Significant Others and Our Knives - vent, brag, share

[VANCE]

Hmmm.....Sirupate...I think I'm still best hiding up a tree until she puts them down!

especially when she does the "stabby" motion

 

[bear71]

LOL, too right, she started that at Track Rock and hasn't looked back!

 

[allen456]

What a great story! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Fiddleback]

Thought I'd show a pic of Leah and I from our recent camping trip. Leah has been very supportive of my knife addiction, and my knifemaking obsession. I couldn't have done any of this without her.

 

[prom52]

Early on when the obsession was relatively mild my wife found my interest in fixed blade knives amusing. I believe she was actually relieved that I wasn't so focused on adding to my gun collection. In fact she frequently remarked that she was happy that I found a new hobby. However, by the time my first year anniversary on BF rolled around she was singing a different tune. When a Priority Mail box would arrive she was more likely to exclaim "Not another knife" This then evolved into "Do you really need all those knives" ? At the time my response was simple:

After trying many of the diversionary strategies mentioned in these posts, I finally decided that if "she wasn't going to beat me, she might as well join me". I figured if she got a taste of the rush you used to get during an old school Fiddelback Friday, when you had to stay glued to your computer most of the afternoon hitting the F5 key, she would better understand my affliction. So, I purchased a membership for her on Blade Forums and gave her instruction on how to shark a knife. I was careful to balance her expectations in saying that it might take three or four attempts to actually shark a knife that she was interested in, much like it did for me......slow learner that I was.

Much like Jerry's story about how good a shot his wife turned out to be, my darling wife snagged her targeted knife on her first attempt. She went after a nicely bolstered Bloodwood Asp, and by golly she snagged it right out of the gate. (truth be known, she did have a good teacher Here are a few pics of her opening the box when her first knife arrived:

Soon after we also managed to make our first visit to the Fiddleback Shop on our way back home to FL from a vacation in the North Carolina mountains. This really helped to seal the deal. The hospitality that Andy & Crew rolled out was amazing. Much to my surprise, she actually placed a custom order for a matching set of knives with Allen during that visit, back when his order book was still open. Her personal collection has since grown to about 12+knives.

Little did we know that my strategy of getting her a membership on Blade Forums would also offer us a new found approach to sharking Fiddlebacks:

All in all, with the exception of a few emotional lapses here & there, she has been very supportive, and for that I've am truly grateful. It's really been great fun to develop a mutual interest in the exceptional knives that roll out of the shop week-to-week, and in the great friendships we've been blessed with throughout the journey.

Peter

 

[Fiddleback]

I like Myline's shirt! LOL.

 

[Warrior108]

Congrats on showing your other half the light Jerry.

It's situations like this that make people appreciate good quality knives. Fiddlebacks in addition to being great knives look great as well and I have had people comment on their looks which opens the door to.....well you know.

My wife appreciates my knives now but it took a while for her to realise how much better they actually were than what she had been using.

She was carving a roast one day and I gave her my Bushfinger as the knife she was using was tearing rather than cutting. After a couple of slices she goes "I just cut through the bone and didn't even realise it"

Now she is converted but I still have to be careful with how many I admit to owning.

Yep, it has now evolved from her asking how many knives I own to "My friend asked how many knives you own". The answer will always be "Four" because I will always have four out of the safe at one time - 1 to 2 on me and the rest in the laptop backpack. They just happen to morph a little bit. ;-)

LOL, cool story Jerry, women can be very frustrating at times and kids can certainly fuel the fire and fan the flames without even realizing it. Lisa and I are opposites in a lot of ways, but I knew I was going to like her the day I met her and she had a small fixed blade knife on her belt at work at the convenience store she worked at. She likes knives a lot, but not as much as I do, nor does she need as many as I do These days she edc-s a Bushboot. She doesn't much give me a hard time about how many knives I have, but then again since mine are locked up in various boxes, in different cabinets, in different parts of the house, it is impossible for anyone to ever see all of them at once

Very cool that you had to do minimal converting. I'm still waiting to hear from a female BF member to be the primary Fiddleback fan and for her husband/boyfriend to question her knife purchases That's why I made the title equal opportunity.

Great story. The tension is palpable!

