The common denominator...

[LKJW]

This might be outside the realm of what is acceptable here. But we're kind of traditional folk and if this weren't the internet I'd introduce my family and give ya a beer. Sorry, no beer. Erase if necessary, no worries, I'm laid up and trying not to go loco. I love this forum because I feel like I know you all well. So I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about each other. See, not so much about knives, but throw in why you like traditionals and maybe it will fly.

I'm 34 and married to a lovely woman, Karen (Carl and I got the good ones). My daughter Francine is 3. I have one on the way. 4 months. I was a teacher who worked with learning disabled and low income kids (reading specialist) for ten years. I got real sick last year and lost a good bit of my hearing. I am also a writer and musician. So, since I can barely hear now, I went full on writer. I do freelance stuff. Just published my second novel. Gotten some awards and accolades for short stories. Been in some good bands and written a ton of songs.

I like Motorcycles (have a KLR 650 - I'm lockjaw on klrforum.com) in case you want to visit (you're always welcome, I'm the top poster there). Used to have a 73 Honda CB450, but sold it to pay medical bills. I absolutely love fishing and being outdoors. My family were coal miners on my Dad's side, and Farmers on my mom's. Both Grandfathers served in WWII. My Dad was a career navy man and first college grad in the family. I'm the third. My older sister lives in Tawain and works for the State Dept.

I am a pretty simple guy. Love to be with my girls. I am the president of a MC club and I love to ride with my boys. We take some epic trips.

I always liked knives and grew up around them. My grandfather on my Mom's side and his son (my Uncle Steve) got me into collecting. I went through a tactical stage, but I love the soul and friendly beauty of slipjoints. Most of my knives are old - Old Timers, Schrade Walden, Camillus, Cattaraugus, Hammer, etc. Good bit of Case knives and some bucks. And some randoms. Don't have many high end knives. The forum EO jack is probably my 'nicest' knife. And my SBJ's. I like pocket friendly 3.5" or smaller. I'm really into EO jacks lately.

Anyway, that's a good bit of info. I live in Benicia on the Carquinas straight. I could throw a baseball out my window and hit a tackle shop. I'd love to know more about y'all. I like stories obviously. So, if this doesn't get erased, tell me your story. I'll throw in some random pics that back up my story.

Anyway, call me Dan if you don't already. Or JD. Answer to both. Thanks for this place...I'm glad it's here. A week ago today I cut the crap outta my toe and have major cabin fever...hence, this post. But I do love it here. I have learned a lot, gotten a few knives, and given away a handful that made me very happy to share. Pics:

 

[LKJW]

BTW, that EO Jack on the lower right (PAL) is the one that opened my toe.

 

[kamagong]

That was a pretty long post for this time of night. Having some trouble falling asleep Dan?

BTW you have to update your profile. It still says that you're in The City.

I'm not that far from you. I live just over the bridge in Martinez.

- Christian

 

[LKJW]

That's not far at all, Christian. When I'm mobile again we'll have to get a drink or something. Yeah, time of night has nothing to do with it. I'm a writer. I tried to keep that short.

So, you gonna ante up?

Repping Benicia now.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Nice.

I have a KLX 650c. I have ridden it for about 10 years now. It has not run in about 3 years now. (I can't ride it to work in a suit, and just have not spent the money to fix the carburetor, and get it tuned up).

Only has 8,000 miles on it.

 

[LKJW]

Nice.

I have a KLX 650c. I have ridden it for about 10 years now. It has not run in about 3 years now. (I can't ride it to work in a suit, and just have not spent the money to fix the carburetor, and get it tuned up).

Only has 8,000 miles on it.

Pic? Too bad you're not closer. We'd get it running like new.

 

[Art_Vandeley]

I remember my dad had a CB450 when I was a kid. One time I climbed up it to sit on it, my weight unbalanced the bike and it fell on me. Whoops hehe I broke a few ribs, bt nothing serious, he however wasn`t so happy. That wasn`t long after my brother hid in the car and removed the handbrake and it rolled into a ditch. We were a couple of rascals.

The only knife I can remember was a Buck 110 my dad had in his workshop. I was never able to open it alone since the spring was so strong until I got older and got my own pocket knife. I wish I knew what happened to his knife and his guns.

Thank you for sharing your family with us.

 

[LKJW]

Sure, thanks for sharing your abuse of a CB450. I was a pretty devious kid, too.

