Knife collecting is certainly an enjoyable hobby. Different people collect for different reasons and most people collect for multiple reasons. Some of the reasons are:

* Enjoyment. Life is a challenging experience for most people. It comes with good times, bad times and a lot of time that is best quantified as being neither good nor bad...but more a means to one of the other outcomes. Having enjoyable hobbies makes our life journey more pleasant and provides a nice…

Continue

Buried Steel Treasure: Big Book Of Pocket Knives…and the discovery of Belknap-John Primble knives

 

 

A few months ago, I discovered an absolutely wonderful series of books. All of the books in the series are authored by the team of Ron Stewart and Roy Ritchie. These fine gentlemen have been around for quite a while…and their names are likely quite familiar to any serious collector of vintage pocket knives. Even though I’ve…

Continue

Well friends, it’s been quite some time since I last visited iKnifeCollector. Suffice it to say that other things in life took priority. As I’m sure many of you have experienced yourselves, life is like that…particularly when you are past the midpoint in your own existence. Nevertheless, my interest in knives hasn’t wavered a bit. In fact, my continuing and growing affinity for traditional slip joint knives is connecting strongly with the stage that I’m at in life.

 

As any of…

Continue

So...here we are. The end of an era. That phrase..."The end of an era"...has been so overused. Perhaps...just perhaps...it's use here lacks the correct..."gravity".

In Part 5, I showed you photos of the Hecla Mining operation...or, more specifically, the ruins that still exist. I stated that even though mining operations had long since ceased, Hecla's main headquarters continued to function in Burke all the way into 1982. And then...the inevitable finally happened; they closed…

Continue

Once again, I'll pick up my little story about Burke, Idaho. In Part #4, I conveyed a snapshot of history involving the most infamous of the Hercules Silve Mine's owners, Mr. Horsley. I also started to show you some images of the Hecla Mining Operation that lined one side of the town of Burke. I promised more photos...so here we go!

Though in Part 4, I showed…

Continue

First, let me apologize for taking so long to get this out. Between work and being sick, I just haven't been able to move on to the next chapter of our little story. Onward!

In the previous posting, we left off at the end of what remains of Burke's Commercial District. Thus far, nearly all of the photos that I've shown have been of homes, buildings, vacant lots and hillsides located on the left side of street that runs right through the middle of the town. Are you curious to…

Continue

In "Burke, Idaho, a Modern Ghost Town and a Lesson in Economics Part 2", we left off at the point where some inhabited homes transitioned into totally abandoned buildings. As you can see from the closing photo in the previous blog posting, the left side of the street was largely "residential".

One of the physical challenges that the surrounding landscape posed for Burke's residents was that the floor of the canyon is only 300 feet across. Once that "flat" floor space was used…

Continue

For those of you that have been enjoying my blog posting on Burke, Idaho...here is Part 2. More than likely, this will be a 4-part "series". It did dawn upon me that being as this site is "iKnifeCollector.com", my posting something not-so-knife-related might turn a few people off...I decided to do it anyway. Why? Well...I've noticed that most of us that enjoy slip-joint pocket knives, think a little "differently" and tend to truly enjoy Americana and American History. Sure, I enjoy modern…

Continue

This weekend, my wife and I decided to take a drive...a long drive. This is something that we've enjoyed doing for decades. We've done it so much that we have to drive further and further away from where we live just to see something "new". So...I had to do a fair bit of research to find a possible destination. We live in Eastern, Washington. The economy in this part of the country...aside from the past 30-ish years...WAS driven by farming, logging and mining. Over the past century, we've…

Continue

With expected consistency, all knife enthusiasts see articles, videos and postings that talk about the level of quality in a variety of knives. Certainly, we've all heard people proclaim that certain knives have the “best quality”. Just as often, we've heard other people espouse an opinion on that same knife...that is contrary to what the other person claimed. So all this hubbub got me to thinking; Quality...what is it? Frankly, that's a BIG question. It's a subject matter of massive…

Continue

On the heels of AG Russell's statement...and my own blog on "Where does that knife come from?", this blog posting attempts to tackle another controversial issue; Chinese-made knives. Before I really get into answering the title's question of "When is a Chinese-made knife NOT ok?", I should probably lay a little groundwork:

 

* I have Chinese-made knives in my collection. I do. They are from a variety of manufacturer's brands. Some are liner locks. Some are slip joints. Some are…

Continue

Recently, I read multiple postings on the AG Russell forum. People were discussing the pros and cons of where knives are made. Predominantly, the discussion seemed to revolve around the somewhat controversial topic of whether or not people should buy knives that aren't made in the USA. Reviewing those postings got my mind to thinking...so I've decided to share some of those thoughts here.

 

First, I think that it's important that we be able to voice our opinions without people…

Continue

Man oh man! 2010's first quarter is pretty much "history"...and now the big boys are releasing their new knife models. There are some really cool production knives hitting the market right now! Particularly from Benchmade and Spyderco. If you've checked out my page recently, you've seen photos of the new Benchmade 941 Onslaught and Bone Collector knives. Just yesterday, I received my new Spyderco Endura 4 with the gray FRN handle scales and full flat-ground blade. Talk about smoking cool! Cool… Continue

Friends-



One of the real joys that I've experienced on iKnifeCollector is the sharing of new knife acquisitions. Whether living vicariously through other people's collections...or simply sharing the fun of a new knife, I really enjoy it when one of you lets me in on your latest blade purchase. In fact, it is through that interaction that I've been introduced to some of the coolest knives in my collection. With that in mind, I try to reciprocate by sharing my "new" family members as I… Continue

Given that this site is "iKnifeCollector", I think it reasonable to assume that most of the members have a "Steel Addiction". Sure, some only have a little "itch"...while for other folks, it is a full-blown case of Chicken Pox. I probably fall into the latter category. My "Steel Addiction" isn't restricted to one or two types of knife design; it covers a pretty wide range. From old-fashioned pocket knives to modern "tactical" folders to fixed blade knives, I pretty much "dig them all". From… Continue