Grandfather's & Other Inherited Knives

Hey guys, I have no grandfather knives or even father's knives handed down to me, but I do have a knife with some significance. When I met my wife, she was carrying a Schrade 30T. It's a little lockback. Not a slippie, but I was impressed that she would have an Old Timer. My type of girl. Well, we start dating three months later and I finally ask her about the knife. She had been carrying the knife for about four years. It was her dad's knife, and it was on him the day he died. He'd had a massive heart attack, and when she went to collect his belongings, this knife was in his pocket. She had carried it with her ever since, and then we met, and I gave her one of my pocketknives. Actually, I told her to choose one from my tacticals and slippies, and she chose my Wenger SI (does this girl have good taste in knives or what?). She has carried it ever since, and her dad's Schrade went in our drawer. I brought tears to her eyes on our wedding day, when she turns to me as we are getting married and whispers "I wish my dad could have been here" and I told her he was, while patting my pocket. I carried his knife that day, just so he could be a part of it, you know? She was soo surprised that her eyes welled up and it meant so much to her. Well, anyway, time has passed and I was thinking today "When my daughter gets older, what knife am I going to pass down to her?" Probably my Peanut, since it's been my most used knife. How about the Super Tinker she bit and left teeth marks in? That would work. However, I thought, what about giving her a legacy? Her grandfather's knife is right here. Her grandfather used it, her mother has carried it.... why not that knife? Well, I figured I'd add to the legacy. I never carried the knife for fear of losing it or breaking it, but today I decided, it is just sitting there, doing nothing. When my father-in-law carried it, it was a tool, a WORKING tool. It is time to put this old boy to work once again. I am going to start edcing this little Knife and add my OWN memories and experiences to it. Not a big fan of lock backs, and it has a SS blade, but it's all good. It says USA on the blade, so it's not an import, and it's an Old Timer. Can't go wrong with a good Schrade. Just figured I'd share this little story with you guys.
Here's a picture of the knife (not the actual knife)
317310685.jpg
 
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I love threads like these. Nothing like some knives from yesteryear that have endured the time with grace. Those first two are nice to get your hands on. Count yourself lucky. The ones I got from my grandfather are not in near that condition.. At least I got em though.

STR
 
My Grandfather was constantly whittling on something, and made some large wooden bowls besides, so his pocketknives had a lot of wear and tear on them.

The ones that were passed down to me are an old Case and the Boker USA stockman pictured with my Father's case folding hunter & Old Timer Sharpfinger.

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I'm really glad ya'll are adding to this thread. Great stories and great knives.
Excellent!

Dang ElCuchillo, you almost made me tear up. Heck of a story.
Thanks

mike
 
ElCuchillo, I bought my wife one of those 3OT knives years ago. It's still around here somewhere, and if I find it before she does, I'm probably going to start carrying it sometimes. It's a super nice little blade.
 
The only one of my grandfather's knives that I have is the larger Puma in this picture, he gave it to me out of his collection in the 70s. I would really like to get one of the Case slippies that he left behind. I know he had a redbone 6347 and a winterbottom bone congress.

Knives12-8-07013.jpg
 
ElCuchillo said:
I never carried the knife for fear of losing it or breaking it, but today I decided, it is just sitting there, doing nothing. When my father-in-law carried it, it was a tool, a WORKING tool. It is time to put this old boy to work once again. I am going to start edcing this little Knife and add my OWN memories and experiences to it. Not a big fan of lock backs, and it has a SS blade, but it's all good. It says USA on the blade, so it's not an import, and it's an Old Timer. Can't go wrong with a good Schrade.

317310685.jpg
Click to expand...

Good call, EC! Use it in good health.
 
ElCuchillo said:
Hey guys, I have no grandfather knives or even father's knives handed down to me, but I do have a knife with some significance. When I met my wife, she was carrying a Schrade 30T. It's a little lockback. Not a slippie, but I was impressed that she would have an Old Timer. My type of girl. Well, we start dating three months later and I finally ask her about the knife. She had been carrying the knife for about two years. It was her dad's knife, and it was on him the day he died. He'd had a massive heart attack, and when she went to collect his belongings, this knife was in his pocket. She had carried it with her ever since, and then we met, and I gave her one of my pocketknives. Actually, I told her to choose one from my tacticals and slippies, and she chose my Wenger SI (does this girl have good taste in knives or what?). She has carried it ever since, and her dad's Schrade went in our drawer. I brought tears to her eyes on our wedding day, when she turns to me as we are getting married and whispers "I wish my dad could have been here" and I told her he was, while patting my pocket. I carried his knife that day, just so he could be a part of it, you know? She was soo surprised that her eyes welled up and it meant so much to her. Well, anyway, time has passed and I was thinking today "When my daughter gets older, what knife am I going to pass down to her?" Probably my Peanut, since it's been my most used knife. How about the Super Tinker she bit and left teeth marks in? That would work. However, I thought, what about giving her a legacy? Her grandfather's knife is right here. Her grandfather used it, her mother has carried it.... why not that knife? Well, I figured I'd add to the legacy. I never carried the knife for fear of losing it or breaking it, but today I decided, it is just sitting there, doing nothing. When my father-in-law carried it, it was a tool, a WORKING tool. It is time to put this old boy to work once again. I am going to start edcing this little Knife and add my OWN memories and experiences to it. Not a big fan of lock backs, and it has a SS blade, but it's all good. It says USA on the blade, so it's not an import, and it's an Old Timer. Can't go wrong with a good Schrade. Just figured I'd share this little story with you guys.
Here's a picture of the knife (not the actual knife)
317310685.jpg
Click to expand...


