A realization

Being nearly 70. As a kid a pocket knife was VERY common for nearly all men. Since my dad carried a pocket knife I just automatically assumed every man did. The question of why never came up. Now a days when someone else has a pocket knife I'm quite surprised. My first reaction when I'm asked to loan my knife to someone is an uncharitable roll of my eyes and the question, "Where is yours?".

The best storys I have are one of going to Canada to a social club's annual meeting and having someone I didn't know approaching saying, "I've been told that you have a pocket knife and we need one. May we borrow yours?". Of the hundred plus people there I only knew about five.

The other story is when I fixed my daughter's braces on the side of the freeway with my Leatherman as one of the brackets that held the end of the main wire had broken off and the main wire was poking the inside of her cheek. This, of course, was on a Friday afternoon when we could do nothing else for two plus days.
 
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My very 1st knife exposure was with the Victorinox classic, it's what my grandfather carried to do almost anything with and is the knife I found on the ground at an amusement park when I was 3.
I figure that's where my then unrealized fondness for small pen knives comes from ( Ironically I don't really like the Vic classic as a pocket knife).
Various little gas station keychain knives were what I carried for the majority of my childhood because I could afford them and actually get away with carrying one around my mom, they were pocket knives and I had no realized preferences.

As a teenager though I could get away with carrying more and all knives had to be impressive within my circle, unless it was a switchblade or impressively tiny the regular small knives were out.
We knew all the flea market specials we were buying were junk, but we could afford them and they were flashy. None of us saved up for proper knives, you bought whatever new flashy junker they had available in attempt to outdo the other guys.
The tides started to turn when I got my Buck 425 though.
It wasn't a Buck 110, but I could say that I had " A BUCK KNIFE " which was understood to be a better even if it wasn't a tacticool.
After that the junkers couldn't impress as much andmy priorities could mature , I started to outgrow the junk and all of my preferences gradually began to fall in line.

I always owned various little 2 hand opening knives, I just didn't realize that I had an actual preference for them until realizing that I never really liked modern folders that much.
 
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Another ..perhaps tangentially applicable realization ive come across

I have lost knives and I don't particularly care for it. Sometimes they get confiscated by the TSA or some venue where I forgot to remove it first
Sometimes they just pull a disappearing act from my pocket.

And this has made me leery. I have several knives that were gifted to me or won in some giveaway that are so very cool and very nice.
And I am absolutely terrified of losing or breaking them.
So I've also noticed I don't tend to carry knives I cannot replace fairly easily.

And this has had the effect of me preferring more off the shelf options. Buck, case, victorinox. Cause I can just go replace it if the terrible thing happens.

The same thing kinda applies, albeit in a lesser form concerning fancy but fragile handle materials. Stag and bone in particular
I notice I tend to gravitate towards wood or delrin or even alox scales for durability (id probably include micarta in this but I've only got one knife with micarta scales so far
 
After about age 10 my dad would kick our butts if we left the house WITHOUT a pocket knife. He was a knife guy, through and through.

Later everybody wore those 110’s and LB-7’s and he wore a Mako.

He still had a pocket knife, though.

Guess that’s why I ,too, am never without at least one.
 
I agree with Rsmith_77.
While I'm not terrified of breaking or losing a knife. I won't use a knife that is worth more than $80-100 that I really like as I don't want to go to the expenense of replacing it or not being able to replace it for a reasonable cost.
Sadly this goes for most of the knives that I purchased at a reasonable price when new but aren't available anymore at a reasonable price. I'm looking at you, GEC.
 
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I have this gec trapper I think it's called a Western trapper with stag handles
And it's absolutely perfect. It checks all the boxes and I truly adore it

And I have no way to replace it or get another if I lost it or broke it
I know it's kinda dumb but that's why it just sits in my knife drawer and I bring it out to admire it from time to time :(
 
I went through this reasoning when I bought my first custom. Keep it pristine, or use and enjoy it. I'm one of those people who are just easy on stuff, fortunately, so I somewhat gingerly started to carry my customs and some of the more expensive factory knives. I've put a few unwanted scratches on blades with some careless sharpening, but overall I'm glad I decided to use them. Much more satisfying for me, anyway.
 
black mamba said:
I went through this reasoning when I bought my first custom. Keep it pristine, or use and enjoy it. I'm one of those people who are just easy on stuff, fortunately, so I somewhat gingerly started to carry my customs and some of the more expensive factory knives. I've put a few unwanted scratches on blades with some careless sharpening, but overall I'm glad I decided to use them. Much more satisfying for me, anyway.
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I agree with Jeff on this issue.
I don't have very many expensive knives, but I have gift knives that I'd hate to lose. Still, for me, almost all of the enjoyment of a knife comes from carrying and using it, and almost none comes from knowing it's mine, all mine. I once bought an Imperial Kamp-King to carry in place of my first-ever knife, a Colonial Forest-Master I've had since about 1960. But I just couldn't bring myself to put away the Forest-Master forever.

