A (very long) True Traditional Knife Story

[Sacto]

Have you ever had a time when you were really glad you dropped a traditional knife in your pocket before you left the house? I’m not talking about piercing the foil on a juice box at a picnic. I’m talking about the time when it may have saved your life. We’ll, I have; and here’s what happened:


It was a Sunday morning in the fall, a couple years ago. Our heifers were calving, so I left the house to go run through them quickly, hoping for nothing too eventful. We check them twice a day, 7 days a week when they are calving because the heifers are the most likely to need assistance. I was riding through them on a quad, tagging the new ones and making sure everything was okay when I came across a baldy heifer walking around with two big feet sticking out of her. I could tell she had been trying for a bit and would need some assistance. Typically we calve the heifers in a field close to the corrals so we can run them into the chute if we need to pull a calf. This particular year we were calving out too many to keep by the corrals, so they were at a bigger place with no corrals. I immediately knew what I needed to do. Rope her, trip her up, knock her down, and pull the calf. Not ideal, but not uncommon when dealing with heifers. Every time I would get up on her to rope her, she would turn and face me. I’d drop a loop over her head and before I could gather my slack, she would drop her head and the rope would fall off. This happened a few times before I realized I needed a new strategy. I also realized that as long as I wasn’t swinging the rope, she would let me get right up behind her. Great idea number 1: put a couple loops in a nylon strap, ride up behind her, and put it around the calf’s feet. Great, I was making progress. The problem was, every time I pulled on the strap, she would spin around and try to kill me. If only I could get a little more distance between me and the cow. This is when I came up with my next great idea. Tie my rope around the strap, let out a few coils, then start pulling. This gave me a little more space to pull without getting killed, but I needed more leverage. This is when I came up with my next great idea, run the rope behind my back and put the coils in my other hand so I can lean back onto the rope and really put some force on it. Remember I’m doing all of this on a quad, bouncing around in a pasture, following this heifer around. Well, when I leaned back onto the rope as hard as I could, the heifer took off running as fast as she could. I quickly realized that I wasn’t stopping her on the 4-wheeler, so I let some coils unravel out of my hand. As the rope was reaching the end, I looked down, and I noticed that in all my bouncing around, the end of my rope had fallen down and somehow wrapped and knotted around my leg. In that split second I got a glimpse of what it might be like to be an Alaskan crab fisherman with a leg caught in the rope as the trap is thrown overboard. I was promptly ripped off the quad by my foot and landed on the ground on my back. You don’t realize just how fast a cow can run until you’re being towed behind one, on your back, bouncing across a dry, bumpy pasture. It didn’t help that she was trying to get away from me and the faster she went, the faster I went. I tried leaning forward to get some slack in the rope to get my leg out and quickly realized that wasn’t happening. That was when, as I was bouncing across the pasture, I reached for my pocket and pulled out my knife. I opened it up and leaned forward to cut the rope. There was so much tension on that rope, I barely had to touch the blade to it and the rope cut clean through.


I gathered myself up and walked about 100 yards back to the quad, knowing I still needed to get that calf pulled. I caught up with the cow at the fence about a half mile away and got ahold of what was left of my rope. Well, all of my pulling and her running must have helped because I gave one good pull and the calf came right out. The cow was pretty amped up, but the calf was fine, so I took off the strap and rope and left them alone to mother up.

To add insult to injury, as I headed back to the truck I realized I lost my hat. I was tired and sore but I wasn’t leaving a felt hat out there. I had covered a decent amount of ground so it took a bit, but I found the hat and headed home. When I finally got home and changed my clothes, my underwear was brown. Yes, it was scary, but no, not that kind of brown. It was brown from the dirt that went through my jeans.


So here’s what the knife was. A GEC hayn’ helper:

And here’s the knotted end of the rope that still hangs on a hook in my garage so I can remember that day (not that I’m going to forget it anytime soon):

I pretty much always have a traditional knife in my pocket, but I was especially thankful that I did on that day, and happy I could fish it out of my pocket in a bind.


If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed hearing about another day at my office.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Thanks for sharing this great story, and I'm glad it all worked out.
That's one honest workin' man's knife right there , and to think this " slow " two handed knife saved your Bacon when all these guys go around touting their fancy modern one handed folders with tactical this and tactical that.

It's refreshing to see a new production knife that has seen some serious use , especially a GEC.
I see too many of their knives in excellent condition for how limited their production runs are, this knife is all workhorse.

I've never been in a life threatening situation that required a knife, but if I ever do I know there will be at least one traditional knife on me.

 

[TheChunk91]

Great story.

