Life of a knife

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

Slipjoint Addict
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
20,039
I'm guessing a lot of members on here, when they find out they can't buy every brand new Case/Queen/GEC/Canal Street etc out there, or get a custom slipjoint from time to time, will take a step back and check out the old knives. Now, other than a really nice patina on some knives, I guess you could say I don't really have an interest in "brand new" antiques. I saw some really nice Case knives at a show last month, they were in the 1500 dollar range. I don't know about you, but I want sharp stuff that I will use. Once you get over 300 bucks, I have a problem carrying and using it. For some, they might cringe, "oh, wow, that's a little too much." Others might say that's where they really start on their users.

I love looking for the old slipjoints and fixed blades. Rust, pitting, whatever, they can be cleaned. Pawnshops, flea markets, antique malls, junk shows. Lots of times I've been in the middle of nowhere in PA or MD or DE, and just pulled into an out of the way shop and asked if they had any knives. Most of the time, if I am not directed to an out of the way display case, a cardboard box of junk comes out. I've left a lot of nice parts knives over the years.

Who left these knives? They all have a story. Were they all estate sales? Someone traded an old knife to a dealer for a gift for someone? Someone pawned their knives to buy a tank of gas or dinner for that night? A collector who went in too deep on buying knives? A collector who is selling his collection to keep the lights on?

Finding these old patterns, nail nicks on a lot of them, is a lot of fun. You can't beat the hunt though. I do think about who cared for them and who they rode with.
 
There waiting in a glass display sits an old knife, it watches as the day passes and the customers come and go. It was once never left to sit though, it did many things with it's owner, a proud old friend who time has forgotten. The knife will share the same fate of it's owner if left to lay. Finances won't support this old antique shop and the door is closing for good, things are being boxed and prepared for a long storage, the knife waits it's turn for the cold, dark, lonesome box. As the morning wains on and the shop is emptying, there comes fourth a sad realization for this little jack knife, his time has come for an eternity of nothingness.

As the shop owner prepares to say good bye for the last time, he picks up the old knife, "you've been here as long as I have" the man spoke to the knife as if talking to a person. "A shame no one could find time for you, well I suppose you'll get some good rest now." He slips the knife into an old Crown Royal cloth bag and sets it on the counter, "there's a good spot to retire". The old man says with a smile. The old familiar bell rings another customer in. "We're closed for the night," says the shop owner, "closed for good actually". "Oh, I didn't know", says a young man. As the man turns for the door the shop owner interrupts, "is there something in particular you were lookin' for?" "Well, not really sir". The young man turns to look around the shop, seeing the empty shelves he knows that there is nothing for him.

As his hopes of antique riches disappear he turns to leave, just as he moved for the door he spotted the deep purple bag. "Say, you wouldn't want to sell that for cheap would ya, I could use it". The shop owner glances toward the counter, "well, I suppose I could part with it", the old man smiles and lets the jack knife slip out from the bag. He sets the knife on the counter in view of the young man. "Hey, does that old piece come with it"? "It comes with a price too, if you want it", said the shop owner with a knowing grin on his face, the shop owner picked the knife up and hands it to the man. Seeing the old carmel scales now smooth from years of pocket time, he falls in love with the old knife. "I'll take 'em both" he said. The shop owner nods in approval. "How much do I owe you"? The old man thinks for a minute as if doing the calculations, "well, thats an old one, don't make 'em like the used to". The man fears that the knife will be too much for a students wages. Seeing the look of disappointment on the young mans face, he grins. "I suppose it'll set you back a quarter, if you can handle that"?

The young mans fumbles to get the change out of his pocket, "here it is, I got a quarter", almost bursting with excitement the man hands the quarter over to the shop own. "Thank you so much," the student says with a huge smile. "Thanks for your business" says the owner, he slips the coin into his pocket and closes the box on the counter.

That year many firsts were had in the fields and woods for the young man, he took his first bushytail and hare rabbit, all with that old jack knife in his pocket. The old knife was a mentor to the rookie hunter, the knife had been here before, he had made all these cuts in his past life. That old knife tried so hard to please his new owner and he never backed down. As the man matured the knife started to as well, now all but two thin lines were left of the blades, but forever he stayed in the pocket of the man.
 
