I'm getting there...

Parke1

Parke1

Joined
Feb 11, 2003
Messages
1,862
I'm 24 years old. I'm lucky enough to still have my dad around, and I have a great relationship with him. The talks we have together are always comedic. I think I have a pretty good handle on things, and then my dad drops some sage bit of wisdom that knocks me right back to reality. I might be 24, married, and mature, but I've come to realize that none of those traits are the measure of a man.

My EDC knives are two classics: a Case yellow Peanut (either the Tru-Sharp or CV, depending on my mood), and a Buck 110. I may occasionally rotate in or out a couple of Case Trappers, Stockmen, SAKs, etc, but they're pretty much always slipjoints (with the exception of the 110). I've tried my hand at carrying Benchmades, Spydies, and the latest and greatest whiz-bang assisted openers featuring ZDP-934,245 steel and automatic smoothie makers, but they aren't for me.

Now don't get me wrong, I never met the knife I didn't like. I just get the feeling that slippies have real soul, and plastic handled wonderknives of the day have a certain something lacking. Maybe I'm completely out of whack, but when I pick up the old no-name knockoff Buck clone that I bought in Canada when I was 7, I can't help but think that that knife remembers each and every bluegill it ever cleaned...

Okay, enough build-up, let's get to the story here. My mom and dad moved a couple years ago to a house just two miles up the road from their old one. I was living up in Bowling Green at the time, and as luck would have it, I was able to find a different job and move back home just shortly thereafter. I lived with them for a few months, then finally negotiated the purchase of their old house, the house I grew up in, from them.

Fast-forward a couple of years. I'm now married, happy, and waist deep in several home restoration projects, since the house is 126 years old. My dad was over giving me a hand re-roofing the front porch. The weather made for a beautiful, sunny day in the mid-60's. We were just finishing up the job, cutting some shingles into thirds for use on a ridge cap. I was using a pair of old snips from a yard sale, and I glanced over to see what utility knife dad was using on his stack of shingles. With a small gasp of horror I see him slicing away with the limited edition Case "Police Blue" trapper (he retired from the Akron Police) that I gave him a while back.
"DAD! What're you doing to that knife?!? I just gave you a Buck for jobs like this, and you have to tear up your Case?"
He folded up the Case, slipped it back in his pocket, and went back to the job using a Stanley utility knife.

A few minutes went by with neither of us saying much. After a bit he spoke, "Dan, do you still have Grandpa's knife?"
"Yeah, of course," I replied.
"Go and grab it, and come back out here."
I headed inside, keyed open the safe, and grabbed the knife. Heading back outside, I found my dad sitting on my porch swing. I handed him the knife; it is an ancient Schrade peanut with brown jigged bone scales. Both blades are extremely worn, but still rust-free and razor sharp.

Dad turned the knife over and over in his hands for a while. After a bit, he spoke, "You know, I only remember my dad ever owning about three pocket knives in his whole life, and this is one I bought him. The other two that I can recall were about this same size, and he finally got rid of them because he had the blades worn down so thin that they finally just snapped off. Your grandpa was a very resourceful man. I knew him to use his pocket knives to tighten screws, pry the lids off paint cans, cook and eat meals, work on all his beautiful wood carvings, and just about anything else I can think of. He used this knife for those same tasks."

He handed the Schrade back to me and took his Case back out of his pocket.
"Now if you don't want me to use this knife, then you shouldn't have given it to me. I gave your grandfather that knife because it was nicer and newer than his old one. Now that he's gone, you and I can look at this knife and remember that he was a man that would use whatever he had at hand to build and fix things in amazing ways. Would you rather have this knife that you know he actually used and appreciated, or a vintage Schrade knife with no wear on it whatsoever? Remember, Danno, you can always sharpen a dull knife, but memories are harder to hone."

I smiled, then, and picked up the Case out of Dad's hand. I took it inside and sharpened it up for him, and oiled the pivot. I gave it back to him, and we didn't say another word about it.

Later that day, after Dad had gone home, I was out in the yard, shoveling up old shingles and tossing them into a dumpster. I paused for a bit to take a breather and thought about what he said. I thought about my collection of slipjoints up in the safe, the majority of them being in pristine condition.

That was the day I reached into my roofing nail apron, pulled out my Stanley utility knife, and tossed it in the dumpster.

I've got a long way to go in life, but with my memories of grandpa, and the guidance of my father, I'm getting there.

-Parke1
 
Great story ;) Thanks for sharing...I was working on my 132 year old today..Been here 13 years and still dont have everything done :)

Randy
 
Great story, brother. I wonder thesame thing as well, from time to time, what will my children or grandchildren want to own of mine that has been used to the bone. I carry slippies alot, speacially my SAK Super Tinker, but the one tool I carry with me ALL the time, and use most often is my Leatherman Wave. That literally goes to bed with me (well, on my nightstand anyway). Whatever it is, it will be used, as I use all my tools, knives or otherwise. As a wise fellow forumite, who goes by the name of a slippie, once said, if you want your knife to have value, don't baby it. Use it often and use it well.
 