- GT
 
But going back to the original realization

Small 3 1/4 - 3 3/8 stockmen knifes
Square bolsters, preferably a pen instead of a spay blade if I have the choice

And pen knives 3" - 3 1/4" in length. Round bolsters here.

Those are the knives of my childhood
And probably where my collection will go towards for the foreseeable future.

I won't risk losing my father's case stockman
But I sharpened up and have been carrying this little camillus made buck 303 for the past couple days and presumably for the near future
 
Rsmith_77 said:
I won't risk losing my father's case stockman
But I sharpened up and have been carrying this little camillus made buck 303 for the past couple days and presumably for the near future
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I know exactly what you mean. After my father passed away, and that one fateful morning I was getting dressed and on impulse slipped his old Case peanut into my pocket, I was doomed. I got used to the little knife that could, and even my wife pointed out if it gets damaged or lost I'd feel like hell. So, I went and bought a brand new peanut that had no sentimental value and used the ever living daylights out of it.

Once an object gets that value, the sentimental value of priceless memories, the object becomes more valuable to you. The loss of it would be an emotionally heavy blow. Soooo, you save your dad's stockman and go use the ever loving dog poo outa another one. Or at least until it too becomes so valuable that you don't want to lose it, and you buy a new one to retire it.

It's a vicious circle!😳
 
I'm 60 now and when I was a youngster I never really gave knives much thought. Practically everyone had one so it wasn't a big thing. The most that I can remember seeing were everywhere; the yellow delrin Case trapper, the sawcut delrin Old Timer large stockman and the Buck 110. As far as I can remember, patterns like pen knives, congresses, whittlers, equal end jacks, etc., were never around. Occasionally you would see a kid with a cheap Kamp King, I had one. I used it for cutting out model kit parts. Sometimes I would see someone hunting and they would have a stacked leather handle belt knife, brand unknown to me. When I was working with my Dad we we always had Stanley or Klein utility knives for cutting everything from sheetrock to shingles. I carried those for 35 years.

Around 25 to 30 years ago I got interested in knife collecting and history, starting research and buying knives. Never have gotten really much attracted to the "modern era" knives, just not what I've ever been much familiar with. Via web sites like this I discovered a treasure trove of information of knife companies and patterns. Many knives are older than I am. 1965 sure doesn't sound like 60 years ago!
 
Have carried a pocketknife most of my life. My first quality knife came around 1962/63 when I got my Cub Scout pocketknife, that was followed in 1966 with a Boy Scout Knife (I had three younger brothers, my Cub Scout knife got handed down to one of my brothers). I got my first quality pocketknife for Christmas in 1972, got to pick it out - it was a Buck 301 Stockman, my grandma bought it. In my mind, whether Buck, Case, or Schrade (those were the brands I coveted looking in hardware store display cases) it was going to be a Stockman for me. My dad and granddad mostly carried the Klein ROMEX skinners (I had several too) but they both also had the TL29 Electrician knives - I know we carved my first Cub Scout pinewood car and my neckerchief slide with one of those TL29’s that my dad had on his workbench - I still have the neckerchief slide. I carried the Buck until my grandma died in 1989. I started selling building materials in 1983 and had switched to wearing dress slacks, the 301 was loose and heavy in the front pocket; I bought two small Schrade Stockman and carried them when working until I lost the last one in 2005. Briefly switched to a Case Small Cokebottle but didn’t like the lack of a Sheepfoot, so I went to the Case 6318 and have been a steady carrier of those ever since. At 70 I think the Stockman is my lifetime choice of patterns (even though I own a lot of pocketknife patterns in my collection).
 
Old Hunter said:
Have carried a pocketknife most of my life. My first quality knife came around 1962/63 when I got my Cub Scout pocketknife, that was followed in 1966 with a Boy Scout Knife (I had three younger brothers, my Cub Scout knife got handed down to one of my brothers). I got my first quality pocketknife for Christmas in 1972, got to pick it out - it was a Buck 301 Stockman, my grandma bought it. In my mind, whether Buck, Case, or Schrade (those were the brands I coveted looking in hardware store display cases) it was going to be a Stockman for me. My dad and granddad mostly carried the Klein ROMEX skinners (I had several too) but they both also had the TL29 Electrician knives - I know we carved my first Cub Scout pinewood car and my neckerchief slide with one of those TL29’s that my dad had on his workbench - I still have the neckerchief slide. I carried the Buck until my grandma died in 1989. I started selling building materials in 1983 and had switched to wearing dress slacks, the 301 was loose and heavy in the front pocket; I bought two small Schrade Stockman and carried them when working until I lost the last one in 2005. Briefly switched to a Case Small Cokebottle but didn’t like the lack of a Sheepfoot, so I went to the Case 6318 and have been a steady carrier of those ever since. At 70 I think the Stockman is my lifetime choice of patterns (even though I own a lot of pocketknife patterns in my collection).
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I think from reading these posts that our recollections differ from the parts of the country and trades. Like your dad and granddad carrying the TL-29's that made sense how they made their living. And I think rural vs urban makes a difference. A kid growing up on a ranch will maybe gravitate to a stickman, or like you, the building materials made a sheeps foot a handy blade to have. it all comes down to what you're doing, and where you're doing it. A Montana rancher and a Washington D.c. guy will have vastly different uses and needs.