 

[MolokaiRider]

Thanks for sharing your story! That knot is a great wall hanger!

 

[RayseM]

RULE # 9 man - be you cowpuncher or spy.
Great save - I'm sure you agree. Great story too.

Ray

 

[Old Hunter]

Great story, glad you are still here to tell it! OH

 

[glennbad]

Yikes! The only drama I usually have needing a knife for is opening up a package...containing a knife, LOL.

Glad to read that everything turned out well, and you have a neat tale to pass down.

 

[315]

All I could think about were stuntmen in the cowboy movies getting dragged behind a horse. They had prepared softened ground and I’ll assume some hidden pads in places but it’d still be a rough ride! You were on the real deal!! Hopefully there were no cactus or thorns on your adventure

 

[knowtracks]

Some days Murphy is the only one that shows up!
Thanks for the tale.

Dave

 

[Horsewright]

Good deal Sacto, glad it all worked out. Can't tell ya how many of my little fixed blades I've sold the day after a wreck! Usually the folder is in the pocket under the chaps and they can't get to it in time. I personally have cut 3 horses out of bad deals (all three were tied up badly by someone that should of known better), one pack horse wreck and two bad deals with folks learning to rope. Always got a knife. My son was working for the north end of the Tejon one time, few years back. They'd bought 300 first time heifers that were bred to the right bull. But ya know, they weren't, yeah bred to the wrong bull. Some of the calves went 100- 110lbs!!!! Many were dead inside the heifer. He'd have to reach in with his knife and cut the dead calf apart to get the pieces out. He's a Case trapper kinda guy. He was riding the heifers every two hours and ended up pulling 1 out of 3. Buddy is a pretty good bridle horse but he was riding him in split reins that day cause it was raining hard:

Ya can see he's figured he's gonna be there a while with this one. His jacket is hanging on the tank.

He'd taken these pics on his phone for me to use on IG. Horsewright Silver Dollar martingale and a Horsewright split ear headstall. Had both Buddy's sire and his dam. His sire was Peppy Enchanted Chex and forget his dam's name, just called her Leah. Very fine spade bit mare. She was one of a line of horses I called the Gatos. They were like riding pumas. You knew that, they knew, where all four feet were, all the time. Like riding a cat. Buddy is the last of the Gatos, he's retired now, pushing 18 or so. My son just got back from OR and his string was pretty rode down. Buddy hadn't been saddled in a year and half but he hadn't forgot how to brand. Couple weekends ago at our place:

He was helping young Emma learn how to cut. Least he used one of my fixed blades that time:

Recently repaired a pair of chinks for a guy in UT. I unboxed em and immediately said "Oh he's been calving!" Hung em up outside for a while.

 

[abcdef]

I wish I was a cowboy.

 

[JohnDF]

I had to cut a pack horse loose one time while going up some switch-backs. It went over a ledge and was threatening to pull more of the string over edge with him. I had to cut him loose and watch him tumble down the ravine. I couldn't save the horse but we got all the gear back. Always carry a knife!

 

[dantzk8]

I can understand how frightening this experience can be. At the age of 7 i've been badly shoved by a calf. Decades later i still prefer having some barbed wires between a cow and me. You couldn't choose a better folder to get you out of trouble, a pinchable blade with a great cutting ability, that's what is the 47 Hayn'helper.
The way the rope has wrapped your leg is interesting. A variation of the figure 8 sliding knot described in the Ashley book (#1116). It just missed the last step.

Your knot:

The figure 8 sliding knot:

Dan.

 

[waynorth]

Hair-raising tale, Sacto!!

Glad you are OK!!!

 

[5K Qs]

Great story, and well-told!

I grew up on a dairy farm, so have witnessed or been directly involved in plenty of calf-pullings, but I don't remember a single one in which the cow wasn't already on the ground when we tied some twine to the calf's feet. So, although I always felt the calf (and often the cow) were at some risk, the humans were never in danger!

All I could think about were stuntmen in the cowboy movies getting dragged behind a horse. They had prepared softened ground and I’ll assume some hidden pads in places but it’d still be a rough ride! You were on the real deal!! Hopefully there were no cactus or thorns on your adventure

Strange coincidence: @Jack Black posted a link to a trailer for a movie starring Richard Farnsworth (The Straight Story), and I found it interesting and also recognized the actor as someone whose work I'd admired. I looked up the movies he'd been in, and found that he started as a stuntman (e.g., riding horses in the Marx Bros. A Day at the Races, driving chariots in Ben Hur, I think). Later, the actor had a supporting role in a movie starring Jason Robards, James Caan, and Jane Fonda. A stuntman doing a scene in which he was portraying the Robards character being dragged by a running horse was killed when the horse cut too close to a fence post and the stuntman's skull was fractured!

