Question: is there a "The" Traditional Grail knife

A "Grail" knife for one person is not likely to be a Grail for a majority of folks who carry a pocket knife. It's entirely individual based on each person's needs and use.

Therefore I can only say what's my Grail knife, which is probably my 92 Eureka Jack... I don't carry it as much as some, but it's a frequent companion. I carry this one in a home-made leather pocket slip. It's the One I would chose if I could own only one knife.



 
Don't own one but I have held one and they quite something in the hand, the grip is great.:thumbup:
 
Rsmith_77 said:
now that's a purty interesting distinction isnt it?
if you had to walk away with just one knife (period)..would it still be the charlow?
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Now that's a pretty broad question that will require much more thought :o If I really drilled it down and review all the uses I encounter while having to use a knife I think I could say that's a pretty definite maybe :p

singin50 said:
Paul, I feel the same. I keep a pretty open mind although I do collect certain patterns. You just never know what you might run into at a show.
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singin50, My Dad always said "I know enough to know that I don't know enough" It is truly amazing how smart my dad became once I followed in his parental footsteps :D Seriously though I know what you mean in regards to keeping an open mind.

black mamba said:
Paul, desire is only desire if unfulfilled. You can't desire it if you already have it.
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Jeff, I agree. As I mentioned I still like/look and purchase other offerings but yet feel if I didn't have the internet to entice me that I wouldn't desire another knife due to my Barlow. Now, that being said, do I make any sense at all :confused: :)

Paul
 
paulhilborn said:
Now that's a pretty broad question that will require much more thought :o If I really drilled it down and review all the uses I encounter while having to use a knife I think I could say that's a pretty definite maybe :p

Paul
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thats the kicker isnt it? what Carl would call our Walter Mitty fantasies vs realistic expectations of what could be
if our "one knife for life" is a traditional folder convenient for everyday carry, church carry, work carry and weekend carry
is it convenient for hiking/camping? does it work for those that work out of doors alot, or heck even just travel alot.

i would throw out a premise that alot of surviving knife cultures, indigenous types that still live more traditional lifestyles carry a parang or bolo or machete as their do everything knife, NOT a small folding blade.

and holy poop, i went on a bit of an off-topic side rant there didnt i?
uhh, lets try and bring this back around full circle. I bet the folks that use their big knives daily probably wish for a machete that doesnt rust but sharpens just as easy as their grail knife :D
 
No grail knife for me, but I'd love to have a couple of these...

SteamboatArabiaknives1856_zps6beee57a.jpg

Recovered in 1988 from the Steamboat Arabia which sank in 1856

... well, maybe all of 'em :)
 
^^^ such a cool pic! I've seen that one before and every time it surfaces I just stare in amazement and wonder what all the other details of each folder looks like... Especially the tang stamps!
 
im not sure that comic books and pocket knives are quite analogous.
sunfish pattern knives (just as an example) may not have a clear, well-defined origin and have been made by perhaps hundreds of different companies. identical models may have been produced for years. whereas spiderman (just as an example) has a clear, well defined origin and has been published by only one company. and when spider man #1 is published, they move on to #2, so theres kind of a window of availability.

note: not a collector. everything stated above may be demonstrably bogus
 
I'm still pretty new to knife collecting, and don't have a good collection of guides (which makes the info here so valuable to me ;) )

However, I was talking to the fellow at a flea market, big knife seller, said he wrote some articles, maybe a book, can't remember his name for the life of me, long white hair, nice fellow...

...at any rate, he tells me, he doesn't have it on him mind you, but at home, he has the "rarest, highest value, production made, traditional pocket knife, that was not once owned by a famous person"

...and if I recall that part of the conversation correctly, as we chatted knives for over an hour, he said it was a five blade Remington stockman, and claimed that it was likely the only one in existence, even though it had been in their catalog one year

So, if true, I suppose until I hear otherwise, that's "The" grail. ;)
 
Yeah, that was in poor taste in my part. Sorry guys, I misread in the forum WHATS NEW and posted without reading other peoples post. My bad. Just not a big fan of doing something incorrect and instead of being corrected. given some sort of back handed comment.

SORRY ALL
 
Mr. Van's Remington Scout.

Carl's dad's Peanut.

Couldn't even put a price on those.
 
This will always be "the knife" for me
I haven't found a knife yet I've liked more, and I hope it lasts just as long as I do..
 
Heathen619 said:
Sorry I misread this post in the NEW POSTINGS, but thanks to your Douche Baggery I see my error. Thank You Mr.Perfect. Whats it like being at a near God like level of perfection?
I will tell stories of your greatness, to be handed down through the generations so centuries of future humans(and by then alien life) have a level of awesomeness to strive for.
From all of us now and the future ..THANK YOU!


BUt all that aside... SORRY, my bad!
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"Douche Baggery" -- I hada laugh at that. Still chuckling.

It's all good guy. I was really just funnin but came across as too blunt. That was my bad!

Maybe we'll run across each other in a modern knife discussion. Yes, I have a few.
 
I`d love to get the perfect 4 blade Congress knife. It has to have:

3.75 to 4" closed
All be made in house by 1 maker
Use premium stainless steel like 154CM
Use something like sterling silver bolsters with some tasteful engraving, nothing too much.
small tasteful filework on the springs and blades but not all the way to the tip
Premium Elephant Ivory covers
Be personalized for me. I`d like to get my name on the inside of the spring and the date.
Absolute perfect f&f

I`d pay a thousand or 2 for that one. For some reason this would be the symbol of luxury for me. I love looking at congress knives, but have yet to own one (except the 2013 model but it`s not really a congress imo.) because I have this image of mine in my head and there is no one that has come close yet.
 
thanks for all the responses, I think you all make sense

I guess there's also the problem of what a collector would want and those folks who say collecting ain't for them.

I think maybe if you were to ask a bunch of specific fans what's the grail knife or that specification, it might be more possible, not something they all want but something icon about the specific niche.

so not so much a grail knife as an Iconic one.

Tony Bose, and TA Davidson, also good answers, and the GEC TC barlows, don't guess there are many traditional fans that wouldn't recognize and appreciate seeing them out in the world.

my friend was, bless, also thinking of modern knife fans, as well, so yeah, the scope of the question is too broad for an answer, but I've found all your answers very interesting, I always learn something poking around here :)

thanks all!
 
Hi old lurker here that finally decided to start posting ;). I assume he is refering to the grails as those issues that most people will never own or maybe even see but know existed and go wow I never expected to see one of those, not a favorite or issue that is special to them.

The one that comes to mind in the knife world is a folding original scagel. Give me a little while and I may be able to think of others.
 
jc57 said:
No, there is no one knife that all knife aficionados would want, barring silly concepts like being given for free a knife with a $20,000 market value.....
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Selling that one for $20,000 would work for me :D
 
I would probably have to say one of the pre-1940 Remington R1123 Bullet knives in mint condition or the Kabar Dog's Head of the same style from the same period.
 
I was thinking of Lincoln's Congress when I first read the question, but maybe the 1880 bladed folder made for the 1880 convention (not sure of the actual number of blades/date), but something like that would be the closest thing to a grail that I can think of. Good question though.

(Apparently my grail isn't something that makers are willin to try, so my grail waits until I am a slipjoint maker!
 
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