Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by bill bedenbender on May 23, 2009 at 20:45

I sell cars for a living and one day I sold this car to an older lady. She saw me use one of my pocket knives. We started talking about how her husband use to carry a knife with him. Well a few days later she brought in a little baggie filled with a few of them that she said she found and I might as well get some use out of them. There was a nice little Barlow knife that I carry sometimes. It is one that I won't ever get rid of. I thought that was super cool of her.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Scott King on May 23, 2009 at 21:30

That is a cool story, Bill. She obviously thought a lot of you.

Reminds me of the story about the man who did a favor for someone, who offered him to reach in his bag as an attempt to return the favor. The man who did the favor thought to himself "what could this old man offer me from a bag of rocks. The man who had the bag told the other man to dig deep and get as many as he wanted. The man reaching in thought I'll only get one of this old man's rocks. And he did. Without looking he then put it in his pocket without looking at it. Later that night, when he was getting undressed he reached in his pocket and remembered the rock the old man have offered him. He reached in and pulled out a large diamond.

Permalink Reply by Gritter Trash on June 4, 2009 at 18:24

Oh, man, I sort of wish you didn't ask, but since you did...

When I first got into knives, I bought my father a Spyderco Para-Military for his birthday. He's always been a "knife-guy" but managed to cut his finger (badly) within the first few seconds of ownership. He loved and carried that thing and abused it for many years. Or so I can tell, because I never saw him alive again.

I got a call, and had to go to the scene of his murder (600 or so miles north), and there I saw the Para-Military. I instantly pocketed it.

I was his only heir, so I inherited everything, but his mother (my grandma) decided she deserved all his belongings more, and wouldn't let me have any of it. There was a LOT of sentimental things she stole out from under me, like my very first Harley Davidson, (that he had now), etc.

I even asked her about the knife. She told me he loved that thing, but "lent it to one of his biker buddies" and that she'd try to get it back for me...

Anyway - long story short - I have that Para, and it's the ROUGHEST condition Spyderco I've ever seen (my dad was pretty hard on his stuff), and the ONLY thing I ever got from my dad in my entire life, but it was something that I originally bought from him, and had to "steal" back.

Then one day, I read about an old Japanese philosophy: "If you give a knife as a gift, you sever that relationship. You have to have something exchanged for it, such as a poem." Well, I can't help but believe that superstition now, because I lived the truth of it, so I have made everyone write me a haiku for me to give them a knife since, and haven't "severed" any other relationships.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Scott King on June 6, 2009 at 6:47

Gritter- Yeah, I can definitely see where that knife is "worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox," as they say. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Permalink Reply by SSOAA on August 25, 2009 at 3:31

First knife i ever bought.

i remember one day i was in a mall with some older kids ( i was in the 2nd grade then and living in Hong Kong) and i wondered away from them into a small cigar store. looked around since i was in there and there it was, a lil cigar knife. it is without a doubt the knife that drew me into the world of knives. still have it to this day

Permalink Reply by Jeff on August 25, 2009 at 13:52

That was a nice story Gritter.
Just for you here's the funniest Haiku I've heard so far (from poet John Cooper Clarke).....

"Writing a poem
with seventeen syllables
is very Diffic........"

Permalink Reply by Eric Heath on November 8, 2009 at 22:37

First name brand knife I ever bought. Years back at a flea market, a crkt full throttle. I saw it and thought it was the ugliest knife ever, blue handle, gold fittings, mirror blade. I was looking at allot of knives that day but I kept going back to look at it, eventually relised despite the outword appearance it was a fantastic knife for me, assisted opening (took me a while to do it right), All metal, and not to big. Many years later and the ugly blue handle got very worn so I scraped it off (Somehow no scrape marks) and now its shiny metal. Ugly gold fittings all wore off and look normal. And I grew to love the mirror polish blade which is still shiny. Cost me $20.

