Cool Knife Story

Mark J

Mark J

Joined
Mar 15, 2001
Messages
2,450
I just have to relate this story to you fellow knifeknuts, knowing you’ll appreciate the significance. We celebrated my Father’s 77th birthday today. At the celebration, he calls over my 7-year-old son Christopher and hands him his pocket knife. He said that he was giving it to Christopher to keep as a remembrance of his grandfather. The knife is a very slim Henckels gents knife that my father purchased more than 50 years ago, and has carried and used every day since then. He has used it to cut open Christmas packages, clean his nails, open mail, pry his fingers out of the garage door (long and gruesome story), and many other more mundane tasks. The knife has been subjected to rather brutal sharpening and significant portions of the blade are worn down – the knife truly represents my Dad’s traveling companion on his lifelong journey. I am overwhelmed that he gave it to my son as a keepsake. Just had to share.

- Mark

P.S. Here’s a scan of the knife, in case you’re interested.

henckels.jpg
 
Whoa..maybe I should start the whole knife-passing-down-memory thing in my family.

Looks great, nothing an EdgePro can't fix as some may preach
 
Great story.
What are you going to do with it?
If something like that was given to my son from his grandfather I would get a display case to put it in and hang it on the wall. I would also put in the same case a photo of grandson and grandfather together. Maybe even include one of them holding the knife.

I like the scales. Great knife with even better memorys.
 
Originally posted by V10011011
Whoa..maybe I should start the whole knife-passing-down-memory thing in my family.

Looks great, nothing an EdgePro can't fix as some may preach
Click to expand...

I would not clean it or sharpen it. I would leave it just the way it is.
After all it's a keepsake not a user.

Edited to add:
V10011011,
Your 18 years old? Who would you pass a knife down to if you start the knife-passing-down-memory thing in your family?
 
my dad gave me a schrade 120T old timer and i carry it everywhere (fits in my wallet). also my dad did have his grand dads knife but it went missing over the years :(. but i like a knife that holds sentimental value more than a random purchase.
 
That knife looks like it's been through hell and back. I like that with a keepsake knife, it adds character.
 
My plan is to get married by 28 :P All in due time, besides, if I choose a knife now, I can get it chock full of memories by the time the first one comes along :D
 
AWESOME! I hope he will cherish it for a lifetime. That story brough back memories of my grandpa and his oversharpened poket knife. I wish I had it.
 
>"... that my father purchased more than 50 years ago, and has carried and used every day since then. He has used it to cut open Christmas packages, clean his nails, open mail, pry his fingers out of the garage door (long and gruesome story), and many other more mundane tasks."

======================================

That kind of puts some perspective on our jumbo tactical folders with their high-tech materials, clips, locks, serrations, etc. It's amazing what a small, quality slipjoint can do in skilled hands.

Great story, by the way. Thanks! :)
 
Mark,
Thanks for sharing a very special event with us.
Reminds me of the small pearl handled senator that my Dad carried for years. Unfortunately it was lost sometime in his last years back in the early 1990's.
For a knife that was carried for over 50 years, there was obvious care taken as there is still a great deal of steel left in the blades.
I agree, don't clean it up, or even sharpen it. It is no longer just a good knife. It is avery special keepsake. I think I'd help my son retire that knife to a display case.The fellow who recommended to supplement the display with a photo of your Dad and your Son has a neat idea.
I also think I'd replace it with a new one for my Dad if he intended to continue to carry a folder.
Thanks again,
 
If your dad used the knife 50 years, he will need a new one... so give him a new one....

And it is a good story.

roloss_valdes
 
Replace the knife for your Dad, also replace the knife for your son. If you want to reture grandpa's knife (good idea) you should not cheat your son out of a new pocketknife. Something in a simliar style, but new.
 
Excellent! My grandfather gave me MY 1st knife at about age 9 (a Case Boy Scout knife), and I still have it (40 years later!). A gift like what your son recieved from your dad will be a treasure for many years to come.
 
This reminded me that I have to find my grandfather's penknife that he gave me when I was around eight. It is buried somewhere around here...

Perhaps a scarier insight into me and my family is the reverence I still feel toward my other grandfather's gift of the sliderule he carried for most of his forty years as an engineer. :)

--Bob Q
 
In 1970, I gave my Dad a small two bladed pocketknife made in Sheffield and sporting pearl handle slabs. He died on 7 Jan of this year and before he went, he gave me many things, including that knife back. It had been used a bunch but is more sentimental than practical.

I have given my two sons and one son-in-law Randall's from my collection. They have my name engraved on them so they'll remember where they got them. I have a 17 year old daughter whose husband will get one too, in a few years, when he identifies himself!

My two grandsons (5 and 9 mos) have SAK's waiting for them when they are 8 and in cub scouts.

Some people give watches, some other jewelry, etc. I prefer knives.

Bruce Woodbury
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. I gave my father a small Victorinox stockbroker knife some time ago, so he has a replacement. As for my son, I think this is knife number 14 for him! However, this one is definitely special.

I like the idea of putting the knife in its own display case with a picture of the two of them. In the meantime, it is resting safely in daddy's display case so that it doesn't get lost (I was once seven years old too ;)).

- Mark
 
Nice story, Mark.

Here's a knife my mother just gave me. It belonged to my father -- he died four years ago at 84. He didn't carry it, but kept it on his knight stand for many years.

dadsknife.jpg


The blades are marked "Universal Knife Co." and I can make out what appears to be "...many" under that, which I assume was "Germany"?

Take it easy,
Bob
 
Great story. That´s the way, a knifeknut career starts.

Don´t replace the knife for your son in respect of your father. But keep in mind, he is young, so he might loose it. Maybe there is a compromise, like your son keeping the knife for special events and having a first own EDC?

I loosed all my knifes of my youth.
 
Great story Mark,

When I was much younger, my father gave me a near mint schrade walden stockman that had belonged to his father, who had already passed away. I liked knives at the time, but didn't always take good care of them at that age. I had other 'keepsake' knives that seemed to get damaged or lost, but for some reason, I have been able to hold on to this one. It now has a place of honor in my collection.

I'm sure your father would want your son to use the knife as he had, but you are wise to retire it. You can never get those type of things back once they are damaged or lost. Since your son already has knives, he can still use them. Believe me, I'm sure he will thank you later for setting it aside now.

I have very few momentos of my grandparents, and I cherish everyone of them.
 
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