a P 38 around. They come in handy for the strangest things including opening cans.

But as I get older...it is a bit harder on my wrist. Yup....time catches up with us.

I am thinking about upgrading to a P-51 can opener.

Thanks for your time in country.


Orangetom


Was in from 68 to 73 . 82nd 68 to 70 ; 101st. 70 to 71 Nam ; 27th Engr. Btl 71 to 73.
I've used 51's and they are easier but I'm still able to work my 38 pretty easy. Don't want to retire the old girl until I can't operate her any longer. It would be like getting a divorce or a death. :(
Thanks I gained many brothers during that time.

[Gunfixr]

Thank You for your service, both of you.

We have a nice little stash of p38 can openers. I've seen but not tried the p51.
I have one on my key hair that's been there 35yrs, still works same as when I got it.
You gotta be careful now, buying them. Since they haven't made them in some time, there are cheap copies available, not as good as the real ones.

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[orangetom1999]

Was in from 68 to 73 . 82nd 68 to 70 ; 101st. 70 to 71 Nam ; 27th Engr. Btl 71 to 73.
I've used 51's and they are easier but I'm still able to work my 38 pretty easy. Don't want to retire the old girl until I can't operate her any longer. It would be like getting a divorce or a death. :(
Thanks I gained many brothers during that time.

Agree eagle,

I too am not getting rid of my P38s. I am however going to keep on hand some P51s. I do not get rid of even an olde jacket which has serve me well....I keep trying to patch them up to keep going. It is my way.


Thank You Gentlemen,

Orangetom

[Katrina]

I had mine in my wallet February when I flew back from taking care of DIL. No one said anything to me about it.Either they didn't know what it was or they just ignored it.

[orangetom1999]

Got 20 P 51 can openers in the mail today. I have put several in my daily go to and fro work BOB.

I will be putting some of them also in my GHBs in my various vehicles.

I think this will offer better leverage over the long run with my wrists....but will not be getting rid of my P 38s,

Thanks,
Orangetom

[Domeguy]

Thank you OT. This is one small area among many I was lacking. I ordered 5 of the P-51 can openers that arrived today. One going into each vehicle with the car GHB, and one in each BOB at home,
and put the other in the wood shop. Again, thanks for the reminder.

[Kesephist]

If memory serves, Coghlans offers a more -51 - like can opener, a bit longer and the end dished out into a spoon, all in stainless. But the basic premise of the 38/51s is dead on... simple, hard-wearing and nearly GI proof. Would there were more such tackle these days.

The terribly taxed Kesephist

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Thank you OT. This is one small area among many I was lacking. I ordered 5 of the P-51 can openers that arrived today. One going into each vehicle with the car GHB, and one in each BOB at home,
and put the other in the wood shop. Again, thanks for the reminder.

Great, now I know where they're at in case I need one........neighbor.

Never had much use for sharp objects in rubber boats. However one quick wrap of tape will suffice and render it harmless to said vessel. Then again, the navy had those in all lifeboat survival kits.....back in the day. We had canned water in the kits, yeah really, the lifeboat capsules were opened, inflated, tested and inventoried every 5yrs. The cans were later replaced with plastic containers.....which later sometimes leaked and evaporated. But then they got rid of the P38s, no need for it cause everything is plastic. Let me know when I start making sense..........

[eagle326]

Great, now I know where they're at in case I need one........neighbor.

Never had much use for sharp objects in rubber boats. However one quick wrap of tape will suffice and render it harmless to said vessel. Then again, the navy had those in all lifeboat survival kits.....back in the day. We had canned water in the kits, yeah really, the lifeboat capsules were opened, inflated, tested and inventoried every 5yrs. The cans were later replaced with plastic containers.....which later sometimes leaked and evaporated. But then they got rid of the P38s, no need for it cause everything is plastic. Let me know when I start making sense..........

Yep ; Going from metal canteens to plastic canteens. Metal okay. Plastic you could taste and smell the plastic as you drank.

[orangetom1999]

I don't like Gatorade sold in those plastic bottles. But I do like their heavy duty plastic bottles. What I do is buy three plastic bottled Gatorade drinks..and pour them out.Then I rinse the bottles out and put water in them from the water cooler at work. Two of these bottles I keep in the door shelf of the fridge at work. The other I fill, drink, and rotate out with the other two from the fridge.

The idea here is to always have two bottles of water on the ready line ...ready to go if SHTF while I am at work. On the way out the plan is to grab my BOB and the two bottles of water.

