Knife hobby and the internet

C

clearkevin

Joined
Oct 7, 2014
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Hey Guys, I have not been into knives long enough to remember a time when the internet was not a major part of the knife industry (or any industry). I would love to hear about the good old days when you couldn't watch Nutnfancy to figure out what to buy next. Especially interested in which companies were popular where knife stuff was discussed and shared (if it was). If you had a large collection before the internet what did it consist of which custom makers were well known. Looking forward to some good stories thanks
 
You read books, visit knife stores to see what is new and go to knife shows. There were mail order catalogs before internet.
 
Magazines, books, mail-order catalogs (at least a couple custom purveyors sent out snapshots), knife & gun shows, hammer-ins, got to know other collectors, well-stocked local shop, etc.
 
We carried Buck 110's and walked five miles with our lunchboxes through snow up to our butts to Sears or the (Insert local retailer's name) Sporting Goods store.

Our internet was the display cases. Still the only place you can touch 'em, taste 'em, smell 'em and hear 'em.
 
I remember when there was no internet, no FedEx, and no UPS.

Ordering a knife, or "sending away for a knife" as it was known in my little world, consisted of filling out a paper order form (or making one from scratch), mailing that order form to the company with a check or money order, and then waiting "6 to 8 weeks for delivery". And no tracking numbers.

Back then it seemed that everything was "6 to 8 weeks for delivery". I imagine that many people today, especially people who grew up with the internet, might very well suffer a nervous breakdown if they had to wait that long for a knife, especially with no emails to keep them updated or tracking numbers. I pride myself on my patience, but I have been spoiled by the internet, and now I would find it hard to deal with such a long wait, as well as no emails or tracking.

Today I can order a knife on my computer, and it can be delivered the very same day (Amazon Prime Same-Day shipping).

What a wonderful age we live in.

I had a small collection before I got the internet. Most of the knives I owned during that period were "cheap". The most expensive and highest quality knife I owned during the first 30 years of my life was a Buck 110. I have a much larger, and for the most part a much higher quality collection now.

I remember when Buck was king, Gerber meant "quality", and Spyderco came out with their first knife.
 
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Used to visit my knife store a couple times a month. Every year the owner would give me a catalog that he ordered from and i would sit at home and go through it all year long and mark what i wanted. My knowledge of knives and brands was a little more limited back then, but still had more then enough to keep me happy.
 
Hey Guys thanks for your memories, I want to add a thought here and that is I think the internet has a lot to do with the general popularity of knives and gear in general. Now everyone can see what's happening and Blade and Shot show, everyone can know what is newly released, what's popular what's not. Certain places like this forum or various youtube channels can have a major impact on a new knife's success or failure.
 
knife magazines, knife stores and gun shows as well as knife shows was the only way to get any information. Nothing was at your fingertips. But it made the challenge fun.
 
I would buy all the latest knife magazines and read all the reviews. One time I saw a small black and white ad for a maker named Cris Reeves. The knife was called a Sebenza. I really liked the style of it, so I mailed a check and waited. Never forget when I received it. I was blown away by the quality and look. That was in August of 1995. Yea, I still have that knife. Times have changed huh!
 
I remember drooling over knives in the local hardware store display as a kid. My dad bought me my first new knife at Sears when I was 10, a small Craftsman Stockman. When in the Army, I bought my first Buck Knife, a 112 at the Rod & Gun Club in Germany in 1973. I don't remember how but sometime in the late 70s early 80s I got hold of a Smokey Mountain Knifes Works catalog. I was like a kid in a candy store. Until the internet, and even after, they became my go to store. I actually made SMKW a vacation destination in the late 80s. Shepherd Hills also became a vacation stop and still is a favorite place to stop (was there last month) While the internet has made things easier, I still prefer to touch and feel before I buy.
 
killgar said:
I remember when there was no internet, no FedEx, and no UPS.

Ordering a knife, or "sending away for a knife" as it was known in my little world, consisted of filling out a paper order form (or making one from scratch), mailing that order form to the company with a check or money order, and then waiting "6 to 8 weeks for delivery". And no tracking numbers.

Back then it seemed that everything was "6 to 8 weeks for delivery". I imagine that many people today, especially people who grew up with the internet, might very well suffer a nervous breakdown if they had to wait that long for a knife, especially with no emails to keep them updated or tracking numbers. I pride myself on my patience, but I have been spoiled by the internet, and now I would find it hard to deal with such a long wait, as well as no emails or tracking.

