It was a hot summer evening back in the day. Sitting on the porch with the old dudes (looking back those dudes were a few years younger than I am now) listening to the same old stories of life, love and their experiences in Viet Nam.
Quietly I was passed a beer not understanding this was it, this was one of many rites of passage from a teen to a man. I popped the top thinking I was cooler than 40 below. I wasn’t as cool as I thought.
“Boy, let me see your key chain, how you plan to open a can in an emergency, with your teeth?” That night I received my first P-38 can opener that I learned to use to vent a beer can by poking a hole opposite of the opening.
One thing I learned that night was a Viet Nam veteran was always ready. I’ve carried a P-38 or its cousin the P-51 on my key chain ever since.
What is a P-38 Can Opener?
A P-38 can opener is small folding piece of metal that can be used to open, well cans. Long
P-51 Can Opener
before the days of the MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) rations, our troops enjoyed culinary delights compliments of the C-Ration which was a canned version of today’s field rations. The guys needed a portable, reliable way to open these tinned rations hence the development of the P-38 and later the P-51 can openers.
Why Is It Called A P-38 Can Opener?
Depending on who you’re talking to, there are two answers.
- The length of the P-38 & P-51 is 38 and 51 millimeters respectively.
- Some speculate that it takes 38 cranks to open a can with the P-38 and 51 cranks with P-51 to open a can.
I tend to agree with number one more than number two.
What Can You Do With A P-38 Can Opener?
Well, you can open cans. What else would you do with a can opener? Today’s preppers have a myriad of ways to store emergency food including Freeze Dried Food Pouches and MRE Options.
These are awesome methods of storing emergency food (my plan is to lean on canned foods and use the other methods as a backup or bug-out option) however, nothing beat the good old-fashioned can for food storage.
Why Do You Need A P-38 Can Opener?
We all have an electric can opener as well as a manual can opener or two. Electric is useless when the power goes down, manual can openers tend to stay in the drawer where they can be easily forgotten if you have to hit the bricks in a hurry.
The P-38/P-51 option is a lightweight solution to your problem. If you’re like me, you always have one on your keychain (except when visiting the courthouse, you’ll have to give it up). If your keys are going, your can opener is going with you.
These openers are very light making it easy to carry more than one in your Bug Out Bag, Get Home Bag, wallet, etc. If it’s with you, you’ll always have a way to open a can.
Last but not least, a non-prep reason to carry a P-38 is that it makes drinking beer easier
- Open beer
- Use 3 cranks on the opposite of the opening
- Enjoy
There’s nothing like a tool that has multiple uses and is cheap is there?
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO 12 ESSENTIAL LOW COST SURVIVAL GIFTS
Leave a Reply