Anyone else's Grandpa do this?

RetiredGuns

RetiredGuns

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I credit my Grandpa for my life long interest in pocket knives. He used to let me look in his knife drawer and there were always 30-40 old knives to fondle but he did something that always bugged me and my Dad. He took a lot of his knives to the grinder! Of course this resulted in more than one Keen Kutter with toothpicks for blades. He always had a small stone in his pocket and would sit on the porch sharpening so I know he didn't mind using a stone. Dad said he was a bit impatient with a completely dull blade and all he cared about was "Did it cut". Obviously it was all about use in them days. :)
 
I would much rather visit used knives than those in "mint condition" for they tell a story about the man who used them, their history is a blend of the maker and the man they served.

My personal collection has very few mint condition knives, the used knives can be very useful teaching the art of use and care.

It good to read that you know the history, much more interesting than that of knives that were purchased only to lay in a dresser drawer.
 
The only pocket knife I ever saw used was my grandfathers. It was blunt as anything and was only used to clean out the bowl of his pipe. He was also a fan of a grinder though and ran everything through it - except his pocket knife.
 
Hi,

Yeah, both Grandfather's, my Father, and I did it too. Sometimes you needed a usable edge now. And a bench grinder is fast and handy. So it was pretty commonly done. At least everyone I knew and grew up with did. In fact, my Father's preference was to use the bench grinder. He rarely used a stone.

You have to remember, those knives were looked upon as common tools. Not particularly remarkable. And heck, if you can sharpen a chisel with a bench grinder, why not your knife.:eek:

Dale
 
Yes, and I've seen some pretty wicked edges created by it....by someone that know's what they are doing that is.

My grandfather sharpened a lot of his tools, including some knives on a wheel "hand turned" grinder/stone, with a can above it that dripped water on the stone as it was being turned. Sometimes I was the "turner", and was proud as heck to get to do it! Man, I miss the simplicity mindset....making do with what you have, I don't think I own one mint knife?

I was raised that if you can't use it, what good is it? No offense at all toward collectors that have mint knives (so please don't hate me), just how I was raised and continue to think today.

Like Mr. Fowler said, personally I would rather have a used knife over a mint one any day, it has a story to tell.
 
No, I can honestly say I never saw my dad or granddad use a power grinder on a knife. In fact, dad seemed to be very easy on his pocket knife, and stropped it every night after dinner, and told me to strop often so as not to have to use a stone more. Looking back on it, I think he actually babied his pocket knife. He made a point of keeping a sears 4-way screwdriver on his keyring to pry with, as he made it a very strong point when I was a little kid, to never abuse a knife by prying, and he gave me one to put on my keychain. Whendad did have to use a stone on his peanut, he'd take a minute on each side, then feel it with his thumb, take another minute if needed, then feel carfully again. He'd never over sharpen. Soon as it felt right to hm, he'd put the stone away and give it a strop on the leather to finish it up.

It was only much later that I learned that the knife had much sentiment to it, as his mother had given it to him the morning he'd left home to go off to college.
 
The word "collectible" was probably unheard of in my Grandparent's home. That's what makes those little treasures so fun. Things were meant to be used for sure. When I did find a knife that had some blade left it was a treat. The John Primble in my avatar escaped the grinder for one reason or another and I treasure it.
 
Tool is made for use. Knife collecting is something that just started in past decades when urbanization has spread more common. In rural areas knives are nothing special, just tools. Wether fixed blade, folder or pocket knife. Sadly I cannot say much for my grandparents as we never kept touch. Problems with my father choosing my mother. But I knew my father carried old yellow german made pocket knife. I found it fully rusty 9 years old behind old washing machine and thus as kid never knew, I only saw it as piece of rusty junk and threw it away. These days I regret that deeply. Not only it was memnto from my late father but also I've always wondered the brand of the knife and these days I might have been able to fix it somehow, though it never would have make a user but decent memento on shelf.
 
Although I must add: I've learned a thing or two about knife sharpening from jackknife as well.....for instance, my "go to" for a knife that I just can't seem to get the edge I'm looking for is now the bottom of an old coffee mug....works like a charm!
 