Given the reasonable price of most garden variety Case knives (or Bokers, etc.), why not use them hard?
 
Parke1 said:
Dad turned the knife over and over in his hands for a while. After a bit, he spoke, "You know, I only remember my dad ever owning about three pocket knives in his whole life, and this is one I bought him. The other two that I can recall were about this same size, and he finally got rid of them because he had the blades worn down so thin that they finally just snapped off. Your grandpa was a very resourceful man. I knew him to use his pocket knives to tighten screws, pry the lids off paint cans, cook and eat meals, work on all his beautiful wood carvings, and just about anything else I can think of. He used this knife for those same tasks."

He handed the Schrade back to me and took his Case back out of his pocket.
"Now if you don't want me to use this knife, then you shouldn't have given it to me. I gave your grandfather that knife because it was nicer and newer than his old one. Now that he's gone, you and I can look at this knife and remember that he was a man that would use whatever he had at hand to build and fix things in amazing ways. Would you rather have this knife that you know he actually used and appreciated, or a vintage Schrade knife with no wear on it whatsoever? Remember, Danno, you can always sharpen a dull knife, but memories are harder to hone."

-Parke1
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Your dad hit the nail on the head, the knife is to be used. If he chooses to use it up, then its served a good use as a faithfull tool. Theres no law that we oldsters have to leave mint artifacts behind for the next generation.:D

When my dad was done with his Case peanut it had a thick tooth pick for a main blade. The nice folks at Case refurbished it and put in a new blade for me, so it lives to serve another generation.

But I wouldn't toss the Stanley utility knife just yet, theres always those grundgy jobs you may not wish to use your choice pocket knife on. I still keep one in the tool kit under the kitchen sink "just in case".
 
Very nice. My granddad and dad are both gone now. I lost my granddad's knife along time ago, I'm sorry to say. The blades were sharpened to just about nothing. The one my dad carried is right here next to me. It is anything but pristine! If ya got em, use em. They have no soul if they haven't been used.
 
Parke1 said:
Remember, Danno, you can always sharpen a dull knife, but memories are harder to hone."
-Parke1
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That one should be written into the book of best sayings. That is a pearl of wisdom.

Great that you could get the old house you grew up in and keep it "home."
 
Thank you for all the compliments, fellows! I've been working at that piece for a couple days off and on, and I was finally happy enough with it to post it. I knew right after it all happened that I needed to share it here, but getting it all written down and checked and re-checked for grammar's sake took me a bit.

Jackknife, I'm so pleased that my writing received your seal of approval!!! I was really hoping to see you reply to this thread. I was actually planning on sending you a PM with it if you didn't see it soon. Your stories and memories that you've shared have been a real inspiration to me, and they've encouraged me to get back into a touch of recreational writing. Thank you, sir!

I agree that Cases and Bokers, etc, are made to be used, and at times, used hard, but with my level of income I tend to try to spare them too much wear and tear. Someday, though, I hope to be able to afford some really nice slippies. I'll still care for my Cases, of course, but mark my words, some day I'll own a Bose!!!

Thanks again for the compliments guys, they mean a lot to me!
-Parke1
 
Parke1 said:
Jackknife, I'm so pleased that my writing received your seal of approval!!! I was really hoping to see you reply to this thread. I was actually planning on sending you a PM with it if you didn't see it soon. Your stories and memories that you've shared have been a real inspiration to me, and they've encouraged me to get back into a touch of recreational writing. Thank you, sir!

-Parke1
Click to expand...

Parke1, you flatter me too much. What you wrote here today is better than anything I've done in my sometimes rambling after a toddy too many. You're good!

Its a shame that too often the generations don't mesh well, and these days too many parents don't even know their own kids. You have a treasure in your relationship with your father, guard it with your life. It's priceless. There's no ties as strong as blood, and those ties are forever. Your father is the person who you can turn to under any conditions and get a strait answer, or advise you can count on. Like the advise he gave you about memories, priceless. Like Amos said, a pearl of wisdom.

Something tells me that I'd enjoy sitting down with your dad and making up some toddys for us out of the square bottle. I'd like to tell him he did a darn fine job of raising his son.

