How did you come to be a knifenut?

My grandfather gave me my first at about age six or seven and that was that...I was hooked from that day on.
 
My first knife was a Buck 301 stockman followed by an Old Timer 34OT stockman which I broke the main blade on. I think I was about 11.

How did I get here? Well, I was looking for some info on my dad's Old Timer MM8 and somehow ended up here. I blame y'all for the rest!
 
The family owned a butcher shop and small slaughter house. Was around knives since forever.
 
I grew up in Los Angeles and while there was rarely a need for it I always seemed to have a knife in my pocket. My dad is an electrician and while he is by no means a knife knut I don't think I've ever seen him use wire strippers. He always used a pocket knife that was given to him by one of the many vendors he dealt with.
My first knife was an Old Timer, I'm not sure which model(perhaps 125OT) but it was a single clip blade and was roughly 5 inches long. It rode my in pocket from 3rd grade all through high school.
Then one day while wondering about the steel used in knives I wandered into this little community.
You gents haven't kicked me out yet and I certainly hope you don't.
 
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When I was about nine, my grandfather gave me my first knife. It was a clunky old multitool based on a crescent wrench, of all things, and looking back, it was very cheaply made, but, to me, it was worth a king's ransom. Then my uncle, a little later, gave me a stainless steel trick-knife, and some very basic instruction on sharpening. my only exposure to traditionals, at the time, was an old stockman my grandfather carried, with black jigged scales. I thought it was ugly, but would give almost anything to have it now. Don't even know the brand. I've almost always had a knife in my pocket, but in my teens and early twenties, I looked at them in a more "tactical" light. A couple of years ago, I found Old Jimbo's site, and he mentions BFC often. I came here, was hooked, and haven't left yet. Once I found Carl's stories, Jackknife for those who aren't sure, I found a virtual home, and a new love for traditional cutlery. And a new bunch of friends.
 
I have always loved knives from earliest memories. Although ny Dad carried a pocketknife to cut rope samples
(he sold rope to tugboats) he was far from a knife nut. When I was 8, I convinced both my parents that I
was old enough and my Dad took me to the local hardware store and bought me an Imperial Kamp King (still
have it). I remember right after I got it I saw the movie The Black Stallion and there is a scene where the main
character is using a knife his Dad gave him and remembers his Dad telling him that if he was going to carry a
knife, he should carry it always otherwise he wouldn't have it when he needed it most. Seemed like good advice
so I have followed it ever since. While my taste in blades has changed over the years, there are very few times
that my friend is not with me.

As for BF, I too started on some other sites (EDC related) but found the level of knowledge to be,well, lacking
at best. I lurked here for a month or two and realized that there is nowhere else that I can find people that
not only forgot more than I know, they are willing to share their passion and knowledge for no reason other
than to help a fellow "nut" along the way. It is a great community and the members are second to none.

Sean
 
My Grandfather (Dad's side) started me on the road to being a knife-nut.

Pop was a Fisherman (Capital F) & pretty much spent most of his free time fishing. I have several memories of climbing up the neighbor's trees early in the morning to gather Catawba worms for our fishing trips. Of course if you are fishing you need a good knife. Pop had quite a few, but mostly I remember an old stag handled Case Whittler with a beautiful patina & cross-hatch markings from being sharpened over the years. Pop had been in the CCC & I'm sure he put it to good use during his time there.

Anyway, when I got my Whittling Chip as a Cub Scout Pop handed me my very own Case knife - want to say it was the Case Fisherman Toothpick. He showed me how to sharpen it on a stone & properly maintain it. He also admonished me that if he caught me doing anything stupid he'd take it away & paddle my backside.

That was the spark that started the fires of addiction.

Pat
 
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When and where I grew up (50's and 60's Los Angeles area) guys carried a pocket knife. They just did. With Dad's permission, I adopted a knife from the tool drawer when I was somewhere around 6-8. I got my first gift knife from my dad at 12. Been carrying one ever since.
 
By osmosis, back in the day all the boys (and more than a few girls) had one in their pocket.....it was pretty much a given.
 
