Slowin' down

A

addylo

Joined
Oct 28, 2009
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A few years ago I decided I wanted to go back to vinyl records albums. The kids are gone, the grandkids are piling up, and I've reached that point in life where I can afford to indulge in a few vices. Music is and always has been a passion. So I purchased my first decent two channel system and began to collect albums. Every weekend I can be found haunting a used record store somewhere in town.

I love everything about vinyl; the warmth and richness of the sound over digital, the cleaning of the albums, the cataloging and storage of the library, even the ritual of having to get out of my chair and flip the record over. No remote, no fast forward... just pure and simple analogue goodness.

Where am I going with this?

This evening I found myself using my Peanut on a package (despite the PM2 in my pocket) and suddenly stopped to marvel at this new-found passion I've discovered for traditional slip joints. And then I realized that it's much the same as my nostalgic passion for vinyl. Just a few weeks ago I was all about nothing but modern folders. But suddenly I've discovered that I really appreciate the ritual and sheer pleasure of taking a slip joint out of my pocket, feeling the texture of the material, carefully using the nail nick to open the blade, and then hefting the balance of the knife in my hand. No one-hand openers, no "fast deployment", no race for the latest super steels, no keeping up with the latest high-tech gadgetry... just pure and simple analogue goodness.

Not sure why I'm sharing this. Just "thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season".
 
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Sounds like what I'm going through as well with my awakening appreciation of Traditionals....

Yesterday I was at my local sporting goods shop, looking at their used knife cabinet, looking for another interesting Trad, when I saw a few modern OHO knives I would have been all over a month ago, when I picked them up to inspect them, the first thing I noticed was how much pocket real estate they ate up, even when clipped to the pocket, with the knife folded, they were extremely "tall", and when compared against my diminutive CV Peanut or my CV Sodbuster, it was amazing how similar in length the actual cutting edge was

Admittedly, the ergos on the OHO's were brilliant and extremely comfortable, I just couldn't get past how "wide" they seemed compared to my Trads, I now see the Traditionals as being a far more efficient cutting tool, after all, what do you need all that extra steel for anyway, a traditional is maximum cutting efficiency, just enough steel to do the job simply and effectively
 
I share your enthusiasm for small traditional pocketknives.

But I still prefer 5.1 surround sound. :D
 
I have a bunch of vinyl records from years ago with nothing to play them on any more.

I never really left the slip joint phase of my life but my knife interest broadened to SAKs, fixed blades, and some moderns. I began truly moving back to more traditional slip joints about 5 years ago. But my "deer hunting knife" had always been a slippie even though most favor fixed blades. I just didn't carry it except when I went hunting. Slip joints work for me and I like the way they feel in the hand using them.
 
Now you know our little secret here on the Traditional side... Take life a bit slower and smell the roses along the way! :)

Congrats on your Peanut and on re-discovering the enjoyment of things more simple and more tactile.

A couple of favorite... A TC Barlow in African blackwood and a Pemberton in Autumn Gold bone.

 
addylo said:
Just a few weeks ago I was all about nothing but modern folders. But suddenly I've discovered that I really appreciate the ritual and sheer pleasure of taking a slip joint out of my pocket, feeling the texture of the material, carefully using the nail nick to open the blade, and then hefting the balance of the knife in my hand. No one-hand openers, no "fast deployment", no race for the latest super steels, no keeping up with the latest high-tech gadgetry... just pure and simple analogue goodness.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you've stumbled right into the secret of the traditional pocket knife. Like you said, no one hand opening in a flash, but it forces you for just a moment, to slow down, have a micro zen moment as you feel the jigged bone that acts like a worry stone, or the nice warm feel of the ebony or cocobolo, and pull open the blade just like our great granddaddies did. And no super steel, just some nice old carbon with a rich dark patina that changes now and then. I like patina, I've developed quite a patina on myself after all these years. I like a knife that changes with me as I grow ever yet older.

There's nothing like a moment of peaceful contemplation in a hurried world.

Carl.
 
Records, another vice of mine, though I haven't indulged in awhile. I have indulged in a few Peanuts lately though, of the Case Select variety and they are really nice :D
 
i recently bought a turntable that will transfer vinyl over to CD. It does a good job and now I am rediscovering my old record collection. There are a lot that cannot be found in CD or in the digital world, and it is like listening to them for the first time after sitting in crates for decades.
 
I'm right there with ya 100%.

addylo said:
A few years ago I decided I wanted to go back to vinyl records albums. The kids are gone, the grandkids are piling up, and I've reached that point in life where I can afford to indulge in a few vices. Music is and always has been a passion. So I purchased my first decent two channel system and began to collect albums. Every weekend I can be found haunting a used record store somewhere in town.

I love everything about vinyl; the warmth and richness of the sound over digital, the cleaning of the albums, the cataloging and storage of the library, even the ritual of having to get out of my chair and flip the record over. No remote, no fast forward... just pure and simple analogue goodness.

Where am I going with this?

This evening I found myself using my Peanut on a package (despite the PM2 in my pocket) and suddenly stopped to marvel at this new-found passion I've discovered for traditional slip joints. And then I realized that it's much the same as my nostalgic passion for vinyl. Just a few weeks ago I was all about nothing but modern folders. But suddenly I've discovered that I really appreciate the ritual and sheer pleasure of taking a slip joint out of my pocket, feeling the texture of the material, carefully using the nail nick to open the blade, and then hefting the balance of the knife in my hand. No one-hand openers, no "fast deployment", no race for the latest super steels, no keeping up with the latest high-tech gadgetry... just pure and simple analogue goodness.

Not sure why I'm sharing this. Just "thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season".
Click to expand...
 
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