Heirlooms and pieces you want passed down.

[Coconutfilipino]

Greetings all-
I am a fairly new member, with very few posts. I once posted a thread on superstitions and got a lot of good information and input from the crowd, so i have decided to post a new thread asking a deeper more personal question.
After the passing of a close family member, my thoughts have turned even more to the knives or "pieces" in my collection that I will want my daughters to have/own. (I have two young daughters. 8 & 3.)

One of my first thoughts is that I want each of them to have at least one of the followingan I will explain my thoughts/reasoning on each later..)

1- A Benchmade 32 Morpho.
2- A Balisong that was made in my families (father's side) area of the Phillipines.
3- A Chisel or set of chisels.
4- A Good fixed blade.
5- A Good set of Kitchen knives.(This is NOT gender related-I love cooking and food, so please don't flame.)
6- A Microtech OTF.

As I said-I will post some of my thoughts and reasonings on each in a bit...


But I was wondering...what do YOU ALL have in mind to pass down? What have been some of YOUR thoughts?

For example: the first one, the Morpho. It has been my EDC carry since they first came out. And that being said, it is the one knife that has seen the birth of two children, Been the world over traveling with me, and has been in pocket/on person at all times. Sooo-I tend to think that this is one of the knives that my daughters will associate with their Dad. It has cut fruit, opened mail, cut toy packaging while they anxiously bounced around in excitement, jimmied the sunroof on Dad's two seater hot rod car project when I locked the keys in it running, worked with in the wood shop, under the cars as they lay there looking and listening on how to change the oil (yes, they were bored as hell, but anyone with kids knows that anytime you can get two kids to stop and sit for a second, ..you go with it, cuz it doesn't last long...
Anyways-I'm rambling. My point is that I think the Morpho is one of the knives that they will think of when they think of "Dad's knife".--so I have begun to start getting one for each.


Number two- is really an extension of the Morpho, but I want them to know exactly WHERE MY father came from, before coming to the US and serving in Nam. I want them to know WHY that small locale has been influential in the knife world, and why some consider it the ground zero and sacred ground of Balisong.

Three- I am a woodworker. Not by trade for a living, but out of love for it.-so I want them to again have something that they have seen Me using. To have something that I have and will continue to teach them to use when they show an interest.

So...what are some of YOUR thoughts?
What are YOU gonna pass down?
and why?

 

[roninelh]

I too have been thinking about this question lately because I just had my first child...

I will probably pass down a few blades.

1. Family blades: A couple remington slipjoints and a camillus tl29 that belonged to my grandfather. Also my growing collection of GEC slipjoints. I would also include my grandfathers northern king axe.

2. Fixed blades that belong to me: I have a few customs (AAforge, koster, etc..) that I will keep and hand down to promote the enjoyment of the bush skills that I so highly value. Hopefully my daughter will enjoy learning these things from me.

3. Ancestral knives: I would like my children to use the types of tools that our ancestors carried (leukus, puukkos) these are some of the my favorite knives even with much "nicer" knives around.

 

[Coconutfilipino]

Roninelh-exactly the types if thoughts/input I am looking for, thanks for sharing.

I LOVE that you include the axe, and tools which you intend to share and show their use.-so many values are passed with such simple knowledge and moments.

I have some very very near and dear moments with my father, my uncle (who was MY grandfather figure), friends, and men and women I have worked/served/ or spent time with..and many of those have in it's setting a knife or knife skill that I associate WITH that person. ..just like the bushcraft that you had mentioned, but more importantly those moments that you share/spend passing those skills (and values) TO your child.

There's no greater thing we can spend on our families than time...

 

[Blade-fiend]

The one I am definitely planning to pass down when I do have kids is my first sebenza with micarta. My wife bought it for our first anniversary so I have alot of sentimental fellings towards it. If i have a son it will go to him on his wedding day and if I only have a girl then depending if I like the guy shes with lol he will get it as a welcome to the family.

 

[Yo Mama]

I am the first to be into sharp objects in my family, and I have 2 Daughters that are on my mind constantly. Any time I buy a blade, I buy quality, because I show them that one day this will be theirs.

When I had my first Daughter, I bought a Case Stockman. The thought was one day when the boy she likes comes along, as much as it pains me, if I liked him I'll give him the Stockman as a gift/sign of my acceptance. With the second Daughter I bought the same Stockman so I have 2 for 2 future husbands.

I also think it's important to not wait to give them blades until I'm dead, but giving it to them while I'm alive so they can know how much it means to me. There are a few blades I never use like my Spyderco Native, but that's perfect college EDC for my girls.

The rule in my home, with the guns or knives, are you never sell these if you get them. When I give them to the kids, the expectation is they will give them to their kids. If they sell them, I'll haunt them forever, they know I'm not kidding.

 

[Coconutfilipino]

Yo mama,

I understand, as I tell my two daughters much the same thing...with knives, hot-rods, & guns.

 

[Alvaro Candanedo]

Well, my problem is a bit different. I'm the only one in my family with any interest in knives, swords, firearms. For lack of a better explanation, I "inherited" (by default), my father's guns (two of them, belonged to his father), a german-made knife (is a curiosity to me, because is a "folding bowie", as I call it) and I have added my own. But after I'm gone, I don't really know which one of my kids is going to care for my collection (I hope my daugther will be the one because the boys, well, let's say their interest is minimal).
I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Yo Mama]

But after I'm gone, I don't really know which one of my kids is going to care for my collection (I hope my daugther will be the one because the boys, well, let's say their interest is minimal).
I'm open to suggestions.

Hey Alvaro, in my experience it's not just the item, it's the memories. If the kids see you carry it, care for it, use it, with them, it will mean more to them. Maybe take them camping, or hiking, and show them how to build a shelter, or take them shooting. Quality time can include going over how important these are to you, and how it will make you happy for them to aknowledge this. Daughters rock huh!

Coconutfilipino, I am also sorry for your loss. Glad you made this thread, it shows that I'm not the only one that thinks about these things. My life is so different since I had my children, so much better than I ever thought my life would be. I'm so lucky as are you. Hug them extra tight and let them know you'll always love them.

 

[Charlie Mike]

I don't plan on having kids. My only other sibling, my brother, is sterile due to cancer treatment. I honestly don't care what happens to them after I leave.

 

[kamagong]

It seems like you are asking about two different, though interrelated things -- heirlooms and knives you want to give your children.

According to Merriam-Webster, an heirloom is an object of special value passed down from one generation to the other. When it comes to knives, I don't have any heirlooms. All the knives I own were bought by me or someone close to me. Having been a member here for a dozen years, I've picked up my fair share over the years. I do have a half-dozen or so that I am especially attached to, and when the time comes I hope to give them to children, grandchildren, nephews, or nieces who would use and appreciate them. Because of the connection to me and the memories associated with them, these knives will become heirloom pieces.

On the other hand, I've compiled a list of knives that I am going to give to my daughter as she comes of age. They don't have any special meaning; they're just knives a bunch of knives that I think will be useful. In no particular order I plan to give my little girl an Opinel, SAK, slipjoint of some sort, a modern folder like the Spyderco Military, a Nepalese khukuri, and a Finnish puukko. I'm certainly going to give her more than these, but I think these six are a good start. Being Filipino I'll probably throw in a bolo and a balisong as well.