Hi Stomper -
I have one that is dear to me for sentimental reasons.
My stepfather, Harold, who passed away many years ago, was a wonderful and decent man.
He loved knives, and always had a small cheap pocket knife with him.
I always loved and respected this man, and wanted to please him as much as I could, so for Christmas one year I bought Harold a Case "Red Pocket-worn Bone" pen knife.
I could tell that Harold loved that knife, and he had it with him every time I saw him. The knife got a nice "used" patina, with tape goo on the blade and all. I could see that Harry used that puppy daily (he was a pipe insulator by trade).
Several years later, my mother let it slip that Harry had lost the knife I had given to him, and he was heartbroken about it. Harry did not want me to know that the pen knife was gone and he was trying to find an exact replacement.
I went to the old-fashioned hardware store I know of in town that had one of those old wooden-box, glass-covered counter displays of Case knifes (which is still there today by the way...) and checked out the knives. The counter man told me they did not have the knife I wanted, but they could order one and sure enough, a few days later they called me and had an exact replica.
I gave Harry that knife to replace the original.
About a year later, the original knife showed up, laying in the basement near where the dirty laundry was dumped out of the baskets.
When Harry passed away (from mesothelioma from years of working with asbestos) it was a sad time for all of us - I still get very sad thinking about this loss.
My mother made sure that I received Harry's pen knives; he still had both of them.
I kept the original knife, being able to identify it due to it's greater patina, and I gave the second knife to Harry's blood grandson as I thought he should have his grandpa's knife.
I'll have that old case until I die, and it will go to my son for him to have, along with a note about why this knife is so special.
best
mqqn
)
