Knives you've lost/set free in the wild

Dergyll

Dergyll

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Was chatting with EngrSorenson EngrSorenson about this and thought it'd make an interesting topic.

What are some knives you've lost/set free in the wild? Feel free to include locations if someone ends up finding it. I know the chances are as small as me getting a raise (which is to say, not impossible), but it'd be pretty damn cool!

Here are some of mine:
1. Black Mora Companion, that I had just bought. Took it to go fish in Lake McDonough up in New Hartford, CT and dropped it in the lake, about 60yrd west of the boat launch. Had to clean a fish with a SAK, which actually wasn't too bad.

2. Bear and Son 2 blade trapper: I dont remember the model but it's got stag handles. Lost it on the New Hartford section of the Farmington River.

3. SAK huntsman: left it along with my Spydeco Caribbean on top of some rocks during low tide...came back after a few hours but it was high-ish tide. I thanked God I found my Caribbean later out of dumb luck, but the SAK is probably rusting away in the ocean at Harkness State Park...RIP

Anyway, I'd like to hear any stories you may have!
 
There’s a Case Mini Copperlock probably in some dump somewhere in a worn out coat pocket or the inside of a worn out couch. If anyone finds it- it’s yours. Chestnut bone probably from 1999.
 
I made the conscious decision to throw away my trusty Opinel #7 Carbone. After waiting in a long line for 2 hours to enter a "large political event" and then finally seeing the Secret Service checkpoint by the entry gates, watching folks emptying their pockets made me realize that I was still carrying my Opinel (they carry very light y'know). My choice was to take it back to the car, wait in line all over again, and then try to find my wife in a crowd of 20,000 people; or just toss it in a nearby trash drum. Sadly, I decided to toss it. The event was worth it and I bought another Opinel #7, but the pain still lingers.
 
P. Ortiz said:
I made the conscious decision to throw away my trusty Opinel #7 Carbone. After waiting in a long line for 2 hours to enter a "large political event" and then finally seeing the Secret Service checkpoint by the entry gates, watching folks emptying their pockets made me realize that I was still carrying my Opinel (they carry very light y'know). My choice was to take it back to the car, wait in line all over again, and then try to find my wife in a crowd of 20,000 people; or just toss it in a nearby trash drum. Sadly, I decided to toss it. The event was worth it and I bought another Opinel #7, but the pain still lingers.
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I would have chosen the knife! 😁
 
I lost a Spyderco Merlin at work. It was a really rubbish job, so that makes it all the more painful. The worst was a Buck 107 Scout that I gave to a woman who promptly lost it. For some reason, that one angers me the most.
 
I pulled up to a job at the Dinwiddie County public safety building in Virginia. Upon jumping out of the truck, the seatbelt grabbed the pocket clip of my pretty new Spyderco Endura and, I'm pretty sure, launched it into the parking lot. Of course, I didn't notice till I was almost half way home 2 hours away. This was like 3 years ago... Still stings a little.
 
There is a Benchmade 151 fixed Griptulian scuba diving down the Saco River in NH somewhere. It decided to go for a swim on a canoe trip back in my college days. Had some trouble finding one to replace it but I eventually did. I also set my Emerson Mini CQC15 free this past October on the Salmon River in NY.

I think I need to invest in lanyards or something.
 
Lost a push button stilleto after riding the roller coaster in Santa Cruz in the 60's and most likely lost a black PE Kershaw Shallot in a movie theater (where it would always fall out of my pocket) in the 90's.

I really "hate" losing things and haven't "lost" a knife (or anything else that I can recall a the moment) since.
 
