Ever Want to go Back?

[BK14]

Back in my divemaster days in high-school I had this great titanium knife. I have no idea what brand it was, that's how little I was paying attention. I saw it sitting on the shelf by the BCD's forever and asked the shop owner if I could borrow it to tap on my tank since I didn't have a shaker (the little noisemaker you use to get divers' attention.) He said some divers had forgotten it in the shop years before and just gave it to me.

I took that knife on 2000 some dives, strapped right to my arm next to a fossil watch and an old Aladdin dive computer. Mostly all I used it for was tapping on my tank to get peoples' attention and ask how much air they had left. I repaired a couple mooring lines with it and once pulled it out in self defense. Some idiot snuck a baggie of roast beef to feed morays and, predictably,got one all frenzied and got bit pretty badly. I just remember how goofy it felt trying to get to the guy in the slow motion way you do everything under water, holding this blunt tip dive knife while the moray twisted and flailed in a big green cloud of blood. It's not like I was going to stab the moray- that guy deserved every bit of that lesson- but fortunately the moray let go and swam off and I got a big tip for "coming to the rescue"

I have no idea what happened to that knife. It must be buried in a box somewhere with old dive gear. Now that your post reminded me about it I think I'm on a mission to dig it back up!:thumbup:

Super cool story! If you end up finding it, I would love to see a photo! Thanks for responding.

 

[ChazzyP]

Still have this oldie but goodie in my bookbag

I carried that same same model Gerber for quite a few years. Mine was plain edged with an uncoated blade. I bought one for for a friend/business associate and ended up giving mine to my son after I picked up some other knives. That Gerber was a pretty decent knife for not a lot of money.

One of the knives that replaced the Gerber was a Buck Adrenaline that became my work EDC. I broke the tip off twice and reground it back so far that I couldn't get a decent edge on it, but still used it for a second-carry beater on the job. It sat in a drawer for a lotta years before I bought an EdgePro and used it for practice. After mentioning it in a "Show Us Your Beaters" thread and posting a pic in another, I started carrying it some again as part of my usual carpentry two-knife EDC--one cutter/one beater. I've acquired many and way more expensive knives since this old beater was my EDC, but I guess I have gone back after a fashion and it's kinda neat to have it back in my pocket on some days. Today it went to work along with my Wilson Combat Eagle.

The other Adrenalin was bought as a replacement years ago, but I don't think I ever carried or used it.

 

[killgar]

I'm 46 years old, been carrying knives since I was a little kid. The first picture are most of the folders I carried from my childhood through the age of 21. The second picture are the folders I carried from the age of 21 to the present day.

The only knife in the first pic that I still occasionally carry is the Maxam lockback (4th from the left). I still use the TL-29 electricians knife and the Buck 110 often at home.

The only knives I carry in the second pic are the three on the right (Al Mar SERE 2000, Bradley Alias 1, Viper Start). The Bradley has been my regular daily carry folder for about the past ten years.

The Buck 110 and the Kissing Crane folding stiletto in the first pic (2 on the right) have the most sentimental value. I carried and used those a lot during my teens and early twenties. As cheap and flimsy as the Kissing Crane is, I got a lot of utilitarian use out of it.

Of course that was before I realized that a knife needed to cost a hundred dollars or more in order to be useful. But what did I know. I was just a dumb kid. .

 

[slayer01]

Really like this fireside chat! My compliments to the OP.

I started with a huge spoon and fork and saw and laser 1960's era must have knife for kids. It was ridiculous. I lost that and then was given a smaller yellow knife with two blades and lost that a few times and then my grandfather gave up on me!

I always had a pocket knife but was to cheap to get a good one until my 30's.
I own butterfly knives, my grandfather's 60 year old case a Boker auto and the new benchmade griptilian and everything in between. They're everywhere!

I've always loved metal and knives particularly I just didn't buy any choosing to live my life and travel as someone here suggested we do. Now that I'm over 50 and have another son to raise I've started to learn about the new steel and occasionally buy something I like for a few hundred and then carry it until the next new one comes along. I still believe you can spend less money and get a good knife but you won't get a great one!
My current project is to get customised Kershaw skyline with Damascus for me and my boys and present them as a unifying gift between us. My son's were both born and raised in Alabama and the Damascus is made right down the road from us. So I'm hoping to inspire them to feel more like I do now about blades and carry that on to future generations.

