Grails of Yesteryear

Pharmagator said:
The Gerber BMF! That was a KNIFE.... No idea what steel was used... My Gerber Bowie rusted in my desk drawer... But the BMF! had a compass on the sheath and a sharpening stone and I believe something that could make waffles....
Click to expand...
One of the top 80's Warrior/Survival Blade ! without a doubt , coolest bad to the bone
 
without a doubt one of the hardest knives to get when it came out. The original was and still is a grail for many for good reason

gTiQ9p1.jpg
 
I've had several grails (or maybe obsessions) since I started getting serious about knives in the late 90s:

Benchmade AFCK - mine is now a relic with bad lockup, etc.
Benchmade Leopard Cub - also now a relic.
Gerber Paul - I had one and am sorry I sold it.
Chris Reeve Sebenza - Had to have it back in the day. Still have a couple early models, but have lost interest.
Shirogorov Neon - I think these are excellent knives. I have three.
Grimsmo Rask - because I believed the hype. I recently won the lottery and bought one. Very happy with it except for the price.
 
Confused by the Spyderco Police model in all stainless... They get sold all the time on the auction site for relatively cheap.

My first semi-decent folder was the Rookie in solid ATS-55. Not much better than vg-10.

Carried it everywhere and it did everything including field dress big game, but definitely doesn't hold an edge to today's steels.
The Police model is just a scaled up version. Not something that given our modern selection of knives I would consider seriously.
Don't feel bad, you aren't missing out on much.
 
My original grail knife. I had a classmate that liked to carry one of these on his belt in school and I was intrigued. So I eventually managed to negotiate a trade with him and then returned it to him when he told me his father was going to go ballistic if he “lost it”. We were in 5th grade at the time in the middle of NYC…way too many years ago. I had an active trade market going in comic books, pens, yo-yo and pocket knives in class at the time. Times have unfortunately changed for the worse for kids today.



As for the knife, I eventually got one and that example is still with me.

n2s
 
Last edited:
not2sharp said:
My original grail knife. I had a classmate that liked to carry one of these on his belt in school and I was intrigued. So I eventually managed to negotiate a trade with him and then returned it to him when he told me his father was going to go ballistic if he “lost it”. We were in 5th grade at the time in the middle of NYC…way too many years ago. I had an active trade market going in comic books, pens, yo-yo and pocket knives in class at the time. Times have unfortunately changed for the worse for kids today.



As for the knife, I eventually got one and that example is still with me.

n2s
Click to expand...

I liked the story.

Back in the early 80's when I was in the sixth grade I acquired a box of really cheap steak knives with green plastic handles. I called them "military survival knives" and sold them to the guys at school for a buck a piece. I couldn't hand them out fast enough. I sold every last one and made a small fortune 😁 .

As for my grail knives, I've told the story many times before about my cool, biker uncle and how influential his Italian switchblade stilettos were to me and my interest in knives. I always dreamed of owning such knives but never had access to them. Eventually when I discovered that I could order some on the internet I was disappointed by the quality of what I had received, so in 2016 I built my own according to my standards (below). They are among my most prized possessions, and a gift to the little kid inside me who could only dream of possessing such knives.

B6RfSUt.jpg
 
Back in December of 2009 when I joined BladeForums , I was obsessed with a dealer exclusive Benchmade 707 Sequel with gray handle and S30V blade (back when S30V was considered more of a super steel). The knives were limited and numbered and so I bought two of them. I considered those knives the “grails” of my very limited at the time collection.

But like a fool , I sold them both some months later. I’m not much into small knives these days. But I’d LOVE IT if BM would bring back the Sequel for another limited run. It’ll never happen and so I just live with regret. Such is life.
 
NapalmCheese said:
The Buck Buckmaster (184). I've wanted once since the first time I saw it on display at the Navy Exchange when I was very young. I still don't have one.
Click to expand...
Right there with you on that one. Got one off the exchange here about two years ago. I have absolutely no use for it, but glad I got it anyway.
 
For me at the time, way way back in the early 70's.... I wanted a Case Mako. I had the money for one, but it took a long time looking before I found one without any blade play. In today's world, we pretty much expect and take for granted centered blades, smooth actions, solid lock-up.......... back then it was rare.
Anyway, for me it is more about the hunt then anything else. Grails come and grails go.
I seem to only want them for awhile........
 
Hackenslash said:
When they came out, I badly wanted a Bradley Alias 2.
Recently I had a chance to grab a lightly used one for a good price...and I passed. I’m fortunate to have the real thing at this point in my life.
Click to expand...
agreed. i have crks and am happy. i had the alias 2 and soon sold it again. not crk quality.
 
I bought my first grail knife in the mid 90's, a BM 722 Mel Pardue design. Didn't know anything about knives but BM was a big name in those days. Spending $150 on a knife was a big deal back then. After I bought my 722, I bought a 943 as I didn't like the blade shape of the 940. Carried one for 10 years until I lost one at a TSA checkpoint around 2015 after I checked my bag. My wife bought me this replacement. Since then, all hell has broken loose....

722 & 943.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top