- Joined
- Oct 25, 2009
- Messages
- 1,192
Let’s see how this goes...
Most of the old-school “knife guys” I know give knives away on a semi-regular basis. I’ve sometimes referred to myself as a SAK evangelist, as I’ve been known to pull the knife out of my pocket and hand it to someone I just met in an effort to convert my new acquaintance to the Victorinox faith.
So, old-school knife guys, here’s my question:
What’s the last knife you gave away, and why?
This isn’t about promoting one’s own generosity; it’s about sharing the special event or special recipient that inspired the gift.
I’ll start. I’ve mentioned in passing that throughout my childhood my father always had a knife in his pocket...and that he abused it terribly. The little peanut he usually carried had a broken main blade, and its secondary pen blade had been mis-sharpened (and misshaped) into a Wharncliffe. When working on our farm his tool of choice was an ancient hawksbill folder that he never managed to break—but not through lack of trying.
My younger brother recently purchased a small hobby farm, so Dad has made it his daily post-retirement morning ritual to pop by to check on the livestock and effect whatever repairs he thinks need doing to the many dilapidated pens and coops, usually through the liberal application of baling twine. The last time I visited he was performing his chores with a gosh-awful folder of indeterminate steel with a butter knife edge.
I couldn’t buy him a new knife, as I knew he’d toss it in his sock drawer rather than risk scuffing it up. So I decided to send him the Tribal Lock that I’ve used for the past year or so as a Father’s Day gift. It will lie flat in his pocket, it should bear up well to rough use, and I’ve already pre-scuffed for him. I think it’s an ideal gift for the finest man I’ve ever known.
Most of the old-school “knife guys” I know give knives away on a semi-regular basis. I’ve sometimes referred to myself as a SAK evangelist, as I’ve been known to pull the knife out of my pocket and hand it to someone I just met in an effort to convert my new acquaintance to the Victorinox faith.
So, old-school knife guys, here’s my question:
What’s the last knife you gave away, and why?
This isn’t about promoting one’s own generosity; it’s about sharing the special event or special recipient that inspired the gift.
I’ll start. I’ve mentioned in passing that throughout my childhood my father always had a knife in his pocket...and that he abused it terribly. The little peanut he usually carried had a broken main blade, and its secondary pen blade had been mis-sharpened (and misshaped) into a Wharncliffe. When working on our farm his tool of choice was an ancient hawksbill folder that he never managed to break—but not through lack of trying.
My younger brother recently purchased a small hobby farm, so Dad has made it his daily post-retirement morning ritual to pop by to check on the livestock and effect whatever repairs he thinks need doing to the many dilapidated pens and coops, usually through the liberal application of baling twine. The last time I visited he was performing his chores with a gosh-awful folder of indeterminate steel with a butter knife edge.
I couldn’t buy him a new knife, as I knew he’d toss it in his sock drawer rather than risk scuffing it up. So I decided to send him the Tribal Lock that I’ve used for the past year or so as a Father’s Day gift. It will lie flat in his pocket, it should bear up well to rough use, and I’ve already pre-scuffed for him. I think it’s an ideal gift for the finest man I’ve ever known.
) so amidst all the eggs and bunnies I slipped an unopened 34OT into his basket. He was very proud of his "grown-up" knife. 
