"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Nearly needed your services earlier Meako, when my stupid drunken next-door neighbour tried to burn the house down! Smoke alarm eventually woke the idiot up or he'd be dead now, and my place gone too most likely :mad:
 
Is anyone else here like I am? I think I keep buying knives more as an addiction than anything else. I don't really have much use for anything other than one or two good pocketknives and maybe a sheath knife. I'm retired so I don't use one for work and about the hardest thing I use one for is breaking down household cardboard or plastic. Most days outside of opening a letter or a box that another knife comes in my knives don't come out of my pocket.

There is no rhyme or reason to my collection though I have more Barlows than any other pattern and more Case than any other brand. I have come to realize there are some knives I like and some I don't particularly care for even though I have both. I'll sell or give away a few then find myself buying more than I got rid of to replace them.

Although I think Schatt and Morgan makes some of the most attractive knives out there if it wasn't for the generosity of my friend Jack (Mrknife) I wouldn't own one and have no idea why I've never bought one. I seem to like to purchase knives that are around $100 but have bought many that were both more and less expensive.

Ever so often I get an urge to buy a Sebenza or other mid-tech or custom folder but always seem to sell them a few days later. Not from buyers remorse but modern folders just don't do it for me.

I want to think I'm not influenced much by others but truth is when I see some of you other folks knives I just have to have one. As much as I love the knife pictures here they have cost me a lot of money.

I will quite rambling now and sum up by saying I don't know what it is about this hobby we share but it goes way beyond collecting as I have collected other things in my life but nothing has ever modified my behavior as much as knives. My signature is not only a feeble attempt at humor but also holds a lot of truth.
 
r redden said:
Is anyone else here like I am? I think I keep buying knives more as an addiction than anything else. I don't really have much use for anything other than one or two good pocketknives and maybe a sheath knife. I'm retired so I don't use one for work and about the hardest thing I use one for is breaking down household cardboard or plastic. Most days outside of opening a letter or a box that another knife comes in my knives don't come out of my pocket. ...

I will quite rambling now and sum up by saying I don't know what it is about this hobby we share but it goes way beyond collecting as I have collected other things in my life but nothing has ever modified my behavior as much as knives. My signature is not only a feeble attempt at humor but also holds a lot of truth.
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Same for me pal. Some times I wonder what I will do with all these knives that are still in their tubes/boxes. I take them out for photos, some chicken eying and coon fingering. Sure I give away some every now and then, cost doesnt matter. But its the hunt that always does it more for me. I can spend hours prowling the bay, or the sites and looking at something or the for sale section on the blade forums. And if its got a reasonable BIN, Id probably buy it.

Ive thought about modern folders like CRK and even something from Ferrum Forge, but eventually I could never justify it. I even saw your crk f/s post but didnt ask cause I wouldnt know what to do with such an expensive knife. Im quite happy with all of my traditionals. Not saying I dont have any moderns, but the moderns arent really carry friendly in my area. Most days I dont need a knife. I carry one for fun mostly. I carry a back up slip joint in the work bag. But most days I dont slide one in to the scrubs cause its a clinic. Today, a patient needed a medical bracelet removed, so the gec 48 came out, but thats not usually the case.

Cost is an interesting point tho. Ive debated a custom traditional for some time now, but I still enjoy production knives quite a bit in the mean time so im not ready just yet. some day tho!
 
I'm the same way, Randy. I'm starting to settle into a groove of what I like, but that creates a problem in that I have a dozen or so Case Peanuts, but I only ever carry one in particular. I've actually made myself carry 2 Peanuts at a time just to justify owning so many, and I, honestly, felt quite silly even though I knew that I was the only one around who knew what a Case Peanut is, much less that I was carrying 2 of them. I have quite a few knives that I'll never carry. I have a feeling that I'm going to have the same problem with Ebony Bare Head Jacks and Barlows.
 
Randy, consumption is addictive my friend as Im sure you know. It just so happens we enjoy the product we are consuming. The hunt adds to this, not to mention the limited number and supply of some knives.

If I were a true historian of knives or a collector I wouldn't see much of an issue, but as a "want to be" user I have to give it a second thought. I want my selected knives to age with me and I cant carry them all frequently enough for that to happen if I have to many.

Ive decided to "collect" a few knives from different countries and have around 16 to 20 users. That way I can enjoy the hunt as collector and use my user group that will be given to my kids and hopefully one day grand kids.

