- Joined
- Feb 7, 2000
- Messages
- 6,676
This past Saturday, my wife and I took our daughter and dog on a day hike in the woods. That morning, for some reason, rather than clipping my standard outdoor carry (frn Spyderco Endura) to my pocket, I decided to strap on the decidedly low-tech lockback that I gave to my grandfather years ago (I subsequently inherited the knife, a Schrade LB7, after he died in the early 90s). I've never carried this particular knife though I used to have one just like it - more on that, below.
Anyway, with Pop's LB7 on my belt, dog on leash, grub in backpack, baby in backpack carrier and wife in tow, we took the train 30 minutes out of the city and headed up into the woods. When we stopped for lunch, I used the knife to cut bread and fruit, etc. My wife asked, what's with that knife, is it new? No, I told her, and then went on to explain how when I was 12 or 13, my grandfather had remarked on the one that I owned, saying how you could open a knife like that with just one hand - see, he'd come back from WWII with just one arm. He liked knives but in those days before one-hand openers were common, he just opted to not carry a pocketknife at all. So for Christmas one year I saved up a bunch of dough (at that tender age, an LB7 was the most expensive gift I'd ever given anyone) and bought him a knife like mine. I also related to my wife how, when I was a kid, my old LB7 was the knife I always had on my belt or in my back pocket when tramping through the woods, camping, fishing, traveling or just generally getting myself into the trouble that teenagers generally find themselves in.
Years later, after I'd inherited Pop's, I sold mine for a song.
Sitting in the woods, thinking about the first owner of the knife, and about all the good times I had with my original one, brought back a FLOOD of memories. There's just something about knives (not to mention the great outdoors) that brings about a real connection with our past. Am I right!? When I got home that night, I broke out the polishing cloth and shined up that LB7 like new.
As the summer rolls in, my wife and I have a bunch more day hikes and weekend trips planned. I have a feeling I'm going to be putting in a lot of miles with that clunky, old-fashioned time-machine on my belt.
Anyway, with Pop's LB7 on my belt, dog on leash, grub in backpack, baby in backpack carrier and wife in tow, we took the train 30 minutes out of the city and headed up into the woods. When we stopped for lunch, I used the knife to cut bread and fruit, etc. My wife asked, what's with that knife, is it new? No, I told her, and then went on to explain how when I was 12 or 13, my grandfather had remarked on the one that I owned, saying how you could open a knife like that with just one hand - see, he'd come back from WWII with just one arm. He liked knives but in those days before one-hand openers were common, he just opted to not carry a pocketknife at all. So for Christmas one year I saved up a bunch of dough (at that tender age, an LB7 was the most expensive gift I'd ever given anyone) and bought him a knife like mine. I also related to my wife how, when I was a kid, my old LB7 was the knife I always had on my belt or in my back pocket when tramping through the woods, camping, fishing, traveling or just generally getting myself into the trouble that teenagers generally find themselves in.
Years later, after I'd inherited Pop's, I sold mine for a song.Sitting in the woods, thinking about the first owner of the knife, and about all the good times I had with my original one, brought back a FLOOD of memories. There's just something about knives (not to mention the great outdoors) that brings about a real connection with our past. Am I right!? When I got home that night, I broke out the polishing cloth and shined up that LB7 like new.
As the summer rolls in, my wife and I have a bunch more day hikes and weekend trips planned. I have a feeling I'm going to be putting in a lot of miles with that clunky, old-fashioned time-machine on my belt.
, 'til I receive my Dad's old knives, but I will cherish them like gold.