The one empty is in my daily BOB right now right here behind me at this computer desk and I fill it up when I hit the clock at work as the cooler is next to the clock.

Occasionally I will buy new Gatorade bottles and pour out the Gatorade and clean/rinse it out for water....swap them out.

The other reason I like this type of bottle is that they have a wide opening at the cap and come in handy for one time use with some duct tape. This is secondary to it's use as a heavy duty water bottle.

Agree with eagle about the plastic bottle taste..but they are handy in the Gatorade bottle form.
I remember the metal canteens...with the removable food container with handle on the bottom of them.

Thanks,
Orangetom

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Soooooooo, now we know what you do for work.......er, ah, at work that is. But I do like your plan.........always have a contingency.

[orangetom1999]

Was thinking about this from page 1 of this thread...by Katrina.


I had mine in my wallet February when I flew back from taking care of DIL. No one said anything to me about it.Either they didn't know what it was or they just ignored it.


The reason I say this is because my wallet is a set of PS 13 lock picks.

http://www.gun-room.com/online/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=17


I've carried them with me for years and years now...daily. I have to be careful when going into airports, courts and such but try to stay away from the same.

This is a type of thinking and skill for which I picked up from the olde timers at work. Saved myself a ton of monies over the years in locksmith charges...in opening my home, my garage and even my older cars and truck...when locked out.

I have another two sets of them set aside in my other BOBs.

Have a lot of keys on my keychain as well as my P38.
I expect that they know what a P28 looks like under an x ray at airports...there are literally millions of them circulating around the country and world.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Not an Ishmaelite

[Gunfixr]

Around here, carrying lockpicks on your person if not a licensed locksmith is a crime, possession of burglary tools.

I have a couple of the old steel canteens, with the cups.

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[orangetom1999]

Around here, carrying lockpicks on your person if not a licensed locksmith is a crime, possession of burglary tools.

I have a couple of the old steel canteens, with the cups.

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Yup...same here.

So too is making your own silencer...even a one time silencer.


Oh...wait a minute...we are in the same jurisdiction...by your profile.

Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

Making your own silencer is not prohibited by state law in VA.
It is prohibited by federal law, if you don't first pay the tax stamp.

I have 3 silencers I made myself, all of them registered and legal.

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[orangetom1999]

Making your own silencer is not prohibited by state law in VA.
It is prohibited by federal law, if you don't first pay the tax stamp.

I've not been impressed with Federal law in a long time now...in particular with the joke our pseudo leadership has made over the years of that very law for profit....lucre/politics. Also the current joke they are making out of the FBI and other alphabet agencies...to support a whorish body politic.

And these guys are worried about me with a gun...and ammunition....Wow!! Or the knowledge I have because I don't watch the NFL OR NASCAR...or the Kardashians.

They need to be worried about me down at work...handing Uranium 235.


I did however have a interesting conversation with one of the security guards at work, also a member of the same gun club to which I belong, who told me this via his interaction with the local constabulary.

He told me that often in murder cases involving this kind of one time use...they know because of the plastic pieces/traces often found in the wound cavity. While I am not in the forensics profession ...I found that piece of info to be interesting.

As to lock picks....at one time there were many many people, like me, who had lock picks down at work. Today these people have been replaced with new calibers of folks who mostly know how to text message. They come to us when they have problems with their keys or locks...often I tell many of them no..I wont help them.

I did not learn these skills "Instantly." They need to learn to do something more than just text message.

My nightmare dream/scenario is to be stuck on the famous desert island with 400 people who mostly know how to blame other people and claim "victimhood" and or text message.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

I've never heard of one time use plastic suppressors, and them leaving traces behind, but I cannot claim it's never happened. I do know enough about them to say that a plastic suppressor is more likely to be a gun mounted grenade than anything else, which is why I think it's unlikely.
More likely is the killer trying to muffle the gun sound by sticking something over the muzzle, akin to the pillow over the gun you see on TV. In such an instance, there's not much chance of an illegal suppressor conviction. However, attempting to hide the gun sound is likely to show premeditation, which gets a murder 1 hit. But I am not a lawyer, that could be wrong.

I suspect that the National firearms act of 1934, which is the one that put suppressors, short barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, and other such items under control was, if not heavily, at least partly in response to the outlaw activity of the 20s, when gangsters seriously outgunned the police and fbi. At that time, the $200 tax was a very big sum of money, not affordable to most. It ended going into the local hardware store and buying a tommygun.

