iKnife Collector
The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel
Tradition of gifting a knife
There exists a long standing tradition when gifting a knife .. one I only recently became aware of. A customer with whom I had formed a friendship expressed an interest in a friction folder I had. I had originally purchased the standard & less expensive version with D2 blade steel & was impressed enough to have already ordered the VG10 core laminated blade steel version. After I received the “upgrade” .. the next time I saw Steve .. I first showed him the “upgrade” commenting, “You're gonna like this” ..&.. I then gifted the original unit to Steve … who insisted I take a coin in return.
Being unfamiliar with the custom .. I arrogantly insisted .. “Take it, Dude. You have an honest interest in this knife .. I know that. I've upgraded to this version. Just take it, Dude” He absolutely refused & we finally got to the point where we both realized I was genuinely ignorant of a long standing tradition .. one Steve proceeded to explain to me. When gifting a knife .. some form of “payment” is given in return .. generally, whatever coin one happens to have in one's pocket @ the time. If this tradition is not followed .. there exists the chance of the gifted knife later cutting or severing the existing friendship. At the time .. I was completely unaware .. truly ignorant .. of the tradition. The exchange occurred over a year ago. Steve & I are still friends.
Fellow iKC member John Bamford recently expressed his displeasure / unhappiness / dissatisfaction with the shave resulting from the ubiquitous disposable razor most often used today. Beyond the seemingly endless addition of blades ..(6-blade version .. http://www.herballoveshop.com/product.asp?PID=106515 ).. there exists little actual variation within the field of disposable razors. My experience has been that they do not hold an edge very long & are (in the long term) horribly expensive. John decided to escape this endless cycle of replacement by returning to the use of a straight razor.
His discussion is documented here .. http://iknifecollector.com/profiles/blogs/going-back-in-time?xg_sou...
My personal point of interest within the broad field of cutlery collecting is old stampings & the history thereof. As such .. I've accumulated a # of sharp items with old stampings ..&.. there exists redundancy within my collection.
Anyway .. as time passed .. and John documented his transition to a more traditional method of shaving .. it became obvious he was serious about the whole affair. Cool !!! And John's documentation of the process rekindled in me the interest in old razors & my intent to rehandle a few that I'd purchased in a broken state years ago strictly for their stamping .. thinking perhaps I'd someday rehandle them. I un-boxed some of the razors I'd accumulated over the years & offered one to John. A few days ago .. I received “payment” for the razor. This payment was in the form of a 1901 Queen Victoria Penny coin.
The Queen Victoria penny coin was minted from 1839 till 1901. This particular coin is the last of a series of three stampings of this coin. Those being loosely referred to as …
the “Young Head” penny coins .. minted from 1839 ~ 1860.
the “Bun Head” penny coins .. minted 1860 ~ 1894.
the “Old Head” penny coins .. minted 1895 ~ 1901.
Note: There exist variations within the three types which I am not fully aware of .. yet.
Beyond being the last year of mintage, there is further significance in the date .. 1901 .. as being the year of Queen Victoria's death. At the time of her death .. she was the longest reigning monarch of the British Empire .. nearly 64 years.
Note: This was topped in 2015 by the current Queen .. Queen Elizabeth II.
I've included a few U.S. coins for size comparison. With a measured diameter of 1.213” .. it is 0.016” larger than the 1944 “Walking Liberty” half dollar positioned directly above it.
I now have a very unique token of friendship that will daily remind me .. hope for humanity is still out there.
!!! .. Thanks, John .. !!!
D ale
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on
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I just use Mr Norelco and leave a little stubble sometimes. Maybe use a razor once a week.
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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on
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I've been using an $8.00 hair clipper set from Harbor Freight, for the last several years to trim and edge my beard.
Cut my own hair a time or 2 also.
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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on
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Now then Chap's and Chapesses , it is not my habit to get between a person and his or her whiskers but I feel that you may not have given full consideration to the matter at hand .