The hard part for me now is turning down deals, ignoring the awesome photos here, and passing on some I really would like to have.
 
Some folks drift off into the ether.
Others end somewhat more suddenly.
From "situation normal" to "China Syndrome" in roughly 3 hours.
I reckon that's reasonably sudden.
 
That didn't turn out too well. Though I did feel that I captured part of the essence of this forum in my last ditch effort to get him to stop and think. I'm just going to leave that out there.
 
r redden said:
Is anyone else here like I am? I think I keep buying knives more as an addiction than anything else. I don't really have much use for anything other than one or two good pocketknives and maybe a sheath knife. I'm retired so I don't use one for work and about the hardest thing I use one for is breaking down household cardboard or plastic. Most days outside of opening a letter or a box that another knife comes in my knives don't come out of my pocket.

There is no rhyme or reason to my collection though I have more Barlows than any other pattern and more Case than any other brand. I have come to realize there are some knives I like and some I don't particularly care for even though I have both. I'll sell or give away a few then find myself buying more than I got rid of to replace them.

Although I think Schatt and Morgan makes some of the most attractive knives out there if it wasn't for the generosity of my friend Jack (Mrknife) I wouldn't own one and have no idea why I've never bought one. I seem to like to purchase knives that are around $100 but have bought many that were both more and less expensive.

Ever so often I get an urge to buy a Sebenza or other mid-tech or custom folder but always seem to sell them a few days later. Not from buyers remorse but modern folders just don't do it for me.

I want to think I'm not influenced much by others but truth is when I see some of you other folks knives I just have to have one. As much as I love the knife pictures here they have cost me a lot of money.

I will quite rambling now and sum up by saying I don't know what it is about this hobby we share but it goes way beyond collecting as I have collected other things in my life but nothing has ever modified my behavior as much as knives. My signature is not only a feeble attempt at humor but also holds a lot of truth.
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Randy, there was a time that I was just like what you describe. I was addicted to buying knives, and some high dollar knives at that. I had a nice little collection of Randall's and some other custom made knives from Ralph Bone, George Stone, Harry Morseth and others. Sometimes I found myself at gun shows and knife shows buying knives I had absolutely no use for, but it was like a compulsion. When I had more knives than I knew what to do with, I still found myself going through knife magazines and thinking "I have to have one of those!" .

I'm not real sure what happened, but I stated to come out of it. I remember my dad once looking at my vast accumulation, and asking in a quiet voice, "Son, what the hell are you doing?". I didn't have an answer for him. JUst like a drunk, the thing that mattered was the next knife purchase.

Then one day I found myself asking the same question of myself. Dad had passed away by that time, and I guess I was remembering him all those years I was growing up, carrying that silly little peanut that I disdained. Then one day, I'm not really sure why, I picked up his old peanut and stuck it in my pocket. It had been paying in the tray on top of my chest of drawers, kind of like on display, but gathering dust. I dropped it in my pocket and off I went to work.

Over the next few days, I used it some, and then I used it some more. I was a little surprised at how well it cut things. To be honest, just as well as my stockman or sodbuster or any other knife. I started to think about the whole knife thing, and came to some startling conclusions. I started to experiment. A gradual downsizing took place, with me going to smaller and lighter knives, and I had a growing pile of them that I wasn't suing anymore. The customs had just sat for the most part, and I had been disillusioned by the Randall's not being that good a knife. Yeah, there had been a ton of hype in the knife magazines and books, extolling them as a modern day excalliber, but in real world use I found them to be an actually mediocre knife with very good fit and finish. So I sold them off. Somehow, that started something. When I parted with the knives that had at one time been my goal to have, it was like a barrier broke.

I started to look at all the other knives that I didn't use, were just hanging around, and didn't really do anything my old Buck stockman, SAK, or dad's peanut didn't do. I'm not sure if I could call it an epiphany, or some kind of enlightenment, or what, but I found myself looking at all the knives and dad's question echoed in my head: What was I doing with all this stuff?

The sell off started with the customs, then the high end productions like Al Mar stuff and the like. Every time I sold one, there was a weird feeling that was hard to describe. Kind of a mix between a little sadness and joyful liberation. The more I sold, the more eager I became to get rid of the rest. I'm sure a shrink could have a field day with this.

By the end, I was down to a small accumulation of users, and then a few years later I thinned the already small herd some more, looking hard at my lifestyle and asking myself what do I really need?