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[orangetom1999]

Gunfixr,


I do know enough about them to say that a plastic suppressor is more likely to be a gun mounted grenade than anything else, which is why I think it's unlikely

This would depend on the amount of muzzle blast upon detonation. This meaning the caliber chosen. Also the stoutness of the plastic bottle used.

It would be ridiculous to try this on my Thompson Contender in .35 Remington. In that case it would indeed be grenade...so to speak.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

Using a plastic bottle, it's pretty much a 22lr, not much more.
Nothing of any serious power.

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[orangetom1999]

Using a plastic bottle, it's pretty much a 22lr, not much more.
Nothing of any serious power.

Plastic water and or drink bottles come in a lot of types and strengths of plastic. Also a lot of different moldings...for strength.

This is why I choose the Gatorade bottles though I do not like Gatorade.

I try to stay away from those thin bottles for which you can easily fold up...once they are empty.

They will more easily crack and leak with extended use.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

I stay away from all plastic bottles, I have real suppressors.
Smaller, stronger, last longer. You can use the sights, and accuracy is not degraded by the bullets going through the plastic.

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[orangetom1999]

Gunfixr and others,

I don't have much use for a suppressor/silencer. For most of what I need to do here in Suburbia..I can use .22 shorts.


It is the basic knowledge which counts and makes the difference in our lives. What we know how to do and or adapt in a pinch.


Not the attempts by the law to keep People Properly "Herded."

I have little use for someone trying to "Herd" me...inside or outside of the law. I also don't have much use for or respect for two legged wildlife.

I am the kind of fellow who can respect the motivations of four legged wildlife ...better than the two legged variety.


Preppers.....preparing for SHTF Or TEOTWAWKI are not going to be concerned about the law....decency yes...but the law no..not necessarily ...and particularly if it only functions to properly and politically and or socially to "Herd" people by censorship or to prevent thinking.


In SHTF or TEOTWAWKI it is going to be those who can think and function outside the box......who are going to do better than others who cannot so do.


This means people who have better than a television and movie education. It is the knowledge which is going to make the difference to people out here..... not rules....regulations.....job security and or legalities...designed to herd people.

It is the same in Natural Disasters....those who know more than television and movies...text messaging.....are going to do better than those who only know what all the Stars are doing or what is in fashion and out of fashion...or the gods of sports.


It is the knowledge that is going to count....


Taught myself Morse code from audio tapes...this continues to this day...

Taught myself to reload....with help and advice from some olde timers at the gun club.

Taught myself to take apart car engines and rebuild them...small engines as well.
Lots of books on this topic line out there if one is willing to learn and apply it.

Working on Submarines for so many years taught me how to work in very tight spaces and even modify and adjust tools for specific jobs..even one time use when modified.

Taught myself how to build resonant antennas for transmitting as well as for receiving.

Taught myself how to manufacture my own lock picks if need be and what works best in the manufacturing. How to make my own lock pick shims as well from .005 shim stock.

One can teach ones self a lot of things/skills if one is so willing and has some basic disciplines to back it up. Not two legged undisciplined wildlife....hell bent on 'Instant Gratification."
I taught myself to spot this kind and caliber of two legged wildlife very quickly...male and female both.


There is not, in the foreseeable future, going to be a shortage of plastic bottles.....



Had a chance to try out a friends suppressor on a 6.8 mm SPC AR rifle with very short barrel...a sort of CQB Set up...with a threaded barrel and suppressor. It was quiet sufficient to hear the buffer spring working in the stock.

But that is a calibration I would prefer in a bolt action rifle...not an AR platform...6.8mm....6.5mm etc. etc.

Suppressors require maintenance....and of course know how to get it properly done. Not insurmountable of course..and not rocket science.


I bring this up in light of the information given to me by a fellow who worked for a gunsmith at one time.

They would get in, in particular, certain Ruger Auto pistols. People would get them taken apart and then not be able to get them back together. I busted out laughing when he told me this story. He told me that they got sufficient number of them in so that they added to the tab..what they called "A stupid charge" to get them put back together for these people.
More money then they have brains. These types of people need suppressors....definitely.
They can send them to the gunsmith to be cleaned...and put back together for them.

I have set aside die nuts and taps for 1/2 inch 28 thread and also a set of taps and dies for 5/8 24 threads per inch....just in case. Also thread files. I am also aware that there are other thread sizes and pitches in use.

But the plastic bottle requires no maintenance.....to hold liquids or for other uses with duct tape.

And plastic bottles are everywhere today....everywhere.


How many people today can even think it through to put water in a plastic bottle to get them through the day and reuse it....or for anything else with said plastic bottle???