Thanks. I was wondering if your sharpening business allows you to "hide" knives in plain view. "Ohhh that? That's a customer's knife."

I enjoyed the story Jerry. It's gotten to the point at my house where I can't spread butter with a butter knife without my better half asking "don't you have a Fiddleback for that".

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. That's funny, I like her bit if sarcasm. My other half hasn't looked at anything close enough or cared enough to ever see a brand whether it is Benchmade, Spyderco, Fiddleback, etc. I figure that's for the better or else she might Google them, see some average prices and then start doing some math regarding the $$.

This is probably how I have survived and still alive today

(re: being locked up in various places)

I have to consider multiple locations rather then have them all 1 place. Lord help me if she ever finds the safe unlocked. lol

 

[Warrior108]

Awesome story, thanks for sharing. I am digging the pics too - wish you would have taken one or two of the skinning and dressing of the two hogs, love to see those knives with blood on em.

Thanks. I know!! I thought about pics or knife pics covered with blood but we were in a hurry for the meat to not spoil and nobody had a phone/camera nearby.

Thanks for sharing! Pretty amusing story.

My girlfriend doesn't seem to care either way about my knives, but I also don't have a huge collection. She has showed some interest and seems to enjoy looking at all the pictures. I plan on getting her one, I'm just waiting for the right one to show up.

Thanks. Just wait until you make her Mrs. Orion .. then she might care ;-) Any thoughts on what the right one would be?

My wife is very supportive. She looks through the Friday thread with me after the fact and picks her favs- she especially likes the lava style slabs.
She picked out my Monarch and insisted that I buy it, likes to see me get the gang out and handles them. She has her preferences and when I mention the need to sell one, tries to dissuade me.

Bill

Wow, that's awesome! Luckeee

Every single day, I hear "did you buy a knife today?"

Gee Tony, I wonder why. lol A better question would be "How many did you buy this week?"

Haha... great story. You had me hooked at "My significant other is technically my ex-wife..."

My girls (5 and 3) love to admire the knives as well. Our 5 year old loves the bright G10 colors... don't where she gets that from. They've seen pretty much all of them laid out (when the wife's at work ). But so far I have not been ratted out. I see bribes in my future.

Thanks. Hmmm, i see some similarities here. You really better consider the bribes when they start counting them and come up with a number. lol

 

[Warrior108]

Luckily Lisa is just used to the fact that all of my kitchen knives were either made by Andy or Allen. The Handyman makes a most excellent knife for cutting and spreading butter by the way, I learned this by edc-ing one

It started out innocently enough...just as a bi product of having so many outdoor gear related items from articles I have written and lectures I've done, along with personal gear I have bought over the years. But it did become a matter of convenience to be able to hide various knives in and amongst all of that. I am lucky in that I test so much much gear for companies, and buy so much stuff for articles and classes that I have so much stuff coming in and going out Lisa got bored of paying attention to it. These days she seldom notices anything unless I hand it to her and say check this out. Though she has gotten some funny looks on her face when she has walked in on me test shooting for the project and seen 6 or 7 Fiddelbacks laying on the table at the same time, she has yet to say anything....

Although you might be playing with fire, this is probably the best "cover job" a knife fanatic could have. Makes me want to consider a career change.

My significant other is technically my ex-wife and it would qualify as a Facebook relationship status of "Its complicated".

I know exactly what you mean.

I'm not sure if that's good or bad since i don't know some days if I'm in a good place or not Is there a club or support group we could join?

My wife Myline tolerates if not completely understanding my love for Fiddlebacks. She is a big fan of Osage and other woods (phew) and generally likes pointier profiles. Visits to the Forge and Track Rock have made her appreciate the community aspect of the Fiddleback experience!

When I see my very small wife holding some very large knives it always makes me smile, albeit a nervous smile....

You are a luck man! Unless of course, she decides to turn them on you That is an awesome pic, thanks for sharing!

I just pointed out to my wife that knives are like shoes, maybe you need the same pair in red, beige, black and taupe (whatever color that is.) Further you need dress shoes, running shoes, slippers, beach shoes, golf shoes, and on and on.... We kind of have an understanding. I don't complain about her shoes and she doesn't complain about my knives.

