Irreplaceable knives

CUTS LIKE A KRIS

CUTS LIKE A KRIS

Joined
Sep 28, 2005
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Just wanted to open a dialogue about carrying irreplaceable knives. Personally I hate the term as to me all knives are made of materials easily found, and can be remade. I buy knives to cut stuff with as well as display, but have no concern about a specific knife. I would be sad to loose the first knife my wife bought me, or the Elishewitz knife that is probably the pinnacle of my collection in terms of construction, materials, and name. It would hurt to loose the knife my mom gave me in grade 8, and has been my wallet knife since- even though I haven't carried a wallet in years. But there is nothing so special about them that I would call irreplaceable. I have memories tied to them, sure, but the memories are beyond the object, and more about the person. I lost my first knife, a little puuko from Bödo Norway. I've never seen another like it, and the exact knife is long gone, but if I remake it, or ever find another, then it can be replaced.


It is even more confusing to me when the knife in question is a production knife- they made many, therefore there will be more to find. I guess the fact that I have overlap in my knives and if one is lost or broken it will be missed, yet replaced has something to do with my opinion.

If you have an irreplaceable knife- please share why it is that way to you, and why you choose to use/not use/carry/not carry it. No right or wrong, I would like to understand your take more on this.
 
I have two that I'm making a display case for this weekend.

The first is a Griptilion I bought at Ft Hood. The second is an Auto Stryker I got in Iraq.

I carried both of these knives in Iraq 2006-2007.

I will never carry them again. As a matter of fact, in Tennesee it's illegal for me to carry the Auto Stryker.

So I will build a case for them. I'm thinking about making the cloth under the knives from the only uniform I kept, the Digital ACU pattern. I may get a brass plaque engraved to explain what they are. I hope someone in my family keeps this case long after I'm gone.
 
The only knife I'd never use would be something that is more of an heirloom than a tool. Alas, I have no such knives. I would have loved to have one of my granddad's pocket knives, but either no one thought to save 'em or another family member scooped 'em. Other than that, I'm not overly sentimental. Anything I buy or anything gifted to me is fair game for use and carry, which runs the risk of something being lost or damaged. I do my best to take care of my things, but sometimes, stuff happens.
 
An old 1.25 inch squirrel hunter lock back. It was my fathers first knife, I even hunted down the same model and have one I can display and my fathers is in the safe.
 
I've got 1 knife that i will never give up,or use for anything,my grandad made this knife for me,he welded 2 pieces of steel(soft,nothing to brag about),but the reason why im so attached to it is because he is about half the world away from me and he's 82,so i might never see him again.
 
These two:

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The fixed blade I got from my grandmother who was an avid hiker even in her late 80s, God bless her. She gave it to me when I was 10 and said:" Now you never have to ask for a knife again." And I took that to heart. The red dye on the handle is so faded now. About once a year the hadle and the sheath get a good nice wax seal that is the least I can do. It gives me really good memories right now writing this, and even a tear to think about that I had the pleasure to have such a loving and wonderful grandmother.

The Victorinox Standart I got when I was 7 from my dad, and it was the only knife I edc`d till I got into knives at age around 20-21. Both of these knives have followed me through 7 different countries, countless hikes, and everyday situations. They have earned their rightful place among my most valuable items in my safe. Sometimse I like to carry the SAK around the house just for the nostagia. The Helle isn`t sharp anymore, and I can`t get it sharp either ( I really messed up there), but the Vic is like a scalpel, none of my other SAKs are as sharp as this one.

If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose between these 2 and the rest of my knives (and I really like like every knife that I have esp. my Helle Viking and my black/grey Para 2) I`d choose those 2.
 
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I suppose there are very few knives that are irreplaceable in regards to material, but rather sentiment. I don't have any cool stories or family heirlooms as I am a self-made knife collector, but I do have a weird rule regarding this. I can't ever trade the first of anything I get. My first knife, for example, is something that will always be in my collection. In my mind, these "firsts" were milestones in my life, the objects that started me down this collecting path. It is for that reason that I would deem them irreplaceable.
 
Irreplaceable as others have said because it belonged to someone dear to us that passed on. I only have one that's irreplaceable. The rest are my own and are of no particular significance. I keep mine on a leash so it doesn't fall out of my pocket.
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Well I don't buy used knives and never will. Part of it is that I want to know what it's been through. I don't want to be out in the bush and have a knife break because the previous owner liked to baton it with rocks. Another part is that I want the story of the knife to be my story. I want the scratches and blemishes to be from my adventures and not someone elses. That's why I have a duplicate of a production knife that I love. I won't have to worry about it if they go out of production and mine is lost or stolen.

As far as one off customs, I don't think you'll ever get a true duplicate of one IMO. You can come close but never really match it line for line and grind for grind. So in that instance it is irreplaceable.