I think it's a shame kids can't have little pocket knife anymore. Heck I brought my bb gun to school do I could take it to my friends house after school. But that was the 70's and we were less crazy. Lol

Rick

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[willard0341]

Case stockman in junior high then came along the the spyderco worker (It had a clip to attach to your pocket!!!!). Benchade and microtech in the late 90s and experimented with some "overbuilt" stuff after 2000

Dwelled on a benchmade 2550 a couple of years with a mix of some axis locks.

Didn't Emerson have a contract with NASA at one time? So they could cut open their packages of tang etc. Thought that was cool came close to buying one and stuck with my benchmades

2007 bought my first small sebenza and since acquired several more.

There was a big gap of information for me for a decade or so. All the older gents I knew would turn their noses up with anything that had a pocket clip attached. Tactical knife magazine would run an article bragging on the latest and greatest folder (which turned out to be junk). I would see ads for crk in the knife magazines but the price was inconceivable.

No I wouldn't want to go back. I would like to thank bladeforums and it's members for the plether of information and entertainment

Edit I should not have said "contract" with nasa... and I have recently gotten back into traditionals the last couple of years

 

[19-3ben]

Long before being a knife guy, I was a gun guy. At some point during my senior year of college... back around 2005, someone mentioned in passing tat the BM Grip was the best EDC knife ever. I bought one on an impulse. Drop point, half-serrated, black blade with black FRN. I carried that knife and beat the snot out of it for about 10 years or so. Still have it and it's still a great knife. I was very fortunate that my beater EDC was a good quality knife. I'll see if I can grab a picture of it for you all later.

I may eventually send it back to the mothership for some spa treatment.

 

[22-rimfire]

I suspect when the boy is older we may well enjoy them together so I'll make sure we have enough in stock.

When I was a boy, I wanted to choose my own knives. Of course, what Dad carried influenced my choices, but I wanted to choose for myself. But I probably wouldn't have turned down a new knife from Dad.

When it came time to buy my first deer rifle (my money) as a young teen, I chose a 243 win. Later moved up to a Remington M700 270 win a couple of years later. Dad was a 30-06 guy. Still use that 270 win when I hunt deer with a rifle.

 

[Herlock]

Hi! Nice thread! Enjoyed reading the stories . If I want to go back? Not so often fortunately, still looking +/- optimistically at what tomorrow will bring . But I am lucky enough to have more good memories than bad ones.

I can share a few about knives, though I think I have told these stories here somewhere before . I started to play with SAKs around 4/5 yrs. old, under my parents supervision - who also taught me the basics of “knives safety” , so to say. Occasions to start carrying and practicing were our summer holidays on the Alps and all the Sunday hikes out of holiday season, where I have developed my love for the mountains and learned a number of things about plants, trees, flowers, insects, wild edibles, etc . being my parents quite passionate about these. I still have bright memories of Mum unrolling a faded checkered plaid in some clearings, opening her back-pack, taking out Tupperware’s and paper bags and start preparing some lunch for us, while my Dad with my sister and I were collecting some stones and wood to start up a small fire. Dad was carrying an old Alpineer and Mum was doing food prep with an Opinel 10, which had developed a good patina. Alpineer was OK to use for us kids, the Opinel was “verboten”. Never really understood why . Dad taught us how to choose a good walking stick, generally from hazelnut tree branches and how to carve it, to make it “ours”. Mum taught us how to properly clean trout and stick them on skewers, cut and pointed on spot and how to cook a tasty steak on slate stones, dressing it up with wild mountain herbs. We used to cook and share simple food, after having filled up our canteens with the clear icy mountain waters from the numerous springs. Small talks or more serious discussions around the camp fire , in front of magnificent scenarios, under the sun or, in case of sudden rain, under an improvised shelter or under the roof of a nearby cattle shed, listening to the rain drops drumming on the stony roof tiles and smelling cows smell . Family board games or some cards game and a nap before packing up and heading down to our cottage in the village in the valley. In winter time it was always some week long and weekends skiing and the days were generally ending in front of the fireplace, with hot chocolate for kids and mulled wine for Dad and Mum and some wood carving . I was poor, but Dad was able to carve out some nice figures and functional kitchen tools.