These days, my whole knife collection can be held in one hand. That's it. It's been a long road, but I'm glad I took the turn off. My guns and tools took the same path. There's an old proverb that the more possessions you own, the more the possessions own you. I have come to believe that.

Looking back on it, it was like waking up from some kind of temporary insanity or bad dream. I wasn't a knife nut in my younger day, and got by with one solitary Buck stockman and SAK for years. But in the 1980's two things happened. I started to look at knife magazines, and then went to knife shows. The more I saw, the more I wanted. Maybe the basic desire was there but not fed. With the increase in media and shows, I got hooked. When I did my sell off, I stopped looking at knife and gun magazines, stopped going to knife shows, and just ignored the whole thing best I could. I found that my desire faded and I just went back to wanting a sharp pocket knife of some kind on me, and that was it.

So for me, the addiction was broken by my staying away form the knife thing. No magazines, no knife shows, and I'm happy with just the few pocketknives I have. I stop in here because of the camaraderie of some great people, and to look a little, like maybe an alcoholic dropping by the bar to see friends and ordering a club soda or ginger ale.

One thing, being retired I find I need a good knife on me more than ever. Going fishing in these Texas lakes and rivers, traveling with my better half on long cross country road trips, sometimes camping out in National Parks as we go. Little projects around the house, or outings with the granddaughter and whittling hot dog and marshmallow sticks.

Yes, consumption is addicting. You just have to decide where you want to go, and if you want to go there. Breaking it is tough.
 
r redden said:
Is anyone else here like I am? I think I keep buying knives more as an addiction than anything else. I don't really have much use for anything other than one or two good pocketknives and maybe a sheath knife. I'm retired so I don't use one for work and about the hardest thing I use one for is breaking down household cardboard or plastic. Most days outside of opening a letter or a box that another knife comes in my knives don't come out of my pocket.

There is no rhyme or reason to my collection though I have more Barlows than any other pattern and more Case than any other brand. I have come to realize there are some knives I like and some I don't particularly care for even though I have both. I'll sell or give away a few then find myself buying more than I got rid of to replace them.

Although I think Schatt and Morgan makes some of the most attractive knives out there if it wasn't for the generosity of my friend Jack (Mrknife) I wouldn't own one and have no idea why I've never bought one. I seem to like to purchase knives that are around $100 but have bought many that were both more and less expensive.

Ever so often I get an urge to buy a Sebenza or other mid-tech or custom folder but always seem to sell them a few days later. Not from buyers remorse but modern folders just don't do it for me.

I want to think I'm not influenced much by others but truth is when I see some of you other folks knives I just have to have one. As much as I love the knife pictures here they have cost me a lot of money.

I will quite rambling now and sum up by saying I don't know what it is about this hobby we share but it goes way beyond collecting as I have collected other things in my life but nothing has ever modified my behavior as much as knives. My signature is not only a feeble attempt at humor but also holds a lot of truth.
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Randy my friend - first, I hope this finds you well mate, as well as your lovely Wife.

Secondly - My Goodness man I do know what you mean, I talk about this frequently - I cant stop - I really cant, I look at the knife and it actually beholds such such beauty - that I need to buy it, when I get it..its like aaahhhhhh........, then my fix slowly fgadfes...and I start looking again.

I used to have many many fixed blades, - I have owned more Folders once than I do now- mainly because I either gift, sell and replace with better Qulaity, my main streams in my collection are Charlies knives - the TC's, Harness Jacks - Harness Jacks is where I want to start concentrating, but I am finding I am starting to get into Camp and scout knives, as well as buy fixed blades again...... as well as the Older knives as well, I am also buying .............

Oh lordy......

Randy I too need help matey
 
I actually think that one day I will reduce the number of knives, I actually KNOW that only having ....Oh man...what would it be?..... 100, 50 30? maybe only 20 knives...perhaps just the 10 or can you imagine only 5!!!!
How do you choose, How do you actually let that Case Red Bone Mint example go-knowing - you will NEVER get another like it - how do you let a one of one kind go - again knowing you will never be able to see another like that one again....

I remember Charlie selling his Empire Collection, the work in being able to build such a vast collection of almost unobtainable beauties....... and to see them go....... Charlie...that must have been quite an array of emotions hitting you.

so.... yeah..... what do we do?
 