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I lost an H1 serrated Spyderco Dragonfly swapped into a Zome green frame on a hike this past year. It was about an 11 mile hike in total, first up to an alpine lake, then up to the peak above. I had already reached the summit, and on the way back down I decided to rest and enjoy the lake a bit, so I sat down on some large rocks that jutted out into the lake. When I stood up, I thought I heard something hit the rocks, but upon investigation I saw nothing, so in my exhaustion I thought little of it and headed on my way (the call of tacos and beer followed by a whisky was strong at this point after a long day;)). It wasn't until I got home and emptied my pockets that I realized my loss. I always keep a fully serrated dragonfly clipped in the corner of my back pocket, and often swap the blades into other frames for variety, but this day I was wearing different pants than I usually do and I guess somehow it worked its way out of my pocket over time. The Dragonfly in and of itself isn't a particularly expensive loss, but since it was a blade swap the cost of recreating my Zome green version was actually two knives.

I was able to make it back to that same spot two days later; and my hopes were high given that I knew exactly where I was sitting, it was an H1 knife impervious to rust if it had fallen in the water, and furthermore the Zome green handles would ensure that it wouldn't stand out to anyone not expressly looking for it. When I got there it proved impossible, however. Turns out, "right there on that rock by those other rocks" is a pretty tough spot to nail down on a mountain in the wilderness ;).

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This experience was just one more lesson leading to my realization that brightly colored knives are actually much better suited to the outdoors than the camo and earth toned ones I was typically using. I now see why so many favor bright orange. For the replacement I got the standard H1 SE Dragonfly in yellow, and though I did give it a dye job just because I can't resist doing things like that, I made sure to keep it highly visible. This also meant the cost of replacement was only one knife instead of needing an extra on as a donor.

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Knives&Lint said:
This experience was just one more lesson leading to my realization that brightly colored knives are actually much better suited to the outdoors than the camo and earth toned ones I was typically using. I now see why so many favor bright orange.
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I suppose this is true but I really "hate" orange, yellow or otherwise brightly colored knife handles/scales.

I like most of my knives w/brown wood/leather, plain steel/Ti/aluminum or black synthetic handles/scales. There are a few exceptions in my collection but not many. My favorite outdoor knife is my Buck 110 and fortunately I never lost it in the woods in the 40+ years that I've owned/used it.
 
sgt1372 said:
I suppose this is true but I really "hate" orange, yellow or otherwise brightly colored knife handles/scales.

I like most of my knives w/brown wood/leather, plain steel/Ti/aluminum or black synthetic handles/scales. There are a few exceptions in my collection but not many. My favorite outdoor knife is my Buck 110 and fortunately I never lost it in the woods in the 40+ years that I've owned/used it.
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Understandable. Lucky for me I dig 'em. I used to be the same way though; and I still love my OD micarta, bronze anodized titanium, brass, natural materials, etc.
 
I trusted the webbing I was issued with my first Buck folder, a beefy blade with a solid crosscut saw and brass old school bolsters. I had it in the KFS pouch and the entire pouch was lost pepper potting across the Prairies. You never get over losing your first knife if it's a good knife. That one taught me to be more careful with all the ones that followed.
 
I haven't lost a knife in a long time. Knock on wood.

I've lost a Buck 110 and an old Gerber fixed blade in the Upper Peninsula over a few year period in the Iron Mountain, MI area.

I lost a SAK Climber in South Haven, MI. I'm quite certain it is in Lake Michigan. Alcohol might have been involved.
 
Buck Odyssey, probably one of if not my first knife with a pocket clip in the late 1900’s. I used to carry it in my back pocket, lost it when we traded in a tractor, it must have gotten snagged when I got out of the seat and the tractor was gone once I realized where I must have lost it.

Spyderco Native Salt, I tossed it overboard into the Red River when my brain and hands had an apparent temporary loss of communication.
 
IronRidgeOutdoors said:
I lost a Gerber paraframe in Cougar, Wa riding dirt bikes. This was in '04 or so. If you find it, you should probably just leave it for the next poor soul. It was a God awful knife.
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The knife I wished I lost instead of any other was the Camillus US Military Utility Knife. If you dropped that one on the ground behind you, people would point it out right away. Not because they were being helpful, but because they were accusing you of littering. When I was turning it in for our new Leathermans, not even the crooked storesman wanted it as it was discontinued kit, because the military surplus stores didn't want them either.

 
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