No, no, no .. You can think those things but never say them out loud. And never let her see the knife prices or the shoe game may get raised a bar. On a serious note, I am glad that you have an understanding though.

Good/interesting post Jerry... I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks Harland

 

[Warrior108]

What a great story! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Allen. I'd imagine you have a decent amount of support behind you.

Thought I'd show a pic of Leah and I from our recent camping trip. Leah has been very supportive of my knife addiction, and my knifemaking obsession. I couldn't have done any of this without her.

Thanks for the pic Andy. I guess we all owe Leah a big "Thank you!" then - if you would't mind passing that on to her.

Early on when the obsession was relatively mild my wife found my interest in fixed blade knives amusing. I believe she was actually relieved that I wasn't so focused on adding to my gun collection. In fact she frequently remarked that she was happy that I found a new hobby. However, by the time my first year anniversary on BF rolled around she was singing a different tune. When a Priority Mail box would arrive she was more likely to exclaim "Not another knife" This then evolved into "Do you really need all those knives" ? At the time my response was simple:

After trying many of the diversionary strategies mentioned in these posts, I finally decided that if "she wasn't going to beat me, she might as well join me". I figured if she got a taste of the rush you used to get during an old school Fiddelback Friday, when you had to stay glued to your computer most of the afternoon hitting the F5 key, she would better understand my affliction. So, I purchased a membership for her on Blade Forums and gave her instruction on how to shark a knife. I was careful to balance her expectations in saying that it might take three or four attempts to actually shark a knife that she was interested in, much like it did for me......slow learner that I was.

Much like Jerry's story about how good a shot his wife turned out to be, my darling wife snagged her targeted knife on her first attempt. She went after a nicely bolstered Bloodwood Asp, and by golly she snagged it right out of the gate. (truth be known, she did have a good teacher Here are a few pics of her opening the box when her first knife arrived:

Soon after we also managed to make our first visit to the Fiddleback Shop on our way back home to FL from a vacation in the North Carolina mountains. This really helped to seal the deal. The hospitality that Andy & Crew rolled out was amazing. Much to my surprise, she actually placed a custom order for a matching set of knives with Allen during that visit, back when his order book was still open. Her personal collection has since grown to about 12+knives.

Little did we know that my strategy of getting her a membership on Blade Forums would also offer us a new found approach to sharking Fiddlebacks:

All in all, with the exception of a few emotional lapses here & there, she has been very supportive, and for that I've am truly grateful. It's really been great fun to develop a mutual interest in the exceptional knives that roll out of the shop week-to-week, and in the great friendships we've been blessed with throughout the journey.

Peter

Hey Peter,

Thanks for sharing your story. I love the tactic and pics and how this is something for you both to share. You can really tell how happy and proud she is to be in the club!

 

[Luca917]

Well Jerry, the "did you buy a knife this week"...or, more accurately, "how many knives did you buy this week" was answered with a resounding "zero"! I actually demonstrated some self control.

Well...this is really about last week. This week has just begun, and tomorrow is Wednesday. We all know how my restraint quickly vanishes about 8:17 on Wednesdays.

And...I did buy a firearm this week. So I guess restraint isn't exactly the right word for it.

 

[Mistwalker]

Very cool that you had to do minimal converting. I'm still waiting to hear from a female BF member to be the primary Fiddleback fan and for her husband/boyfriend to question her knife purchases That's why I made the title equal opportunity.

That is among the many awesome things about Andy's approach to knife design and knife making. They are not only timeless in nature and primal, but can be just as genderless as well and have a broad appeal. I suppose it could have been an attempt at reverse psychology on Lisa's part, considering her first pick for a personal Fiddleback for her was my old African Blackwood Bushboot I picked up in 2012, but I doubt it. She asked what would become of it when I started edc-ing a Recluse> I said "I don't know, in a box for now I suppose, I'm not getting rid of it." She asked if she could carry it a while and see how she liked using it because she loved the handle shape. She fell in love with that model and now carries a blue Curly Mango handled one. I have learned that with her long skinny fingers that SFT works best for her. My oldest daughter has had the Blackwood Bushboot for about a year now.