Carrying and Using Slipjoints

Tony Bose said:
I've never seen a brinks truck follow a hurse. I don't know why people won't carry and use a fine handmade knife. People will pay $80,000 for a new auto and drive it every day. I wish every knife I made was in somebodys pocket going to work.
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Tony,I'd carry one of yours if I had one.As I don't,all I can think about after reading your post,is what a shame,all your knives out there that are safe queens,
Thanks for posting,
Vince
 
I am one of those who uses a knife almost everyday in some fashion (Farmer). I have knives that I use everyday but they are usually always the same knives (Case yellow handle Trapper in CV & Case Customized Hawkbill) I always have these two knives on me at all time. The remainder of my knives (a bunch) I keep in my knife storage area, these are my collection. I did not purchase these knives to use, I purchased these knives to collect and admire and to one day pass down to my son.

If the reasoning is to use every knife that we buy, why in the heck would I need more than two or three knives. It would make sense for me to only own what I can use. If that was true than there would not be much need for knife forums and big fancy inventory's of knives...

Just my opinion...
 
I try to use every knife I own now, but I didn't use too. Living on a college student budget and being in a small town, Case was the top brand here for a while, so I didn't carry my Cases, that's all changed recently. I think what's the point of owning a knife I'm not going to carry or use?

I wish I could afford to own some really nice customs, but even if I do come into the money to get one, it's not going in the safe, it'll be in a pocket just like any other knife.
 
I have a few really high$ customs and I probably would carry them, but I'm used to my favorite (which is also a custom) and I carry it daily more from habit than anything else.

Paul
 
I hear what folks are saying as far as what's the point of owning a knife if we are not going to use it...I respect that and their opinion..

My comment is why own more than you can use at one time if that is your intention...

Sunburst
 
Sunburst, I can definitly see your point of why own more than you can use at one time, that was always my grandfather's perspective on knives too. I, even on my limited budget, have more knives than I can use at once, but that's because I like to occasionally change out the one I carry for a different pattern or handle material. To me, knives are tools, but there's also that tiny bit of them being pocket jewelry and that look a fellow knife knut gets when you pull out that nice new stag handled stockmen and show it off. Like I said, I buy my knives to use now, but if they can look pretty while doing it, why not! :D
 
The knives I don't carry and use areare quite few and include a couple that my dad gave me years ago. One is a full-size trapper that's number 24 or 42 for the (Texas) Gulf Coast Knife Club and the other is a mini-trapper that's number 99 of 150 for the West Texas Knife Club. Needless to say, they're worth more for the associations than anything else.

James
 
Good point, Sunburst. I've often looked at all my knives and considered paring down to just a few. Then again, I have collected some because I like the handles and the execution of a pattern. I have some I mostly look at and enjoy the process. When I do think about carrying them I realize I already have several others in the same patterns I'm already carrying, so perhaps I should leave them up a little longer. I've done a few cuts with them, I always do. Therefore none are technically mint. Just very NIB! And, some don't pocket as well as others. I've also stated before that I think we collect these type things to help of remember, and perhaps fantasize a little over eras and lifestyles that we can't touch currently.

I started buying a few SAKs and some Old Timers from the Force Exchange when I was on a year tour in the Sinai with the MFO, just because I had to leave all my guns and stuff behind, and there was no place I could really go wondering around, due to rules and land mines. Handling the knives and carrying one or two reminded me and kept me connected.

Truth is, if I had a chance to live backwoods again, I'd probably have just a few steady working knives and maybe a purdy one or two I kept for looking at. Even then, I wouldn't want anything around I couldn't put to use if I wanted or needed too.

Perhaps the balance point is to have some nice ones we keep shiny and put away just to enjoy looking at and handling as we sit in our favorite chair, but with keep from becoming excessive about keeping them pristine for some future generation.

On generations I have to agree with Jackknife. Having something handed down that had been carried, used, and cherished by the former carrier would add more meaning to me. I wish I'd hung on to my Dad's (his birthday today, btw) Kissing Crane Congress a little longer and used it before passing it on to my son. It already had the handles smoothed by years of carry and the blades were less than 100%. I'd have liked to have partnered with it a while and added some more polish while reducing the blades a little more. I might not have meant more to my son, but I miss the time I could have been adding some legacy of my own to it.

Like everything else, the ideal lies somewhere in the middle.
 
freekboi said:
I try to use every knife I own now, but I didn't use too. Living on a college student budget and being in a small town, Case was the top brand here for a while, so I didn't carry my Cases, that's all changed recently. I think what's the point of owning a knife I'm not going to carry or use?

