A realization

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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I've come to the realization that I enjoy searching for and tinkering with the older knives, at least more so than the new ones. Part of this realization comes from over extending myself, a lot, this summer. The other part comes from the joy I get of carrying older knives over my brand new ones. Now, I am keeping quite a few of my newer ones, but I felt it was time to get rid of stuff. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy stopping by the junk malls, flea markets and farmers market stands. I find more joy in getting an older Camillus made scout knife for a couple bucks, in good condition but old, than I do carrying a new GEC or Queen or Case. I will still keep my core group of Case Bose knives, Great Easterns and Queens, but most are going down the river. I've been offered the chance to make a knife, by some great people, and never took them up on it. I've watched some great makers at work in their shops, and have had standing offers to drop by, and have not taken them up on it.

I don't necessarily want to make knives, but I want to give it a shot. If I am horrible at it, so be it. I do want to try my hand at fixing them, and Jack Black has been very generous at sending a few pieces over the pond for me to tinker with. Right now, I have an old Camillus daddy barlow that needs a new backspring, an older Case slimline trapper that needs the kick brought down a little, an old Case jack that needs new scales, and a few others. I have been sending some knives to Bob Picklesimer, who has done some great work on some of my knives. I just want to give it a go ahead and try myself. Also, I just go head over heels for blades with thick patina and age, and bone scales that have been pocket worn over many many years.

I'll probably stay with the new ones, but the old timers just have that sirens call for me.
 
Dan, I have never been an "old knife" guy, because I just don't know very much about them, at least pre-1970. I love the look of the old Schrades, Diamond Edge, Robesons, etc., but have been chicken to buy one for fear of getting burned. I just recently bought this '50s era Schrade Walden off the exchange, because I trusted the seller. In spite of the blunt tips (I love pointy tips!) there is just something special about this one. The slender carbon blades cut like mad, and I carry it at least part of nearly every day. I may have to start checking out flea markets more often myself.

SchradeWalden890_zpsf9de364a.jpg~original
 
I've been burned a few times at the flea markets, I hope it has educated me. The absolute deals I've found probably outweigh the amount of times I've been burned. I'm not buying collector grade pieces, just patterns that I want to use. Most of them are still "useable".

My knowledge base of old patterns is nil compared to the knife nuts here, but I have a general idea. Most of these dealers have no idea what they have, and price everything through the roof. Sometimes I've left notes for them at antique malls, sometimes they email me back with a counter offer. I'm stopping at a farmers market with an indoor antique mall, two or three vendor stalls full of old knives. I know that the one has mainly overpriced rusted out junk, but I have found some real deals there too. Cleaned up a few knives, for a couple bucks here and there. They are users.
 
I can relate to the part with the old knives. I will likely not stop buying the GEC's and others that are new knives replicating historical patterns. I feel that we are quite lucky to be living in a time where a company is producing knives like this for us to enjoy. But.....I also find myself looking at old knives a lot lately. I don't have the luxury of shopping at flea markets and such as you do, so all my shopping has to be done on eBay. Makes it tough when most everything is in an auction format with thousands of competitive bids.

I've especially been looking at vintage fixed blade knives. Don't know - just something about the history of them I guess.

So yes, you are not alone with looking at and buying these older knives. What I need to do is study how to work on these old knives to clean them up without ruining them.
 
Old knives in good shape and bargained priced.... I have kept my eyes opened for lately. No luck thus far, but my search will continue. I like the idea of owning in good shape older pocket knives... they are historic/nolstalgic... and made old school. Good luck with your searches... and good luck on the making your own :-)
 
GEC is my favorite company right now, but there's definitely something I can't quite describe about putting a 40 year old Case in my pocket, or my 1980 6318HE which was born the same year I was. Even using a recently made Camillus or Schrade has some pride and nostalgia, since the companies aren't around anymore.
 
I love the look and materials of many of the new knives but I am and always will be an old knife addict. Today's stuff just doesn't have the same effect on me.
 
Not hard to understand a love of the old ones. There's something special about an old knife, blades a bit skinnier than they used to be, grayer than they used to be. Jigged bone scales with the jigging polished down to a ghostly presence of what it was when it left the factory. Polished by a zillion handling's of the owner as he cut something, and maybe a bit of worry stone fondling of an old companion. It has a history. It has stories to tell of who knows what, but it's fun to speculate. Who carried this knife so long, and where did it travel. Of course, the would be writer in me likes to romanticize this. Bringing one back from the brink by repairing it must be a special feeling of accomplishment. An old timer ready to serve again in some distant fish camp or even just sitting on the porch whittling.