Keep up the good work, someday it will be up to you.:thumbup:
 
I have nothing against actually using a knife for it's intended usage, CUTTING stuff, but in this particular case, the Stanley knife is many times more effective. A "hook" type roofing blade in a utility knife will cut ten times faster and more accurately than ANY slipjoint blade when you're cutting roofing shingles. I carry and use pocketknives every day of my life, but there are times when other things are simply more efficient and effective, or can be used when a disposable product would be more desirable. For example, if I had to cut some roofing felt off of a concrete floor. We often lay felt down to protect concrete garage floors from paint and caulk drops. When we get done, we cut around the walls with a utility knife, and roll up t he felt and throw it away. Using a slipjoint knife for this purpose would severely damage the blade, and cut the felt slowly and ineffectively to boot. The Stanley utility knife is used here, grab it slash around the room, roll up the felt, pop in a new blade, good to go. It would be senseless to take an hour to cut around the room and wear away half of the blade on a fifty dollar Case stockman or trapper when something that is much more effective and speedier will do this chore for less cost.

My "work" knife is a Victorinox Alox Pioneer Harvester. I cut paper boxes, tape, whittle, scrape off sheetrock mud from door and window frames, sharpen pencils, cut vinyl flooring, pry open paint cans, tighten loose screws, etc, with my knife, but I will not abuse it by grinding the blades through roofing materials and masonry, when something is available that will work better and faster and cheaper. It would be like wading through muck and mud with sneakers on when you have a pair of high top boots handy, just senseless and inefficient. Like using a screwdriver for a cold chisel to beat a chunk of concrete out, when a sharp new cold chisel is in the tool box ten feet away.
 
Phil in Alabama said:
I have nothing against actually using a knife for it's intended usage, CUTTING stuff, but in this particular case, the Stanley knife is many times more effective. A "hook" type roofing blade in a utility knife will cut ten times faster and more accurately than ANY slipjoint blade when you're cutting roofing shingles. I carry and use pocketknives every day of my life, but there are times when other things are simply more efficient and effective, or can be used when a disposable product would be more desirable.
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Phil, I agree with this statement completely, and I may still have a couple utility knives kicking around in my toolbox, but that really isn't the point of the story. My dad was getting a point across not about the functionality of slipjoints in all situations, but about signs of real use making an object more desirable, largely from an heirloom point of view.

jackknife said:
Parke1, you flatter me too much. What you wrote here today is better than anything I've done in my sometimes rambling after a toddy too many. You're good!
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Jackknife, thank you so much. I may tend to disagree with you just a touch, in that I don't think this little memoir beats out any of yours, but the compliment means a huge amount to me!

jackknife said:
Something tells me that I'd enjoy sitting down with your dad and making up some toddys for us out of the square bottle. I'd like to tell him he did a darn fine job of raising his son.
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I think you're right. Heck, I think I'd have to brew up some coffee for myself and pull up a chair to just listen.

Thanks again everyone!
-Parke1
 
Phil in Alabama said:
I have nothing against actually using a knife for it's intended usage, CUTTING stuff, but in this particular case, the Stanley knife is many times more effective. A "hook" type roofing blade in a utility knife will cut ten times faster and more accurately than ANY slipjoint blade when you're cutting roofing shingles. I carry and use pocketknives every day of my life, but there are times when other things are simply more efficient and effective, or can be used when a disposable product would be more desirable. For example, if I had to cut some roofing felt off of a concrete floor. We often lay felt down to protect concrete garage floors from paint and caulk drops. When we get done, we cut around the walls with a utility knife, and roll up t he felt and throw it away. Using a slipjoint knife for this purpose would severely damage the blade, and cut the felt slowly and ineffectively to boot. The Stanley utility knife is used here, grab it slash around the room, roll up the felt, pop in a new blade, good to go. It would be senseless to take an hour to cut around the room and wear away half of the blade on a fifty dollar Case stockman or trapper when something that is much more effective and speedier will do this chore for less cost.

My "work" knife is a Victorinox Alox Pioneer Harvester. I cut paper boxes, tape, whittle, scrape off sheetrock mud from door and window frames, sharpen pencils, cut vinyl flooring, pry open paint cans, tighten loose screws, etc, with my knife, but I will not abuse it by grinding the blades through roofing materials and masonry, when something is available that will work better and faster and cheaper. It would be like wading through muck and mud with sneakers on when you have a pair of high top boots handy, just senseless and inefficient. Like using a screwdriver for a cold chisel to beat a chunk of concrete out, when a sharp new cold chisel is in the tool box ten feet away.
Click to expand...


I think you're missing the point of Parke1's story, or of his dad's advice, Phil.
 
I don't think Phil is missing the point at all I'm guessing he is refering to the Part that says,
"That was the day I reached into my roofing nail apron, pulled out my Stanley utility knife, and tossed it in the dumpster."

Great story Parke1 and right up there with Jackknife's posts. Thanks.
 
I'm only 26. When my granddad passed early this year all the children and grandchildren went through his things while laughing and sobbing. I remember going through his nightstand where I knew he kept all the trinkets the grandchildren and great grandchildren ever gave him growing-up. Everything from nice gifts to simple pieces of blanket yarn, cereal box toys and happy meal toys. I remember finding a custom peanut I had made for him a couple years back in the far corner. Never once used. Still wrapped in the tissue from the gift wrap.

