In the original post in this thread, I explained how my lack of self-control upon receiving a series of thoughtful, generous gifts from BF members in the past month or so had resulted in my abandoning my weekly-carry schedule, at least for this week. In that post I also showed the gifts that I thought of as birthday presents for my 2^6 = 4^3 = 8^2 birthday. In this post, I'll describe what I consider to be some marvelous Christmas gifts I received.
Paul Hilborn sent me an Imperial Boy Scouts of America knife that arrived a few days before Christmas! I have a soft spot in my heart/head for old Imperials and for scout patterns and SAKs, so this was a wonderful, thoughtful gift.
It's my first official BSA knife, and I discovered that it was officially sanctioned from 1986-2007 (IIRC). Thanks for a superb knife, Paul; everyone says your generosity is legendary, and I know for a fact that's true!*
I also received a Priority Mail box about a week before Christmas from a guy named Ron in Tennessee. The only Ron in TN I could think of was Half Stop from BF, but how would he even know my mailing address? I opened the box and found a note inside warning me to open neither the card nor the gift-wrapped package inside until Christmas. As you can imagine, that was quite a test of character, but I was able to take some kind of action in the meantime: I sent Ron a PM and asked if he knew anything about the package and associated shenanigans. He basically "played the same card" that my Mom used to when I was a kid, something about Christmas being a time of surprises, so I'd just have to wait and see. Well, I have my suspicions that Ron AND Paul were in on this together somehow; they seem to be a couple of the kindest, most thoughtful "model citizens" on The Porch, but I'm starting to think that the "straight shooters" are the ones who most enjoy their devious shenanigans!
On Christmas, I could finally open things up with clear conscience and found this festive card and a classic, outstanding Case chestnut jigged bone CV sowbelly stockman:
Look at how delightfully, incredibly thin those blades are! Quite a while ago, I was surprised by how much I liked my Rough Rider sowbelly, and I started noticing how beautiful the Case chestnut sowbelly was, especially since I had a couple of other chestnut bone CV knives (Sodbuster Jr and Swayback Jack). In fact, the night before Christmas (or a day earlier), I actually had a chestnut sowbelly in my cart at an online vendor (not a BF sanctioned dealer) who was having a 15% off promotion, then decided to not order and make a BigBiscuit donation instead (plus I realized the sowbelly price had increased by about 15% since I'd visited a month before). Another of those weird knife coincidences! Thanks for the amazing gift, Ron, and although I was able to wait until Christmas to open the package, I just couldn't wait until its scheduled turn to carry it - it's been in a belt pouch next to its Sodbuster cousin all week! :thumbup::thumbup:
(In the interests of full disclosure, I should report that Ron owned up to his deviousness - inside the card, part of the message was "There is something special about Christmas shenanigans!")
Sometime this fall, I admired an old "bullet pencil" that Dean (RDaneel) had included in one of his pics. A little before Christmas he told me he wanted to send me one. I advised him that the college where I teach (and have packages sent) would be closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4, so he might want to hold off for awhile on sending it, and Dean agreed that was a good idea. More on this in a minute.
Around New Years, Keith (gonebad395) picked up some antique store or flea market knives, and offered to send me an Uncle Henry stockman he'd found! I was quite rude and "forced" him to let me trade him a flea market 34OT I'd picked up last summer, but for all intents and purposes, Keith offered me a fine post-Christmas present. Here are some pics of the knife he sent me:
I didn't know much about Uncle Henry knives, other than they were a Schrade product, they had the distinctive Staglon "fake stag" covers (that I think look very nice, and probably influence my preference for a reddish color on real stag), and they were an American classic that I wanted represented in my collection some day. The knife Keith sent me showed me that the 897UH stockman is a very stylish model, with what I consider to be some very desirable features: slender turkish clip, low-riding sheepsfoot (no tip above the liners stuff for my favorite uncle), and sunk joints. I also learned that even though the blades are stainless, the springs are carbon steel. I thoroughly enjoy the dark patina on the back of the knife Keith sent me:
Thanks for the fabulous knife, Keith!! :thumbup::thumbup:
So I had made that deal with Keith on Jan. 3 I think, and went to work on Jan. 4 to find that the package from Dean had already arrived! Minor shenanigans on shipping dates.
But when I opened the package, I discovered major shenanigans (again from a "model citizen" on The Porch from whom I wasn't expecting any "intrigue")!!
Here's what was inside:
Dean had not only sent me a NOS bullet pencil, but he had very thoughtfully included a second one for my father, who I think will get a real kick out of it! Dean also included a nice handwritten note AND a brand new Uncle Henry 897UH, a stockman exactly like the one I had coming from Keith, and Dean's favorite model stockman!
:thumbup: The NIB Uncle Henry he sent was his "back-up" knife for the one he carried for 20 years!! Here are some photos:
The pencils really inspired a wave of nostalgia. When I was a kid, we called them "seed corn pencils" because the seed corn dealers gave them out as advertising knives. But we were certainly aware of the bullet shape of that metal tip! We tried removing the pencil and pushing the empty end of the "bullet" into corks for our cork guns. Later, we used to make "rubber band guns" out of scrap lumber, a couple of nails, and "rubber bands" cut from old car tire inner tubes. We tried several ways to get those "bullets" to work with our rubber band guns, but as I recall, we never had much success. Thanks for the wonderful memories, Dean, that the pencils provide! And thanks for the surprise of that superb Uncle Henry stockman!! :thumbup:
I can't explain why these guys I've mentioned targeted me with their thoughtfulness and generosity, but I certainly appreciate their kind gifts!! And I hope I can be excused for "taking a walk on the wild side" and going off my schedule to enjoy carrying these new arrivals for a week!
- GT
Some lovely knives there GT, generously gifted by some of our finest, to a member held in considerable esteem :thumbup:
