How far do we stray from our roots?

[Getahl]

I didn't grow up around knife-carriers. The only member of my family who carries a blade regularly is my grandfather. He's been using the same Buck 112 that he found many years ago. I picked one up as well, found it too heavy for my tastes. I wasn't around him enough for his knife preference to really rub off on me, so I kind of formed my own opinions regarding knife carry.

My first knife was a piece. It was a swap meet find when I was seven, with brown celluloid scales shot through with a lighter tan color. I hesitate to give it a name, because there's no pattern that comes to mind that can describe it. It was a SAK-type knife, but not a knock off.

It had a thin spear blade, a pair of scissors, and a dedicated toenail cleaner that resembled a very tiny spatula. No cap lifter or cork screw, which might have served useful, but an honest to goodness toenail cleaner. Whoever let that designed through QC must have had possession of some good peyote.

As much as I enjoy SAKs and multitools, I can't say that my first knife influences my current choice of pocket carry. I have a tendency to carry whatever strikes my fancy, and am not really monogamous to one particular pattern. I like stockmen, trappers, barlows. I want to picket up a peanut and a congress to test drive, maybe a canoe. I even enjoy a couple different tacticals. My Pacific Salt is still one of my favorite knives, and is in my pocket even when nothing else is.

As time goes by and my knife collection waxes and wanes, I've narrowed down what works for me. I like light knives. Knives that won't pull down your pants moments after slipping them in your pocket. Knives that you have no idea are present until you need a sharp edge. If nothing else, that's what I've gained from my cheaper-than-dirt first knife.

 

[jackknife]

In a way far but not far.

As a child I didn't know one pattern from another in terms of name,nobody in my house was much interested in knives but my grandfather (who died well before I was born) had had several and these old relics and parts of them lurked around the house and cellar waiting to be reclaimed. Also digging in the garden unearthed rusted treasures beyond repair that my uncles and father had probably lost.

So, my knife consciousness was shaped by rather battered but once glorious knives in bone,stag and I remember one in tortoiseshell(maybe celluloid although it wasn't decaying or anything)and a battle scarred ivory character. I suppose these were mostly 2 blade Jacks, Pen-knives-equal end or bolsterless-and obese Scout or Army knives with odd tools or spikes...They were all English or German and from, for me at the time ,a far off bygone era when knives seemed important and of good quality.Black or pitilessly rusted and pitted blades were the norm,but I dreamed of what they must have been like gleaming new out of their box entrancing boys and men decades before. That's when I found I needed a knife to hand and the habit set.

This habit went through some dark and idiotic periods....knives seemed to become less appealing,more 'modern' or rather, more shoddy,I seemed unable to cultivate my habit properly and bought what was to be had. Much of it not that good but I assumed that was how things were. At the back of my mind an ancestral memory flickered of beautiful and admirable knives made by men using timeless materials for a generation or more of use,the magic words Sheffield and Solingen came in and out of this fantasy...

Years slipped by,the Internet appeared I discovered that in America traditional cutlers were still active and people still liked and used these old style pocket knives! El Knifedorado became a reality! What Sheffield had been making was an embarasment,things were better in Germany but it was the USA that appeared to answer my long unsatisfied needs.

Then came this forum, where friends can share and disagree on equal and kindly terms and my knowledge increased beyond measure. New inspiration to continue searching for more knives,different patterns ,to keep alive the dream of childhood of those near extinct and beautiful knives from the past. Only they are now brand new, something I seldom had before! To the right of my laptop, on my writing desk, there are about 25 of my knives close to hand,aesthetic objects but functional tools as well. These are nearly all new but are in Traditional forms or patterns,mostly American but knives too from Germany, Italy,France and China, a tribute to the information exchange on this forum.

