A scoutknife, and Mr. Van.

pauldulson said:
Just hit google and it seems Wenger do still make a 'Scout ' knife . Looks useful.

Paul.
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Not quite the same thing though.

Don't get me wrong, I like sak's just fine. I carry one as a compliment to the slippy of the day. There's a nylon and velcro pouch on my belt just behind my right hip. In it is a sak and a AAA Dorcy flashlight. But a sak is not like an old Ulster, Schrade, or Camillus scout knife with a nice carbon steel blade and old well patined bone scales. To me a sak is kind of like a 1990 something Chevy Cavalier vs a 1955 Chevy that you found in some old garage, with some dings, maybe even a rust spot, but with tons of charater. The sak is my grunge knife, the one I will use when I don't want to mess up my stag Hen and Rooster from the 50's, let alone one of my nice old Bruckman's from before the war, that my dad brought home from his trips to West Germany in the 50's.

As much as the knives themselves, I think alot of the guys here on this forum are drawn to the traditional pocket knives as much as for the lost era they were made in, as the knives themselves. A lifestyle that is no more.
 
Jackknife, Your writing makes me pleasently mellankolic. Im Also a man with atachement to the things i own in te way you write about it, almost poetry in a world off hurry articles.
I have a Heym 6.5X55 rifle with walnut tree. It shouts real tight and has a good balance to it. Probobly the only rifle I will ever own besides the almost simular one my brother left me when he died far to early. I got it 22 years ago at age 18. My 22 rimfire I got as a 12 year old kid and the Diana airgun some year before that. I now renovated it even though I could have had a new one to the cost. But it feels mine more than the new ones (and its a strong shooter) I shot my firs birds and rats with it.
My knifes is simularely presus to me and has a history to them also.

Sometimes I think that I do my 2 boys an unfavor to give them the posibility to live the same sort of life in the nature that i have had. I dont now if its gonna be room in the modern world for this kind of lifestyle. But I have to and want to share my experience with them.

Bosse
 
NirreBosse said:
Sometimes I think that I do my 2 boys an unfavor to give them the posibility to live the same sort of life in the nature that i have had. I dont now if its gonna be room in the modern world for this kind of lifestyle. But I have to and want to share my experience with them.
Bosse
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Then we have to make room, even if we have to make some sacrafices. Our children our the most important treasure we have. Gold, silver, a great gun collection, means nothing compared to them. Starting very young, we give them our values, and that will have great impact on what kind of modern world they will maintain after we've left it to them.

Start right now by sharing your experiances with them. You may be surprised how much they will like that. It's never too late to spend time with your children. They are your future, now.

Does Sweden have a boy scout program?
 
jackknife said:
As much as the knives themselves, I think alot of the guys here on this forum are drawn to the traditional pocket knives as much as for the lost era they were made in, as the knives themselves. A lifestyle that is no more.
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I'd have to agree that that is a big part of the draw for many of us. I know it is for me. The emphasis in society in general is just different. Bigger, faster, pricier, fancier, seemed to have become needs rather than wants and people can't imagine how anyone could live a satisfying lifestyle with out these things. Sad part is, these things more often just feed a hunger for the next issue and very soon people are pining away after them. After all, how can you be happy with yesterday's latest stuff when it's today.

Amidst all this high speed, low drag stuff, people forget that it is the person with the gear and not the gear that usually makes the difference. Long before tactical was a marketing label, man was fighting man quite well with the tools of the day. A good hand with a lever gun, a sixgun, and sheath knife can still be very tactical. If he's a hand at slipping through and being immersed in the woods then he can be a pretty good stealth fighter in an many conditions, from outback to urban.

Back when there were folks who routinely disappeared into the wilds they simply took their basic gear. That rifle or shotgun was a tool for gathering food and defending yourself from four and two-legged critters. The knife that sliced the last of your bacon for breakfast might find itself in your hand in a mortal fight with man or beast. It would be used to provide shelter and other things you might need on the trail.

These things were tools, essential gear, items of comfort, and part of you. You may not have a lot, but these tools wore an earned patina just being a part of your life.

