Anyone still carry a P38 can opener?

I have a P38 on my key ring between a couple of the grocery store discount tabs. That way I never have to worry about it opening.

Mine says U.S. Koolaire 1951. I'm pretty sure I picked it up at a gun show.

Pam
 
I got one on my key ring carried since '69. Bought a couple much later for car glove boxes. Like so many have said the "John Wayne" has had many uses for me. Don't forget if necessary the blade makes a good fingernail cleaner :barf: :) :eek:
 
I have been carrying mine since I was a scout in the infantry in the army in 1977. It has never left my key chain since. The most useful piece of stamped metal every made IMHO.

KR
 
GarageBoy said:
With poptops the norm these days, anyone still carry a P38 can opener?
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I do. I carry it with a safety pin to keep it from opening on my keychain along with a Powerful Pete 4 way screwdriver, a Bassett Trim Trio knife and tiny LED flashlight
 
Yes. Years ago we had Thanksgiving dinner at my BIL's place. Someone brought some canned cranberry sauce. My BIL didn't have a can opener in his kitchen! They looked through all the drawers and cabinets twice, still nothing. Bless my wife "Do you have that little can opener on your keys?" Problem solved.
 
I don't carry one in my pocket anymore , always have a Sak. But there are a couple in the vehicle. In my EDC bag all my cook kits. My original one given to me by a family friend in 1972 is on the keyring for my bicycle locks. That original p38 was in an original military meat can mess kit that the man who gave it to me was issued in the military early Vietnam era . I still have that too
 
As I recall, they came with K rations. I used to carry one while on active duty. It came in handy when opening cans of tuna, which I ate for supper. Once I snagged a wife, it wasn't used much.
 
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Necro thread!!!!

Definitely have one in a bugout/camping bag. Don't carry one on my person though.
 
I bought one because my dad used to keep one on his keyring when I was a kid, but honestly, I regularly carry items that are far more useful and versatile. So I've never really used it for anything.
 
i kept one in my wallet for a number of years. handy little tool and very inexpensive at surplus stores. I put one in my hiking/hunting pack, in my duramax and even in my work tool chest for times when a certain co worker tried to open a can with a Philips head screwdriver
 
My first exposure to a p-38 was a VN Vet friend of mine. He had one on his keys. He had one on his keys. When I asked about it, he got all teary eyed and somber. He said he left the hootch to go pee and a mortar fell into the hootch destroying it. All his friends died. When he went to get his stuff the only thing not destroyed was the p-38

A couple weeks later I heard banging coming from his camp site. His wife was trying to open a can with his p-38 and a large rock!

I got her my “swing away” hand held can opener and told her to keep it.

I have this on my key ring. Works good and doesn’t flip open all the time. IMG_20180711_094312-986x2202.jpeg
 
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P-38's were standard issue in every box of K-rats; IMO they're 1 of thee most useful/valuable tools I have on me to this day. Everyone in our Seabee Battalion called them- "my John Wayne."

I still use my JW several times a week on average, if I don't have time to make a sandwich I'll just throw a can of tuna & beans along with fresh fruit/veggies & nuts in my truck & I'm good to go for the rest of the day.


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Still have the one I snagged in Basic in 1977. Wore it religiously on my dogtags with a spare house key for about 20 years after I got out of the service. Old
habits are hard to break. (I was driving a lot, and figured it couldn't hurt to keep the dogtags as a flameproof form of ID in case I got in a wreck and became a
crispy critter.) As others have mentioned, my P-38 was indispensable as a screwdriver, improvised cutting tool, etc. Finally retired that one when I almost lost it and
opened up a brand-new US Shelby in wrapper that I'd stashed away while in the service. For over 20 years, the only can openers we had were 2 P.38's that
we kept by the sink in the kitchen. My wife never complained or thought anything about it; she was pretty fast at opening cans with them! (Finally, I broke down and got her an electric can opener.)

Carried the "new" P-38 on my key ring for years but hated the damage it did to my pockets, so moved the key ring to a keeper suspended from my belt -- easy to get
to keys and no more holes! I recently asked a younger friend (who now has 18 years on active duty) if anyone ever carries a P-38 on their dogtags any more, which was ubiquitous in my day. After asking me what a P-38 was, he said "no, nobody does." I explained to him how useful they are for all sorts of things and offered him one of my
issue ones if he'd agree to carry it. Nope.

On a whim, I bought a new P-38 at a surplus store, and it didn't work well at all for opening cans. Originals were very well made and infinitely durable, but
since they quit making them for the government, they are now making some really shoddy ones for surplus stores. So, buyer beware!
John
 
Odds are J jackknife is still carrying one. Tried carrying one myself (before hearing about the safety pin trick) and hated it for the damage it did to pocket/wallet contents. While P38s and P51s are very effective, they both hurt my fingers to use. Much prefer a Vic can opener if it's gotta be carried on me.
 
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