The cheap keychain knife.

Don Rearic talks about these knives on his site, in Kids Stuff Part I: http://www.donrearic.com/kstuff1.html This teaser was only part of the discussion.

You used to be able to get these really small knives out of gumball machines. I'm pretty sure that I got one or two of them out of boxes of Crackerjacks too. A tiny single-bladed penknife with a very small ring on the back to put on your keychain. Crackerjacks had miniscule little knives and sheaths that were plastic "charms." I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about a real knife.

I clearly remember buying them out of gumball machines though, a dime or a quarter and you had the chance to get a nifty little penknife.
 
It's funny, mom just found one of those metal handled jobs with the sheepfoot blade and nail file and gave it to me. I'm pretty sure it's the same knife that gave me a scar when I was about 6, fooling around sharpening up sticks to be "spears" :D

The edge just needs a touch up and it'll be pretty much good as new. I won't put it on my keychain though, it's going in with the rest of my small knife collection and I'll drop it in my watch pocket from time to time.
 
jackknife said:
...[T]hen there was even the all metal ones, with a folded over piece of sheet metal for a handle, and one thin sheep foot blade. They were usually made by some of the same companies that made the nailclippers they had on another cardboard stand-up display by the register. Trim was one brand I remember. They had a deluxe one with three blades. The usual sheep foot, a nail file, and a combination screw driver and cap lifter.
Click to expand...

You mean like this?
Trio_smjpg_zps9b68023c.jpg


Super-deluxe -- I figure GEC is gonna come out with one of these any day now :D

I carried one just like this for a while in high-school, and was reasonably sure as long as I didn't jam it in anybody's eye I wouldn't get any worse than a talking-to for doing so. As you say, a different time back then, even in the early 90's.

But this one pictured is not that knife -- that one got confiscated by valiant (pre-9/11!) airport security personnel. I spotted this one in a junk shop and was overcome with nostalgia. They sharpen up just fine, as you point out, and after all 37 year old me has quite a bit more use for a cap-lifter than 16 year old me ;)
 
You sure can take a guy back, Carl.

I can see myself in the underground fort we dug in the area behind our houses, where we used to sit and whittle with our dime store knives. Michelle wanted to come in and we were not having any of that. She went home and told her parents and they called in the bulldozer and that was the end of that.
 
Thanks for the story Carl! I remember the days when every kid had a small knife in their pockets at school. We would play our version of mumbletypeg by standing in a small circle and throwing our knife into an even smaller circle between our opponents legs. If you got your knife to stick in the ground in the opponents circle, you got to keep his knife. (if you were playing "keepsies") Don't think anyone ever got hurt or damaged his manliness playing this game. It sure wasn't dis-allowed by the teachers.
The local drug store had lots of treasures and things for the kids to entertain themselves with. There would be two or three kids sitting on the floor by the comic book rack, reading the latest Superman, Batman, or Archie comics. Of course being careful not to damage the comics so as not to be banned from reading them free by the store manager. And of course there was always the soda fountain if you had any money, or if not you could order a "Hobo Float".
Lots of good memories from the "Good ole days" when the youth were innocent and played outside and used their imaginations to entertain themselves.

Too bad my kids missed out on those things. They had tv and electronic toys to muddle up their brains and keep them inside being entertained on the couch.

Omar
 
Another great story Carl! Nice to see pictures of those knives to give me some idea what they looked like. I went to school in the Netherlands in the '80 and alway carries a pocket knife with me. Often a swichblade. A that time as you as you did not flash it around it was fine. How times have changed. Swichblades are now illigal and so is carrying a knife in most schools.
 
I made a post about mubletypeg - we call it 'Splits' here - in Carl's Lounge yesterday. Was enormously popular when I was a kid, and I never heard of anyone getting hurt playing it.
 
rune1279 said:
You mean like this?
Trio_smjpg_zps9b68023c.jpg


Super-deluxe -- I figure GEC is gonna come out with one of these any day now :D

I carried one just like this for a while in high-school, and was reasonably sure as long as I didn't jam it in anybody's eye I wouldn't get any worse than a talking-to for doing so. As you say, a different time back then, even in the early 90's.

But this one pictured is not that knife -- that one got confiscated by valiant (pre-9/11!) airport security personnel. I spotted this one in a junk shop and was overcome with nostalgia. They sharpen up just fine, as you point out, and after all 37 year old me has quite a bit more use for a cap-lifter than 16 year old me ;)
Click to expand...

My dad had us all carrying those for a while- they probably showed up in our Christmas stockings. I might have one or two survivors from that issue, and I've bought a few since: one on its card with its original price, at least one advertiser- a half dozen or so in all. Quite a nostalgia hot-button for me.
 
Thanks again for a great story. Seems like the old Ben Franklin store carried those if I remember right.
 
Great story, my cheap keychain knife is from Mighty auto parts supplier and it slides in and out of the handle. But at a pre teen age it was a knife. Thanks for sharing.
Bob
 
JK,
Lordy,brought up some forgotten memories. I remember seeing these all over....never,ever wanted one,they were ....just not "cool"enough!
I went from carrying knives everywhere...every day! My Mom bought me my first knife(we weren't rich & it made a lot of things I couldn't buy).Later I went to a school that would make these supposedly tough new schools look peaceful,knives were carried...but that's a diff.story of a diff.time!
Jim
 
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