So my tastes have been expanded and enhanced by this modern world, a paradox yes but a welcome one. It explains my liking for both carbon and stainless blades, carbon was to me as a child the steel but it was often in poor state due to time and neglect,my childish attempts to 'restore' the steel were usually futile and inept. Rust became an evil....stainless represents a knife in new and undamaged state,hence my liking for both steels when they are well wrought. But out there somewhere lies yet another unseen knife waiting to be rediscovered, a long lost pattern perhaps? Or a knife forgotten for decades in a drawer or down a sofa put into storage that was never recovered for some or other reason. That's the magic of knife collecting and recognition, it can never ever be finished, fortunately. I've come far to get not far.

willgoy, that was really beautiful!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Raymond1000]

I’ve carried a Jr. Stockman since I was seven.

As I got older I realized the advantage of knives with larger handles to give a good grip for doing heavier work. So I carried other knives; A Medium or Large Stockman, a Buck 110 and other cutler’s versions of that pattern, a SAK, a Walker lock, a Balisong, an Axis lock…Some of these flirtations lasted for years. Some were a flash in the pan. Patterns change but I always carry some knife with at least a 3 ½” handle. Still...

That big knife has a companion. I suppose it’s better to say that big knife is a companion. Because I always have a Jr. Stockman in my pocket.

 

[OldPhysics]

They say you can't run far from what you are, or who you are. That roots run deep, and they always go with you, where ever you end up.

I wonder how many of us still carry the pattern of knife we started out with, or after many years of straying from our roots, have we returned?

There are some patterns Of knives I never tried, and I was just sitting here thinking of it, looking at some nice pictures that a forum member posted of some very nice trappers. Trappers are nice knives, and I can see that they have alot going for them. But I never got one. When I think back on it, nobody in my family or circle of aquantances had one. Dad had his little peanut, grandad had a stockman, one uncle had a stockman and another a TL-29, while a third uncle was a scout knife/sak fan. Then there was Uncle Paul, with his battery of small two blade jacks that he had in every pocket, and a spare stashed in his tobacco pouch.

Dad gave me a scout knife when I was 12, and somehow that pattern has been a lifelong stable. I tried the one blade locking knives, but I never found need of the lock, and regretted not having a second, or even a thrid blade or tool. When I carried a soddie, I had a sak in a nylon belt sheath with a small flashight. While in the army, I had one of the issue stainless steel handle scout knives that Camillus must have made zillions of. In one form or another, I never escaped my scout knife roots, and even today, I keep a sak or scout knife around. Last summer I found an old Camillus scout knife at a yard sale, took it home and cleaned it up, and it's been a steady pocket companion since. Old carbon steel blade gets scary finger print skinning sharp. I guess since

How many of you are using a pattern of knife that you either came back to, or never went too far away from, since childhood. My whole life I've used just a scout, stockman, soddie, and peanut. The soddie is the only knife I had that nobody in my family had.

How many of you have strayed from your roots?

I've been all the way out ... and all the way back.

Stockman in my pocket right now (case). And yes, I have a few peanuts.

Still enjoy all those other knives, but I'm not going to be without what my cousins call a "grandy knife."

 

[BJE]

I have stayed fairly true to my roots. My Great Grandfather was carrying an Old Timer 8OT large stockman when he died(still have it of coarse), my grandpa favored a medium stockman made by Schrade as did my father. I also carried a stockman for a long time and still do, although I still carry other patterns often.

My real battle is between the SAK and the traditional two or three bladed slip joint. I can't make up my mind, one month I get by fine without a SAK and really appreciate the beauty of natural handle scales, and the next I use my SAK for everything wondering how I lived without it. I could carry both, but that is rather redundant as the SAK can cut just as much as any other knife I own, although only a SAK can can tackle things that would not be suited for a knife blade. My dad used to keep a SAK in his tackle box that I would fondle when I was a kid, brings back good memories and explains why I like them so much. Just wish they still made them with clip point blades like the one from my childhood.

 

[sunnyd]

I actually started with a lockback. Old Schrade.
I then moved on to a stockman pretty quickly as the lockback just didn't do enough.
The stockman I have now is the large Schrade, yeller scales that I gave my grandfather years ago.
When he past away I was given the knife back. He used that knife quite a bit, has some great wear to it.
Sure, I collect various patterns that I like "looking" at, peanuts, toothpicks, but I've always used a stockman.
I miss that old man, he was my best friend the last 10yrs of his life. I think he knew that too.
Whenever I reach in my pocket for that yeller knife, I think about him.
mike

Mike,

Very cool indeed. You touched my soul with that respectful remembrance of your Grandad and brought me back aways. I have a similar story about the following Stockman knife, but in reverse so to speak.. My first knife was a Case Stockman. This one in old Green bone..

