The Blade

[a223cat]

What does it mean to you? Not just a tool to cut I am sure or you wouldnt own so many or want so many others.

When I was in the Air Force I spend some of my time in the Japan and Okinawa regions. I saw blades like I had never seen before. A old man who was cutting the grass told me that his blade was passed down to him from his father and he would pass it down to his son one day.

Cutting the lawn is an honorable proffession there. This mans tool was made generations ago and lovingly cared for. This may have been when I became a lover of the blade. It wasnt just his work tool, but it was family history and a history of bladesmithy in his country.

I saw a real japanese sword once while there, and it was something like circa 1400 or so. Awesome thing it was. sleek, sharp, deadly. I could just imagine the man who forged it. hard life but strong honor and meaning.

Nowadays I collect knives that appeal to me for some unwritten reason even I cant always express.


Please pardon me for running on. My wife would never understand, you know?

 

[Ben Dover]

To me, "the blade" is something that I use when I need to cut something. Nothing more.

Japan, of course, is a "knife culture" since Japanese have never been allowed to own firearms.

 

[Bob W]

I've had a fascination with knives, particularly with collecting them, as long as I can remember. My grandfather also had a small collection of knives, most were used, some were not, that he kept in a cigar box. It was always a treat when Grandpa pulled that box off of the shelf. Before he passed, he gave each of us one of the knives from that box.

So I'm convinced that my knife accumulating habits are genetic. Fortunately though, my wife is very understanding, or at least has surrendered.

-Bob