But how about those Kardashians!!!!???



Thanks to all for their posts,

Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

A suppressor is a tool, like any other thing. It is for you to decide whether they serve a function in your needs/wants or not. Having done the plastic bottle thing, I can say there is no comparison. As for herding, or being on a list, if you are on a prepper site, you are already on a list. Personally, I think we all need to be on the list. They need to know there are too many of us to deal with. That, is our power. It is, of course, everyone's personal choice to make.

As for needing maintenance, somebody has the wrong info. Yes, 22lr units need periodic cleaning, but centerfire calibers, not so much, and many are permanently assembled, they are gtg for the life of the unit, which is many 1000s of rds for a well made design. For the user-maintained models, they are no more complicated than most firearms, less than many.

I've taught myself many things also, and am already looking forward to more, so I definitely get it. I too often either could not afford the pro, or had a "pro" mess up the job, and figured I couldn't do worse myself. But, I recognize my limits.

Yes, I've put back together many Ruger 22 pistols I did not take apart, plus many they somehow got together wrong, and we're locked up, plus unable to be disassembled in the normal manner. Suffice to say, when you're handed the phone, and the question is, "can you put back together a gun you didn't take apart?", you're getting a "gun in a bag/box". The Ruger 22 auto is probably at the top of the list. Usually, there's something missing. It's really fun if it's some old gun, and this is the first one you've seen, and it wasn't real well known, so there's no schematics. I never charged "stupid expensive" fees for that, though. I might if you lie about taking it apart yourself. But, if you're an adult enough to own up to it, it was just shop minimum.

I will say that if you're planning on just threading muzzles with a die nut, just use plastic bottles, anything more solid, there's going to be issues. That's OK for flash hider, but not for suppressors or serious muzzle breaks.

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[orangetom1999]

Gunfixr,


A suppressor is a tool, like any other thing.


Exactly correct...they are a tool...suppressors. What the plastic bottles are is convenient...by the fact that they are everywhere...and so too is duct tape. This set up is for close in work as they verily cover the sights.

Speaking of sights. I notice that there seems to be a new generation of suppressors which are offset...so as to not cover the sights. I can appreciate this kind of thinking and design consideration.


As to being on a list.....I know that I am on several lists ...not because of Preppring per se...but because of the work I do with nuclear materials....and other aspects of my work history.



I too often either could not afford the pro, or had a "pro" mess up the job, and figured I couldn't do worse myself. But, I recognize my limits.


My sentiments exactly. I have also run across a caliber of people who do not want others to know anything they know....a sort of closed shop...if you like. But with determination one can learn many things people do not ordinarily want them to know or about even which to think.

This kind of awareness caused me to take the classes and get my refrigeration certification...fixed and mobile. PLus I wanted to know if I could do it...make the grade so to speak.

It was the same with getting my Extra Class ham ticket...could I make the grade when so many stop at General Class. Did I have the stuff to make Extra Class.


That is one reason I prefer the back shift. Most of these people tend to be daywalkers and cannot function well at all at 4 in the morning....or without a lot of support systems backing them up.

ON the back shifts people tend to work together simply because there are so few of us. You learn quickly or you don't make it. Most daywalkers will not cut it on the graveyard shift as a steady diet. For the simple reason of there is so little support on the back shifts...compared to daywalkers.

And backshift people tend not to be afraid to teach others what they know because there are so few of us ...we are not protecting territory as daywalkers tend to do.

I can appreciate a good teacher. Also it is good to teach a person who gets it...to see in their eyes and mannerisms that they understand the process and why. To see it in their very soul..that they get it and can draw on the required thinking and turn it into actions/skills as needed.

Once In awhile one runs across olde timers or those taught by olde timers who have certain skills and knowledge's and can teach you things which are not necessarily in the classroom books...so to speak. Now this is a rare and memorable moment.

But still...one needs to work within one's limits....guided by common sense.


Nonetheless I have no ambition to own a suppressor.



LOL LOL LOL.....


you're getting a "gun in a bag/box".

That is exactly how the fellow narrating this tale of "the Stupid Charge" described it...you would get a bag or box of parts.
It happened sufficient that they decided to make money off it...and for what they considered stupid reasons. But that is their business..I just noted the tale and have never forgotten it for the ...what I consider stupid reasons it happened. Stupid but humorous.

Now I am no one special...but tales like this one make me realize how unmechanical and un thinking some people really are.