Then I looked in his trousers on the bed that we had brought back from the hospital. And there lay an old schrade in the pocket with hardly any blade left. He had 3 other knives in his possession from his younger years on up but all were completely worn and lay “retired” in a nearby dresser drawer. Just shook my head and couldn't help but smile. Sorta of the opposite I guess.
 
I did understand the moral of the story, but I do still have to say the basics of what I was trying to get across: Using a knife is fine. I'm the first person who will sharpen a Schatt & Morgan and use it without remorse. I just got a Queen #9 stockman a week or two ago, and the first thing I did was stick it to the hones, a dull knife serves no one. I WILL use it, but I will use it properly, no abuse. Cutting roofing shingles with a slipjoint pocketknife will damage the knife very quickly, wearing away huge amounts of steel, practically ruining the blades in short shrift. Plus, it is much more difficult to cut the shingles to start with. A utility knife with a hookblade that is INTENDED to use on roofing shingles will be a better tool. It will cut faster, it will cut more accurately, and the pocketknife can be used for things more appropriate. Pocketknives are not made to stab through doors, dig in the garden, pry open can lids (with the exception of SAK style screwdriver blades), drive screws (exceptions again with SAK's), scrape concrete, cut roofing shingles, split firewood, etc. Such usage will damage and/or destroy them quickly. I don't mean to be sounding like an old curmudgeon horning in on this thread to ruin the nostalgia and good feelings gained by watching dear old Dad use the knife given to him, it just pains me to hear of things like chopping up shingles with slipjoints. So please don't take my words to mean any harm or intrusion, it just sorta sounds that way without the emotion of actually being present talking over things with friends. These things just remind me of watching people use wood chisels for cold chisels, tack hammers for framing hammers, screwdrivers for pry bars, paint brushes for wisk brooms, wood cutting handsaws on nail embedded woods, etc. Get the Stanley knife back, and save the slipjoints for the chores that slipjoints are meant for, just my thoughts.

You guys tell some great stories; while I'm sitting here reading them, I can see my grandfather down in the barn cutting a piece of leather harness, picking out a splinter, making a toothpick, slicing open a box, sharpening up a hatchet on the grindstone, and any other numbers of chores involving farming and building. He never hunted much if any, was in the military in WWI, worked for the railroads in the 1920's -1940's, farmed in the 1950's to 1970's, and gardened and built homemade furniture for a hobby for the kids and grandkids up until his early 80's. Made homemade wine, killed hogs, etc, as far back as I could remember. I have his old Boker stockman, a 4'' serpentine round bolster, it does have quite a bit of wear on it, but still plenty of blade remaining. Lots of rust pits and a very stiff spring on the spey blade, cracks my fingernail every time I open it. Handling this knife is why I bought the Queen #9. I have about figured out why the 4'' round bolster stockman was/is so popular. Just the right size, blades long enough to use for big jobs, but short enough for small ones, not too thick nor too thin in the handle, nor a big weight in the pocket. Three blades handy so that if one gets dull, there's always a couple more waiting. :)
 
I'm happy to say the knife i gave my grandfather in 1982 (to replace his broken barlow) got used for the last year of his life. That Old Timer stockman was rusted when I finally pulled it out some 20 years later. I cleaned it up and decided to use it to try my hand at whittling after my own boy began asking for a knife. as i looked at the wear in the center of the sheepsfoot blade, i am reminded of the kind of chores he would use it for every day. Things like cutting bailing twine, cutting green branches for "divining rods", making holes in leather straps to fix reins for our team of mules and peeling an apple for me because i hated the skin. I am proud of the wear and stains on the blade, they are evidence of hard honest work. There is a character in a Steinbeck novel who gave his father a German pocketknife. The father never used it, and it caused the son to believe he was never loved. I think your Dad nailed it. My wife makes fun of me because I carry my new peanut everywhere and cut everything i can with it. I think its important for my son to inherit something i used everyday, since he never knew his great grand pap. Memories dont make themselves. Bless all you guys, we dont spend near enough time honoring our past and looking for its lessons.
 
When I first read this , I thought maybe Jacknife was your dad.. Reminded me of his writings..... Got me to thinking too, I lost my Grandfather almost 3 years ago. Like most guys from his generation he had a few knives and they were to be used. My grandmother gave me his knives, a couple Schrade Waldens. Used but still nice. And a new in the box Schrade. I got to thinking about that knife and remembered that I gave him that knife for christmas when I was a little kid ( about 35 years ago ). I can still remember him out at the workbench sharpening his knives. How effortless it seemed for him and after taking them out of the safe and looking at them, they were scary sharp. I sure miss him.......
 
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