My first contest/GAW - A NOS USA Schrade 8OT for your story - WINNER CHOSEN !!!

I will be picking the winning story this weekend, so if you have not already done so, please post an entry, as I really love the stories.

For all who have posted, thank you so very much!
 
dma1965 said:
I suppose my story is relevant. My favorite EDC is this Queen made Winchester Eureka Whittler, with some of the best stag I have ever seen on a knife ever.

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I renewed my love of pocket knives a few years ago when I decided to start carving some of the olive wood I pruned from my trees. I started with an old 1970's Case Congress knife, and then went looking for some of those old brands I knew as a young lad growing up in the USA, only to discover that almost all of them (Schrade, Camillus, Western, etc.) had closed up shop and moved to Asia. This really saddened me, since I remember having so many nice knives by those makers as a kid, and now I would have to scrounge to find them again.

I started combing antique stores, flea markets, and the web for what I could find, often paying outrageous sums for the old US made traditional, but finding lots of great stuff. One bargain I found was the Winchester knives made in the 1980's and 1990's for Bluegrass Cutlery. I bought one on a whim from eBay and was super impressed with the fit and finish, and most importantly, the reasonable price I paid. I had purchased some GEC knives earlier, but they cost a lot more, and the fit and finish of the Winchesters was just as good as the GEC knives. There were rumors that they were made by Queen, and under the guidance of Bill Howard of GEC, so that seemed to explain a lot, although Bluegrass Cutlery would not admit to any of that.

Anyway, I started buying them, and turning most into safe queens, and when I found one I liked to carry, I would by two of the same pattern and carry one.

One day I say the stag beauty pictured above, and won it on an auction. When I opened the box I was stunned at how gorgeous it was, and decided it had to be a safe queen. It was just too pretty. Yet, it called to me, and I decided to start carrying it in a leather slip case. I decided I wanted to whittle with it, but dared not sharpening and re-profiling the pen blade for that purpose, but it was useless as a whittler without the sharpening.

One day I decided that keeping it pristine was just causing me anxiety, and I decided it was time to take it out of the pouch, and turn it into the tool that God and Bill Howard intended it to be. I sharpened up the blades, started cutting some fruit with some, whittling with others, and ended up a very happy person. I even decided it was time to use it for whatever I wanted to use it for.

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I began carrying it regularly, and it was not long before my 3 year old (at the time) began calling it "Pappa Knife" when she saw it.

When I visited GEC I asked Bill Howard if the rumors where true, and if he had made the knife, and he said that the knife was indeed made under his supervision, which certainly explains the great quality.

Today it is the knife I always go back to, especially since I like to always carry something to whittle, and it is a perfect whittler.

Here it is today:

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Thanks for sharing your story, dma1965; very interesting. Everyone approaches their relationship with knives differently, but I know that, for me, I don't want to own a knife that I couldn't use. (My challenge is finding things I can use my knives for.)

And your Winchester is an absolute stunner!

(Still not an entry.)

- GT
 
Not an entry but I'll post a pic and story anyways. :D
This was my first knife I bought with my own money. My Dad gave me a Boy Scout knife in 1964 at the age of 10 and I still have it. I bought this one myself in 1968. It's a 34OT and I have loved this knife for many years.

 
5K Qs said:
Not an entry, since I probably wouldn't carry that big old stockman if I were fortunate enough to win it (but if you ever sponsor a GAW involving one of your TL29 mods, I will enter early and often :D).
Thanks for your generosity in running this contest, dma1965! And thanks especially for your "story requirement"; there are some fabulous stories here!

- GT
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I am pretty sure I will eventually do a GAW with one of my mods. The big issue is that giving those away is toughest of all, because each one is currently a learning moment for me, and each one has so much time, love, and frustration associated with it from all the handwork.
 
It was really tough, but after much consideration I decided my favorite story was from Bigfattyt, who had the Grandfather with the wrench fingers and who kept working after a car fell on him. Congratulations on the win!

It was hard to decide, but what made me choose this as the winning story is that after hearing that story, and the story of his Grandfather's old Barlow knife, every time I looked at one of my own Barlow knives, or a picture of a Barlow knife, I thought of his grandfather. In fact, I believe I will always remember his Grandfather when I see a Barlow, and that is really cool, since Bigfattyt keeps the memory of his Grandfather alive through a total stranger!

It reminds me a quote I once heard that went something like this:

"Everyone dies twice. The first death is when you take your last breath and physically leave this world. The second death happens the last time anyone remembers you, or speaks your name."

Perhaps Bigfattyt gave old Grandpa Wrench Fingers a little longer time...
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Congrats to Bigfattyt, and thanks again for the chance to win a very nice schrade stockman, with that mystery heat treated 1095 steel.
 
Congrats to Bigfattyt!! That was an awesome story about your grandpa!

dma1965 said:
I am pretty sure I will eventually do a GAW with one of my mods. The big issue is that giving those away is toughest of all, because each one is currently a learning moment for me, and each one has so much time, love, and frustration associated with it from all the handwork.
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I totally understand your feelings about your TL29 mods, dma1965. I was just kidding about putting one in a GAW! :D
Thanks again for running this generous GAW, and especially for all the great stories it generated! :thumbup::thumbup:

- GT
 
Congrats to the winner. There were a lot of great knives and stories posted by everyone.

~ Ron
 
Thanks.

I am darned excited to carry this one.

My first pocket knife was an old timer stockman, which I lost to a thief in the 4th grade (hung my coat up with the knife in the pocket).

That was back when the teachers did not care about pocket knives.

This one will go directly into my pocket with a smile!

We will be celebrating grandma's 100th birthday this weekend.

And I will be carrying grandpa's barlow.
 
Just wanted to say thanks for this prize!

It showed up right as I was leaving for my Grandmother's 100th birthday!

I had my grandfathers barlow in one pocket and this in another.

I'll try and post a few pics!
 
Bigfattyt said:
Just wanted to say thanks for this prize!

It showed up right as I was leaving for my Grandmother's 100th birthday!

I had my grandfathers barlow in one pocket and this in another.

I'll try and post a few pics!
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Awesome! I hope your Grandmother had a great birthday. Let's hope you got some of those old age genes :)
 
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