I apologize in advance to some of you who have seen me post this knife before.. My favorite Uncle passed it on to me after carrying it for about 15-16 years every day. He had the jigging darn near warn smooth when I got it. He loved this Stockman pattern and replaced it with the same #64047P in Stag brand new for himself in the late 1960's. At that time when he gave this one to me on one of our hunting, fishing trips he made me promise I'd keep my mouth shut until he had a chance to butter up my mother to get her in a favorable mood before he let her know his old pocket knife was going to me at age 8 or 9.. I was game since I thought I died and went to heaven at the time. He too was my best friend at that time. I miss him as well..

I still love Stockman patterns and carry one to use quite often. I also enjoy using Trapper's, Cattle patterns, Jack's, Peanuts, Pen's, ect.. But the Stockman was my first.


Anthony

 

[RescueRiley]

WHile my father used knives a good deal..he never had a specific 1 when we'd go out for a hike or fishing he'd just grab a paring knife from the kitchen or a sheet rock knife and stick it in his back pocket...(i can;t imagine how he never cut himself)
My firs 2 knives where given to me by my older brother, 12 years my senior..He's the only other "knife guy" in my family. I git my first knife when I was 7 a victorinox camper... I used the heckout of that thing had it till college I think although it the cellidor scals where long gone by than. he got me my second knife a buck lite (112) versio when I was 10 I loved that thing too// Broke the tip off had it reground It was great.. I;ve taken on and gotten rid of allot of knives since than. Me and my bro still meet up once a week for lunch and coffee at a folks little dive by him, thatn we go for a short country walk where we talk and whittle and admire eachothers knife of the day.

 

[JAlexander]

I guess I've come full circle, although in some ways I never went too far away for too long. I carried tactical-type folders for a few years in my late twenties, but I came back to slipjoints by the time I was thirty. I don't remember what my first knife was, but my father mostly carried trappers and my grandfather carried either a stockman or a trapper. I remember having a SAK at one point (I carved a little canoe with it that I would float around in water troughs and the stock tank) and a 110 a little later on.

I don't fault folks who want to carry tactical/one-handed openers, but to me they just lack the soul that I associate with slipjoints. It's obvious, of course, that there's a great deal of craftsmanship in a Sebenza, but they just leave me cold. Then too, when I look at the mini-trapper that was the last knife my father carried, it has all sorts of memories attached, and those color how I look at all my slipjoints.

James

 

[Will Power]

Thanks Jackknife:thumbup:

Anthony, can't see that smooth bone heirloom of yours TOO MUCH or TOO OFTEN, really stunning knife,authentic in all ways!

 

[Foilist]

I started with a Huntsman SAK as a kid, and mostly carry a multitool when I'm not at work, where I carry small traditional slipjoints. I guess SAKs and multitools are in the same broad category.

 

[300Bucks]

In high school carried a 2 blade peanut, yes it was a different world in the late 60s, a Old Timer. In college went thru the multi-tool phase for a couple of years and then started with a 303 Buck Stockman that I had owned for a while but didn't carry cause I didn't want to lose it and a small SAK for fancy dress (pants other than jeans).....but went downhill after that, or uphill depending on your outlook, and have been Buckish ever since. If I don't have a Buck trapper or stockman on me, I will have my old WW2 TL-29 and nothing else will I EDC. My Bucks tell me it is OK, because it has earned their respect and they are proud to include him in the family.

