- Joined
- Aug 24, 2012
- Messages
- 522
It would be cool to hear about the knife shops that have played an important role in the development of your interest in knives, and to know if anyone has also enjoyed the same shop.
As a kid and young teen (in the 90's), I would spend hours at Becks Cutlery Specialties, in Raleigh NC. I wish Patsy and Ronnie Beck knew how much I appreciate their kindness and generosity. They would answer my millions of questions and take dozens of knives out of the case week after week so I could handle them. They didn't hesitate to hand me the most expensive custom in the shop. As Christmas or my birthday came near, Patsy would quietly tell my dad which knife to get (usually a Case). When I would snap a tip or utterly destroy the edge on my Pakistani throwing knives, Ronnie would bring them back to life on his belt grinder free of charge. Patsy had been a teacher, so she was very patient with me when I smudged my face and hands all over the glass display cases she kept so shinny and clean. As an adult, I can tell she really appreciated my curiosity, which is about the best thing an adult can do for a kid. The Becks would have notable knife makers visit the shop to sell knives and talk about their techniques. Stuff like that really helped me develop an eye for what I liked in a knife, and to appreciate the overall design.
I have collected knives since I was a kid. Recently, as I have worked to pair my collection down to a handful of my most favorite knives, I have noticed that I mostly want to keep/obtain the knives I admired the most when I was a kid. I am moving away from flippers, frame locks, and super steels and rediscovering my fondness for G10, linerlocks, and and ATS 34. This week I purchased a couple Microtech Socom's from 1998. The Socom and Socom mini were grail knives from my youth, and the anticipation is killing me.
It was sad to see Becks Cutlery slowly go out of business. As I entered high school, the shop was forced to move out on the edge of town where rent was lower. For a couple of years they tried to stay afloat by diversifying into kitchen goods, etc., but they eventually had to close. As knife shops grow increasingly rare, so do the opportunities to handle a wide verity of knives. I can go to my local gigantic sporting goods store and check out the most popular Benchmades, Spydercos, ZT's, etc., and this is cool. But, it is not the same. I hope some people reading this have their own fond memories of knife shops and take a moment to share.
Thanks
As a kid and young teen (in the 90's), I would spend hours at Becks Cutlery Specialties, in Raleigh NC. I wish Patsy and Ronnie Beck knew how much I appreciate their kindness and generosity. They would answer my millions of questions and take dozens of knives out of the case week after week so I could handle them. They didn't hesitate to hand me the most expensive custom in the shop. As Christmas or my birthday came near, Patsy would quietly tell my dad which knife to get (usually a Case). When I would snap a tip or utterly destroy the edge on my Pakistani throwing knives, Ronnie would bring them back to life on his belt grinder free of charge. Patsy had been a teacher, so she was very patient with me when I smudged my face and hands all over the glass display cases she kept so shinny and clean. As an adult, I can tell she really appreciated my curiosity, which is about the best thing an adult can do for a kid. The Becks would have notable knife makers visit the shop to sell knives and talk about their techniques. Stuff like that really helped me develop an eye for what I liked in a knife, and to appreciate the overall design.
I have collected knives since I was a kid. Recently, as I have worked to pair my collection down to a handful of my most favorite knives, I have noticed that I mostly want to keep/obtain the knives I admired the most when I was a kid. I am moving away from flippers, frame locks, and super steels and rediscovering my fondness for G10, linerlocks, and and ATS 34. This week I purchased a couple Microtech Socom's from 1998. The Socom and Socom mini were grail knives from my youth, and the anticipation is killing me.
It was sad to see Becks Cutlery slowly go out of business. As I entered high school, the shop was forced to move out on the edge of town where rent was lower. For a couple of years they tried to stay afloat by diversifying into kitchen goods, etc., but they eventually had to close. As knife shops grow increasingly rare, so do the opportunities to handle a wide verity of knives. I can go to my local gigantic sporting goods store and check out the most popular Benchmades, Spydercos, ZT's, etc., and this is cool. But, it is not the same. I hope some people reading this have their own fond memories of knife shops and take a moment to share.
Thanks
)
My mom worked at a bank just outside the mall, that shared a parking lot with the North entrance to the mall where this shop was located. My mom worked late sometimes, and my little brother and I hung out at the mall. We weren't even 10 at the time. Things have changed a bit...