Is there anything special you do to make a slipjoint knife your own, make you feel that it is truly yours?
When I get a new knife, I usually don't use it or even feel like it's mine until I tune it up to my liking. Until then, it sits on my dresser until such a time as I can work on it a bit and personalize the knife to my own satisfaction.
I never really thought about this, though, until recently. I purchased a Case Small Hunter as a gift for a friend. He's the barber who has cut my hair for a few years now. He came over from Italy in the 40s as a boy, and is about 75. He's been growing figs for decades now in his backyard. At first I had a hard time believing that he could grow figs in Massachusetts. He likes to kid around and is always pulling someone's leg. He took me to his backyard and showed me a fig tree that looks 30-40 years old.
The secret, he told me, is that every winter he buries the tree 6' under. He just excavates one side of the ground and leans the tree over with whatever roots are still attached, covers the tree with plywood, and piles on the dirt. Evidently the soil that deep never freezes and the tree is safe until Spring. He even had a write-up in the local paper showing his tree and demonstrating the burial process. What a labor of love. The tree was brought over by an Italian cousin from the original family farm in Salarma(?)--so the figs are a connection to his family and roots there.
He started giving me figs in late summer/early fall. I took them home to my family and we all enjoyed them in small amounts. They remind me of the figs my grandfather used to grow near the AZ/NV/UT border. Sweet, rich and tender. After a year, he offered me a fig shoot to plant if I were willing to take care of it. OH, YEAH!! I eagerly took him up on the offer there and then, but last year he buried the tree before I could get a cutting. This year he promised me another cutting. When I went to pick it up, it was over 8' tall and still had a few figs on it. I was expecting something small, but this "cutting" is so large that I think I'm going to be getting figs next year when I plant it!
Anyway, I wanted to thank him, so I got him a Case Small Hunter as a gift, knowing that he is an old-school guy and would appreciate a pocketknife. The knife arrived and I checked it out--the action was a bit rough, and there was a pretty large burr to one side of the edge. I then realized that I had to clean it up for him, and I realized that I clean up all my knives for myself before I really consider them my own.
I drizzled some Dawn detergent into the pivot, worked it really well with a toothbrush, then flushed all the dirty metal particles out with hot water. A small drop of mineral oil, some working the action back and forth, and things were considerably smoothed up. I then set to work on the edge, removing the burr and putting a much sharper edge on the blade. When it was sharp to my satisfaction, I polished the blade a bit with a Cape Cod Cloth to make it shiny and remove all micro-scratches, did the same with the nickel-silver bolsters (man, are they bright now!), and put a very light coat of mineral oil on the scales. Now it looks and works great, so I carefully wrapped it up and gave it to him. Can't wait for him to open it. He's got a garden full of Italian vegetables in the backyard, so I figure it'll come in handy.
This is pretty much the same ritual I go through with my own knives, before feeling that I "own" them. Any of you do the same?
When I get a new knife, I usually don't use it or even feel like it's mine until I tune it up to my liking. Until then, it sits on my dresser until such a time as I can work on it a bit and personalize the knife to my own satisfaction.
I never really thought about this, though, until recently. I purchased a Case Small Hunter as a gift for a friend. He's the barber who has cut my hair for a few years now. He came over from Italy in the 40s as a boy, and is about 75. He's been growing figs for decades now in his backyard. At first I had a hard time believing that he could grow figs in Massachusetts. He likes to kid around and is always pulling someone's leg. He took me to his backyard and showed me a fig tree that looks 30-40 years old.
The secret, he told me, is that every winter he buries the tree 6' under. He just excavates one side of the ground and leans the tree over with whatever roots are still attached, covers the tree with plywood, and piles on the dirt. Evidently the soil that deep never freezes and the tree is safe until Spring. He even had a write-up in the local paper showing his tree and demonstrating the burial process. What a labor of love. The tree was brought over by an Italian cousin from the original family farm in Salarma(?)--so the figs are a connection to his family and roots there.
He started giving me figs in late summer/early fall. I took them home to my family and we all enjoyed them in small amounts. They remind me of the figs my grandfather used to grow near the AZ/NV/UT border. Sweet, rich and tender. After a year, he offered me a fig shoot to plant if I were willing to take care of it. OH, YEAH!! I eagerly took him up on the offer there and then, but last year he buried the tree before I could get a cutting. This year he promised me another cutting. When I went to pick it up, it was over 8' tall and still had a few figs on it. I was expecting something small, but this "cutting" is so large that I think I'm going to be getting figs next year when I plant it!
Anyway, I wanted to thank him, so I got him a Case Small Hunter as a gift, knowing that he is an old-school guy and would appreciate a pocketknife. The knife arrived and I checked it out--the action was a bit rough, and there was a pretty large burr to one side of the edge. I then realized that I had to clean it up for him, and I realized that I clean up all my knives for myself before I really consider them my own.
I drizzled some Dawn detergent into the pivot, worked it really well with a toothbrush, then flushed all the dirty metal particles out with hot water. A small drop of mineral oil, some working the action back and forth, and things were considerably smoothed up. I then set to work on the edge, removing the burr and putting a much sharper edge on the blade. When it was sharp to my satisfaction, I polished the blade a bit with a Cape Cod Cloth to make it shiny and remove all micro-scratches, did the same with the nickel-silver bolsters (man, are they bright now!), and put a very light coat of mineral oil on the scales. Now it looks and works great, so I carefully wrapped it up and gave it to him. Can't wait for him to open it. He's got a garden full of Italian vegetables in the backyard, so I figure it'll come in handy.
This is pretty much the same ritual I go through with my own knives, before feeling that I "own" them. Any of you do the same?
) spend less and I can't carry it enough (i.e. SAK Minichamp). I buy my kids a nice Christmas gift and they spend the day playing with the box! Seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree