P38 Striker for Metal Match

[Rick]

For those that may not know, a P38 can opener makes a great striker for your metal match. I carry a mini match and a P38 on my necklace just for that purpose.

[Gray Wolf]

I like to use the P51, it's a little larger and I find it easier to grip using it as a striker.

Rick, your carrying one of the most versatile tools around!

Uses for the P38

This list of P-38 uses was compiled by Steve Wilson, MSG Proponent NCO, Dept. of the Army Office of the Chief of Chaplains, The Pentagon. It is posted at the Ft. Bliss Air Defense Artillery Museum among other places:

1. Can Opener
2. Seam Ripper
3. Screwdriver
4. Clean Fingernails
5. Cut Fishing Line
6. Open Paint Cans
7. Window Scraper
8. Scrape Around Floor Corners
9. Digging
10. Clean Out Groove on Tupperware lids
11. Reach in and Clean Out Small Cracks
12. Scrape Around Edge of Boots
13. Bottle Opener
14. Gut Fish (in the field)
15. Scale Fish (in the field)
16. Test for 'Doneness' When Baking on a Camp Fire
17. Prying Items
18. Strip Wire
19. Scrape Pans in the Field
20. Lift Key on Flip Top Cans
21. Chisel
22. Barter
23. Marking Tool
24. Deflating Tires
25. Clean Sole of Boot/Shoe
26. Pick Teeth
27. Measurement
28. Striking Flint
29. Stirring Coffee
30. Puncturing Plastic Coating
31. Knocking on Doors
32. Morse Code
33. Box Cutter
34. Opening Letters
35. Write Emergency Messages
36. Scratch an Itch
37. Save as a Souvenir
38. Rip Off Rank for On-the-Spot Promotions
39. Bee sting removal tool (scrape off w/ blade)
40. Sharpen stick or pencil

[Rick]

Anything named John Wayne has got to be good.

[mbarnatl]

I always carry mine on my keychain. I have carried a P38 with me since I got my first one in boot camp in July of 1981.

[Nativedude]

"I like to use the P51, it's a little larger and I find it easier to grip using it as a striker. . ."

I too, prefer the P-51 over the P-38. Much easier to grip and hold onto than the P-38. And it is an excellent striker for the mish-metal spark starters.

[Rick]

Okay, I bought a couple of P51s and I must say they are quite a bit larger than the older p38 that I'm accustomed to. Unfortunately, they make pretty bad strikers. Tiny, tiny, TINY, spark some times while the P38 kicks off a doozy of a spark. I guess the morel (pun for canid) is if you are looking for a PXX and want to use it as a striker, try before you buy. The newer stamped units don't appear to have as much carbon in them. Now you know.