Buzzbait
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2001
- Messages
- 6,810
I know that I've mentioned this before, in other threads, but I promise that I have more to add this time.
My very first knife was a Diamond Edge scout pattern. My father took me to a store one summer day, and told me to pick out whatever knife I liked best. I must have been around the age of 9 at the time, and spent my summers away from home, with my father in the mountains of Upstate New York. I don't remember what store it was, but I think that the majority of the knives were actually used. Lots of post-war Camillus, Schrade, Imperial, and such. I tried to find one that looked as new as possible. I saw the Diamond Edge etch on the main blade of a camp knife, and it was love at first sight. I knew that I had the superior knife, as the edge was mysteriously coated with diamonds, the hardest mineral on earth!!!! The scales even looked like real bone. All in all, it was a great summer of whittling. I cut wood by day, and popped soda caps by night. The Diamond Edge lived in my pocket, tethered to my belt loop by a length of rawhide cord. Life just didn't get any better.
I remember getting my first knife cut on the very first day of ownership. I was whittling away, holding a stick in my hand, cutting toward my thumb. The blade eventually slipped, and cut a deep slice right through the center of my thumb. It bled like hell. Dad patched me up with a few stitches of dental floss, and said,"I bet you'll never do that again. Try cutting away from your hand,instead of toward it." That was the end of the conversation,and he let me go to learn my own lessons from there.
The knife served me well until I got back home from the mountains in the fall, where a rawhide cord was not fashionable. But without the tether, the knife was lost within days, falling out of my pocket; from then on only remaining with me in my dreams.
When I got to Bladeforums about 15 years ago, I remembered the Diamond Edge scout knife. I made inquiries about it. All people could tell me about the Diamond Edge scout knife was that it was a cheap shell knife with a carbon steel blade and tools. I was bummed. I remembered the knife being so much better than that! But I chalked up my memories to the eyes of a child, seeing his first knife as being so much nicer than it really was. Diamonds and bone. Hah!!!
I've seen a ton of these Diamond Edge shell knives on ePrey over the years, and have always passed them over. I didn't want to actually hold the cheapo knife in my hand, and feel the harsh reality. I preferred to remember that scout as that perfect knife of my childhood memories.
Then I looked into a bargain lot of knives on ePrey last week, and there it was. The Diamond Edge camp knife. But this scout looked much different than the shell knives I was used to crossing. I couldn't tell much from the crappy pictures of a very dirty knife, but I won the bargain knife lot for a measly $7.50. If it was in fact a shell knife, or a complete piece of junk, than at least a wasn't out more than a lunch's worth of pocket money. But there was hope.
The bargain lot arrived today, and I couldn't be more happy. There are indeed a couple of old shell knives in the lot, but the Diamond Edge is much nicer. It still needs some more TLC, but I've removed the majority of the gunk. It's actually in pretty good condition, and definitely not a shell knife. It's a standard construction Imperial with nicely jigged Delrin scales. The blade etch has been lost to time, but the knife appears to have maybe never been actually used. The Diamond Edge shield shows prominently on the scales.
So here I present to you, the knife of my childhood dreams, the Diamond Edge camp knife. No, the blade edge is not infused with real diamonds, but I did sharpen it up on a diamond hone. The scales are not real bone, but I could easily see a young boy being convinced that these scales were in fact bone. Very nicely jigged Delrin.
Today was a very good day. I feel young again.
My very first knife was a Diamond Edge scout pattern. My father took me to a store one summer day, and told me to pick out whatever knife I liked best. I must have been around the age of 9 at the time, and spent my summers away from home, with my father in the mountains of Upstate New York. I don't remember what store it was, but I think that the majority of the knives were actually used. Lots of post-war Camillus, Schrade, Imperial, and such. I tried to find one that looked as new as possible. I saw the Diamond Edge etch on the main blade of a camp knife, and it was love at first sight. I knew that I had the superior knife, as the edge was mysteriously coated with diamonds, the hardest mineral on earth!!!! The scales even looked like real bone. All in all, it was a great summer of whittling. I cut wood by day, and popped soda caps by night. The Diamond Edge lived in my pocket, tethered to my belt loop by a length of rawhide cord. Life just didn't get any better.
I remember getting my first knife cut on the very first day of ownership. I was whittling away, holding a stick in my hand, cutting toward my thumb. The blade eventually slipped, and cut a deep slice right through the center of my thumb. It bled like hell. Dad patched me up with a few stitches of dental floss, and said,"I bet you'll never do that again. Try cutting away from your hand,instead of toward it." That was the end of the conversation,and he let me go to learn my own lessons from there.
The knife served me well until I got back home from the mountains in the fall, where a rawhide cord was not fashionable. But without the tether, the knife was lost within days, falling out of my pocket; from then on only remaining with me in my dreams.
When I got to Bladeforums about 15 years ago, I remembered the Diamond Edge scout knife. I made inquiries about it. All people could tell me about the Diamond Edge scout knife was that it was a cheap shell knife with a carbon steel blade and tools. I was bummed. I remembered the knife being so much better than that! But I chalked up my memories to the eyes of a child, seeing his first knife as being so much nicer than it really was. Diamonds and bone. Hah!!!
I've seen a ton of these Diamond Edge shell knives on ePrey over the years, and have always passed them over. I didn't want to actually hold the cheapo knife in my hand, and feel the harsh reality. I preferred to remember that scout as that perfect knife of my childhood memories.
Then I looked into a bargain lot of knives on ePrey last week, and there it was. The Diamond Edge camp knife. But this scout looked much different than the shell knives I was used to crossing. I couldn't tell much from the crappy pictures of a very dirty knife, but I won the bargain knife lot for a measly $7.50. If it was in fact a shell knife, or a complete piece of junk, than at least a wasn't out more than a lunch's worth of pocket money. But there was hope.
The bargain lot arrived today, and I couldn't be more happy. There are indeed a couple of old shell knives in the lot, but the Diamond Edge is much nicer. It still needs some more TLC, but I've removed the majority of the gunk. It's actually in pretty good condition, and definitely not a shell knife. It's a standard construction Imperial with nicely jigged Delrin scales. The blade etch has been lost to time, but the knife appears to have maybe never been actually used. The Diamond Edge shield shows prominently on the scales.
So here I present to you, the knife of my childhood dreams, the Diamond Edge camp knife. No, the blade edge is not infused with real diamonds, but I did sharpen it up on a diamond hone. The scales are not real bone, but I could easily see a young boy being convinced that these scales were in fact bone. Very nicely jigged Delrin.
Today was a very good day. I feel young again.
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