How did you get to traditional?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
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I'm curious by nature, and my fellow man has been a subject of my curiostiy for most of my life. I'm curious about my fellow traditional forum folks. Mostly how did you come to the traditional pocket knife. ?

1. You're an old fart like me who grew up in a totally different era, when life in small towns really was like Andy's Mayberry, and just never got used to the modern age.?:grumpy:

2. You grew up in the 70's or 80's, but had the influence of a favorite uncle or grandfather who took you hunting/fishing with HIS old friends who smoked cigars/pipes, cussed, and did the neatest fillet job on a quail breast with a pocket knife you ever saw.?

3. You're a young person in your 30's that was going along nicely with the tactical thing and just got tired of all the knives that looked alike, but got enlightened one day by a older co-worker or family member that the 100 dollar tactical won't cut as well as a 10 dollar Kissing Krane brown mule.?:o

4. A different story totally because Im not the brightest bulb in the chandalier, but I know something had to attract you to a knife that can't be opened in a flash with one hand, does not have a lock on the blade, and is made out of a steel many times that will (shudder:eek: ) rust if you don't take care of it.?
 
Between 1. & 2. fits me best I guess since I grew up in the 1960's-70's and because I am an old fart too, just not one as old as you.. ;) :D :D
 
Between 2 and 3 with some of 4 thrown in. I always had a soft spot for them and found the tactical knives to be lacking for what I use a knife for.
 
4 for me. I got a Camillus Scout as my first knife, and just kept on with traditionals. For a little while I looked at tacticals for a hard-use knife, but could never find one that worked as well as my beloved Old Timer.
 
Between 1 and 2 also.

Advantages. With a multiblade you get a lot more blade edge in a small package.

I still do not see a knife as a weapon (defensively especially) since any move I would make with a knife against a person would be an offensive move. Also have been around for a while and have never been in a situation where I needed a knife for "protection".

They are much tougher to make correctly than other folders. So I appreciate the effort more.
 
sunnyd said:
Between 1. & 2. fits me best I guess since I grew up in the 1960's-70's and because I am an old fart too, just not one as old as you.. ;) :D :D
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Ditto. Plus "blacktical" never did much for me. I have some Cold Steel, CRKT, Spyderco, etc, and a Chive (ooh, an "assisted opener"!) that I carried for a number of years, but I've always liked more traditional looking things. I think the shear number of patterns and fear of getting the "wrong" one kept me out of them for a while. In the last year I've dumped a bunch of money into knives and found there is no "wrong" one...

Also in the last year I really rediscovered my love of "traditional" and "quality" things in general. I sold off a bunch of firearms that didn't cut the mustard for me any longer, and replaced them with a nice M1A. Gotten back into my break-open shotguns. Took a coach gun and a single action revolver to the range the other day, and I don't shoot CAS. Must be something about hitting my late 40s.

-- Sam
 
Great question. I am on my way to being an old fart...not quite there yet...I only started collecting knives about a year ago. I collect corkscrews and I bought a few old knives with corkscrews. I am attracted to the history and variety of traditional pocket knives. I like to 'play' with a great old folder that still has that snap in the blades. Like fishr said in Levine's forum, I like to investigate the history and think about the who, what, when, where etc associated with an older knife. I also appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into an old folder, and some new ones. Finally, I have met many interesting people (mostly on line) and find that knife collectors are very kind, friendly and helpful. Sorry for rambling.
 
I'm a little like sword and shield. my first knife was a Camillus Scout. My Mother gave it to me when I was 10 and then made sure I could shoot a rifle when I was 12. I'm sure plenty of guys have had to use a knife as a defensive weapon but not me. I really dont want to get that close to the bad guys. So I carry a 38 in my pocket. I also like having the use of several blades. I use it several times a day as a tool. Oh yeah I was born in 48. I'm on the verge of oldness.:eek:
 
xbxb said:
I'm a little like sword and shield. my first knife was a Camillus Scout. My Mother gave it to me when I was 10 and then made sure I could shoot a rifle when I was 12...
Click to expand...

Your Mother sounds like a very cool Lady!:thumbup:
 
My first knife was a cheap "Pastor Aleman" camper/scout pattern at age 8 in 1960, it was just a typical common knife for the time and place (living outside a small town in Veracruz, Mexico), and quite normal for a kid to have one. IIRC my second was a Boker stockman, my third was a Wenger SAK, my fourth was a Schrade stockman, I did not know of anything more "modern" until I was an adult. I still feel that a traditional silpjoint is more useful and convenient to carry than a modern tactical, though I did carry a strong heavy lockback for a while (Buck 112).

