Probably millions of traditionals stored in drawers....

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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Aug 4, 2013
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I got to thinking on how so many things get tossed out in the US by Americans that just want to cut down on clutter. Many things are in paper form, all those paid bill statements and such. Much are just material things we no longer use or feel are outdated or useless to us anymore. Things like clothing, electronics, old furniture... well, they are taking up space, so out the door they may go. But, a pocket knife in a junk drawer, well... not such a burden. Alright, maybe the person has not used that knife/knives in years, but it really has not been a burden, it taking up no real space. So, it just continues it's life in that drawer or storage box. I can only imagine all the treasures that are all over this country, treasures housed in drawers and just waiting to be discovered as such :-)
 
...This post might belong better in Carl's Lounge, instead of starting a thread on its own.


Unless, that is, you plan to show us photos and give descriptions of some of the treasures you have found recently. Or something.
 
These were left in drawers or forgotten in a toolbox for 20 or more years, until my recent interest in pocket knives caused me to get them out, clean, and sharpen them.






And now they are still stored in a drawer, except that now I know which drawer and they are not as lonely because they have many new friends. :)
 
I was talking with a stall holder, that doesn't live too far from me I later found out, at a flea market in PA. He said his fathers house is filled with boxes and boxes of knives. He started rattling off the make and manufacture. Case, Camillus, Schrade, Remington, Winchester, Cattaraugus, New York, Empire, Marbles. He said his father bought both junk and good stuff. This guy is in his 60's, and he said his father had just passed away. He needed to go through everything so he could sell his mothers house. I told him I didn't have all the $ in the world, but that I was interested in what he had. I want to get back there sometime in October to see if he went through his fathers collection. He first told me about it in May, then I saw him on Labor Day. Like everyone else, he has a million things to do. I don't know if the Remingtons are actual Remingtons, Camillus made or Bear and Son, but I am interested nonetheless.

I've talked to dealers at shows and flea markets, and some of their stock comes from yard sales and estate sales. I've seen pocket knives at yard sales, but they're usually ancient Kamp Kings with barely there plastic covers and rusted shut blades.
 
There has been so much emphasis placed on "collectables" lately, that probably more people are prone to over estimate the value of old things than sell them for a song at a garage sale. To some people, anything that looks old has to be worth a lot of money.
 
Probably millions of traditionals stored in drawers....

I think you are exaggerating, personally I only have thousands of traditional knives in drawers! :D
 
black mamba said:
There has been so much emphasis placed on "collectables" lately, that probably more people are prone to over estimate the value of old things than sell them for a song at a garage sale. To some people, anything that looks old has to be worth a lot of money.
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Sounds like the "American Pickers Syndrome"... hah
 
I've seen grown men cry when I told them their Grandfathers 1940's era Case XX knife booked for $35. Just because it's old and says Case XX (insert name), doesn't mean it's worth a fortune.
 
rma100 said:
I've seen grown men cry when I told them their Grandfathers 1940's era Case XX knife booked for $35. Just because it's old and says Case XX (insert name), doesn't mean it's worth a fortune.
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That's a good reason for people to just use and enjoy their knives!
 
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This is one I have shared here before... It's one of those forgotten treasures. It is not a dollar value treasure, but a treasure in sentimental value. I had given this Japanese made mini knife to my mother probably about 25 years ago. She liked it being so diminuative, so I just gave it to her, and she used it as a purse knife for a while. She tucked it away somewhere, I had certainly forgotten all about it. My daughter was over with my father going over some of mom' things after she recently passed... and this little knife is found by my daughter, and she thought I would appreciate it. She had no clue at the time she discovered it, of it's history... but a major treasure is what it is to me :-) Treasures, those drawers and boxes in closets and such... they are there waiting to be rediscovered :-)
 
OOOHHH! I think I see a Calico Bone Norfolk in there already?

It's a great reverie to think of finding a long lost trove of old knives that time had forgotten. Or that find from a US Riverboat for instance. On the other hand, you can be sure that in the past, knives have been chucked out en masse by cleaning maniacs. Why keep those horrible, dirty old fashioned knives that nobody uses?! We know otherwise....
 
Last month mom presented me with one of those "junk drawer" treasures, a folded steel handle keychain knife that used to be sold at the counter of every drugstore in the US back in the 60's & 70's. Sheepfoot type blade, nail file and bottle opener/screw driver. I remember slicing my finger open with that little guy when I was just a kid. :D

Instead of a drawer, it now resides in a pocket of my jean jacket, ready to work whenever I need it. It was still sharp too!
 
These were a junk drawer pick up from an elderly lady who's husband had recently passed.

I paid around $10-$12 a piece:thumbup:

nNcXrRU.jpg
 
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Not a junk drawer but my knife bin at work. These are knives that usually are in my rotation.
 
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