Another “Old Timers” BF Thread.

I first came across the Knifeforums and Bladeforums while trying to identify a domestic source for Aitor Knives. The knives had been imported by Catoctin Cutlery, but they had recently gone out-of-business and supplies had dried up, and I wanted to add a couple to my collection.

N2s
 
fishface5 said:
Back when I joined in 10/98 I think it was from doing research on my first fancy knife purchase in 10 years, a BM mini AFCK in ATS-34!
Click to expand...
Thanks for chiming in fishface!

What a great success Benchmade had with their AFCK. Benchmade was on the rise with their innovative designs with Les on the helm in the early days within these very forums back then! What a great guy he was and what a pioneer he was in factory knife production! He was one of the first to introduce stainless into his knife production!

Ah, ATS-34! The successor to 154CM which Loveless introduced to the American market. I still love it and it could still stand up to some of the “wonder” steels nowadays. Rust resistant, easy to sharpen and edge holding is above par. I also love 440C stainless, (and of course when heated treated correctly!), but another great steel. There’s a lot of other steels but they’re now known as inferior. NOT!!!

I have to admit, I love stainless steels in knives that I don’t have to worry much about rust or “patina”. I’m not a patina lover and nothing wrong if you guys are but admittedly, I don’t understand it but we’re all different!

I love stainless steel!
 
I created an account in 2006, but kept finding bladeforums threads on google search results since 2000, so "long time lurker," lol.

W&C and Prac Tac were both a LOT more active back then... then a lotta people just went to Facebook and never came back... now both of those forums are practically a ghost town, and PA is mostly just the same dozen members yelling at each other... but I blocked most of them, lol.
 
Yeah, I lurked for at least a couple years before I felt like I had anything worth saying😂
 
You know guys, what’s up nowadays with blade steels? Come on, really? MagnaCut, is the supreme steel nowadays. Not saying it’s a bad steel of course but it’s amazing that folks marvel in what it is that other steels have had the same attributes all these years.

Rust resistant, check. Edge holding, check, and others. Lots of “lesser” more inexpensive steels have these same qualities. It’s just amazing how things become so faddish so quickly.

Not saying MagnaCut isn’t good steel but it’s not the end all and do all of knife steels. Let’s relax praising these newer knife steels and not jump on the band wagon of the “latest and greatest”. There’s lots of other steel options out there that have been around almost forever and much cheaper.
 
I'm still here!

G Gene you're one of the few with a date before mine (by 30 days)

Gary W. Graley Gary W. Graley still remember you showing me that first Mayo at my restaurant and me sayings "wtf it doesn't even have scales?!?" 😂 😂

Myself and Rob made a talonite chef knife together (er...he made it, just my design) and yep, still got it!

1000017077.jpg
 
Last edited:
REKATCarnies, spine whacking, notched tang X-rays oh my!

I too lurked for a while & read every single post that preceded me.

I think it was CougarAllen that answered my first (dumb) question in ‘98 or ‘99
 
I keep checking the old threads from time to time. Good times with lots of things going on that were the start of knifemaking we see today. I think we all were part of it back in the day.
It is good to see Rob Simonich and Kit Carson mentioned here - good people I had a lot of contact with then.
It is funny to see the Benchmade AFCK mentioned in this thread as it was a folder I carried a lot. Lost mine along with a Spydercard stolen from my bag on a plane trip from Porto Alegre to São Paulo in 2005 and never got another, unfortunatelly. I really wish I still had it.
Maybe we made the move too fast from subject specific forums to social media. I am guilty of that and am glad BF survived this period. I use social media for business but very little more and you can´t compare a place like BF with general social media. I think many people are seeing that nowadays.
Anyway, it is great to see so many familiar names still around.
 
I have only been here since 2006, but thinking about it now, its still 18 years, that’s a birth to adulthood spent on BF.
 
Thanks for chiming in Chefget, Ebbtide and BJE, (great post by the way! 😄).

Beautiful knife and a nice piece of history Chefget and kudos to you for still having it! I really wish I still had even 1 of Rob’s knives as I had a couple but let them go. I seem to remember you and I did some nice business transactions back in the day.

What wonderful memories of those distant past times when BF started up in the early internet days and we knife lovers had a place to discuss our passion. A lot of knife “firsts”, (a.k.a., designs, metallurgy, scale materials…etc.), started here.

I hope some other good people from the past chime in here even if you’re not from the “distant past”.
 
Never understood V.G.’s humor or anything else about him. Personally, I didn’t like his posts.
He was very popular here and that shows that folks have brought him up here positively.
He delved into stuff that strayed away from knives but people responded positively. God rest his soul.

fishface: ATS-34, YES!
 
Gene said:
Here I go again bringing up another old timers thread from us old guys that used to be here from the beginning? Doe’s anyone remember Bald1 and some others from the old days? No big deal and I just have such good memories about those long ago days when knife talk was just getting started and Mike and Kevin started this great, original website.

As always, kudos to Kevin for being here and maintaining this site all these years! God bless
Click to expand...
 
I got in early, and then took it easy for the next 24 odd years... Must have been a bout of coma or something. 😁
 
Any of you “older” folks thinking about paring down and selling off some of your treasures?

When I came aboard here 26 years ago, I started on a journey that was wonderful and where I accumulated many of the top makers knives and others. I let go of so many treasures back in the day but I still have a few.

My health has seen a steep decline in the past 2 years and maybe it’s time to let go of most of my treasures. Time to pass on to a new generation of knife lovers. What do you all think?

We don’t “own” anything. We “babysit” stuff! 😉
 
I keep saying I should do some pruning but always talk myself out of it.
 
Ebbtide said:
I keep saying I should do some pruning but always talk myself out of it.
Click to expand...
Isn’t that the truth? It’s so hard to let go.

I love pulling out the treasures I still have and admiring them from time to time. Whatever happens in my life that I still have left, I’m very grateful for the time I had here with such wonderful like minded folks like you guys above that started this whole ball of wax!

Again, I hope for the best for all of you “old timers” like me and all of you “new comers”.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top