Oh yes I could certainly shoot a rifle at age 12, times have changed indeed.

Luis
 
Some of 1 and some of 3, I guess. Or maybe 4. I'm 33, but I grew up on a small ranch and the only knives my dad and grandfather used were slipjoints, so that was all I had for years. When I would walk to my dad's office after school, I would know and be related to most of the people I saw on the street. Sadly, when I was in my 20s I only carried locking folders with pocket clips, but eventually I got tired of them and went back to slipjoints. I still have a few Benchmades, but I have many more slipjoints of various patterns.

James
 
Great question!

My Grandad and Father were a big influence to me. My Grandad never carried anything but a large one blade folder, and a axe. My Father carried a Buck 110, and his Kaybar he used overseas.

When I was between 10-14 I was into anything that looked "tactical" or "military".

Now that I'm in my early thirty's, it just make sense to go back to what I was taught initially. "Simplicity is often the best choice" Traditionals just have that "keep it simple stupid" theme to them IHHO.
 
4.

At some point I guess in the 1980's I was in a hardware or
sporting goods store. They had a display of Case knives.

Man, they were beautiful!

I fixated on a stockman, and bought it.
I recall it being a very high quality knife with an
etched main blade. I think it also had a slight
hollow grind.

I had that knife for many years.

It had a very different look and feel IIRC to
the Case knives of today.
 
A combo of 1/2. I lived in a rural area, and every man I knew carried a slipjoint folder, unless they were hunting, when they carried fixed blades or 110s.
 
1 SOME 2, Grew up in Mid state NY. Everyone had a pocket knife. Moved to near Boston late 68, even had a school teacher borrow my "jack" knife to open some box.
 
ParaGlock said:
Ditto. Plus "blacktical" never did much for me. I have some Cold Steel, CRKT, Spyderco, etc, and a Chive (ooh, an "assisted opener"!) that I carried for a number of years, but I've always liked more traditional looking things. I think the shear number of patterns and fear of getting the "wrong" one kept me out of them for a while. In the last year I've dumped a bunch of money into knives and found there is no "wrong" one...

Also in the last year I really rediscovered my love of "traditional" and "quality" things in general. I sold off a bunch of firearms that didn't cut the mustard for me any longer, and replaced them with a nice M1A. Gotten back into my break-open shotguns. Took a coach gun and a single action revolver to the range the other day, and I don't shoot CAS. Must be something about hitting my late 40s.

-- Sam
Click to expand...

I don't think it's just the 40's. A few years ago I went on a big lighten the load thing and got rid of alot of guns. Now the only guns I have are revolvers, lever action rifles, and break open shotguns.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I thought I was the only one not enthralled with this modern age of function follows form instead of vise versa. Life did seem alot simpler when cars had tail fins, and clothes were made out of real wool and kept you warm, instead of a miricle fiber, and our guns did not have to have little holes in the side of them for the key to the built in trigger lock!
 
A combination of all four. I grew carring a knife daily since I was 7 starting with scout knives, stockmans with the occasional Folding hunter thrown in. Moved into lockbacks then to tacticals which I still like, but the slip joint urge still lives on. Steven
 
My Granddad, of course...

He used to hand my his old slippies when he told me to clean the trout we always used to catch on fishing trips. He and my father (my father also learned from my granddad) exposed me to knives, guns, fishing and hunting at a very young age -- so young anti-gun activists would probably cringe. I was a good kid and respected weaponry. Still do. I'll be sure to do the same with my kids. Their positive influences most likely led to me eventually serve our country as well.

I still enjoy the occasional tactical and find myself carrying them more for work or when I know i'll be using a knife all day long. But for everyday use I like the looks, simplicity, and traditional "Americana-feel" of a traditional folder in my pocket.,
 
1 & 2 certainly apply. I'm about 4 months out from my 50th birthday. I've been down the tactical/modern run of things, but early on learned that the new and fancy didn't really do much the old and tried did. I got to the point where I would try things out and if they worked a little better or did what they were supposed to then I'd get behind them. I just got over gushing over the latest and greatest some years back. Traditional knives and guns just connect me with times and ideas that I value.
 
Number two for me. My Grandad gave me a Case 3318 when I was 8 or 10 years old. I am 33 now.
 
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