How did you get started in your interest of knives?

I had a knife at such a young age, I cut my own umbilical cord.
 
My g/f's father got me started with benchmades 3 years back and took me to knife shows and what not. I was always interested in knives but didnt really know good from bad and didnt understand why in the world someone would pay 40 dollars for a knife. But he showed me what benchmades and microtecs were along with others like bark river, and at looking at his collection and seeing many many of them I decided I wanted to start collecting. A WH T-12 was my first "high end" knife then many others to come. My father knew a little about knives but really just owned bucks and 1 lakota. Hunting and Fishing got me intersted but it took my girlie and her dad to put me overboard.
 
I just always liked them, I got a nice slipjoint from a Hardware shop when I was 5 and it snowballed from there. :)
 
I can't remember not having a knife, but I don't remember actually cutting my own umbilical cord. I've cut myself enough since then to make up for it, though.
 
I was always a gadget freak, much more than my brother. He was drawing or writing, while I was always taking stuff apart and putting it back together (or at least trying to). Knives were a natural progression. Of course, my Mini-Mag lights turned into Surefires, and my flea market CCCs turned into Benchmades and Microtechs, but at my root, I'm just a 25 year old kid playing with his toys.
 
barrabas74 said:
My g/f's father got me started with benchmades 3 years back and took me to knife shows and what not. I was always interested in knives but didnt really know good from bad and didnt understand why in the world someone would pay 40 dollars for a knife. But he showed me what benchmades and microtecs were along with others like bark river, and at looking at his collection and seeing many many of them I decided I wanted to start collecting. A WH T-12 was my first "high end" knife then many others to come. My father knew a little about knives but really just owned bucks and 1 lakota. Hunting and Fishing got me intersted but it took my girlie and her dad to put me overboard.

I think your g/f's father was showing you his collection; not to get you into knife collecting but into respecting his daughter, and the tools he might use on you if you don't. ha ha!:D
 
I can't remember not having a knife, but I started accumulating in the 70's, also when I discovered that there were books on knives and collecting them.

So basically I started my self collecting but I do remeber the first knife ever given to me, it was an SAK style knife made in Germany, given to me when I was 13 by my Grandfater when I was over in Europe visiting.
 
Not sure if a had a "conscious" awareness of knives, but I've had one around me since I was probably 10-12 (I'm 55 currently) - just another "tool" from my father's perspective (Japanese heritage for me - so knives have always been part of our culture). The real interest probably started a few years ago when I started to look at new kitchen knives and just about fainted from sticker stock:eek: I figured "There has to be another way" and started searching the 'net. Ran into Texas Knife & Jantz, got a couple of kits to start and the rest is history, so to speak:) So now, I have a small shop, where I do my blade work/leatherwork, etc., a collection of somewhere between 80-100 production folders (I'm scared to count:eek: ), plus a "bunch" of fixed blades and still no new kitchen knife set:) It's been a fun ride and continues to be that way:D

- gord
 
I don't have a story. As far back as I can remember having "stuff", it included knives.
 
I ran across this site, and being a voracious reader, I started reading. Well, I never left. Now I've just got to find a way to be able to afford more knives.
 
My dad used to get all sorts of free promotional items from his work. One time he received a Victorinox Spartan that said "Wisk #1 for 30 years" on one scale. He gave it to me and I've carried a knife, been interested in knives, and used a knife ever since.
 
I went to target to buy Leatherman.
It was Gerber on clearance for $10, I like how it looks like, but did not buy because did not want to spend money. Usually I am not spending much buying staff for myself.
Than, I decided to buy it anyway. Came back, but it was gone. Gerber was the only name I knew. I went to e-bay and bought X-Frame. Now I cannot stop buying knives and read about them. It started 3 month ago and I am 49.
 
As I recall it, my parents gave me a small lockback not unlike a mini Buck 110 when I was about 7. I can remember feeling like I was on top of the world because I had a pocket knife (sort of a right of passage kind of thing), but I never really used it. When I reached 11 years or so, my grandfather gave me a well-worn pocket sharpening stone and showed me how to use it. From that point on, I thought that a sharp pocket knife and something to touch it up with should be as much a part of my daily attire as a pair of shoes. I've been hooked ever since :D

I started collecting in earnest about three years ago, and my interest has gravitated towards camp blades, traditional blades, and Scandi knives. Since I started frequenting BladeForums, I've taken up knifemaking, which adds a whole new dimension to the hobby (/lifestyle).

All the best,

- Mike
 
I think your g/f's father was showing you his collection; not to get you into knife collecting but into respecting his daughter, and the tools he might use on you if you don't. ha ha!

Lol i think your right Zman I never thought of it that way, he has a massive gun collectin too. But so do I lol no father has ever scarred me, I have been into guns and the outdoors and bushcraft since I was a young boy so I guess when I see guns and knives I think TOYS not danger danger will robinson.
 
Like a few guys mentioned, as far back as I can remember I always had a knife. But it started with small fixed blades that my father would buy at hardware stores back in the 60's. They were made for kids and had leather sheaths, I would wear them on my belt everywhere, I don't know what happened to them because when I got older I got a larger one, that I still have, it's made in Japan and marked "Catskill Game Farm" on the sheath.
I bought my own first adult knife with money I saved, it was a generic West German fixed blade with a stag handle ( I still have ). My first "good" knife was a Case Shark Tooth folder that I got for Xmas in '75 or '76.
After that I started accumulating on my own.
 
My Mom got me started in collecting knives. She got me my first one when I as 7 or 8, and I thnik it was for a camping trip. I honestly can not remember anymore.
 
just a few years ago. bought a colt ar-15k assisted and fell in love. now i've moved up to BM and spyderco
 
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