My Grandpa's Knife

Markesharp

Markesharp

Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Messages
4,146
When I see pictures and read the stories of fellow members sharing pictures and stories of their father or grandfathers knife, it always puts a smile on my face.
It also always made me wish that I had a knife from one of them. My dad never carried a knife and I wondered if my grandfather did. My grandfather passed away in 1973 while I was ten years old and although I do remember fishing with him and riding on his John Deere lawn tractor when he mowed, I don't remember him carrying a pocket knife. He used to smoke a pipe and blow a little smoke in the little toy corncob pipe he bought me so that I could be like him and blow smoke, literally. :)

My uncle stopped by Saturday and said "Mark, I have something for you" and handed me this

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I was pretty excited to say the least. It was never used by my uncle, just put away in a drawer for his son. Knowing my knife hobby, he thought it best that I have the knife as I could appreciate it more. That is an understatement and although I think of my grandpa quite often, this knife is a constant reminder of the fond memories I had with my grandfather Carl Janson. I miss you grandpa....
 
That was a great day! I bet you were on, are still on, cloud nine. Congrats on finding a link to your history in a beautiful cutter. :thumbup:
 
Wow, very nice. Knives passed down from family are special for certain. I have a few knives the used to belong to my grandfather. I remember looking at his collection he had displayed in his living room when I was a kid. Sadly someone broke in and stole most of his knives, but he had a few users around when he passed away. I have one of his that is unused in the box but I treasure the ones that he carried and show the years of use the most.
 
Wow, what a thrilling surprise Mark, and a great-looking knife too :thumbup: Thanks for the post :)

Jack
 
Mark, what a great story and a terrific Case also. I know how you treasure that knife and the memories that go along with it, they are all priceless. My Grandfather passed in 1968. After the funeral we gathered at my Grandparents house with all the family. My Grandmother pulled me to the side and held out her hand to me. She said, I want you to have this, it was my GrandFathers well worn "Old Timer". I will never forget her saying " Lord knows you aggravated him every time you came here wanting to see this knife!" This story has inspired me to get that "Old Timer" out of my safe and have a good long visit and photo session. Mark, thanks for inspiring me to do just that. This is just one of the reasons I am so proud to be a part of this great community.

~ Ron

Mark, Please forgive the quick photo, but I finally got my Grand Dad's knife out of the safe. It is an Old Timer 80T, by Schrade Walden. It will be in my pocket as my companion tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone for all the great stories and knives that have been shared.

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~ Ron
 
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Congrats, that is awesome... and a beautiful Case XX red bone to boot! Holding a piece of cutlery that was part of a loved ones life is a very special thing to me and I'm sure it is to you as well. I was able to inherit a knife from my grandpa too and it remains a very special piece in my collection. One day hopefully we can pass our knives on to our kin too! :thumbup:
 
That's so nice. I still have and carry my Grandpa's knife. It will always be a special knife.
James
 
Marksharp, thanks for sharing your wonderful story. That is a great looking knife, I did the rich color of the scales and the patina.:thumbup:
 
Great story and your grandfather had very good taste in his cutlery. It's always nice to hear stories like these thanks for sharing.
 
What a happy and unexpected windfall--and a great way to remember your grandfather AND your uncle's act of kindness. The Clip blade looks shorter than the Spey, so I imagine your grandfather must have really preferred and used the Clip.
 
What a great old knife to receive! It's amazing what an ordinary knife turns into when they belonged to a treasured family member.

Thank you for sharing it.
 
Thank you all for the kind replies. I got a bit choked up writing the post, I think I had something in my eye.

I am looking forward to your post on your grandfathers knife Half/Stop, what a great story.

To all who commented, you are in a drawing to win a TC anniversary red soup bone Charlow. I will draw the winner Thursday via random number generator. Please see post #35
 
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Very, very cool Mark! That's a sweet knife but the fact that it was your grandpa's is really special.

I have a very similar story and a very similar knife. When I was back home last year visiting, I was talking with my uncle about pocket knives because I had used mine on something. He said, "Come here, I wanna show you something." It was my great-grandfather's knife. I told him I already had one his knives and he was excited to learn that I had the smaller one that my great-grandpa carried in his later years. My uncle told me he switched from the larger Case, which he used farming to cut open seed bags and who knows what else, to the smaller Schrade pen because the Case was too big to clean out his fingernails. My great-grandpa was quite a guy.

Mine and yours look nearly identical. Awesome story and congrats to you on the family heirloom!
 
A slender beauty and a wonderful momento. The bone is spectacular and the spey appears unused. He was definitely a clip lover!
 
Flint Hills, thanks for sharing your knife and what a great story behind it. That is the exact same knife as my grandfathers....awesome. :)

I agree on that Jeff, the spey blade looks barely used.
 
Awesome, Mark. It couldn't have been bestowed upon a better guy. I'm very, very happy for you! Your grandfather had wonderful taste! :)
 
Good for you brother, it's cool beyond words and your GAW for those that posted is outstanding just like your Grandpa:thumbup:

Thanks for the post Mark, I never knew either of my Grandpa's but had two priceless Grandma's ;) I posted this over the years I've been here but it was my Grandma Gladys that sparked my love of knives.

I'll pm you about her sometime buddy;) BEAUTIFUL KNIFE!!!
 
It is always excellent when an heirloom family knife, already priceless, is of such a high material quality and superb condition. Beautiful!
 
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