That being said my life wouldn't be over if I lost all my belongings, including knives. It's just stuff. I have sentimental attachment to people and not the things those people owned. But that's me. I'm weird like that. :D
 
I wore out most of the good knives I had when I was a kid. I have managed to replace most of them with knives which are indentical but are in much better condition. When I use or hold one of the replacements, it usually brings back a flood of fond memories.
 
I have knives that were my Grandfather's, Great Grandfather's, and Stepfathers, none get used really. At least the one's that they used. I've cleaned and oiled the old pocket knives, and that's about it, they are just for keeping. Some of these are old Case knives, or knock-off brands, but they are from my family, so they are irreplaceable, to me.
Of my knives, none are so unique that they couldn't be re-made or copied. Maybe those copies wouldn't be exact, but maybe they could be better? There are items that I wish I still had, yet, their void can be replaced by something better, like girlfriends, cars, or jobs.
I've only got one knife that I bought two of, I use one, and the other is still new, and I might use it later in life. Yet, there are other very similar knives to be had, so they are not irreplaceable.
 
hatchetjack said:
Irreplaceable as others have said because it belonged to someone dear to us that passed on. I only have one that's irreplaceable. The rest are my own and are of no particular significance. I keep mine on a leash so it doesn't fall out of my pocket.
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I like you're leash. Where did you get it? Did you make it?
 
Even if it's possible to go to the store or contact the maker to obtain an identical knife, that doesn't mean it's practical or affordable to do so.

I wouldn't carry anything that couldn't be easily replaced, or that I didn't have a duplicate for.

I have a long history of losing knives. :(
 
I've never lost a knife or broken one, but an irreplaceable knife goes above that kind of logic. It's not about what HAS happened to the irreplaceables, it's what COULD happen (if everything went wrong that day, etc.). My irreplaceable knife is my grandfather's Case small stockman. It's one of my favorites, but it is retired for now, at least until my dad or I want to use it when we are grandpas, too haha. I still have my first knife, a Buck 110, but it needs to provide a few more decades of service before I consider it irreplaceable.

Here's the Case small stockman.

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I have an old gerber markII my dad bought before I was born. He gave it to me in highschool, and it never leaves the house. It is not in amazing shape, but pretty good. I also have a gerber paul knife my dad gave me a few months ago. He found it in an old drawr and said "hey do you want this, I know how much you like knives". Neither are anything special, aside from the fact that my dad had both a long time ago and decided I deserved them. All my other knives I love very much but they can all be replaced. Those 2 will get handed down to my kids. I did end up buying a alox sak because that was what my dad carried when I was younger, and I always remembered that knife. It has since become my favorite, because of nestalgia and it's so handy.
 
edctac said:
I have an old gerber markII my dad bought before I was born. He gave it to me in highschool, and it never leaves the house. It is not in amazing shape, but pretty good. I also have a gerber paul knife my dad gave me a few months ago. He found it in an old drawr and said "hey do you want this, I know how much you like knives". Neither are anything special, aside from the fact that my dad had both a long time ago and decided I deserved them. All my other knives I love very much but they can all be replaced. Those 2 will get handed down to my kids. I did end up buying a alox sak because that was what my dad carried when I was younger, and I always remembered that knife. It has since become my favorite, because of nestalgia and it's so handy.
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What model SAK? I'm toting the old style soldier and love it.
 
As a play on the old, "the best knife is the one you have with you" ... would it be too cheesy to suggest that an irreplaceable knife would be one we carry? Well, at least up until you find yourself in a position to be able to swap it out or replace it. Such as to say, it's when you need one and don't have one that you'll be regretful.



Like everyone else here, I feel that the only thing that makes a knife truly irreplaceable is the memories attached to it. For me, that narrows the collection down to pretty much just those which belonged to my father. Even though every single one of them are production pieces (and most of them WalMart specials at that) it was his ownership of them that make them unique. His scratches, his sharpening, his sheath-wear. That is what can never be replaced.

Having said that, I believe I am with Shotgun on this one... while I wouldn't want something to happen to them, I wouldn't lose sleep if something did. It's just stuff. And stuff happens.
 
Different knives I own bring up varied feelings depending on the knife. Some are very inexpensive , but have a lot of personal meaning or stories behind them.

Some are common factory knives that I think are just uber-cool , so I bought spares because they work and I like them so much. Most of my knives I use , some are replacements , and some are never used because they are not practical for me , but have sentimentality attached to them.

Also , there are others ( usually custom or semi-custom) that I paid a handsome sum for and would hate to lose , but would be able to replace probably just as easy as ones a third of the price.

So after all , I'd really hate to lose any knife I have. There are even some I may buy more of. But in the end I won't be taking them with me , so the logical thing to do is pass them on to my offspring and spend as much time as I can enjoying and using them.

Great thread Kris :thumbup:

:)
 
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