Grandpa's knife rediscovered

C

cortopar

Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
176
A little while ago, my mom came across some of my grandfather's things. Since neither of my brothers are knife guys, she sent this to me...

675A2E82-8027-40F5-B1BB-0BFF95692B5B.jpeg
C1F49E85-0BEA-40A4-8072-DC67BC928C70.jpeg

After a little time with a toothbrush, barkeeper's friend and some oil, it cleaned up nicely.

9C0560AA-75E0-49C9-9ABF-46634F95FB48.jpeg

It’s a 1971 6333 small stockman. Not crazy old, but clearly it got its share of use later in his life. At 2 5/8”, it’s smaller than a peanut, but packs an extra blade.

This won’t displace my favored 3.5” - 3.75” knives, but I’m stoked to have it. It will definitely get carried and used from time to time.

Thanks for looking!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing! Its a nice little knife, made better by association with your grandpa!
 
Your gramps knew good knives,
Mine left a drawer full of carnival junk knives:cool:
 
What a nice treasure to have. I love the older 33's.
 
cortopar said:
...
This won’t displace my favored 3.5” - 3.75” knives, but I’m stoked to have it. It will definitely get carried and used from time to time.

Thanks for looking!
Click to expand...
I'll bet it IS a real thrill to have that heirloom! Congrats, and thanks for showing us! :):thumbsup::thumbsup:

- GT
 
Wonderful little knife that is an item for your grandpa's daily life. It's the "old man and the little pen knife" thing.

Growing up, I always wondered why the 'old guys' almost always had this little knife. A small pen knife, or a little jack, or a small stockman in the peanut class. Then my dad passed away, and one day I put is little peanut in my pocket and carried it, just because of something. I ended up using Timor than I thought I would. Then I bought a new peanut to 'experiment' and I had a great awakening. I rarely carried a knife over 3 inches again.

Cortopar, wouldn't it be an interesting experiment, and a tribute to your grandpa, to go buy a new small stockman and use the heck out of it and see what happens?

I'd also echo Ernie's comment about not polishing it too much, just keep it clan and oiled. It's got a great seasoning as is. Patina's tell a great story if we listen.
 
What a priceless treasure! I like what you did to it, cleaning it up, but leaving the years of honest use on it. A wonderful heirloom!
 
Almost 50 years worth of stories right there....here’s to the next 50:thumbsup:
 
cortopar, what do you know about how your grandpa made a living, what he did for hobbies and such?

The main blades well worn wth the sharpening notch gone. The pen blade the same. But the sheep foot still has a good sharpening notch and looks very little used. Interesting wear patterns on the knife.
 
Love the knife! Carry it with pride and use it! I personally find the older I get, the smaller my EDC knife becomes! As with many others, I have found you don't need a lot of knife day-to-day, just a good sharp edge!

Ron
 
rwc53 said:
Love the knife! Carry it with pride and use it! I personally find the older I get, the smaller my EDC knife becomes! As with many others, I have found you don't need a lot of knife day-to-day, just a good sharp edge!

Ron
Click to expand...

Or, like my old man told me many times; "It doesn't have to be big, just sharp."
:D
 
jackknife said:
cortopar, what do you know about how your grandpa made a living, what he did for hobbies and such?

The main blades well worn wth the sharpening notch gone. The pen blade the same. But the sheep foot still has a good sharpening notch and looks very little used. Interesting wear patterns on the knife.
Click to expand...

This was my maternal grandfather. He was born in TX in 1899, and headed west as a young man. He ended up in California (North Hollywood/Carpinteria), but was up and down California in the early days of the Pacific Bell telephone company. He worked as a lineman, and eventually into some type of lower/middle management role. He retired from the phone company having only worked for one employer his whole life. Common in those days, much less so in ours.

He was an amateur carpenter and did a lot of antique furniture repair and restoration. He was also my inspiration for taking up pipe smoking. He smoked cigarettes and pipes until he was about 85 or 90, and then just smoked his pipes until his death in 1994.

I don’t remember any specific knife he carried, but there was always a small slipjoint in his pocket, and one or two on the side table next to his chair where he loaded and cleaned his pipes.

Thanks for the encouragement to write these additional details. It’s been a nice trip down memory lane.

Edited to add...

Two notable things I remember... He always called the restroom “the library.” He would go “to the library” with his pipe and a magazine or newspaper and be gone an ungodly amount of time. Maybe he was always constipated. My dad thinks he did it to get away from my grandmother. ;-)

Second, for every day of his life that I remember (and my mom remembers) he ate exactly the same thing every morning. Two eggs over easy, two slices of bacon, two pieces of toast with orange honey.

Not a very “California” diet nowadays... especially with the Camels and pipes on top!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top