 

[jacknife]

Great post Dan. It's the people that make this forum so good as much as the knives. Traditional knives just bring us all together. It's the stories of how we use
these knives in our lives and the history behind them, so wonderfully illustrated by the likes of Carl/Jackknife, that keep so many of us coming back day after day,
not the cold statistics of steels or pattern types. I know the Mods have a job to do, and they do it well, but I also hope they will cut us a little slack now and then,
as long as the post has some traditional knife content of course.....must have some knives in it

 

[Andrew Colglazier]

OK, so, how did you manage to bring toe and traditional together in the same place?

Andy

 

[jackknife]

Yes, you're gonna have to explain that to your forum brothers. A toe is pretty much at the other end from the hand holding a knife. Anyway, I hope all heals well for you.

I've always admired the KLR, and never understood why the Honda Trans Alp didn't make it in this country. Sells like hot cakes in Europe. When I was in my BMW stage, I would have loved to have bought a BMW Paris Dakkar model, but it was too darn tall. I think you have to be minimum 6 foot to ride it.

Love fishing, but I'm not sure if I use it as an excuse to get out in the canoe. Nothing like being on the water and getting to bring dinner home as a see benefit.

Funny thing about the easy open jack; I saw a show on the TV, one of those "What Happed To Amilia Earhart" shows, and they found a very small island where somebody had been marooned for a while. One of the artifacts they found was the remains of an equal end jack with a bail. Just sod happen a knife like that was known to be on Earharts plane.

I've always been a traditional knife guy because, there was no tactical knife things when I was a kid, or even as a young adult. It's a relative recent fad, and I grew up when pocket knives were all what we see in this cozy little forum. I recall when Buck came out with the 110, and I looked at it and asked why? I really couldn't see a very heavy large knife that held only one blade. Seemed nuts to me. Growing up with scout knives, jacks, and stockmen, the idea of a bg folder with one single blade seemed counter productive. All the men I grew up around carried small two blade jacks, and it they needed a bigger blade then they hung a small sheath knife from their belt. A Case or Western little finn pattern, or maybe one of those German imports from Edge Brand with the one piece stag handles. Practical. By the time tactical came around, I was too embedded in the practical.

Carl.

 

[LKJW]

Thanks guys, and thanks for playing Carl! Yeah, the toe is a pretty far reach for a pocketknife. Let's just pretend I was playing my own brand of one man mumbelty peg.

I agree about the Hondas. Every once in a while I see a transalp. Neat bikes. Who else wants to step up to the mic - looks like the thread will float. (Carl) I grew up with a canoe...someday I will own one. My Dad has a nice one now, not the fiberglass beast we had when I was a kid.

 

[jackknife]

There's fiberglass, then there's fiberglass. The chopper gun mat stuff sprayed into a mold is heavy clumsy boat hulls. Hand laid and careful planning can make for a very light responsive hull. We had an old Mad River explorer that was a nice paddling boat, then we had a few Old Town's. Now, being the senior citizens that we are, we sprang the bills for the lightweight kevlar lay up. We bought a Wenonah Kingfisher with the kevlar hull, and it's nice to have a 37 pound canoe to put up on top of the car. At our age, we'll take any advantage we can get.

I wonder if now that America has a fast rising gasoline cost, if some of the motorcycles that Honda and the other Japanese companies make for sale in Europe, will come here? I think the rest of the world has the opinion that only big cruisers and crotch rockets will sell here.

Watch out for that mumbly peg!

Carl.

 

[Railsplitter]

Cool topic, Dan.

I am 50 years old. I got married for the first, and hopefully last time when I was 43. It took me that long to find the right gal. My wife's name is Renee and although she is a Bladeforums member, she doesn't really hang out here. We have no children.

I completed a 3 year enlistment in the U.S Army at Ft. Bragg, NC from 1979 to 1982. My only other hobby is motorcycles but I like guns too. I used to be moderately involved in Sporting Clays just for fun but I have entered a few competitions in my time. Never won any though. I love to shoot for sport but I am not a hunter. I still have a couple of over & under shotguns but they haven't been fired in 5 years or so. I had to give up the sport because it was costing me too much money.

I like to sip Single Malt Scotch from time to time and I love a good stout cigar. The stronger the better. I also like beer as you might gather from looking at my avatar.

I work in Inventory Control in a warehouse environment for a large producer of residential and commercial beverage equipment. Our products are known worldwide. Been there 21 years so far.

My Grandfather on my Father's side was my inspiration for pocket knives. He always carried the same knife as long as I knew him and I must have seen him use it a thousand times. He bought me a camping knife of some sort when I was very young but I have no idea what ever happened to it. It was similar to a Hobo knife with a fork and a spoon on it. Every now and then I find myself doing something that makes me think "Hey, that's what Grandpa would have done". Yep, he was my inspiration.