- GT

 

[Rookie82]

My Uncle, 2 Great Uncles, a Great Grandfather, and 2 cousins all have/had dairy farms around my town. I've been the helping hand holding the rope many times trying to help get the calf out. With what I picture your fast & bumpy ride must have been like, it's amazing you were able to cut yourself free. I learned how big and strong, and dumb, cows are. They certainly deserve respect. Great story!

 

[HopalongCassidy]

Ok, I'll play, but where to begin...
For over 20 years I had the state contract to shoe the park ranger horses at Montana De Oro State Park in Los Osos, Ca.
Normally I'd drive out to the park, go over to the corral, get the horses out and shoe them. Never saw anybody, just the way I liked it.
This one time, however, the ranger wanted them done off schedule, so he agreed to throw the horses in a stock trailer and meet me at his house. (He lived very close to me)
So this story goes under Horsewright's statement "tied up badly by someone who should know better" LOL.
I show up, and notice that he's got 3 horses tied to the stock trailer. One on each side, and one on the back, by the doors.
Not ideal, but really no other place to tie them. Nobody around.
Should have checked them myself, but got busy setting up my truck. Started working on one of the horses on the side.
About 20 minutes later, I think we're having and earthquake. The trailer is rocking and shaking violently; horses all boogered up.
I get out from under the horse I was doing, to see what's going on.
Don't know if I can describe this accurately, but the back doors on a stock trailer have these arms that swing and latch.
The horse back there had caught his halter on the latch, was now snubbed right up on the trailer and was freaking out. "Snubbed up" means his face was attached to the trailer, no space.
Domino affect got the other horse going. Both horses pulling back, falling down, hanging, panicked, choking, barked and bloody. The horse I was working on was fine because I never get under a horse tied hard and fast. Went and tied him to a tree.
I know a lot of cowboys that would have just sat back and watched while they had lunch. But it was too early for lunch, I wanted to get paid, and didn't want to have to do a lot of 'splainin.'
Pulled out my folder, can't remember what I had at the time, but it would have been at least 3.5" and stout.
Wasn't in a real hurry to run up in there and get stomped, knocked in to, or crushed.
I would have to cut the halter, right by the horses face; figured I go to the throat latch, a little more space.
Looked for an opening, while the horse was swung all the way over. Got up there, reached in, and cut down and away.
Horse pulled back hard, halter came over his head, he came loose, and went over and started eating grass. The other horse had a chew.
These are "gentle" horses. LOL!
Got them all done, threw some dirt on all the spots where the horses had some hide missing.
Ranger shows up as I'm packing up the truck, says "how'd it go?"
No problem!

 

[Ernie1980]

That is a great story, thank you for sharing! Another good reason to always carry a knife

 

[Sacto]

Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone. It got lengthy, but I’m glad people enjoyed it. It’s a little embarrassing to have gotten into that situation, but too good of a story not to tell.

Hickory n steel - It’s amazing what you can get done with a simple, old-school folder. Rather than a pocket clip knife, I braided that lanyard/fob thing out of para cord so that when the knife is in the bottom of my pocket the knot sits just outside. It makes it easier to pull out which was helpful in this situation. I have a handful of GECs and they are all users. They are too good for me to not use.

Horsewright - I’m sure a belt knife would have been even better in this situation. One of these days I need to get one of yours. I’ve just never been a fixed blade guy for everyday use. For the most part I’m running cattle kind of in town, so maybe I’m just self conscious running around town with a knife on my belt, but I shouldn’t be.

Buying replacement heifers is always a crap shoot. I know it wears on you in a situation like your son’s when you know every day you go out there, you’re going to have to deal with a problem. We raise our own replacements so we can use the “right” bulls, but there’s always a few problems. I’m in the middle of calving out 175 heifers right now, so the inside of my truck has the “you’ve been calving” smell. Fortunately we have enough feed this year close to the corrals for that many heifers so I can pull calves in the squeeze chute.

JohnDF - that’s a crazy story. Sounds like it could have been a lot worse than it was. Makes you glad you had a knife. The rest of trip was probably tough with all the gear and one less horse.

dantzk8 - it can be a dangerous job, for sure. Especially working by yourself. They are very strong animals, even calves are scary strong. You just have to pay attention and work smart when you’re around them. That day I was trying to get the job done quickly and wasn’t being smart or safe.

