The One That Started it All for Ya?

My first knife was a camillus boy scout knife when I was ten. Followed by an SAK huntsman when I was twelve. Still have both, and still in good shape. Guess I always had a respect for knives an d took real good care of them
 
SW165OT.jpg


A Schrade Walden 165OT Woodsman. I still have it and use it hunting, fishing, canoing and camping. It is 1095HC high carbon steel with a Dupont Delrin handle. Cost when new...$20. But hey, that was real money at that time. I've skinned and butchered more deer with it than I can count over the years.

I also have the 152OT Sharpfinger, though I came across it circa 1975-76. And the 15OT Deerslayer. I have one of those with "patent pending" marks, making it circa 1964. In fact, I have well over a dozen of each of these patterns as well as my original old users. Research material, you understand.

Codger
 
Codger, I knew when I saw the Schrades in the OP that you wouldn't be far behind. :D

I can't remember my first knife, probably some fishing folder with a blade and a scaler. A Puma folder was the first one I spent any real money on.

Doc
 
My first knife was a buck 110 knock-off bought by my grandfather, I was about ten or so, but the knife the introduced me to the "world of knives" is the Busse Basic (thanks Eric),




cya
jimi
 
Blairdoc said:
There were many a .25 cent serated kitchen knife I bought at a flea market when I was proabably 8 or 9, a plastic handled phuko I found in a Jetty on the beach when I was 10 or so and a folding knife from my grandfather that he got from his work accomplishments at the US steel mill, that one is proabably my favorite it's all steel and beautiful I've always loved knives since before I can remember they are the purest form of a tool purest form of anything so useful and simple. It's the simplicity of the beast that gets me!
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Well Said Blair.

Codg, I think I'll round out my Old Timer collection with a Woodsman. Love that design too. Although, the aren't cheap anymore I noticed.

The prevalence of the Buck's is understandable, given their dependability and availability. But the number of SAK's mentioned here is amazing to me. I don't remember them in my childhood circles. At least not in our area.

I'm glad I never lost my Schrade.

Brian
 
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My first knife was a Victorinox Spartan, though I didn't know it was called the 'Spartan' at the time. I used SAKs more or less exclusively for a long time. It was only a couple of years ago that I branched out into other stuff.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Codger, I knew when I saw the Schrades in the OP that you wouldn't be far behind. :D

I can't remember my first knife, probably some fishing folder with a blade and a scaler. A Puma folder was the first one I spent any real money on.

Doc
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You got me Doc! And it is pleasing to me that you are back posting here more frequently now. Your informative posts were greatly missed by many during your vacation.


Brians said:
Codg, I think I'll round out my Old Timer collection with a Woodsman. Love that design too. Although, the aren't cheap anymore I noticed.
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Brians, the excellent users are still very affordable selling for less than the last MSRP of $51.95 +/-. You do have to watch out for the new Chinese copies though, unless that is what you really want. Even the mint NIB originals are still reasonable IMHO at around $125-$150. Consider the quality of design and materials, durability (mine is over 35 years old and still works like new), and compare to the price of current comparable new production knives.

Michael
 
Codger_64 said:
Brians, the excellent users are still very affordable selling for less than the last MSRP of $51.95 +/-. You do have to watch out for the new Chinese copies though, unless that is what you really want. Even the mint NIB originals are still reasonable IMHO at around $125-$150. Consider the quality of design and materials, durability (mine is over 35 years old and still works like new), and compare to the price of current comparable new production knives.

Michael
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Michael,

I hear you on the durability, my 15OT still looks great after decades.

Just original American cutlers for me, and 1095 at that. I'll start keeping my eye out for a nice 165OT user online. If you've got a nice one you think needs a good home that will show it the respect it deserves and the work it needs (i.e. will cut and skin things with it) don't hesitate to contact me ;). That would probably become be my go-to, do-it-all woods EDC and I'm sure, would permanently quell this endless hunger for quality knives :)

Brian
 
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brians said:
...That would probably become be my go-to, do-it-all woods EDC and I'm sure, would permanently quell this endless hunger for quality knives :)

Brian
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Don't bet on that. There is always... just... one... more!

Back in the early eighties, I lived in the middle of my 50,000 acre deer lease. We had over one hundred active members and I was the chief buckskinner. Most years I skinned and quartered 75 to 100 deer with that Woodsman and sharpfinger combo.

These days I only skin and butcher about six to twelve deer a year for myself and my family here on Codger's farm. The woodsman's spine is thick and rigid, and by just touching up the blade on a hone, stone or strop as needed, I've kept it sharp without appreciable blade loss all these years.

Can you tell I like this knife? I do have others to choose from though, like the Becker Necker I tried out this past fall, and the new Ebony Fiddleback Nessmuk that I have yet to put to work. And nearly a thousand more knives of all descriptions going back to the late 1800's. :o
 
My Boy Scout pocket knife and the offical Boy Scout hatchet, Plumb. I still have the hatchet but not the pocket knife.
Scott
 
Mine was the old Victorinox at the upper right corner, if you look closely you can see that the shield is different to the one they now use !
knives016-1.jpg

I'm guessing I have had it for about 30 yrs, who knows how long it had been sitting in the store !
 
For me it was coveting the fixed blade Puma's on display in Abercrombie & Fitch. It was quite a few years before I finally owned one. Somehow I don't remember seeing any Scagel's although they were probably in the same display.
 
My grandfather's U.S. Army pocketknife (like the one in the pic)
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My first fixed blade was an old Western leather handled skinner that the man who taught me to trap gave me my first season for Bobcat. Sadly, it was confiscated by the police in my teen years.
 
pitdog said:
Mine was the old Victorinox at the upper right corner, if you look closely you can see that the shield is different to the one they now use !I'm guessing I have had it for about 30 yrs, who knows how long it had been sitting in the store !
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Hey Pitdog, if memory serves, the shield that you see now was designated as the officer's models, the one, like at the top right, not.

Doc
 
a Rodgers of england swiss army knife knockoff,Gerber sidelock white handle
first fixed blade western 5" bladed clip point hunter

Tyrantblade
 
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