Growing up, I had a foot in two different worlds that were way apart. From school stating to school out, I was in D.C. as a city kid, and not really needing much knife. Even after dad moved us out to the Maryland suburbs of D.C., I didn't need much knife until I became a boy scout and dad gave me a Camillus scout knife. But more the men folks I knew, all had some kind of small, keychain size little pocketknife. One of those little imitation pearl celluloid handled things that were on the standup cardboard display at the five and dime store. Or one of those Trim trio jobs also from a stand up cardboard display.

But, when school wa out, I got to go down to Maryland's eastern shore to spend summers with the grand folks and cousins that were working watermen on the Chesapeake Bay. Whole different environment and knives. Granddad had a nice Hen and Rooster stag stockman, but he was the exception. A lot of Imperial Barlows, Old Timer's, Case jacks, war issued old TL-29's, and some fixed blades like Little Finn's. These made by case mostly, but also Western and Kabar.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
I wonder if time period matters to this
I grew up in the 80s/early 90s

My grandfather's were ww2/Korea veterans
My father and uncles were Vietnam or Vietnam era veterans.

I grew up in a small town. Not exactly in the country but certainly not no city slicker despite being born and raised in New York.
 
jackknife said:
I think from reading these posts that our recollections differ from the parts of the country and trades. Like your dad and granddad carrying the TL-29's that made sense how they made their living. And I think rural vs urban makes a difference.
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Completely agree, most things (vehicles, hunting firearm, knives, clothing) are all situational. Pocketknife choice is influenced by your needs but also by your wants. Lots of knives could work, but of those you choose the ones you also like. Now, there is no accounting for an individuals taste, so to me a blend of what you point out - needs and location, combined with what appeals to us will influence choice. Also I recognize that those of us who post here are knife collectors and accumulators - we ain’t like normal folk. A carpenter who had our tendencies would own 50 hammers, of all variations and patterns, and so on.
 
When I was growing up in the 1960s in Central New York, my dad, brother, and I spent a lot of time fishing, camping, canoeing, and hiking the Adirondack lakes and streams. We were always well-equipped for our adventures with a hatchet, sheath knives, and pocket knives. Years later, my dad said he must have been nuts to take us on some of the excursions we had.

Anyway, knife-wise, I grew up with Scout, Stockman, and Trapper knives. Here's a Prince Albert in the can Stockman that my dad sent away for, for 2 bucks, and the Copperhead that was on his bedroom dresser when he passed. I carried that Stockman for 20 years, I bet.

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It was years later that I started collecting knives. More like accumulating knives. Almost every knife I bought was purchased to be my Vorpal blade (as knarfeng knarfeng terms it). That never works! I carry them all and treat some with more respect. I'm not a knife abuser, though. They're used for cutting, and that's about it.

Have a Happy New Year, folks!
 
Old Hunter said:
Also I recognize that those of us who post here are knife collectors and accumulators - we ain’t like normal folk. A carpenter who had our tendencies would own 50 hammers, of all variations and patterns, and so on.
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Oh most definitely!!!!!!!!

I've often said that we, the knife accumulators, are the 1% of the obsessed, OCD of the world. For whatever reason, birth defect, genetic leaning, or mental abnormality, we are the ones that the rest of society looks at and say; "There's something weird about him".🧐

"Him" being us obsessed knife nuts.
 
brianv said:
Being nearly 70. As a kid a pocket knife was VERY common for nearly all men. Since my dad carried a pocket knife I just automatically assumed every man did.
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Yup.
I'm 73 and grew up inthe Los Angeles area. My father carried a pocket knife. And since the packaging focus in the 1950s was making sure things stayed sealed, instead of making everything "easy-open", it was not uncommon for men to carry a pocket knife. (No pull tabs on the beer and soda cans. Had to use a "church key".)

My father allowed me to carry an old equal end jack starting at about the age of 6. I've been enthused with cutting tools ever since. No one thought it was unusual for a boy to have a pocket knife in his pocket in that time period. So I pretty much always had one with me.

www.vocabulary.com

Church key - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

A church key is a can opener that has a triangular pointed end. You might want to poke two holes in the top of your pineapple juice can with your church key before serving it.
www.vocabulary.com www.vocabulary.com
 
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