A lot of that is what's missing now. The whole concept is lost or nearly lost on new generations. It's not really their fault. The world simply is different. Society and what is considered the norm, is different. So go the rises and falls of nations and lifestyles. We don't have to like it. The cycles will happen as they will without our approval or liking it.

So, we gather to hear stories, and tell a few of our own, about how it was. We try to do some things to keep that life still alive for us and perhaps share it with one or two younger than us. We gather with folks who can understand the poetry of a woods at dusk, or day on the marsh. Old fences, old boats, old guns and knives talk to use in a language we can understand, a language that is spoken less and less. Even among those who hunt, fish, and camp, the dialects are different and the subtle meanings no longer carry though the words may be similar.

I wish I'd been more exposed and saturated in that old world. However, I'm glad that I've been able to at least have experienced it and have memories and attitudes that allow me to taste the wind and smell the smoke of those long gone campfires when the stories are told. I consider myself fortunate to have spent days running the woods, small ours may have been, with gun in hand, or plopping down at the old, farm pond with a can of worms, a fishing pole, and hope.

I feel sad as I see this lifestyle passing from its older form, but I feel sadder for those who will never experience or understand it.

That's why it's good to pull up a spot and chat with you fellows.

Amos
 
I was a boy scout. Troop 172 in Brooklyn. I was psyched to get my Totin' Chip - or whatever that little card that allowed you to carry and use a knife and axe.
My kids will be scouts - if they want to be, and I hope they will.
 
All this talk about scout knives made me go and dig out my old Camillus Official Cub Scout knife (didn't go on through to Boy Scouts, the local leader was a jerk) that hasn't seen actual use in years. The more I sat there thinking about all the camping trips and fishing expeditions that little knife has been on, the more I realized what a useful little knife it is... razor sharp blade, bottle and can opener, very sheeple friendly. I think I'm gonna re-add it to my edc rotation.
 
That little knife may well be a treasure of a real using knife. It may well also be a treasure to your son some day. :thumbup:
 
jackknife said:
Then we have to make room, even if we have to make some sacrafices. Our children our the most important treasure we have. Gold, silver, a great gun collection, means nothing compared to them. Starting very young, we give them our values, and that will have great impact on what kind of modern world they will maintain after we've left it to them.

Start right now by sharing your experiances with them. You may be surprised how much they will like that. It's never too late to spend time with your children. They are your future, now.

Does Sweden have a boy scout program?
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Dont get me wrong. I and my Wife takes them out a lot. We live in a small nordic city but has two small properties to visit not to far, ,a loghouse in the forest and a cottage in the mountains. Bouthe places with familybounds long back in time. Building these two houses has been great fun for us and the older child has grown up with construktion.
Fishing with rods or net, not the actual hunting yet but in activities around the hunt, picking berries in the forest. Gathering firewood to the cottage with chainsaw. Skiing, Camping in the montains. We try to find activities that learn them things and beside that its ouer own iterests. The boys are now 4.5 and 1.8 years old. The old one uses knifes under supervision and seams to enjoy all of it.

I just dont hope the world bekomes a place with little room for this kind of things.

There are scouts in Sweden but dont nearby us. Many posibilities to train sports for kids together. My wife is an former crosscountry ski cometetor just longing to have a group of kids to learn skiing.

Bosse
 
Jackknife, I agree with you that our kids are our most important treasures and that we must make time for them. I volunteer as a helper for my children's scout troop because I think it is so important to pass on the values that the scouting movement embodies. Next week, I am teaching both the cubs and scouts to make bird nesting boxes, this will help them with their wildlife and craftsman's badges. We find it difficult to get other dads and mums involved in helping out, all they seem to want to do is to drop their kids off and collect them at the end of the session. Too busy I guess!
NirreBosse, your holidays with your children struck a cord ! We have good friends in Norway and stay with them in their log cabin in the forests north of Bodo sometimes. Our kid's happiest memories are associated with our time there, collecting firewood, picking berries, fishing and then cooking and eating the fish in the evening. Great times:)
 
Great stuff. Write it all down, someone will figure out how to get it published. I wish I was that gifted with the written word.
Bobby
 
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