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Great post!:thumbup:
 
My grandfather used to whittle all the time on something on the front porch which was cinder block railings. Capped off on top were the flat solid thinner blocks and he sharpened his knife on those in a circle pattern. You could still see that wear spot for years after that until the whole house and all those around it washed away in the great flood that changed the entire landscape there. Now its all just a big empty lot.

Anyway, I only got two of his knives. One I carried when young and don't know what ever became of it. Wish I did. It was an old Remington. He gave it to me. I also got this other one shown which is the only one I have left. I have since bought another Remington R1075 very similar to the one he gave me other than pyREMite scale color and the much better condition of it compared to my original.

I carry that little Remington quite a bit the older I get. Can't beat the performance of a good condition Remington slip joint from the 1920s or 30s IMO. These are thin nice biting edges and higher quality folders that were made with performance in mind. Some of the old Robesons are probably better for materials since many of those had nickel silver liners but I think these ole Remingtons beat em out for users. I buy either when I find one usually. Granddad always said Robeson was his fave. Said they were all class. I like both and he had both.

This small worn one is an old Hibbard Spencer and Bartlett he carried up until it got to the condition you see it in now. He called it his pipe cleaner. Took me a few to find where I put it. One of those things I stuck where I'd know where it was for safe keeping and of course when I wanted it I couldn't remember where it was. Gettin' old sucks!

This little HSB still has great snap to the blades. Just not much blade left on them at this point to cut with though. That small blade is a great reamer drill though! :D

STR
 
Very cool thread here. My grandaddy died in a hunting accident in 1968. We recently put my grandmother in a nursing facility and while packing some of her belongings we found a small box containing his wallet and drivers and hunting license. A very cool Ecko folding beer can opener "Falstaff" and this Old Timer 58OT. I have no way of knowing if he got it with the Prince Albert $2.00 coupon but he was one of their best customers. Please excuse my first internet photo upload. I also have the Remington 1148 that ended his life and a beautiful brass whistle he used in training his pointers.
 

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Post your photos of "grandpas knife" and some other pocket worn users... This should be interesting
 
This knife was my grandfather's, from PAL Cutlery:
PALCutlery.jpg


Not too pocketworn, but this was my father's hunting knife from Camillus. Not abused, but used every hunting season for 30+ years:
WesternKnife.jpg


Can't wait to see the heirloom knives from other members!
 
I inherited my grandfather's 8OT. Nothing remarkable about it visually, just an everyday workingman's knife, but I cherish it more than all my others. I'll see if I can get my daughter to snap some pics and get them hosted somewhere, in the next day or two.
 
This was my Grandfathers knife, he used it 30 years ago the last time I saw him, (I was 15 then) to cut Kielbasa and smoked/cured meats in the pantry for our afternoon meals along with cutting up bread and onions and peppers to go with the ham.

prunera.jpg


My cousin found it in the basement and gave it to me as a gift when I went home.

It's gotta be over 60 years old and other than the pitting/character it's as strong as the day he let me use it to cut myself a piece of kielbasa the last day I saw him.

prunerc.jpg


I hadn't even thought of that day or the knife in nearly 30 years, her giving me that knife brought a tear to this old Mad Hungarians eye.


It says Gerlach Poland on the tang I'm not even sure what kind of wood it has for handles, anyone ever seen or heard of this brand.

prunerb.jpg


The funny part, when my grandfather died 25 years ago his daughter in law threw it out and my cousin who's my age (46) garbage picked it and saved that and his Bull Horn that he used to keep his sharpening stone in and hanging on his belt for sharpening his scythe when working in the fields, the horn has to be 100+ years old.

Three more pictures to finish this story:

First is the horn my grandfather had that he kept the sharpening stone in:

horn.jpg


Here's a picture of my grandfather and 6 of my mother's brothers and sisters, if you look on his belt you'll see the horn hanging:

grnpalrg.jpg


For the old folk with bi-focals here's a closeup:

grnpalrga.jpg


I love family history, this story was posted in this link before here when I came back from vacation in Hungary two years ago.
 
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When I was about 16 my grandfather let me use his knife. I noticed that the tip was broke and that it was quite pocket worn. I decided to buy him a new knife for Christmas that year. I picked up a Schrade Old Timer 8OT marked "Made exclusively for Hoffritz".

He was a quite man and placed the new 8OT back in the box that Christmas eve. Being a product of the great depression he was not the type to quit using something just because a new one was given to him.

Years later when he passed away my grandmother gave me two items of his. The 8OT (still in the original box) and his EDC. A Case 6208 Half Whittler/Pen knife.

The Case was just as I remembered it. Pocket worn, tip broken and every bit a user.

I did what I could to put a point back on the main blade without removing the character and spirit of what it was. Still wearing its patina and dull bolsters, its the pride of my collection. I won't part with this one on a bet.

Heres a pic of the knife with a rather small specimen of my name sake, the Rock Bass (Ambloplites Rupestris) caught earlier this year.

Rupestris.jpg


Thanks gramps.

Rupe
 
T. Erdelyi said:
The funny part, when my grandfather died 25 years ago his daughter in law threw it out
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tsssssss... Some people have no respect and no idea about what's really valuable to other people...

T. Erdelyi said:
and my cousin who's my age (46) garbage picked it and saved that and his Bull Horn that he used to keep his sharpening stone in and hanging on his belt for sharpening his scythe when working in the fields, the horn has to be 100+ years old.
Click to expand...

I guess you will be forever thankful for that...

T. Erdelyi said:
Here's a picture of my grandfather and 6 of my mother's brothers and sisters, if you look on his belt you'll see the horn hanging:

grnpalrg.jpg
Click to expand...

I really like this picture and i wish i had pics like this from my grandfather, who was also a farmer...

.
 
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