Giveaway-1961 Imperial WINNER ANNOUNCED POST#52

I've really enjoyed the stories everyone. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Any others want to join in?
 
My very first knife was given to me by my Dad when I was about 6 or so. I don't remember what the brand was, but it had painted metal scales and a single spear point blade. It also had a chain that you could hook onto a button so you wouldn't lose it. My Mother immediately took the knife out on the front porch and rounded the point, but by golly it was a real knife!

Since then I have had a knife in my pocket whenever I had a pocket. When I was a kid, up through high school, I carried mostly off brand iterations of the single bladed fish knife, with a couple of switchblades in the mix. ( they were legal back in the day). Now I just carry some version of a stockman or whittler pattern, but I don't feel dressed without a pocketknife.
 
Nice story that, and not an entry. These Richards Knifes were to be found in every newsagents in England until the 80s when they went out of production. I believe imperial made knifes of a similar shell construction on your side of the pond. Although inexpensive these knifes were well made, have stood the test of time and were the pride of English schoolboys for many years. The scout pattern is a replacement for the exact one I had and the small jack was one I desired but never got. The one in the photo was kindly gifted to me by forum member Rcs following a discussion about Richards Knives. :thumbup:

Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr

Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
 
Blake the Blade said:
Nice story that, and not an entry. These Richards Knifes were to be found in every newsagents in England until the 80s when they went out of production. I believe imperial made knifes of a similar shell construction on your side of the pond. Although inexpensive these knifes were well made, have stood the test of time and were the pride of English schoolboys for many years. The scout pattern is a replacement for the exact one I had and the small jack was one I desired but never got. The one in the photo was kindly gifted to me by forum member Rcs following a discussion about Richards Knives. :thumbup:

Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr

Untitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
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Nice scout. At first I thought it had a saw blade, but then noticed the hook remover. I wonder how many fish were scaled and cleaned/gutted using that knife. Probably a bunch.
 
afishhunter said:
Nice scout. At first I thought it had a saw blade, but then noticed the hook remover. I wonder how many fish were scaled and cleaned/gutted using that knife. Probably a bunch.
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It would be nice to think afishunter, the original one I had certainly saw some service in my tackle box before I eventually lost it, though not for descaling I must admit. The blades on this one have developed a lovely patina despite being some kind of stainless. 👍
 
Ok friends, I'm leaving town and will draw the winner when I get back New Year's Day.
Last minute entries are allowed.
 
Wonderful story of your childhood memory and the friend who gifted you a knife; perhaps the reason you are still into knives as a hobby!

When I was younger, most of the "guys" carried a Buck Hunter (110) or my choice, the Ranger (112). Back then it was perfectly acceptable to have a knife on your belt, nobody thought twice about the practice.

I lost my original 110, and then the subsequent 112 that I actually carried in the 70s and 80s, but I do have a few 112's in the collection today!

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best

mqqn
 
When I was 10 years old my parents gave me a Swiss Army knife. It had two blades and four or five tools. It was beautiful and I treasured it for years. Functional beauty inspired me to study engineering and defined my career in technology and start-up companies.
 
My first knife was an Old Timer stockman. My mother gave it to me for my birthday. I was probably 9 or 10 years old. Been carrying a pocket knife ever since some, 50 years.
 
I grew up in very rural areas in West Texas, where carrying a knife was extremely common. Most of the families around us were farmers or ranchers so just about every man or boy I knew carried a pocket knife, at least as far as I knew. Surprisingly, of all the many things I remember from my early childhood, for some reason I do not remember the specific occasion when I got my first knife. But I'm sure it must have been either a birthday or Christmas gift from my parents when I was around 5 or 6 years old -- in the early to mid 1960's. There were pretty limited options available where we lived to buy pocket knives. But I recall admiring the cases of knives every time we went in the local drug store or hardware store. The only brands I remember were Schrade Waldens and the Old Timers, which were probably a couple of dollars more and not an option because of the higher cost. So I was surprised a few years ago when I discovered my first knife buried in a box of my childhood things and found that the tang is stamped not with Schrade Walden, but with Western, Boulder, Colo, USA and the model 658 - a brown 3-bladed stockman. I carried that knife daily, using and I'm sure abusing it, until probably sometime in junior high when I got my next knife. I was actually surprised that the knife is still in pretty decent shape, after a little cleaning up. It hasn't seen any use in years now, but sits in my knife storage case along with the other couple of knives I wound up eventually owning through my school years.
 
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My first ever knife was a traditional slip joint similar to a peanut pattern. No clue the brand. I was watching my grandpa sift through his junk drawer when I saw a small knife. Being a young child (6 years old if I remember correctly) I wanted it ! I remember him "sharpening" it on some stones. In reality he was making it soo dull it wouldn't cut butter. I carried it in my front shirt pocket for some reason. A few weeks past and my Grandpa took me to a Midland Angels Baseball game, sometime during the 6th inning I bent over to grab a soda or something when POOF out came the knife. It sippped through the bleachers and fell onto a concession stand below us, Never to be seen again.
 



Jack Black said:
Nice story Rishma, and a very thoughtful giveaway :) I was born in 1961, so would like to enter if I may.

My first pocket knife as a kid was a Richards 'Little Chief', the British equivalent of the clam-shell Imperials. It had a worn clip blade and a bottle-opener/screwdriver accessory blade. On the mark side was a picture of a Native American with full headdress and feathered lance, and the words 'Little Chief' underneath. I had other Richards knives, including the first I bought myself on a school trip, which was one of their Barlow patterns (bit of a moot point since the 'bolster' is hollow). My grandfather gave me British Army and Navy clasp knives, and my first Lambsfoot, by Joseph Rodgers.
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Thanks for your entry Jack Black and send me your shipping information.

Happy New Year, Friends.
 
My first knife was a cub scout model I received for Christmas as a kid.
'Still have it (my pic below).

I also had an Imperial automatic that I used to carry everywhere.
One day, a fellow fifth-grader decided to get me in trouble & reported me to the principal. She said if I wanted it back, my parents would have to pick it up.
I still regret not asking them to do it...

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(Mine was brown cracked ice, not blue cracked ice).
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rishma thank you for such a fine and generous GAW. Jack my friend I am so glad you won this. It could not have been won by a finer more generous member.
 
Thanks guys :o I can't believe my luck! :) It's rare I enter a giveaway, but this is a special knife for me, I'm very grateful :) :thumbup:
 
I had a few, the first being a Lobster type knife, with scissors, a blade, and toenail gunk remover (it looked like an awl, with a small, rounded bit of metal on the end, like a spatula.) It had dark brown scales, shot through with some tan coloring. I was about seven when I received it, so about 1987. This one must have gotten lost in all the random stuff I had as a kid.

My next knife was a small, single-bladed stag scaled lockback. I lost it using it as a throwing knife into a tree in the backyard. Never found it, and it's been about 25 years.

In 1993, I received a SAK Tinker for my birthday from my grandfather, which I miraculously still have. A little later that year, I got a knock off SAK, which had no snap to it. I found it in my dad's tool box a little while ago. I have no nostalgia for this knife.

I had a Buck 110 knock off that had steel bolsters and grey rubber grips. The grips fell off, and I reattached them with reflective duct tape! I thought it looked snazzy at the time. Also not sure what happened to this knife.

Everything else is either a modern pattern, or did not fall within what I would consider my childhood.
 
Thanks, rishma! Congratulations to Jack Black! Definitely deserving of that beautiful Imperial!
 
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