Permalink Reply by Samuel T. Smith on November 9, 2009 at 6:47

The old, used up big Remington moose you see in my profile picture now was one of the two knives that my Pappaw Smith use to carry. The Remington was his "Sunday" knife and his daily carrier was a Case testedXX greenbone folding hunter. He bought them both new in the 1920's and carried them until his passing from cancer in 1981. My father knowing what a knife "nut" I am gave me the Remington last year and it is one of my most valued possesions. I have alot of old knives that are worth 10x what Pappaws is worth but there is not enough money to replace the sentimental value it holds for me.

Permalink Reply by B. Davis Jay on December 22, 2009 at 9:43

I've been collecting for many years. Mostly older knives from various sources, relatives, sales, online auctions, etc. I have new knives, too. Knives that caught my eye because of design, or were made by a maker known to me. On my 15th wedding anniversary, my father-in-law gave me a gift bag. As I looked inside, he said, "I know you love knives. These 2 were given to me by a banker client several years ago. I've known that I was going to give them to you, but wanted to find the right time." Inside the bag were 2 knives handmade by James Lile, a well known maker in Russellville, Arkansas. The first was a bone handled folder, the second a heavy camp knife. I've treasured the knives as well as my relationship with my father-in-law.

Permalink Reply by L.B.Jefferies7 on December 24, 2009 at 0:37

My first knife is also my most treasured knife. My grandfather loved his Swiss Army Knife. It is a Victorinox Tinker that he had carried for who knows how many years. I grew up in a woodworking shop with just my dad, brother, and grandfather. I was home-schooled, so I REALLY mean that I grew up in this shop. But, I digress. Every afternoon, he would cut up a couple of apples for us all and his Swiss Army Knife became a definite part of his personality from the point of view of a 5-year-old. Therefore, he saw fit to buy my brother and I each a Victorinox Recruit. I have it right in front of me know (I really need to start taking some pictures, huh?). I keep it in the box which he dated "Nov 18, 1993." I am surrounded by wonderful memories of him every day, but none is greater than this very knife...with the possible exception of the original; his very own Victorinox Tinker that resides in the shop where my life as I know it literally began.

Thank you for starting this thread, Scott. I always feel just wonderful when I get out this knife and look back.

Permalink Reply by Jeremi Lett on May 18, 2010 at 5:33

The Ti-Tanto is the first knife I made.Originally,it was going to be part of a Lockheed Martin jet,and the friend who did fabrication/welding job got to keep some leftover "scrap" titanium.It was a long tough process,but I finished my first knife and it was 6Al-4v Titanium!A dream had come true for me...Making a knife.I wrapped it with 550 paracord and used it on a camping trip for many cooking/food prep things.It was nice to know it wouldn't rust overnight if left on the camp table.I later made a handle outta walnut which it still has now.I could not replace this nor duplicate this blade.I think the only way I would part willingly with the Ti-Tanto,is if somebody offered to trade me a light saber(yes I said it) of equal size.

Permalink Reply by Jean-François on December 15, 2012 at 3:55

Gritter,

Something for you :

Ozark Superstitions

By Vance Randolph

Columbia University Press 1947

 

“No hillman would think of giving a steel blade to a friend – such a gift is sure to severe their friendship. Whenever a knife changes hands, it must been paid for, even if the sum is merely nominal. I have seen a salesman, a graduate of the University of Missouri, present his son with a valuable hunting knife – but he never let it out of his hand till the boy had given him a penny.

The accidental crossing of two case knives at the table must be avoided, as it is likely to cause a desperate fight between members of the family; if knives are crossed inadvertently, they must be touched only by the same person who crossed them. If an Ozark woman finds a pair of scissors open, she closes them instantly – if she fails to do this she will quarrel with her dearest friend before the moon changes. If one finds an open clasp knife he snaps the blade shut immediately; if it is a sheath knife of the rigid kind, he thrusts the blade into the ground at once.”

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