Knives were tools, by all means, in those times . A SAK, don’t remember the exact model, probably the Camper, has been with me during all my childhood and teenage years. It was normal for us kids to carry a slip joint or pen knife of sort during primary school; we were sharing our snacks/lunch, typically fruits, ham bread and cheese. The older ones were helping the little ones cutting their stuff . Around 8/9 yrs. old, my Grandpa gifted me with a Opinel 8, the grown-ups knife I lusted for years! We were fishing somewhere on the Adda river and he took a brand new one out of his fishing multi-pocket vest and improvised a sort of speech about the importance of tools, self-reliance and the responsibility of growing up, leaving childhood behind. Dad just finished saying “be careful with that one” and, sure enough, I got some good bites and a couple of stitches at E.R. from using it .

Primary school was ending, so were the 70ies. Just before starting the secondary school, I joined the Scouts and, after being given some badges, I got from my parents a Linder Scout Knife, one of those with stag handles (probably fake ) and leather sheaths. I started to carry this also during our family hikes and learned how to use a fixed blade in a proper and effective way. I liked that Linder a lot! The plastic decade, the 80ies, was slipping away and I still was keeping the Camper in my pocket. End of high school and left for military service, ROTC in the Alpine Troops. Two years’ service, freezing in winter camps and sweating in long summer marches, carrying both the Camper and an Opinel (plus some other 30 kg complimentary ballast ) high up on beautiful mountain peaks. The only real cutting knives; bayonets were as sharp as butter knives. The 90ies were just in their beginning and, back to civilian life, I was struggling with lessons and exams at university and a couple of temporary jobs. Still it was mainly SAKs and Opinels in my pocket , though I remember I bought a couple of Jaguar cheap knives and a kind of Mora, during those years.

That’s pretty much about my “before time” period. My interest in knives and guns revamped a bit later on, when married and settled. I still have the Opinel my Grandpa gave me, still use it as one of our “around the house” knives! All the others went lost somehow, either during the various moving or somewhere out on the trails. But I keep them in my heart .

(Not my pic)

(Not my pic)

 

[jc57]

I want to go back to early 2013, shortly after I got into pocket knives, and stop when I had less than a dozen, and just carry and use those until they wore out or broke.

 

[BK14]

Hi! Nice thread! Enjoyed reading the stories . If I want to go back? Not so often fortunately, still looking +/- optimistically at what tomorrow will bring . But I am lucky enough to have more good memories than bad ones.

I can share a few about knives, though I think I have told these stories here somewhere before . I started to play with SAKs around 4/5 yrs. old, under my parents supervision - who also taught me the basics of “knives safety” , so to say. Occasions to start carrying and practicing were our summer holidays on the Alps and all the Sunday hikes out of holiday season, where I have developed my love for the mountains and learned a number of things about plants, trees, flowers, insects, wild edibles, etc . being my parents quite passionate about these. I still have bright memories of Mum unrolling a faded checkered plaid in some clearings, opening her back-pack, taking out Tupperware’s and paper bags and start preparing some lunch for us, while my Dad with my sister and I were collecting some stones and wood to start up a small fire. Dad was carrying an old Alpineer and Mum was doing food prep with an Opinel 10, which had developed a good patina. Alpineer was OK to use for us kids, the Opinel was “verboten”. Never really understood why . Dad taught us how to choose a good walking stick, generally from hazelnut tree branches and how to carve it, to make it “ours”. Mum taught us how to properly clean trout and stick them on skewers, cut and pointed on spot and how to cook a tasty steak on slate stones, dressing it up with wild mountain herbs. We used to cook and share simple food, after having filled up our canteens with the clear icy mountain waters from the numerous springs. Small talks or more serious discussions around the camp fire , in front of magnificent scenarios, under the sun or, in case of sudden rain, under an improvised shelter or under the roof of a nearby cattle shed, listening to the rain drops drumming on the stony roof tiles and smelling cows smell . Family board games or some cards game and a nap before packing up and heading down to our cottage in the village in the valley. In winter time it was always some week long and weekends skiing and the days were generally ending in front of the fireplace, with hot chocolate for kids and mulled wine for Dad and Mum and some wood carving . I was poor, but Dad was able to carve out some nice figures and functional kitchen tools.

