Family influence

B

brentondan47

Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
35
Has anyone else thought about how your family has influenced your edc? I was thinking about the knives my dad and uncles carried, and i made me think alot about what i carry.

For instance my dad served in the army for most of his life and for 30 years carried a yellow handle stockman that i now have. While he carried a multitude of knives this was his main edc. He spent 20 years in the army reserves as a demolition expert with a combat engineer mos, plus having served in Vietnam in the infantry, he learned to pack light and only carry what he needed. In his civilian job he carried two folders in belt sheaths. I realized years ago seeing him carrying 3 knives made me subconsciously start to carry 3 knives as well.

My uncle Donnie the eldest brother, carried several knives everyday, but most commonly carried 3. Mostly a folder ,a slip joint, and a victorinox tinker. The folder and a slip joint changed almost daily which influenced the way i change my knives everyday. My uncle worked mostly in factories in shipping and receiving so his knives were well used

My uncle Ernie the youngest brother, was an auto mechanic by trade, but also learned a number of other useful skills, including carpentry, concrete, and light electrical, and did lots of side work doing pretty much anything to make extra money. While he had tons of knives, the last 10 years of his life he carried a folding utility knife because he was tired of sharpening knives and wearing them out . Helping him on side jobs and projects around his house, not only made me take an interest in the trades, but made me realize that a good utility knife is worth its weight in gold on a jobsite. i carry one almost every day like my uncle

My typical edc is usually a folder either a utility knife or regular folder a slip joint and a multitool either a sak a leatherman or a gerber

In what ways has your family influenced what you carry or your love of knives
 
My grandpa always had some sort of cheap multitool on him that he would abuse until it broke and then he would pick up another at the feed store. I slipped his last one into the coffin with him 😉. My dad almost always has a SAK huntsman on him. The two of them inspired me to always have a knife on or around me, but my tastes are wildly different 😂 I currently have a CKF in the pocket and swap out almost daily what I carry.
 
The two biggest influences that fueled my interest in knives were my uncle and grandfather.

My uncle was a biker, and he would always carry either one of two Italian stiletto switchblades that he had. Good ones too, not cheap junk. That started my lifelong passion and fascination for folding stilettos, which lives on to this day. My most prized knife, and one of my top 5 most prized possessions is one of my stiletto switchblades.

My grandfather was a very handy guy, he did carpentry, plumbing, electronics, vehicle repair, etc, etc, and he could fix just about anything. He carried a small pocketknife and used it for all manner of tasks, far beyond just cutting. I learned from him the value of carrying a knife, the responsibility that came with carrying a knife, knife safety, and how useful and versatile a knife can be. He also taught me how to sharpen knives, the same methods I use today.

My father however had no interest in knives and rarely carried one. He would just ask to borrow mine, or tell me to cut something for him. But he did bring a lot of knives home from his work (US Navy base), TL-29's and DEMO knives. As a result, I had pocketknives from an early age, and plenty of them. As a little kid a TL-29 seemed huge, and I was thrilled to have them.

And just for the hell of it I'll mention my mother. Despite her belief that all boys were inherently bad and that she had to strictly control every aspect of my life to keep me from getting into trouble and embarrassing her, it still shocks me to this day that she had no issues with me having knives (as long as they weren't designed as "weapons"). I'm sure that even if she did prohibit me from having knives that I would still have had them, but her approval made it easier. It was both of my parents who bought me my first really good knife, a Buck 110. I still can't believe it.

Figured I'd add some pics of the knives I mentioned.

My stiletto switchblade. Cold Steel Ti-lite auto conversion.

pMLj5qI.jpg



One of the TL-29's I got from my father. Still using it.

72Qs68c.jpg



And the Buck 110 my parents bought me back in 1982. Still using it.

wUVaj6V.jpg
 
Last edited:
Growing up in small town / countryside my family always had some tools around for various jobs. My father was the kind of person who built everything himself (including our later childhood home) but never really carried anything per se, but had knives scattered around the house, warehouse, car etc.
Because of that and other things I’ve come to appreciate tools but also don’t need three knives when I go fetch milk from the kiosk around the corner.
 
It was my father, he bought me a small, fixed blade knife when I was 7 or 8.
Then I started small game hunting with him when I was 14 and of course you need a hunting knife.
So, knives have been a part of my life for a long time.

My mother and father bought me my first "good " knife when I was 16 or 17, that was in the late 1970's.

casest.jpg
 
I don't think my dad ever carried a knife, but he wasn't opposed to me carrying one as long as I was safe and responsible. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts taught me how to be responsible with a knife and how to sharpen one. Now I carry several every day, usually the same 3 or 4.
 