This line of thought came to me years ago when It occurred to me how many people buy new batteries for their vehicles and frequently but never think to check their water levels or clean their battery terminals.
It is as if it is not connected somewhere in the gray matter.

Same thing with all the lawnmowers sitting in piles on peoples curbs..waiting for the trash man.

They don't have a clue as to the simplicity of how to keep and maintain such equipment's ....much less take apart and put back together a pistol or rifle.

But how about those Kardashians, NFL, NASCAR, Television and movies!!! So many of them are "Experts" at those items and programs.


And as to this....



I will say that if you're planning on just threading muzzles with a die nut, just use plastic bottles, anything more solid, there's going to be issues. That's OK for flash hider, but not for suppressors or serious muzzle breaks.

Oh..I agree...

I have access to a number of taps and dies kept here. Metric and American.This only rounds out my tool compliment even more. Dial indicators, Micrometers...et al.

I have also found a thread file to be very handy for the solution to many thread problems...and thus keep a couple of these sets handy here as well.


I also have access to a number of lathes at work. and materials from steels to brass...including exotic stainless.



Nonetheless I have no ambitions to own a suppressor and get on another list/lists...more than already I am.

As I stated...the plastic bottles are everywhere.


Nonetheless for me it is the knowledge...outside of the Kardashians, NFL, NASCA and Sit Coms which counts.
Not running with the "Herd."




Oh....by the way...before I forget...

I believe Ruger became aware of the problems and limitations of their .22LR Auto pistol design and have updated this pistol to be more user assembly/disassembly friendly.

I had to laugh when I saw the ad for the new and improved Ruger .22 LR Auto pistol.

There goes "The Stupid Charge."

I'll keep my Ruger Government MK II Target pistol as I have taught myself to assemble and disassemble quite well.

I can appreciate this particular and older design and model as it is very accurate.



Thanks,
Orangetom

Not an Ishmaelite.

[Gunfixr]

Well, I haven't messed with a mark 4 Ruger, but the mark 3 is actually more complicated than the 1 and 2, which are the same, as far as disassembly.
Those were usually the ones they managed to get assembled wrong, and then it was locked up, and could not be disassembled in the correct manner.

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[Domeguy]

Quote Orangetom : But still...one needs to work within one's limits....guided by common sense.

Well shit...now you tell me...I’m sorely lacking in both...and now insulting the Kardashian’s...Sir, you have crossed the line.

[Socalman]

I love how this thread morphed from P-38 can openers to suppressors for firearms!

[realist]

Is that a bad thing? Oh sorry, stay on track......focus, focus, focus, oh something shiny....have I told you about my surefire light.....

[Kesephist]

My nightmare dream/scenario is to be stuck on the famous desert island with 400 people who mostly know how to blame other people and claim "victimhood" and or text message.


Thanks,
Orangetom

Simplest solution, man... be the lifeboat officer. Find the worth-a-damn three or four out of that 400 that statistically exist, and make them officers too. And warn them... headshots only.

Kesephist

[orangetom1999]

by Socalman,


I love how this thread morphed from P-38 can openers to suppressors for firearms!


and realist ...


Is that a bad thing? Oh sorry, stay on track......focus, focus, focus, oh something shiny....have I told you about my surefire light.....


LOL LOL LOL!!!!

We are still on track.

Are not suppressors sometimes called "Cans??"


Deep...really Deep!!!


Thanks,
Orangetom

[Gunfixr]

I have a p38 pistol.

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[Domeguy]

I bought a pistol when I was 38.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

I have a p38 pistol.

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Mine's a 1944, goes along with the 44 Mauser, it's a metric tool kit. I like 1944, seems a few of my "toys" bare that date.

[Gunfixr]

Mines not collectible at all, it's a later police gun.
So, I've shot the hell out of it.
It's actually a rather fun gun to shoot, everybody likes it.

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[orangetom1999]

LOL LOL LOL...


I don't know why gunfixr....I keep thinking of the P 08......you are speaking of the Walther P 38....I think!!??

And not the can opener....though I am sure you can open cans with your P 38.


Thanks,
Orangetom

[realist]

Does it matter I had a girlfriend with 38s and was a pistol?

[Gunfixr]

Actually, I have both the handgun, and multiples of the can opener.

My woman is more like 42s.

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[Kesephist]

And to snap things back a bit more to topic...

https://www.cheaperthandirt.net/product/coleman-can-opener-2000016417-076501923131.do?sortby=ourPicksAscend&page=2&refType=&from=fn&ecList=7&ecCategory=198071

Of which I have just ordered three pair.

Kesephist