1971 Boy's Life magazine knife

Railsplitter

Railsplitter

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I just had a flashback that really brought back some memories and I thought I would share it here.

When I was 10 years old a friend and I saved up our milk money to buy a couple of knives that were advertised in the back of a Boy's Life magazine. I couldn't remember how much we paid but a member of another forum posted a link to the Boy's Life website and I found the advertisement in the June 1971 issue. Looks like we paid $2.48 for both knives. We just put cash in an envelope and sent it off. I remember how excited we were to get those knives. Of course, back then nobody got an email shipping notice or a tracking number so we just had to wait for them to show up.

The friend that went in on this purchase with me got hit by a car a few years ago while crossing the street and sadly, Joe is no longer with us. He would have loved to see this advertisement because until now it was only engraved in our memories.





The link itself is very interesting because you can read any old Boy's Life magazine from cover to cover. Thought some of you old timers like me might enjoy it.

http://boyslife.org/wayback/
 
Lovely post Rick. I most certainly would have been very excited to have sent off for that as a lad, its a smart thing, great warrantee too. Sorry to here about your friend, sounds like you shared some good times. I very much look forward to reading through your link and will set aside some time tomorrow to do so. My kind of thread this, thanks for sharing. :thumbup:
 
Holy cow! That was the first pocket knife I ever got! My cousin Ritchie had one and gave it to me when he saw how much I liked it. It was 1975. Oddly, like you, I lost that friend. He was a few years older than me and when in high school, he got mixed up with the wrong crowd. He ended up overdosing and dying at school one day. Despite all that, most of my memories of that knife and Ritchie are very good.

Thank you for the walk down memory lane and a reminder of my journey toward being a knife enthusiast (knife nut).
 
Great thread, very nice to be able to solidly connect to a past memory that is fuzzy at best. I started getting Boy's Life around 1962 - I can still remember pouring over all the ads and dreaming about some of the stuff advertised. OH
 
Thanks for the replies so far folks. Something told me I'm not the only one who remembers these knives and ads.

I remember wanting one of those Mini Bike or Chopper Kits in the ad section too but I knew that was way out of my reach.
 
This post just placed me in a time machine and sent me back. Boy's Life and the Weekly Reader were what got me hooked on a lifelong passion for reading. Thanks for posting this Rick.
 
I was also 10 in 1971 & remember that ad very well. Never ordered the knife, but wanted to. I did order the miniature camera that had a tiny roll of film. Did not work too well. My dad use to bring home some cheap knives salesmen would give him though.
Thanks for bringing back a great memory.
 
Not being an American, I don't know about those mags and ads but I can certainly relate to them! The allure of an ad when you were a kid and having to put money by to buy it. I remember an ad for Opinel knives when I was about 11 that set me alight. What a genius knife I thought. Nor was I wrong.....:D

Thanks, Will
 
pmek5 said:
I was also 10 in 1971 & remember that ad very well. Never ordered the knife, but wanted to. I did order the miniature camera that had a tiny roll of film. Did not work too well. My dad use to bring home some cheap knives salesmen would give him though.
Thanks for bringing back a great memory.
Click to expand...
I remember those cameras, never got it to work, though. :D
I also remember saving Bazooka Joe Bubblegum wrappers to send off for a pocketknife. Six to eight weeks later, it was a disappointment.
 
They had an ad for a squirrel monkey for $18.95. I wanted one real bad.
 
Yep, definitely remember the ad and the knife. I think I ordered mine from a Fur, Fish and Game magazine. I also remember being a little disappointed with how dull the thing was. Sadly, it was lost years ago.
 
Oh, my. Oh. My.

Reading Boy's Life cover to cover was a favorite activity — I saved every issue.

Looking through the 1960 issues online, I find myself remembering images, diagrams, stories, and ads I haven't looked at since the issues were new. The neckerchief slides to carve, the ads for military academies, Aurora's slot-cars.... My Bridgeport Scout hatchet cost only $4.35!

The real car ads were, frankly, wasted on me — too young. But those rifle ads....

Oh, my.
 
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