Her father's Old Timer: More than just a knife

mnblade

mnblade

Joined
Feb 7, 2000
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I thought you guys might appreciate this article where a woman from Missouri reminisces about her father's pocketknife, and the lessons he imparted with it. A lot of wisdom in here. :thumbup:

As a peanut fan, this was my favorite: "He said any man who carries a big knife and is always pulling it out for show, not to skin something for supper, is not the man for me. He said small men carry big knives." :)

Lastly, just 'cause I figured this could use something pretty to look at, here's a shot of my 33OT:



-- Mark
 
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Excellent read, Mark. It sounds like that lady's dad and mine came from the same run. They had a lot of smart things to tell us.
 
Thanks for the read Mark. Another nice slice of Americana.

Peter
 
mnblade said:
As a peanut fan, this was my favorite: "He said any man who carries a big knife and is always pulling it out for show, not to skin something for supper, is not the man for me. He said small men carry big knives." :)-- Mark
Click to expand...

He might just as well have said; "Small men criticize other men for the size of the knife they carry".
 
mnblade said:
I thought you guys might appreciate this article where a woman from Missouri reminisces about her father's pocketknife, and the lessons he imparted with it. A lot of wisdom in here. :thumbup:

As a peanut fan, this was my favorite: "He said any man who carries a big knife and is always pulling it out for show, not to skin something for supper, is not the man for me. He said small men carry big knives." :)

Lastly, just 'cause I figured this could use something pretty to look at, here's a shot of my 33OT:



-- Mark
Click to expand...


That bolded point is something I've thought about more than once. For whatever reason, I've noticed it in doctor's offices' waiting rooms on a relatively frequent basis, while accompanying my 83-years-young Dad on his doctor's appointments. On one occasion, I've seen another fairly older gent cleaning his fingernails with some sort of small/mid-sized traditional jack, which made me smile; it seemed perfect to me. And on another occasion, couldn't help but hear the 'CLACK' of a modern tacti-cool titanium framelock being 'discreetly' opened (ahem) and displayed by some other 'gent' doing the same thing. Couldn't help but think that 'cleaning his fingernails' wasn't really his objective, as he pulled that knife out & did so multiple times.


David
 
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Good story. When I was very young my grandfather would buy either give me some tools or an old-timer knife on my birthday. As he got older and dementia set in (that's what we called Alzheimers back them) and I grew up and had a family of my own I always had one of those in my pocket. He is gone now, and I no longer carry them because they are irreplaceable mementos of a special time, but I often pull them out and look at them. They too, have pocket lint, a little rust, a broken blade or two. They may not mean much to anyone but they are special to me... I'm not going to clean them, it's part of what makes them special to me. Kind of like the scars on my fingers learning to use them. One day I will pass them down to my daughter, who I hope treasures some of the little things in life as much as I do.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
That bolded point is something I've thought about more than once. For whatever reason, I've noticed it in doctor's offices' waiting rooms on a relatively frequent basis, while accompanying my 83-years-young Dad on his doctor's appointments. On one occasion, I've seen another fairly older gent cleaning his fingernails with some sort of small/mid-sized traditional jack, which made me smile; it seemed perfect to me. And on another occasion, couldn't help but hear the 'CLACK' of a modern tacti-cool titanium framelock being 'discreetly' opened (ahem) and displayed by some other 'gent' doing the same thing. Couldn't help but think that 'cleaning his fingernails' wasn't really his objective, as he pulled that knife out & did so multiple times.


David
Click to expand...

Yep, you definitely know the type when you see them. They live off the reactions of others.
 
My grandpa died this morning at 94- a good read about somebody from a similar generation. Good timing for me to read it! Kind of hoping his pocketknife gets offered to me as I'm the knife guy in the family, but I just hope it goes to somebody who will appreciate it and remember him. Have to say a year or two welled up!
 
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