Knives were tools, by all means, in those times . A SAK, don’t remember the exact model, probably the Camper, has been with me during all my childhood and teenage years. It was normal for us kids to carry a slip joint or pen knife of sort during primary school; we were sharing our snacks/lunch, typically fruits, ham bread and cheese. The older ones were helping the little ones cutting their stuff . Around 8/9 yrs. old, my Grandpa gifted me with a Opinel 8, the grown-ups knife I lusted for years! We were fishing somewhere on the Adda river and he took a brand new one out of his fishing multi-pocket vest and improvised a sort of speech about the importance of tools, self-reliance and the responsibility of growing up, leaving childhood behind. Dad just finished saying “be careful with that one” and, sure enough, I got some good bites and a couple of stitches at E.R. from using it .

Primary school was ending, so were the 70ies. Just before starting the secondary school, I joined the Scouts and, after being given some badges, I got from my parents a Linder Scout Knife, one of those with stag handles (probably fake ) and leather sheaths. I started to carry this also during our family hikes and learned how to use a fixed blade in a proper and effective way. I liked that Linder a lot! The plastic decade, the 80ies, was slipping away and I still was keeping the Camper in my pocket. End of high school and left for military service, ROTC in the Alpine Troops. Two years’ service, freezing in winter camps and sweating in long summer marches, carrying both the Camper and an Opinel (plus some other 30 kg complimentary ballast ) high up on beautiful mountain peaks. The only real cutting knives; bayonets were as sharp as butter knives. The 90ies were just in their beginning and, back to civilian life, I was struggling with lessons and exams at university and a couple of temporary jobs. Still it was mainly SAKs and Opinels in my pocket , though I remember I bought a couple of Jaguar cheap knives and a kind of Mora, during those years.

That’s pretty much about my “before time” period. My interest in knives and guns revamped a bit later on, when married and settled. I still have the Opinel my Grandpa gave me, still use it as one of our “around the house” knives! All the others went lost somehow, either during the various moving or somewhere out on the trails. But I keep them in my heart .

(Not my pic)

(Not my pic)

Awesome story! Thank you so much for sharing your memories and photos.

 

[strategy9]

I definitely still appreciate a good cheap knife ($20 give or take) dare I say "as much" as I do my finer knives ($50+)
But in a different fashion.
Yes I "like" my nicer knives more, but the frugal me still appreciates those little beaters for tasks you know are going to have a high risk of muffing up a good blade.
I have about a dozen or so <$30 knives, mostly designated as strictly work knives, since my job is a brutal environment for knives in general, and probably half that more in the $30-50 range... because while I'm not afraid to use whatever knife i have on me at the time, and I do carry knives above the $100 mark, the frugal me just can't stomach the idea of intentionally going into a situation knowing full well before hand it's going to be a high probably of me fudging up or loosing my knife, and willfully grabbing the lionsteel or benchmade, over a (financially) "disposable" option like a lower-mid level; Buck, Kershaw, Boker, etc. Instead.

 

[K.O.D.]

No way. Not ever going back to tantos, partial serrations, and assisted openers.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[Getahl]

Would be nice to have back the thousands of dollars of spent on knives I don't carry use or carry lol. My before time knives were a SAK Tinker, a CS tanto voyager ,and a crkt M16. Still have the Tinker, too. Most knives I carry are small and inexpensive, so I have no problems letting go.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Brock O Lee]

I was perfectly happy to carry a Victorinox alox Pioneer for a good 15 years, until I got bitten by the Spyderco bug about 5 years ago. I still carry a SAK daily with a Spydie all these years, and it's still an alox Pioneer, the X.

I would not prefer to go back to just the SAK, but to be honest it would probably serve my needs just fine.

 

[Eric J]

I have carried some expensive tacticals, only to realize that they were not what I needed. I bought them more for imagined threats than actual ones. Jackknife's Tales inspired me to change my ways. I'm never going back.

 

[ATJ999]

One thing. I would love to start fresh, with all the money I had ever spent on knives, and begin again knowing what I know about them now. I would have saved a ton of money, time, effort, etc. Now I have pretty much bought, sold, or traded to get to my perfect assortment, but it took a long time and a lot of good and bad knives!!