I wish I could afford to own some really nice customs, but even if I do come into the money to get one, it's not going in the safe, it'll be in a pocket just like any other knife.
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Freekboi,I sent an e-mail via your profile,to request your address

Thanks for all the good opinions,and thoughts on this always talked about subject.
A lot of times,when someone asks,"do you like that knife,will you carry it ?" My reply is, "Yeah it is nice,and,if it were the ONLY knife I had,I'd certainly carry it"
But with an accumulation,some just don't get carried,while others,become favorites,custom or production.
 
I don't collect knives, I accumulate them :D
If I just happen to have the exact size and shape of blade that would be perfect for a particular task when it pops up, that's a big bonus. I've never been a "get by with a hammer and a pair of pliers" kind of guy. I wound up with three toolboxes and literally a ton of tools on my truck, just because I prefer to have the right tool for the job.

The same thing has happened with my knives. I have hundreds, and none are safe queens. (Granted, I have a few wall hangers, but I really don't consider them to be knives, just decorations.) Some of my knives get carried all the time, some only occasionally, and many have been retired by something better. I use knives every day, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. The more I spent for it, the more I expect from it, so I stick to production knives that I can replace when I use them to death.

I am fortunate in that I live in a small town where the largest employer is a beef packing plant, so hundreds of people here make their living with knives. As a result, people here don't freak out over a knife or twelve. I generally wear Faded Glory carpenter jeans because they have an extra pocket below the hammer loop on the left leg (room for another knife or two :D )

After all, what good is a pocket without a pocket knife?;)
 
sunburst said:
I hear what folks are saying as far as what's the point of owning a knife if we are not going to use it...I respect that and their opinion..

My comment is why own more than you can use at one time if that is your intention...

Sunburst
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Freekboi hit on a point that went by real fast but I will say it this way;

MAN JEWELRY

This is jewelry you can use, like a watch. That is why it's ok to own more than you can use at one time.
 
Kerry,When showing off some of my higher $ slips,to non knife people,who cannot fathom the pricetag,I've often referred to the term,pocket jewelry.
Vince
 
VCM3, never mind, I finally got it. Reply on the way. And thanks for the fun little contest in the post. I'd planned on adding my $.02 anyway, but little things like that just make it all the more fun.
 
sheathmaker said:
I have a few really high$ customs and I probably would carry them, but I'm used to my favorite (which is also a custom) and I carry it daily more from habit than anything else.

Paul
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I agree 90% of my knives are custom all get used. Although you do to tend to favour some over others. I think custom makers enjoy seeing there work used. I really like my Ray Cover slippie. I just received afrction folder today, that I had made from a Ray Cover fixed blade skinner, it's going straight in the pocket.

Vince I've lost money as well selling used customs so I can get something else.
The wife tells me I'm upgrading:D
Cheers
Mitch
 
Tony Bose said:
I've never seen a brinks truck follow a hurse. I don't know why people won't carry and use a fine handmade knife. People will pay $80,000 for a new auto and drive it every day. I wish every knife I made was in somebodys pocket going to work.
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Amen, and well said brother Bose.
 
I carry all my custom slips-some more than others, mainly because I prefer a certain pattern, etc. I agree with Tony that these knives were made to be used (I have one of Reese's trappers in my pocket as I write). They don't get abused, but they do get used-that's what I bought them for!!!
 
A custom knife is when you feel like spoiling yourself and admiring craftsmanship.But investing in knives seems pointless to me,the market is very capricious,not much really gains in value and knife-collecting is such a specialized field that few people know about it.

Pocket worn actually enhances the appeal and look of a knife,rather like leather improves with age-sometimes! Of course, we all fear damage or losing our knives however valuable or humble but it's there to be used or to help you out.
 
My grandfather gave me my first stockman and the history of American slip joints what different patterns were for. He even taught me the proper angle to sharpen a spay blade so it would stay sharp through all your castrating. I have carried a stockman usually paired with a bigger knife my whole life. When I finely got to the point in life where I could buy things just because I wanted then I started collecting stockmans. Trying to get one of every brand currently made. then every handle material of that brand. then on to out of production and antiques. at last count I'm at about 200. Now I'll admit a stockman collection mite be a bit dull to some but there is no end in sight to this yet, not one of my collection has yet cost more than $50.00 and most were under $25.00.
Oh yea and I will carry and use any one of these knives ant time.
 
bikermikearchery said:
My grandfather gave me my first stockman and the history of American slip joints what different patterns were for. He even taught me the proper angle to sharpen a spay blade so it would stay sharp through all your castrating. I have carried a stockman usually paired with a bigger knife my whole life. When I finely got to the point in life where I could buy things just because I wanted then I started collecting stockmans. Trying to get one of every brand currently made. then every handle material of that brand. then on to out of production and antiques. at last count I'm at about 200. Now I'll admit a stockman collection mite be a bit dull to some but there is no end in sight to this yet, not one of my collection has yet cost more than $50.00 and most were under $25.00.
Oh yea and I will carry and use any one of these knives ant time.
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That's pretty interesting.I admire your dedication.
Vince
 
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