One of the long time problems of being a knife nut is, when to carry all those knives. Of course we rotate them in an out, but how long? I used to spend too much time in the morning just deciding what to carry that day. The Peanut,then which peanut? The Opinel, then which Opinel. The stockman, the Barlow, the ... You get the point.
BUT...as the years went by and somehow, when I wasn't looking, my knife thing faded a bit for me. No, it didn't go away, but as I aged, and suddenly realized that I had gotten old, others things became more important. As I started to get uncomfortable close to the expiration date of men in general, the people in my life became way, WAY, more important than the 'things'. But...having a knife or three on me was still a very important thing. They just grew fewer and smaller. My collection became small enough too hold in one hand and fit in a nice leather zip up tobacco pouch. A bit snug, but they fit.
But my period of rotation became longer. I started to spend more time with a particular knife than before. Instead of a day or two, or a few days or a week, I made a deliberate choice to rotate only once a month. On the first of the month, I would peruse my small accumulation of pocket knives, and pick a new one to carry until the 1st of next month. A few things happened.
One was, my appreciation of that particular knife of the month deepened. I got to know every bit of that knife's capability by carrying only that one knife. For a whole month I would carry only the Sardinian Resolza that Fausto gifted me. Then the next month I would only carry the Opinel number 5. A third month the dogleg jack that Glen did his magic with putting on those lovely stag scales would be my only cutter. Yet another month the trusty Case peanut would do the honors.
I've been spending more time fishing these days, seeking out a shady place in the banks of the San Gabriel river, dealing with the bait, cleaning fish, some work in the backyard garden. It seems that many times a day I'm using a knife for something, if only to trim of bit of chicken liver for the hook, cut some jute twine for the pepper and tomato plants, or opening the packages those Amazon vans leave at the front door. In the months after my knee replacement, I went from 182 pounds to 170 pounds, and Karen likes the new slimmer me, so she has me on a diet. I think all the working out in rehab did me good. So the pocket knife does stealth duty on the occasional secret commando strike, slicing off a bit of cheese from that block to Tillimook cheddar in the fridge.
Opening a whole month with a knife I find that it gets even more familiar. Slide and hand in the pocket and you know in an instant which way its laying, where the blade and nail nick without looking. Its weirdly comforting to feel it there and it becomes more like an old friend that you're known forever. I find that the monthly rotation creates a deeper understanding of the tool, and its capabilities and limitations. And you learn to work around the limitations, like slicing from both sides to meet in the middle with a 2 1/2 inch blade.
Its been an interesting experience to carry the same knife longer.
BUT...as the years went by and somehow, when I wasn't looking, my knife thing faded a bit for me. No, it didn't go away, but as I aged, and suddenly realized that I had gotten old, others things became more important. As I started to get uncomfortable close to the expiration date of men in general, the people in my life became way, WAY, more important than the 'things'. But...having a knife or three on me was still a very important thing. They just grew fewer and smaller. My collection became small enough too hold in one hand and fit in a nice leather zip up tobacco pouch. A bit snug, but they fit.
But my period of rotation became longer. I started to spend more time with a particular knife than before. Instead of a day or two, or a few days or a week, I made a deliberate choice to rotate only once a month. On the first of the month, I would peruse my small accumulation of pocket knives, and pick a new one to carry until the 1st of next month. A few things happened.
One was, my appreciation of that particular knife of the month deepened. I got to know every bit of that knife's capability by carrying only that one knife. For a whole month I would carry only the Sardinian Resolza that Fausto gifted me. Then the next month I would only carry the Opinel number 5. A third month the dogleg jack that Glen did his magic with putting on those lovely stag scales would be my only cutter. Yet another month the trusty Case peanut would do the honors.
I've been spending more time fishing these days, seeking out a shady place in the banks of the San Gabriel river, dealing with the bait, cleaning fish, some work in the backyard garden. It seems that many times a day I'm using a knife for something, if only to trim of bit of chicken liver for the hook, cut some jute twine for the pepper and tomato plants, or opening the packages those Amazon vans leave at the front door. In the months after my knee replacement, I went from 182 pounds to 170 pounds, and Karen likes the new slimmer me, so she has me on a diet. I think all the working out in rehab did me good. So the pocket knife does stealth duty on the occasional secret commando strike, slicing off a bit of cheese from that block to Tillimook cheddar in the fridge.
Opening a whole month with a knife I find that it gets even more familiar. Slide and hand in the pocket and you know in an instant which way its laying, where the blade and nail nick without looking. Its weirdly comforting to feel it there and it becomes more like an old friend that you're known forever. I find that the monthly rotation creates a deeper understanding of the tool, and its capabilities and limitations. And you learn to work around the limitations, like slicing from both sides to meet in the middle with a 2 1/2 inch blade.
Its been an interesting experience to carry the same knife longer.
Last edited:
