Jack B - Kilroy Woz Here! - Bozeman, Montana, USA

That just made me Google "mre postcards".

MRE Postcard Forms in 2006 MREs - MREInfo.com

 

Glad to see that it got there so promptly!

Here's the backstory: as you guys sussed out, the card was made from a bit of packaging from an old MRE. (Just how old we will get to......)

 

I was out for a hike in the hills.




Normally in summer I just take a handful of trail mix with me, but being a cold winter's day, I hauled along an old MRE. This one was left over from my days in active service:




This MRE was date stamped 7151, meaning it was assembled on the 151st day of 2007. MRE's are designed t obe shelf-stable (i.e. stored in a deuce-and-a-half) for 5 years, so this one was a bit past it's 'use-by date'. I had stored it in the proverbial 'cool-dry-place', so I expected that it would be.....edible.




A quick look at the contents of Menu No. 3:




There are a few tricks (rules really) to enjoying an MRE, especially an old one:

1. MRE's must be eaten outside. It is acceptable to eat an MRE in a tent if it is raining and the tent has at least one leak.
2. MRE's should be eaten when one is tired, cold, wet, hungry, and thoroughly exhausted. Meeting two criteria is required, three criteria met will ensure a nice meal
3. Use all the Tabasco. The provided bottle is a single serving for MRE's. Use it all! (Modern MRE's don't have Tabasco, morale must be low and I can only imagine that troops are under-weight.)

I had been hiking and was a bit sweaty, it was around 0ºF, and I was hungry--you know lunch was good!

View from the lunchroom:

 

I'm still kinda new here and don't know how much nonsense you guys enjoy. If anyone is interested in tasting notes for this 13 year-old MRE, let me know and I'll run my mouth (keyboard) a bit more......

 

Can't be worse than eating WW II era C-Rats in 1974...

 

I guarantee this MRE tasted better than any C-ration at any time.

 

We can fix that......

Any dietary restrictions, Otto......?


p.s. The Buck 112 was used to open, not included in the meal.... ***sigh***

 

Hold Fast!

Air drop scheduled for Saturday, repeat, airdrop scheduled for Saturday....

Agreed! Brass bolsters and Rosewood (I think). Buck has released the venerable old 112 with newer materials, but I still prefer the old Brass and Wood.


Top: Buck 112, Bottom: Buck 110


There is a military history story about the origins of the Buck 112:

When the Buck 110 came out in the 1960's, it proved to be very popular with soldiers and sailors (still is, I guess). Well, you know what sailors are like.... It seems they couldn't resist squabbling amongst themselves and sticking each other with their Buck 110's.

A ship's Captain grew weary of the casualties and banned any knife with a blade over 3". The 110 has a 3.75" blade, so it was a banned knife. Buck answered by developing the 112 (nicknamed 'Ranger'. Why? I don't know.). For that reason, the 112 will always be a sailor's knife in my mind.

 

great post, Jack.
wish we still had the ability to rate posts, like the old days.
10/10
two thumbs up

 

Thanks, Poppy!

(still learning my way around here....)

 

Otto, and ALCON, a couple years ago I toured the Buck factory out in Post Falls, Idaho. It was a fun tour!

I was very impressed with the people who were working there and their dedication to making great knives. Buck has a 'forever' warranty and if there is a problem with a knife they will make it right.

When I say 'they', I mean Danny. The warranty department consists of one gentleman, Danny, who has been working at Buck for some 44 years now. So, if there is a problem with a Buck, Danny will fix it. If he can't fix it, Buck will replaced it.

As you can tell, that impressed me.

I own several Buck knives, and each has been excellent. I'm sure there are some lemons out there, but they haven't come my way.

I've heard some guys complain that Buck changed it's steel at some point and the new stuff isn't as good as the old stuff. That may be, however, I can say that from the factory tour I learned that Buck has a very sophisticated heat treatment process and they seem pleased with their steel (which is a 420HC 'stainless' steel.). I keep my Buck's shaving sharp. They take a wicked edge. I'm not sure they hold an edge as long as some other knives with high-tech steel, but that's never been an issue for me.

If you are looking at finding an 'heirloom' knife, consider ordering a knife from Buck's custom shop. I met the guys there. They all have a love of knives and a lot of experience. You can order a 'custom' knife from Buck's website. The Elk handled 110 in the picture above came from Buck's custom shop. They have several different options for handle materials. I ordered the one above with a fancier steel, S30V, which is very nice, but, honestly, doesn't make a difference for me (I use a knife daily, but not intensively. So it's easy to hone the edge back to razor sharp if needed.). From that website, you can ask for some engraving on the blade or scales--like your boy's initials. That would be a very special knife indeed.

So, yes, I think Buck's quality is excellent these days.

(BTW, if I sound like a salesman, I'm not. I'm not affiliated with Buck in any way. Just grew up with Buck's and love 'em.)

 

Glad it arrived safely!