My Grandfather of my Mom's side,was also the fella who got me into the slipjoint folders.Back then,we would get Buck knives from Uncle John (his son),when he came down to the Island,from upstate NY,where he was working in construction on the Nuke plant,living in Oswego.He met some fella's there where he got a ton of the Bucks & gave us a grab bag.
When "Big John" used to show up,my Father used to say , "Here comes the fur trapper w/ goods to trade w/ the Indians" We'd all laugh,but no bs,his Gran Torino wagon was topped off w/everything from onions,to wine & ridin' low,too.

My grandfather used to like a full sized trapper as a BBQ pocket knife & would strop the blades flat,on the giant ,flat & coarse fieldstone shelves it had on both sides.He was a stone mason & built that magnificent BBQ,it had NYC storm drain grids as racks,permanently fixed into the interior fire brick,in levels,they were at least an inch thick,and the heated up like un real.It even had a rear flew pipe chimney
He burnt most all he cooked on it,he was a better stone mason ,than an outdoor grill man,but there is nothing like the open fire cooking over oak coals.

Thanks for listening,this thread & the Holiday made me think & remember,as they are all gone now.

None of those old timers ever gave one blade scratch from sharpening a second thought,I think it was second nature.

Happy Fourth ,
-Vince
 
My granddad never used a grinder on his knife. But, I have many fond memories of him using his knife, and a small whet stone to sharpen it up with. He'd spend a few minutes on each side moving the knife in circles on the stone. He'd test the edge by popping hairs off of his burly arms.

I've tried sharpening with a stone. But, alas, I'm not that good at it. So, I use croc sticks or my Lansky to get the edges of my knives sharp. I was unable to attend my grandfathers funeral. And, one of my many cousins must have gotten grandpa's knives. But, I still think of him often. And, I can see his smiling face as he used his stone to keep his stockman's blades sharp.
 
For a lot of guys, a knife was/is simply a tool. Here's a picture of my Grandfather's knife. He purposely broke one of the blades off so as to shorten it for cleaning the bowl of his pipe.
sknife.jpg

I never saw him sharpen this knife but know that he kept it at least somewhat sharp as he used it to peel apples and to slice salami off a salami roll. He liked apple slices and salami slices on a cracker and would wash it down with buttermilk.
 
My Grandfather took a grinder to his knives, except for his fishing fillet knives.
 
Yeah, my Dad did the same thing to the knife he carried for 50 years. He would sharpen it on the knife sharpener on the back of the electric can opener! :eek: Needless to say, the blades are a shadow of their former selves. OTOH, I look at all the blades I have and have to admit that none of them have the stories or character of this signficantly abused little Henckels. :)

Henkels.jpg


- Mark
 
Most of the people I know around here either ask me to sharpen their knives, or use a bench grinder. I actually tried using a grinder to sharpen the blade on a Gerber Multi-tool once, and was rewarded with a face full of sparks and metal. I decided to stick with hand sharpening after that.
 
I am glad you started this thread. I don't feel so alone now with all the mangled knives left behind after my grandfather passed. 2 years ago after my grandmother passed away my father handed me the brown jigged bone switchblade she carried in her pocket book till the day she died. She didn't care about the legality of it...it was my grandfathers and that's all that mattered. At seven years old I remember her taking it out on new years eve to cut a steak...my father just about had a heart attack. lol

We dug through all the old hunting gear and found an old marbles that had apparently not suffered the full wrath of the bench grinder but my father is not ready to part with it...yet.
 
bigmo66 said:
Anyone else's Grandpa do this?
... Grandpa .... He took a lot of his knives to the grinder!
Click to expand...

My dad might have been about the same age set as your grandfather. He was born in 1914. He used to sharpen knives on an old electric sharpener that would remove a lot of steel. It used to bother me to watch him.
 
I have at least a half dozen of my grandfathers slippies. All with blades down to wisps. But he did it laying them flat on an arkansas stone or carborundum pocket stone (have half a dozen or more of those dished out). He whittled and carved a lot and used that zero edge grind popular among that crowd. Old enough that he was all carbon all the time although his son carried a Queen (synonymous with stainless).
 
My story,

My dad taught me to sharpen on a two grit stone, he kept in a tool box, then strop on the back of your leather belt. I was in grade school when I learned that tool box and the things in it came home to the farm with him when he left the Kansas City watch making school he was attending as WW2 broke out. It stayed on the farm as he went into the Navy and worked on aircarft insturments. I have it and the tools that were left. Including a sway backed stone and some really small screwdrivers.
Craig H./300

P.S. But being the defiant son, I use diamonds now.....
 
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