Wow!!! Thanks Johnny. We now have two masters of cutting edge prose!!!

Ed J
 
Thats some good writing Johnny. The problem I had with it is that its true. Just around me three of the oldest Ma & Pa antique shops have closed their doors in the recent years. One of which had a ton of pocket knives and the old man always sold them for a good price. I never bought one, and when I finally went back to look, they had closed the doors to the old red barn for good.

Sad days, and a reason I try to support small local businesses as much as I can.
 
Thanks for the compliments guys, sometimes I get in the mood to write down a story.

For the life of me I don't understand why these old knives that have lots of (someone's) family history end up at antique stores. It's a shame, almost as if the person who carried it wasn't appreciated.
 
I don't know if it was that the person that carried it wasn't appreciated. I would tend to think the people deciding to let it go didn't realize how much the person who carried it did appreciate it. To some, it may have just been a pocket knife that means nothing and provides very little sentimental link to the person who carried it. Idk for sure, but this is an interesting topic. I want to hear Carl's story too. Man, I don't even have to buy books anymore :)
 
Great story Johnny. I love old used knives. It always makes me sad to think of em just sitting there.
All knives interest me but there is something about carbon steel with a nice patina and scales smoothed by time and use that really strike a chord .
 
A great story and enjoyable read. I cant really find any places that sell good classic knives knives anymore. I remember as a young boy going to the hardware store with grandpa and looking at the Case display wishing I could own one. but it seems no places really sell them anymore. Its quite sad actually.
 
Very very good Johnny!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Deffintley worth 4 thumbs up. Hell yeah!

You need to spin a few more yarns time to time. That was worth reading.

Carl.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I'm guessing a lot of members on here, when they find out they can't buy every brand new Case/Queen/GEC/Canal Street etc out there, or get a custom slipjoint from time to time, will take a step back and check out the old knives. Now, other than a really nice patina on some knives, I guess you could say I don't really have an interest in "brand new" antiques. I saw some really nice Case knives at a show last month, they were in the 1500 dollar range. I don't know about you, but I want sharp stuff that I will use. Once you get over 300 bucks, I have a problem carrying and using it. For some, they might cringe, "oh, wow, that's a little too much." Others might say that's where they really start on their users.

I love looking for the old slipjoints and fixed blades. Rust, pitting, whatever, they can be cleaned. Pawnshops, flea markets, antique malls, junk shows. Lots of times I've been in the middle of nowhere in PA or MD or DE, and just pulled into an out of the way shop and asked if they had any knives. Most of the time, if I am not directed to an out of the way display case, a cardboard box of junk comes out. I've left a lot of nice parts knives over the years.

Who left these knives? They all have a story. Were they all estate sales? Someone traded an old knife to a dealer for a gift for someone? Someone pawned their knives to buy a tank of gas or dinner for that night? A collector who went in too deep on buying knives? A collector who is selling his collection to keep the lights on?

Finding these old patterns, nail nicks on a lot of them, is a lot of fun. You can't beat the hunt though. I do think about who cared for them and who they rode with.
Click to expand...

It took me a second or two to realize you weren't talking about the member here :rolleyes:

Good post, I've been kicking myself for months for not buying a perfect vintage Case nut with all its blade left. Man I wish i had bought that :mad:

And johnny, good post as well. This just proves that traditionals have so much character that they take on an identity of their own. I KNOW that my peanut does because every time I don't use it for a while i get bit!
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Who left these knives? They all have a story. Were they all estate sales? Someone traded an old knife to a dealer for a gift for someone? Someone pawned their knives to buy a tank of gas or dinner for that night? A collector who went in too deep on buying knives? A collector who is selling his collection to keep the lights on?
Click to expand...

Remember, once upon a time, a pocket knife was a required thing for man to have in his pocket. He didn't have to be knife knut, but just someone who needed a sharp tool once in a while. When I was growing up, Butchers put your meat in a wrapped up bundle of white paper tied up with string. Back home, you needed to cut that string. Packages from the post office arrived wrapped up in heavy brown paper and tied up with white twine. You needed a knife to cut the twine. A lot of things have changed in day to day life in the past 50 years.