Fixed blades for hunting use Buck 118,103 and 121.
300Bucks

 

[deafsmithco]

My grandfather gave me a Schrade Walden when I was 4 or 5 and I carried that for a couple of years. Someone in the family bought a box of Craftsmen Bicentennial marked stockmens in 1976 and we all had matching knives. I lost mine when I was a senior in high school. One of the older brothers gave me a muskrat to replace it. Carried that for a year or so and ended up with my first Case Trapper. At first I wouldn't carry it because of its weight and size. After using it a couple times I was hooked. The next 20 years saw the addition of 3 more Case Trappers and not much else in the way of edc knives.
I did stray for a short time with a couple of futuristic looking thumb openers. The first one I lost in the corn crib one fall after owning it 3 weeks. Replaced it with an identical model that got washed and dried within 8 weeks of owning it. It cut up one of her pillow cases, yep it opened up in one of the machines, it was a bad day for the knife the pillow case and a really bad day for me.
So I try a different brand of futuristic looking thumb openers. This one is not a quick due to the location of the safety. It opened up in my pocket one day leaving a hole in the pocket and the pants but not me. I took this a sign from above.
Dusted off the Trappers and have been happy ever since. Since joining the forum I have discovered a couple of patterns I like but the 4 1/8" two bladed Trapper will always be number 1 for me.



Patrick

 

[puukkoman]

I suppose..... I tend to follow in the same direction as the pathway of my roots, with detours off the trail here and there.

As a kid, I had a couple SAK knock-offs here and there, little no-name lockbacks, etc. My first pocketknife memories, however, were of my dad's 1974 - 1976 era Case trapper. He's always had that knife, as long as I can remember, so when I grew old enough to choose a knife for myself, that's what I wanted (but didn't get, for some time) -- a Case trapper. I dabbled here and there during my impressionable youth, falling prey to the pressures of fitting in with what everyone else my age thought was "cool," so my knife tastes and collection are all over the place. I've got one-handers, blacktical-tactical knives that would withstand a nuclear explosion, traditional lockbacks, a variety of fixed blades (some more useful than others), novelties (old Italian switches, traditional Spanish navajas, etc.), balisongs, and of course slipjoints. Concerning what I carry from day to day, on the other hand, I guess I've remained faithful to my roots. A Case trapper in chestnut bone and CV is in my front pocket right now. I've had this one for the last nine years, and it's been with me more often than any other tool I own. Many times, my trapper is accompanied by another knife (today the second man is a BM31, which also seems to be earning "Old Faithful" status in my book), but that's certainly not because there's anything the trapper can't handle.

So.... Yes, I'm true to my roots in that regard, but not limited by them. Branching out is healthy and natural. If a tree were all root, it wouldn't be a tree.

 

[IVANKERLEY]

that i havent strayed too far, still remember wearing down my old man for a pocket knife, was about 12 and my dad being a Non-knife guy went to the hall closet and rooted around a bit and came back with my grandads Big 2 Bladed Camillus 26 and a sheath and handed it to me, told me not to hurt myself or anything else with it and that was it. I carried that damn thing everyday, abused it, lost it twice, found it both times, grew up forgot about it. fast forward 2 or 3 years ago cleaning out the sock drawer there it was, researched it, wound up here, and spend most of my time in the traditional forum:thumbup:
Ive since been given the bulk of my grandads knives both good and bad, and i find that i carry almost exclusively "grandpa Knives". Funny thing is even my newer ones look like grandpa knives.
its a connection to the past,
to a tough as nails SOB named Joe Kerley
ivan

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Well, as I said early on in this thread, I've often carried a SAK, which is somewhat traditional. Today I got my Vic "New Soldier", which replaces the original Soldier (though that style of knife does live on in the Pioneer line.)

Not exactly Traditional, and not like other SAKs, but it's growing on me:

Help, I'm straying again!

-- Sam

 

[knifehunter50]

My favorite pattern is the Case Moose w Cs blades an stag

 

[stockdog]

Jackknife interesting question you cause us to think on. For as long as I can remember my knife has been a stockman and Buck lock blade. But I must admit I am a knifeaholic or whatever they call it. I read your great stories about the peanut and had to have one; neat little knife and really like the brass liner that separates the blades, no rubbing like on the stockman’s. My problem is try as I do I get new knives and am unable to use them and then give them away as gifts. I go to load my pockets for the day and try to explore new knives but only reach for my well used stockman and Buck again.

 

[Peter Parker]

Except for the trapper and moose the stockman/cattleknife is still my main stay since my first knife a stockman.