In these day's of industrial stagnation I feel it is imperative that a person gives considerable thought to their purchasing power .You have the ability to make the lives of your fellow citizens , and indeed the whole community of workers worldwide , either one of prosperity or one of abject misery.
As I write this imploring missive there are communities of miners and steel workers around the world sitting idle and worrying how they will feed their families .
There are whole herds of Badgers stifling in their Winter Coats fainting in the Summer heat .
Hogs who could have been shaved long ago are tottering around blinded by a surfeit of hair .
Trees that should be put to the noble purpose of being shaving brush handles are still in their tree'y form covered with bark and unable to fulfill their soapy function .
Need I go on ? , oh okay then .
Stone needs desperately to be brought forth from the earth to sharpen blades and ease the poverty of starving workers .
Only recently I saw with my own eyes a file of ragged children marching bravely through the streets crying ,
"Bearded brethren forswear your swarthy ways "
Surely, my friends , you now see the unintended consequences of you actions and will forthwith embrace the scuttle and blade !
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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on
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Was seriously thinking of that. For the past 5 years I have a mustache and short goatee so I need to shave cheeks and neck. More and more guys, especially younger ones, are growing beards.
J.J. Smith III said:Aaahhhh, the benefits of having a beard.
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John Bamford said:Now then Chap's and Chapesses , it is not my habit to get between a person and his or her whiskers but I feel that you may not have given full consideration to the matter at hand .
In these day's of industrial stagnation I feel it is imperative that a person gives considerable thought to their purchasing power .You have the ability to make the lives of your fellow citizens , and indeed the whole community of workers worldwide , either one of prosperity or one of abject misery.
As I write this imploring missive there are communities of miners and steel workers around the world sitting idle and worrying how they will feed their families .
There are whole herds of Badgers stifling in their Winter Coats fainting in the Summer heat .
Hogs who could have been shaved long ago are tottering around blinded by a surfeit of hair .
Trees that should be put to the noble purpose of being shaving brush handles are still in their tree'y form covered with bark and unable to fulfill their soapy function .
Need I go on ? , oh okay then .
Stone needs desperately to be brought forth from the earth to sharpen blades and ease the poverty of starving workers .
Only recently I saw with my own eyes a file of ragged children marching bravely through the streets crying ,
"Bearded brethren forswear your swarthy ways "
Surely, my friends , you now see the unintended consequences of you actions and will forthwith embrace the scuttle and blade !
John, your eloquent dissertation has prompted me to further ruminate on the matter.
Nope, mine's a permanent fixture.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Hibar on
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As did I! For a long time after that I was sort of like this ....
Then in 2006, much like in the dialog between English Bob and Little Bill Daggett in the movie Unforgiven (where Gene Hackman replies to a question about shaving off his chin whiskers with "I was tasting the soup two hours after I et it"), I took it all off. Since then, however, I have to admit ... I use a Braun. Not as close, but safer for me than using a blade, as there are days when placing anything "sharp" near my throat might be too darn tempting!
D ale said:
I'm with you on that one, JJ.
Somehow .. I still don't know how I got away with it .. I stopped shaving 3~4 days BEFORE getting out of the army.
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I will confess to having a rather sad little moustache whose only saving grace is to cover up a scar gained in a rather disreputable fashion when I was young and foolish . It has an appearance not unlike a frightened mouse but I have grown used to it being there over the years .
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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LOL! I love a well kept beard but I would have to say Donnies' is probably closest to the dangler swaggler.
I used to be able to talk him into just the mustache every 3 or 4 years for the summer but for about the last 10 I have been unsuccessful in that endeavor. Perhaps I should try John's reasoning
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You NEVER shave a beard in the summer, Jan.
At best, you'd have a beard tan, but you're surely inviting sunburn on the exposed area.
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Permalink Reply by David Gallup on
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I shaved my beard off once, it was such an awful experience I never did it again. I do keep it pretty short most of the time. I let it grow untrimmed for my 3 week vacation, it was noticeably cooler once I trimmed it again. I'm on my second beard trimmer in 40 some years.
I've never heard of the tradition of giving back a penny for a gift knife before.
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