Jack Black said:
Nearly needed your services earlier Meako, when my stupid drunken next-door neighbour tried to burn the house down! Smoke alarm eventually woke the idiot up or he'd be dead now, and my place gone too most likely :mad:
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Get down low and go go go.
Without knowing the exact details of the incident Jack I would probably tip the contributing factors to be
Drunkeness on a regular and habitual level-did he actually purposely try to burn the place?
Drug use perhaps
Inadequate heater precautions.
Falling asleep whilst cooking when drunk (very common) and filling the house and surrounds with smoke.One of my S/Os did just that at work one night back in the good old days.
Main cause of death from fires in houses is from smoke inhalation-chances are they don't wake up and asphyxiate whilst asleep and never wake up.
Many of us may have experienced this- you are cooking and making smoke from the frying pan and you simply don't realise how smoky it is getting. I have experienced this many times when entering a premises that is apparently on fire (or so the neighbours think) fully smoke logged and there is an old chappy in the kitchen happily cremating some sausages or something completely unaware because its built up around him gradually.
I will never understand why people insist on cooking chips at home-WHY? you can buy better chips from the chip shop for cheaper than you can make them. I don't care if you're Jamie b#$%^y Oliver -home made chips are never as good.

Thanks to all for birthday wishes- take note my birthdays tend to go all week so nay one misses the boat:D
Still got my bro in law and my dads 80th this weekend so we tend to roll them into one.
Cheers.

Randy-:thumbup::o:rolleyes:;):confused::eek::cool: enjoy it.
Sorry to have to tell you I simply let one go on ebuy the other day-watched it for a couple of weeks- didn't even put in a bid. Wish I hadn't.

I actually think that one day I will reduce the number of knives,
No one told you to start thinking:p reminded me of great kiwi joke told to me by a bloke from Norfolk Island ( the former colonial brutal penal colony now owned by NZ where the name Brad means he's your brother and your dad:eek:)

Why are Kiwis like computers?
Because you have to punch the information in.
Whats the difference between a Kiwi and a computer?
With a computer you only punch it in once.


He'll think thats funny because they don't even have computers on Norfolk Island.
 
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That might have been a bit harsh- they probably do have computers on Norfolk Island.

May I recommend a movie? One for the kids 10years and up- Hunt For The Wilder People- a kiwi flick and not tooo bad-heartwarming , very funny,sad, adventure all in one.
 
This morning I woke, up got a cup of coffee it was way too chilly for the deck so sat at the kitchen bar with my post about knife addiction fresh on my mind, grabbed my laptop and went straight to the exchange.:eek::confused:
 
Campbellclanman said:
I actually think that one day I will reduce the number of knives, I actually KNOW that only having ....Oh man...what would it be?..... 100, 50 30? maybe only 20 knives...perhaps just the 10 or can you imagine only 5!!!!
How do you choose, How do you actually let that Case Red Bone Mint example go-knowing - you will NEVER get another like it - how do you let a one of one kind go - again knowing you will never be able to see another like that one again....

I remember Charlie selling his Empire Collection, the work in being able to build such a vast collection of almost unobtainable beauties....... and to see them go....... Charlie...that must have been quite an array of emotions hitting you.

so.... yeah..... what do we do?
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Well my friend, Charlie is a very remarkable man. At the GEC rendezvous, Ive seen him open his box of givers and let a child, pick whichever one he liked with his father's approval, not caring about the price of the knife. They were all pieces we would be thrilled to have I'm sure. All he requested was a coin so that they can remain friends, a tradition of old. The father had no change in his pocket, so I dipped my hand in to the back pocket for spare change for the boy to hand to Charlie. He will not recognize the significance of such an event at this moment, but some day, Im sure his father will remind him about that time of Charlie's generosity to building the future of the traditionals community. Charlie is that kind of guy. He saw how disappointed I was that GEC had no 15s in the cabinet even though the sheet said they were there and I was most likely not gonna make it home to the ebay auction which was already bid up to an exorbitant amount(in my eyes) , so he sold me his TC clip barlow, out of his display case. Just like that. Sometimes its not about dollars and cents.
 
r redden said:
This morning I woke, up got a cup of coffee it was way too chilly for the deck so sat at the kitchen bar with my post about knife addiction fresh on my mind, grabbed my laptop and went straight to the exchange.:eek::confused:
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This is a safe place Randy, you are among friends here :D
 
I hope I can follow jackknife's example and free myself from the need to acquire new possessions. I buy a new knife, unwrap and handle it, then it goes on the shelf with the rest of my collection. The medium Case stockman in my front pocket and Leatherman Wave on my belt are capable of handling all the tasks that don't require more specialized tools.
 