I have enjoyed the stories. It appears most all are of a similar timeline. Makes me wonder if todays kids are carrying knives with the cells and ipods. I can remember playing mubbly peg and stabbing my bare foot before I was old enough to go to grade school. Learned several lessons with that. Always had a cheap knife in my kids pocket from time on. Like many, Scouts made having a decent knife a status symbol. Wish I had that blue cub scout knife now. About junior high I made some extra money working a paper route while the older neighbor kid went on vacation. The local (old style) hardware store had a Buck display, I wanted one of the big black and steel fixed blades but could only afford a 303 stockman. After that there was always a 303 in my jeans watch pocket. Oh, I slipped a little and had a multi-tool phase when I was in my early twenties, but generally carried the 303 also. I blame it on hormones ..... several years later I had a small Buck collection going and a dealer at a gun show told me about Bladefroums and that was that. Into the spiral pit I fell.
300Bucks
 
I've been drawn to knives for as long as I can remember. I think it has something to do with the fact that they can be useful and still aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I went for a long time without carrying one every day just because I wasn't good at sharpening.:o After having to borrow a friend's knife on a hunt because mine wasn't as sharp as I thought it was, I was determined to learn how to sharpen well. I found BF looking for info about sharpening and being able to have a shaving sharp blade got me excited about knives all over again. I find myself on here more than any other site and while my other many interests kind of fade in and out in cycles, this seems to be the one that has stuck.
 
started as young as I can remember, always saw something special in penknives and scout knives.
Got a Pilot survival knife and never managed to put a decent edge on it.
Went on to be deckhand on a ship, had a SAK but talked to an austrian mechanic who talked of making knives in south africa from leaf springs.
more than 2 decades ago moved to a town where the local knife/gun shop was the UK supplier of chris reeve.
each knife I buy is going to be the last, when I get it, I won't need another; Reeve, Randall, Dozier, Neally, Strider, Alan Wood, Farid, Shing, spyderco, benchmade, himalayan imports, ghurka house.
Where will it end??????????
 
I always wanted a knife, being the youngest boy in the family all of my oldest brothers had jackknives and I finally was awarded a knife for serving as ring bear at my uncle's wedding. A little Klein lockback, still have it, nice little knife, about 2 and a half closed. Perfect for little hands. That was 30 years ago last weekend, so happy knife collecting birthday to me - I should reward myself with something sharp methinks.
 
I've almost always had a knife somewhere but my pocket. I think my first one was a Camillus Cub Scout "scout pattern" my dad got me at the Western Auto, about 1962. I've always had a pocket knife or two since then, but they usually got lost in boxes when I moved, or stashed in a drawer. I looked in the knife cases in stores from time to time, bit never really paid close attention to all of the patterns, or the different manufacturers. Back then they did not carry any more importance to me than a screwdriver or pair of pliers.

I used Schrade Old Timers for a few years in the 1970's when I was a Cable TV Tech, where a knife for stripping coax was a required tool. I dropped them off the pole a couple times and would get a new one at the Ace Hardware. In the 1980's I started seeing pocket knife booths at a local "first Sunday of every month" flea market and realized people collect them.

Then started carrying an Old Timer again in 2006 when I tried to find a decent pocket knife to strip a aspen pole for a hiking stick. I was staying in a small town in SW Colorado and the place was dry. I ended up using a crappy cabin rental knife. When I got back home I dug an old pocket out of storage and started carrying it, an Old Timer I had found one time at a garage sale. Then it got stolen at a courthouse security check and realized I would have to buy one on EBay, where I noticed fellows were collecting Old Timers and Uncle Henry pocket knives. The hook got driven through my upper lip right then.

I did not become a valid knifeknut until I joined BladeForums a few weeks later.

One knife that has been around for most of my life is a Buck 118 Personal. A family friend was a sporting goods salesman and gave it to my dad about 1966 or so. It was around through my college years, and I took it on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, where it was used for a blood brothers ceremony with three of my best friends to this day. I was thrilled a couple of years ago when I asked my dad if it was still around. Next time out for a visit, he gave it to me. Still has the original sheath. Just BUCK on the tang stamp.

Just something cool about Traditional Knives, just took me a while to realize it.
 
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I bought my first knife for $5 on the elementary school ground back in the 70's. I had no permission to do so from my parents, but they never told me I couldn't either. It was an Imperial fisherman's knife with yellow film scales. I imagined the scaler was actually a saw. It was dull, and I was cutting a cardboard box while pulling the blade to me. That clip blade went inside my left forarm approx 1/3". I almost fainted, but oddly it did not hurt much. I sucked it up, cleaned out the wound, bandaged it once the bleeding stopped, and never told my parents. I still have the scar which looks like a crescent moon.

I found BF when I bought a tool box (full of hand tools) at an estate sale and it had a Queen City jack knife in the deal. I googled "Queen City pocket knife" to find info on it and so it began. I know have approx 40 knives. I always liked knives, but BF brought the knife fanatic out in me.
 
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