Today I can order a knife on my computer, and it can be delivered the very same day (Amazon Prime Same-Day shipping).

What a wonderful age we live in.

I had a small collection before I got the internet. Most of the knives I owned during that period were "cheap". The most expensive and highest quality knife I owned during the first 30 years of my life was a Buck 110. I have a much larger, and for the most part a much higher quality collection now.

I remember when Buck was king, Gerber meant "quality", and Spyderco came out with their first knife.
Click to expand...

I remember those days very well. :)

Much different now than it used to be.
 
I started my collection in the 70's. My first one was my dad's Navy issue Kabar (still have it). I used to check out the local hardware store and the feed and grain store. After I joined the military, I would check out the BX and there were usually vendors with their knife displays. There were only a couple of knife magazines, but in one I saw an ad for Atlanta Cutlery and Smokey Mountain Knife Works. Shopped a lot out of those magazines.
 
I grew up in the 60's in a rural area outside of Asheville, NC called Leicester (still live in the area) on a small farm. We did not go into town very often but when we did we would always go to Leicester Feed and Seed and Fortunes Hardware. Both of these stores had old wooden display cases with traditional knives in them. The brands I remember were Case, Buck, Imperial, Uncle Henry and Boker. I would stare and dream at those knives the whole time we were there and always felt a little sad when we left. I had a knife that my father had made from an old file with a hand whittled wood handle stuck onto the end of the file and a sheath my mother had made for me out of an old piece of canvas. In the summer of 1965 I spent a couple of weeks with my grandparents helping my grandfather put up new fencing around the lower pasture. As we worked we talked about fishing, hunting and of course knives. I told him everything I knew about knives that I had learned on those trips to the stores. When my grandfather took me home at the end of those two weeks he handed me a $10 bill and a brand new Barlow for helping him. Although $10 was a lot of money for a boy back then I hardly noticed it with that new Barlow in my hand. It was absolutely beautiful ! I still remember how it felt when I opened it the sound of the click and the shine of the blade glistening in the sunlight. I now own many modern folders but my passion is for those traditional knives like the one's in those old wooden display cases when I was just a boy.
 
The quality of the knives I buy has jumped up tremendously since the internet came along. I used to go to hardware stores, sporting goods stores, and Army/Navy surplus stores to find knives. Back then I bought a lot of Buck, Schrade, Kabar, and other brands that I no longer buy today. 1991 marks the point when it all changed for me. In 1991 (coincidentally the same year the internet went public) Recon 1 had a booth in the Valley Indoor Swapmeet where I saw (and bought) my first ever Spyderco. It was a Delica Clipit and it is one of only 2 knives from that time that I still have today. From then on, Spyderco changed my view of what makes a good knife and the internet eventually became the primary way to find knives. Even though I research ALL knives online now, I still shop at Recon 1 to this day...only now they have an awesome store instead of just a booth at the swapmeet.
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clearkevin said:
Hey Guys thanks for your memories, I want to add a thought here and that is I think the internet has a lot to do with the general popularity of knives and gear in general. Now everyone can see what's happening and Blade and Shot show, everyone can know what is newly released, what's popular what's not. Certain places like this forum or various youtube channels can have a major impact on a new knife's success or failure.
Click to expand...

Don't kid yourself. Before the internet you could find plenty of choices at the local brick and mortar knife stores. Instant gratification, good service and zero shipping charges were the norm. These stores were mostly driven out by the internet. We also had a wide variety of magazines, regular trade shows and a lot of makers and manufacturers who were happy to work with you via mail or telephone. It may have been different, but we had plenty of information and a wide variety of quality knife products. The major brands during the 80s would have included: Buck/Buck Customs, Gerber, SOG, Al Mar, Aitor, Camillus, Case, Blackjack, Puma, Randall, Boker, Wenger/Victorinox, Spyderco and Cold Steel; along with hundreds of smaller manufacturers which filled the tables at flea markets and junk stores; and thousands of custom makers.

n2s
 
American made knives like Case, Camillus, Old Timer, Marbles, etc use to be sold in display cases in small town stores like Western Auto, Gambles, Ben Franklin's 5 and dime, Mom and Pop sporting goods shops, LGS, and even some gas stations. Then there was Herters, LLBean, Sears and Roebuck, and so forth where one could order by snail mail and wait for the long month or so for the package to arrive.
 
We had stores; Hardware, sporting, boating stores all sold knives and you travel to the stores to go look at knives and other gear.
 
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