I thought I was done this year. I've gotten a few great knives this year. I thought I was done. I'm hoping to trade into a Bark River Hudson Bay 2 with a friend this weekend, but I get a pass, Hudson Bay camp knives are my second favorite fixed blade design. I think the addiction comes in as much as I'm trading a custom Mike Mann with a buggy spring blade for the Bark River. Many would consider it heresy here.

My father could've bought a nice knife here and there, but his collection consisted of a Schrade sharpfinger for hunting, the big one, and countless Schrade pen knives and peanuts that have resurfaced and been lost again, like ancient civilizations being unearthed by a tsunami, to only sink beneath the waves once more. He had quite a few Pakistan knives he wanted me to sharpen, I did for him, but they were junk back then. He didn't have the $ but when he did, he made sure his kids were taken care of first. Anytime I show him a new knife, he says if I'm going to throw my money against the wall, throw it my way (his version is more Whine and Cheese oriented). But, he appreciates the knives regardless. I don't think he'd appreciate them if I told him what they cost. I have drastically reduced the amount of knives I have, but the quality has increased. In hand, the price to accumulate them, whether through buying or trading, has gone up. I have several knives which were gifts, some worthless to knife nuts here but priceless to me, others a dear penny but still priceless to me.

I'm looking at a nice chunk of change, in all likelihood about $5000 bucks, and I know that is chump change for some of you. That's the whole collection right now. That's a good down payment on the truck I want to get. I'm knife poor.

My problem is I hang out with enablers. I learned the art of trading from Dan Schectman, writer for Backwoodsman and the now defunct Tactical Knives. I've gotten most of his sloppy seconds, knife wise. His articles on the Kephart and Hudson Bay Camp knife got me addicted to those patterns, I've told him I blame him for my addiction. Slipjoints, bushcraft knives and frame locks are my weakness. I've gotten to be such a snob, I'll go right past a good knife at a gun or knife show (yes, good knives are few and far between at gun shows but they're there).

I was at the now defunct Chesapeake Knife show with Carl a few years ago, and I was just a deer in the headlights. Carl was a cool cucumber, now that I look back on it, he was appreciative of the blades, but not "tweaking out" as some of the knife nuts were (ahem me). I remember I had a Strider SMF or SNG CC on me, and it was like carrying a cinderblock in my back pocket. I remember thinking that if Carl could get by with a peanut, what did I need the big uncomfortable boat anchor for? (I love the Strider design, but sharp handles and thick edges are not what I'm looking for, at that price point, but I bought a ton of them to find that out).

I get caught up with all of the sales on FB and here on BF, but I wish I had the willpower to not spend on knives, as with food. Although, when I am good on my diet, I might go nuts on vacation. I've found that when I spend on knives, I go whole hog. I'm literally spending beyond my means, playing it close to the felt. I make sure my bills are paid, and have old bills I'm still paying on, but it can get crazy.

Knife addiction is better than a cocaine addiction, but very similar, still chasing that first knife high.
 
I've already got more than enough knives. Maybe I can break the addiction one day. For now, I'm trying to keep these to the wish list, and not place anymore custom orders.

Chris Reeve large Chief Inkosi with natural micarta scales;
Case stag 2010 Tribal Spear;
Victorinox OD alox Pioneer;
Bark River Hudson Bay camp knife II (hoping to trade this weekend)

I didn't have anymore custom orders for the rest of the year, I believe I am on the books for others, but nothing for 2016. I just placed an order for a flat ground puukko and a small work knife from Turtle Tools, a friend I saw at Scott Gossmans Gosstoberfest campout this Saturday.

Like the old Cherokee tale of the grandfather and grandson, and which wolf do you feed inside you, I have a similar conundrum, although not as dire. The two biggest knife influences on me have been Carl and Scott Gossman. Both men value getting outdoors and enjoying nature than which knife you carry, and both would find great camaraderie together. Now that I think about it, Scott carries a small fixed blade, and I know that Carl does sometimes as well. I think we romanticize these knives way too much, in our cubicle lives, and try to feel the past through these knives. Whether I have a modified trapper or jack design, or a fixed blade popularized by an alchoholic librarian that left his family behind to live in the woods with moonshiners and wrote some great articles and started the process to create the Appalachian Trail, I'm thinking about the "old days".

:foot:
 
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