Some of those knives you find have survived because maybe some man got a new knife for a birthday gift, and tossed the old one in the sock drawer, and forgot about it. Nobody else in his family were knife knuts, so when he passed on, some of his old stuff got shoved in a box in the attic. Many years later, the kids inherited the house, cleaned out the attic, and had a yard sale. Old stuff got passed off.

Many times, a common object is not seen as anything special. Pocket knives used to be so ubiquitous, that no special attention was paid to them. Now, few people even bother to carry a knife. Just us, the afflicted.

Many times a small pocket knife was carried much more than it was used, so it was out of sight most of the time. Thus, the family may not even been aware the owner put any special value on it. They saw the old fountain pen he carried more, or his watch. Another thing that may fade in the face of new technology.

I knew one woman, whose father passed away. She looked through his stuff, and found the cuff links he wore, his old Waltham watch, and some other things, then went to toss out the two little pen knives that were among the stuff. I stopped her and told her maybe they were meaningful. She acted surprised at the idea, and told me they were just a couple of little pen knives, not worth anything, and I could have them if I wanted. Because her father was not a hunter, or ourdoorsman, she never thought about his knives. He was a city guy, worked in the government machinery downtown in D.C. as a cog. A suit guy. To her, his old fountain pen and watch were valueble, knives not.

The knives in question? A very nice old Case Eisenhower in used but good shape, and a little German Boker pen knife. Very good knives. It's a matter of perspective. In her memory, there was the memories of her dad aways taking out his pen to make a note in the little note book he carried, or the gold watch with the black alligator band. These knives would have been just cast off. The man's nephew felt different, and the lady gave the knives to him. Close call for the knives.

Some people just don't appreciate a knife.

One old man I know of passed away, and his widow was going to toss ' that old rifle' he kept in the closet. It was a nice old good condition Stevens falling block. To her, it was just an old gun with no value.

It's all about perspective. Sadly.

Carl.
 
Nice read Johnny. Thanks for posting it.
 
jackknife said:
It's all about perspective. Sadly.
Click to expand...

Not sad at all. As necessary as knives are to those of us here, they are nothing more than objects. They have no value other than their utility to the owner. It is we who give knives meaning.

Let me use my grandfather as an example. He was a minister, a white collar type who probably needed nothing more than a small penknife. But I don't know that he ever carried a knife. Even if he did, I place far greater value on his bible and wish I had it to remember him by. I recall seeing him read it each and every morning without fail. It is those memories that can make a thing valuable.

- Christian
 
i'm learning to appreciate the old timers, especially how and why they got in the shape they're in.

i used to think there was no real value in a worn out pocket knife. not so fast

broken blades, how/why did they get broken?:eek:

worn down blades, working everyday knife?:thumbup:

chipped handles?

there is a story behind these old guys.

i have my father's knife:D, and my father-in-law's knife:D. tell a tale if you can just stop and think a minute.

buzz
 
Interesting thread, and nice story Johnny :)
It's nice for me to read stories of people buying old used knives there in the US, because that doesn't really happen here. For me, since I was a child, a knife has always been an object, a tool, but a pretty personal one, and it would not be sold or given away (except for family inheritance of course). As for many other things, it's a matter of culture, and I've learned to value cultural differences alot.
That's why, probably, I would feel weird buying an old used knife, and prefer building a history on my new knife, from the moment I get it. I also admit that you don't see used knives for sale around here, so maybe seeing one would light some spark in me.
But, if buying a used knife doesn't appeal that much to me, speculating about the history of a knife, or hearing about its life, is something that I do enjoy alot. And that's why I like this thread. :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I have my father's knives that he used on a daily basis. He passed two years ago but it brings his memory back to pull out the two trappers that I always remember him having in his pocket. The blades are sharpened down by at least 60%. He used the Case and Western for pretty much everything from cutting wood to cleaning fish. The carbon blades are almost black from an honest patina and still smell like honing oil from the frequent hand sharpening. Great knives that are now retired and will probably be passed on to my boys when I'm gone.
 
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