Carl.
 
Great thread Dan :thumbup:

silenthunterstudios said:
I've come to the realization that I enjoy searching for and tinkering with the older knives, at least more so than the new ones. *
Click to expand...

Then you're going to have months of fun with the two wrecks I put in the post!! :D ;)

Seriously, I can relate very much to what you say my friend, as most here know, I very much enjoy searching out old knives and rescuing them from fleamarkets. It's a great challenge, so much more so than just writing a cheque. I've had a few good finds, and a lot that were in need of some TLC. My skills are very modest, and sometimes the knives are beyond repair, certainly by me. Cleaning them up, and tinkering with them though, fixing the minor faults when I can, gives me a lot of satisfaction. I like to carry an old knife, something with a bit of history, particularly when through a modest amount of work, you can give it a new life.

Good luck with what you're doing Dan, and I hope your skills go from strength to strength. If you're ever short of something to tinker on, I'm sure I can always rustle up an old knife needing some care and attention :)

Jack
 
jackknife said:
Not hard to understand a love of the old ones. There's something special about an old knife, blades a bit skinnier than they used to be, grayer than they used to be. Jigged bone scales with the jigging polished down to a ghostly presence of what it was when it left the factory. Polished by a zillion handling's of the owner as he cut something, and maybe a bit of worry stone fondling of an old companion. It has a history. It has stories to tell of who knows what, but it's fun to speculate. Who carried this knife so long, and where did it travel. Of course, the would be writer in me likes to romanticize this. Bringing one back from the brink by repairing it must be a special feeling of accomplishment. An old timer ready to serve again in some distant fish camp or even just sitting on the porch whittling.

Carl.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

And sometimes when you get it on the stone, you can't believe how good the steel is, just a few strokes and it's got a razor sharp edge. Those old fellers didn't just make great-looking knives, they used great steel too :)

I've spent the past few days wrestling with my computer, which is having all sorts of problems, and it's been really frustrating, partly because I don't fully understand what I'm doing. In contrast, I find working on an old knife very relaxing, they're simple things in comparison, and if there's something I can't fix, at least I understand WHY I can't fix it.
 
I do have big paws, and tend to drop the smallest of screws. Diabetic neuropathy doesn't help, or pinched nerves which set fingers to jumping around going hey macarena, when you want to get some precise work done. But hey, I'm doing my best :D.
 
I wish I was more of a tinkerer, but I just don't have the motivation for it. Because of that, I love hearing about what others can do.
 
getout87 said:
I wish I was more of a tinkerer, but I just don't have the motivation for it. Because of that, I love hearing about what others can do.
Click to expand...

There are certainly some very talented tinkers (and whittlers) here, and it's great to see what they can accomplish :)
 
As a knife modder, I find myself drawn to knives that are not new. Sometimes 1 broken blade allows you to go ahead and try something on a knife that you wouldn't even think of normally with a complete one.

I often find myself setting a knife aside for future consideration even if the only thing good on it is a full blade or cool looking bolsters. There is also something to be said about that old carbon steel...
 
I like old knives. they have a history , even if its unknown , a connection to the past and more soul as a consequence. nothing wrong with a new knife , it just has not been places or done things , which may be seen or imagined on blade or bolster.
 
I love older knives, especially companies that are out of business like Camillus and Schrade. (I know they're still operating, but it's not the same!)

My newer Traditionals, meaning ones still in production, don't really "do it" for me. It's the old Schrade 1040T or the old Imperial Barlow or something or other knife in that class that calls to me. They just have a completely different feel.

Maybe it's because they're harder to find. Production knives like GEC, Case, Queen, CSC, etc all put out nice enough knives, but they're very easy to find and buy.

Maybe that ruins the fun.
 
Very cool Dan! I started by picking up beaters/ hard users and cleaning them up. I found it very relaxing and rewarding, and the " new" seemed to last a while longer. This led me to more involved re-furbing and modding.Best of luck to you on your endeavors, sounds like you know some folks that could really show you the ropes. What's to loose giving your hand a try at it.
 
Looks like I'm the odd man out. Old knives don't do much for me. Unless it's one where I knew the previous owner or a historically interesting knife like Abraham Lincoln's congress. All I see is an old knife. I don't daydream about its past life as a dodo skinner.

It's not that I'm not interested in history, far from it. As a matter of fact it was one of my favorite subjects in school and it's what I majored in. It's just that I'd rather make my own history with a knife than make up some fanciful story about some beater that I found in some antique store. Current production, NOS, custom -- I'd much rather put on the scars myself.

- Christian
 
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