I’ve used that Hayin’ helper a lot and I really like it. It’s a good stout work knife and easily pinchable. I’ve seen people say on the forum that knives have nail nicks so why do people care about pinching them open. Situations like this are why I care about being able to pinch a knife open. It allowed me to open the knife quickly, even with cotton roping gloves on.

 

[Horsewright]

Ok, I'll play, but where to begin...
For over 20 years I had the state contract to shoe the park ranger horses at Montana De Oro State Park in Los Osos, Ca.
Normally I'd drive out to the park, go over to the corral, get the horses out and shoe them. Never saw anybody, just the way I liked it.
This one time, however, the ranger wanted them done off schedule, so he agreed to throw the horses in a stock trailer and meet me at his house. (He lived very close to me)
So this story goes under Horsewright's statement "tied up badly by someone who should know better" LOL.
I show up, and notice that he's got 3 horses tied to the stock trailer. One on each side, and one on the back, by the doors.
Not ideal, but really no other place to tie them. Nobody around.
Should have checked them myself, but got busy setting up my truck. Started working on one of the horses on the side.
About 20 minutes later, I think we're having and earthquake. The trailer is rocking and shaking violently; horses all boogered up.
I get out from under the horse I was doing, to see what's going on.
Don't know if I can describe this accurately, but the back doors on a stock trailer have these arms that swing and latch.
The horse back there had caught his halter on the latch, was now snubbed right up on the trailer and was freaking out. "Snubbed up" means his face was attached to the trailer, no space.
Domino affect got the other horse going. Both horses pulling back, falling down, hanging, panicked, choking, barked and bloody. The horse I was working on was fine because I never get under a horse tied hard and fast. Went and tied him to a tree.
I know a lot of cowboys that would have just sat back and watched while they had lunch. But it was too early for lunch, I wanted to get paid, and didn't want to have to do a lot of 'splainin.'
Pulled out my folder, can't remember what I had at the time, but it would have been at least 3.5" and stout.
Wasn't in a real hurry to run up in there and get stomped, knocked in to, or crushed.
I would have to cut the halter, right by the horses face; figured I go to the throat latch, a little more space.
Looked for an opening, while the horse was swung all the way over. Got up there, reached in, and cut down and away.
Horse pulled back hard, halter came over his head, he came loose, and went over and started eating grass. The other horse had a chew.
These are "gentle" horses. LOL!
Got them all done, threw some dirt on all the spots where the horses had some hide missing.
Ranger shows up as I'm packing up the truck, says "how'd it go?"
No problem!

Cool story! Know that place:

One of the rangers there (been many years ago) had one of my knives.

Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone. It got lengthy, but I’m glad people enjoyed it. It’s a little embarrassing to have gotten into that situation, but too good of a story not to tell.

Hickory n steel - It’s amazing what you can get done with a simple, old-school folder. Rather than a pocket clip knife, I braided that lanyard/fob thing out of para cord so that when the knife is in the bottom of my pocket the knot sits just outside. It makes it easier to pull out which was helpful in this situation. I have a handful of GECs and they are all users. They are too good for me to not use.

Horsewright - I’m sure a belt knife would have been even better in this situation. One of these days I need to get one of yours. I’ve just never been a fixed blade guy for everyday use. For the most part I’m running cattle kind of in town, so maybe I’m just self conscious running around town with a knife on my belt, but I shouldn’t be.

Buying replacement heifers is always a crap shoot. I know it wears on you in a situation like your son’s when you know every day you go out there, you’re going to have to deal with a problem. We raise our own replacements so we can use the “right” bulls, but there’s always a few problems. I’m in the middle of calving out 175 heifers right now, so the inside of my truck has the “you’ve been calving” smell. Fortunately we have enough feed this year close to the corrals for that many heifers so I can pull calves in the squeeze chute.

JohnDF - that’s a crazy story. Sounds like it could have been a lot worse than it was. Makes you glad you had a knife. The rest of trip was probably tough with all the gear and one less horse.

dantzk8 - it can be a dangerous job, for sure. Especially working by yourself. They are very strong animals, even calves are scary strong. You just have to pay attention and work smart when you’re around them. That day I was trying to get the job done quickly and wasn’t being smart or safe.

I’ve used that Hayin’ helper a lot and I really like it. It’s a good stout work knife and easily pinchable. I’ve seen people say on the forum that knives have nail nicks so why do people care about pinching them open. Situations like this are why I care about being able to pinch a knife open. It allowed me to open the knife quickly, even with cotton roping gloves on.

Yeah we keep all our replacement heifers too. We've been lucky though, haven't had to pull a one, in years. Fingers crossed. It is definitely a unique and unforgettable odor for sure.