My first knives starting out were the Benchmade auto mini stryker, and a Kershaw chive. I had those two, and just those two for a very long time. I mostly carried the benchmade, that was my EDC for almost 10 years, then I got an Auto Rift, love that, was my EDC for a few years, then I got into customs, and you know where that leads!! I am very happy with the knives I have now, and only need a few more for my "perfect assortment", then I am done! Just rotation after that! Or so I tell myself.

 

[death_to_yancey81]

Hi all,
Like I am sure many of you did, I carried a knife, at least off and on, before I really became interested in knives or thought of them as something more than a simple tool. I didn't carry regularly, nor did I take the best care of my knife either. A recent thread reminded me of the knife I carried off and on for about two years, a partially serrated Gerber F.A.S.T. Draw. This was my main cutting tool before I got a Kershaw Blur as a gift and it all went downhill from there. Today I pulled the Gerber out, after all but forgetting I had it. Very dull, wobbly, and scratched up, the knife still functions, and I put it in my pocket. Admittedly, it will not stay there very long, but it brought up an interesting question in my mind. What knives did everyone carry in the "before time"? Were you like me, who didn't necessarily abuse their EDC, but didn't care for it much either? Do you still have those knives, and do you ever carry them now even though you have something better? I look forward to hearing your responses, and greatly appreciate the warm welcome I have received from this forum so far!

I kinda did the same thing earlier this week, but I didnt feel any nostalgia lol. The knives that I carried before learning of quality blades were those kershaws you can get in the blister packs that usually have 2 knives in them for $19.99. They were almost always assisted opening and like most young guys new to knives I thought they were just awesome lol. I found the last ones I bought going through some junk and was reminded pretty quick that thats right where they belong lol. Wobbly blades, liner locks locked up at about 10%, pivot screws must just be there for show because they either wont break loose or they spin without loosening. Kershaw was really the only name I knew so I stuck with those and finally found the Link and saw there were decent knives to be had. In that sense I thank kershaw for not only having cheapies but also really quality knives because had I started with some of the other brands I may have never found the good stuff.

 

[r redden]

I grew up in the 60's in a very rural area of the Western North Carolina Mountains and in that time and area boy's and men carried pocket knives. Barlow was the most common. I spent a couple of weeks one summer helping my grandfather fencing his lower field and when we were finished he gave me a $10 bill and a brand new Colonial Barlow.

From that time on I have always carried a knife and had accumulated 62 of them mostly junk. When I retired I decided to buy myself a nice knife started researching and found BF. All of a sudden a world of knives opened up to me I never knew existed and the addiction began.

I bought a PM2 and a Griptilian. Then came Sebenza, Brous, Hinderer and some customs. I found thy just weren't me and started selling them off.

I realized my preference was for the traditional type knives so here came the GEC's more Case's, Queen's and so on. I'm still a Traditional knife guy and love them. I have bought many, sold many. gifted many and bought more. I'm not sure how many knives I have now it is way over 100 and I am beginning to wonder what the heck I am doing with all these knives.

I would like to go back and have been thinking hard about selling off most of my collection but am having an incredibly hard time making up my mind to start selling and I'm still buying knives. In fact I have about half of my knives laying on the bar right now trying to figure out if I can actually part with all or even some of them.



The Barlow my Grandfather gave me. This is before and after Glennbad brought it back to life.

The knives I have on the bar going through right now trying to make up my mind if I should sell or not.

 

[HwangJino]

I started buying knives in middle school through a catalog, budK. Which sold cheap mall store knives. Never carried them outside of my home.
Later on, I purchased a crkt m16 (I believe) but never carried it outside the home either.

Few years ago, I quit smoking cigarettes and bought myself a reward.

Small sebenza 21 with bocote inlays. That's where my addiction began (other than sushi knives).

No I would not want to go back knowing what I know now. I'm happy with what I have.

 

[Coyote3855]

My Dad always carried a knife, usually a Scout model, a Case or Keen Kutter, in his back pocket on a lanyard fastened to a belt loop. His hard use knives were a little KaBar for skinning coyotes, and an old green handled Buck 105 for big game. He would certainly balk at paying over $100 for a knife these days, although in his later years he accumulated a nice collection of custom Bucks. Consequently, even as a kid I had decent knives and never got into the gas station cheap ones. I gave him his first Leatherman, the original, and he loved that thing and carried it everyday on the ranch.