Other than that I'm a pretty simple kind of guy.

I have posted this picture before but just for fun, here's an "in the wind" pic of Renee and I on our recreational vehicle.

 

[kamagong]

As far back as I can remember I have always liked knives. Big or small, light or heavy, short or long, it didn't matter. If it was sharp, chances are I liked it. I can't pinpoint exactly where this came from as my father hates knives. But according to family histories, my maternal grandfather and a paternal grand uncle were both knife nuts of the first order. So there must be at least a small genetic component in my fondness for all things sharp and shiny.

I grew up during the Rambo era, so I don't have a long history with slipjoints. I think I only got my first slipjoint (not counting SAKs) a little more than five years ago. So I don't share the bias against big or modern knives that many here seem to have. In fact my first good knife was a modern, one-handed opening folder. If I could, I would probably carry my Sebenza everyday. However, since I'm a white collar type who works in a big city that isn't really feasible. So I grab one of my slipjoints instead.

I don't really have a problem with that though. I keep a modern folder in my briefcase. And as I've said I like all sorts of knives. If I had to draw up a list of my favorite dozen knives there'd be a good mix of slipjoints, modern folders, fixed blades, and even a chopper or two.

Surprisingly enough my most treasured possession isn't a knife. It's a pistol that my formerly anti-gun wife bought me when we got engaged.

 

[coyote711]

Pretty cool idea for a thread, Dan! It's nice to put a face with some of the names we're familiar with around here. As the fortunate recipient of one of your giveaways, I thought I'd jump in here and post a bit. (Thanks again for the knife my friend).

I'm 62 years old/young and have been married to my wonderful wife Rhonda for 32 years. I've had a varying mix of careers/jobs over the past 40+ years. Jet Aircraft Mechanic on B-52's & KC135's in the USAF, 1968-72. College for four years. CPA/accountant; farmer; and finally truck driver - for about a dozen years each.

I'm sorta/kinda retired now - I work for a local farmer-owned co-op elevator for about 6 weeks each in the spring & fall busy seasons. The rest of the year I'm a bum. Works for me!

Growing up on a farm, and later farming, I carried a Buck Stockman. While doing office work, and surprisingly when driving truck, I just had a small Buck with black composite(?) handles on my keyring. That's it. Anyway, a couple years ago I decided I'd like a bigger knife for cutting shrink-wrap, plastic banding, cardboard, etc. that was part of my daily routine while peddling freight. Browsing the internet looking for knives led me to this site. And it was all uphill from there!

I used to hunt a lot when I was growing up, but haven't hunted much since getting out of the service. I was into motorcycles back in the '70's - Honda CB-750 and a Kawasaki KZ-900 when it first came out. Haven't ridden for years. (Geez, I am a bum)!

I still enjoy finance, investing, and the stock market. Working in the garage & yard, reading, travel, and going for walks in the woods are my favorite pastimes now days.

Dan and Rick, it's nice to put a face with your names! Here I am a couple years ago with my GEC Yellow Rose Furtaker Trapper.

 

[Railsplitter]

Hi Keith! You are correct. It is indeed nice to put a face with a name. Thanks for posting.
Hope you are getting some well deserved R&R from your semi retirement. Retirement could be described as my goal in life!

It's a shot in the dark but did your keychain Buck knife look like this by any chance?

 

[bladeboss]

seeing how you asked about why we love traditional slippies.....
almost all of them are build solidly
look nice
timeless
easy to "run" (very simple, easy maintenance design)
can be used in public without someone having a heart-attack
last a long time
they look kinda good when covered in patina with some rust
tried, and trusted designs
EDIT: i have a Rough Rider Barlow. thats my using slippie, i have some antiques, but they all have sentimental value to me and im not gonna use them as an EDC cuz i like to run my knives for what theyre worth

 

[LKJW]

Thanks guys. Carl, yeah, it was bad fiberglass. Yellow too. But man, we caught a lot of breem from that thing. My Dad's canoe now is LIGHT, the old one was formed and ridiculously heavy.

Thanks for posting up your backstories guys. Interesting, the commonalities. That was kind of my idea. I have been in love with anything two wheeled as long as I can remember. Mopeds, scooters, bikes, MC's. It's great to hear everyone's stories, keep em coming...with pics.

I had that plastic Buck on my keychain for years. Now I got a tiny slicer.

BTW, I come from Harley stock, but my KLR can go anywhere. I'm hooked.

 

[Railsplitter]

Hey Dan, if you don't mind my asking, what are those two slant mounted tubes on each side of your tour pack?

Nice bikes by the way!:thumbup: