I'm glad this thread came back up. I was having a lot of thoughts running through my head yesterday about Keith and his knives. This is the perfect opportunity to share some of those.
Yesterday morning, it was about 6:00 AM and the outdoor lighting looked perfect for taking some pictures of a knife I had just finished. I grabbed the knife and sitting next to it on my tray was the Lanny's Clip that Keith had made for me, so I grabbed it as well and went into the backyard. As I was cleaning the finger prints off of the Lanny's I couldn't help but notice how perfect of condition it was still in after 6 months of daily use. Hard use. I have never held back on this knife. It's made many a fuzz stick while backpacking. Shaved wood chips for fire starting. It's even cleaned a trout in a pinch. It rides in a pocket with my keys. So how can there be no scratches on the bolsters or blade whatsoever? I can't completely wrap my head around that. How is it even possible? Maybe I'm just showing my naiveness and all customs are built this way due to the materials used. My experience to this point has been solely production traditional knives. One day in a pocket and the bolsters look like a spider web due to the scratching. Whatever the explanation, it's my only experience with a custom slip joint to this point, so in my mind, it's due to the fact that Keith is a master craftsman.
This lead to me trying to figure out what attracted me to slip joints in the first place. That credit would have to go to my grandfather. My grandfather was a great man. He was the kind of man that spent an entire lifetime doing for others. I cannot honestly think of one thing that the man did for himself. He spent his entire life being "other-centered." He always carried a slip joint pocket knife. Knowing my grandfather like I do, I would imagine he probably only owned 2 or 3 in his entire life and only that many because the last one just completely wore out. What would have have thought about me buying a custom slip joint? I think he would be proud. Not because I did for myself, something he would never do. I think he would be proud because of how much more I got out of the purchase. I met Keith Johnson. I got a relationship, a friend. It's the relationships that matter, more so than the knife in my opinion. I have since sold off every production slip joint I owned prior to receiving my Lanny's.
I'm not a sensitive guy. My wife reminds me about it everyday. But, that's what's so fascinating about how a piece of steel, a mechanical tool, can cause so many different thoughts and dig up so many memories. In my estimation, the majority of people will never know this feeling, this connection to a knife, the relationship with the maker. When I first ordered this knife I struggled with it. Now after 6 months I know I received so much more than just the knife.
Keith, thank you