I guess I'm atypical. My dad never carried a knife and if my grandfather did, I never saw it. I did however find an old scout knife in my grandfather's cellar when I was 5 and he let me keep it. I knew I needed it. That started a fascination with knives that has continued to the present.
 
I would like to say it was my old man carrying his 110 every day or my material grandfather and his well worn Barlow of an unknown brand that he kept sharp enough to do the field surgery required to cut out a splinter from my finger.

...but really, it's because I was a kid in the 1980s and was inundated with everything from Rambo to the ninja movie fad to Crocodile Dundee. I just thought they were cool, and I own by far the most bladed tools in my family. I probably own 3:1 of the rest of my family combined ;)

Can't blame that on Dad or Gramps.
 
Agree with some of the others. In the era I was growing up, pocketknives were just a part of life, even for kids. Probably the first thing I remember wanting as a child. I got my first one for Christmas when I was five and I still remember the excitement.
 
For sure. My future ex wife spends all my money. Or I would have way nicer knives to edc. 🤣

Bought my Dad and Grandfather a pair of Lone Wolf knives 23ish years ago. $150 a piece, which was a fortune for me at the time. I bought them nicer folders as the years went by. But that's the only one my Dad has carried since, everyday for 23 years.

Don't have one, so I guess it didn't influence me much in that way. It has shown me how handy a knife is and how long a decent one can hold up to steady use.
 
The True North said:
I'd bet family influence is one of the main reasons many of us became knife enthusiasts in the first place.
Click to expand...
This is a sorta for me.... My dad was big into guns. He bought me all kinds of stuff... A pistol crossbow, bow and arrows, wrist rocket with steel shot (bad idea for a kid like me..... Shattered some windows with those 😬) air guns and more.

The knife I remember him using most was this Gerber he got in the early-mid 80's. He told me not to touch it because it was insanely sharp. He cut himself pretty bad with it once. I'm sure it was a hair whittler.... My experience with Japanese made knives is that they have been the sharpest out of box. It was butter knife dull when he passed



The last knife he was carrying before he passed was this AO Buck. To him it was a switchblade. I remember him saying that 2.5" blade was all anyone really needed.



He had a cheap stiletto that I was enamored with as a kid, but it was lost in a fire. Incidentally, that was the first knife I ever purchased for myself..... In Tijuana in my early 20's.

The SAK was given to me around 8 or 9, the 110 around 11 or 12, along with a Ruger 10/22 at 12. That 110 was used heavily in Scouts.... The adults thought it was too much knife, but let me carry it since I had earned the Totin' Chip.



I abused the living heck out of the SAK, received my first bad cut with it whilst cutting bark off of a tree. 🙄

I didn't carry a pocket knife regularly until my mid 30's other than camping or hiking. Been through moderns, slipjoints, etc. now my main carries are these so-called peasant style knives. For me it's like using living history. 3.5" - 4" is usually what I like.




Family didn't influence the type of knife, buty dad definitely instilled a love of weapons in me, and by extension, knives, even though I view them as tools for the most part
 
I grew up in a rural area, and my family and extended family were farmers, construction workers, and my dad was a lineman. Carrying a knife at all times was just default - it was there just like your wallet.

All of the "elders" carried the same knife - a Buck 110. I watched my Dad as a kid, 35 years ago or so, sitting in his chair so many times sharpening it freehand on a stone, shaving off some arm hairs after he was done and smiling over at me. He's 75 now, and still carrying that same 110.

My older cousin diverged when I was a teen and bought a Spyderco. I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen - watching him deploy it with his thumb. So yes, my family was definitely at the root of why I really dig knives. The other part was just that, for most of my early adult life, it was just something I needed every day to do my job. Now - I still use them regularly, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of just checking out different designs and figuring out what fits me best and why.
 
No family were into it. My Grandma did buy me a Buck Stockman at 10 and I promptly cut the heck out of myself.

A coworker of mine actually showed me the light. I had just turned 30 the first time I got a "real" knife.

Then I met all of you and it went from there 😁.
 
My pop had no interest in carrying knives, however, he did have an extensive array of kitchen knives. Most of them were carbon steel no-name knives. He grew up in Dover, OH, so naturally became a fan of Warther knives. When he passed, my sibs and I divvied up all his knives, making sure that everybody got a couple of the Warthers.
 
My father had almost a phobia about his children carrying knives, so I bought my first knife at the drug store and kept it a secret from my parents. The last time I saw my father, I used a Buck 112 to open a package and he looked like I pulled a rattle snake from my pocket. My uncle thought that everybody should carry a knife and always wanted to see mine when we visited. I had to make sure it was sharp so that it would pass inspection. He wanted to see what kind of knife I had in my pocket, the last time I saw him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top