The One That Started it All for Ya?

My first fixed blade was the Buck 119, or as it was/is called "The Buck Special". I saved up for a good many months and bought it from my local Farm N Fleet. Still have the thing. The funny part was, I saved so long to get it, that I couldn't bring myself to use it for fear of ruining the knife I saved so long for. So to this day, my Buck Special is in damned near mint condition.
 
When I was 5 I had a rubber dagger with a claw on the end holding a ball.That same age I had a plastic triumph motorcycle used to pedal around.Go figure. Years later I found that knife only real vacationing up in N.H. My Grandfather bought it for me.
 
First knife i bought was fisherman long folding knife - 4 1/2 inch blade, "fish saw" and red, victorinox styled scales. I was about 11-12 years old. It was a good knife, I've carried it everywhere since I bought it, used it for all the time, even to throw :). I've kept it extra superb sharp - numerous cut fingers can confirm that. It's still with me, but now it's retired in tool box, missing saw spring, and much thinner than original, thanks to numerous sharpenings.
 
i can't really pin point the one knife that started it all... like most folks here, i grew up with a fascination of knives... my father was in the military and is still a LEO... so we did a lot fishing and hunting... i always carried a SAK and a small fixed blade of some sort...

i just love knives...:o
 
I wish I had all the knives I picked up over the years. For many years I didn't "collect" knives. I would just buy them every few years or so when I wanted something different.
 
When I was 8 my uncle gave a me a small pocket knife with two blades on it. I remember it had horn for scales. I have no clue where it is, but I used it to help cut out the pieces for my model airplane kits I would buy. I cut the back of my thumb with it once and I still have the scar today. Somehow I hid that from my mom at the time as she was very upset with my uncle for handing out a knife to a kid.
 
Numerous little cheap slip joints from very young up to about 9yrs ( grew up on a farm ) and something was always on us kids for bailer twine. ,

Still have my first "hunting knife" a six inch blade clip point with stacked handle my dad built from a kit and gave to me when I was around 8-9 yrs old, no markings on it but it takes a great edge,


My first lock back is one my Dad made that I still have( 30 yrs later), it is literally a copy of an old buck lock back that he used as a template for the works and built from scratch, blade is tool steel from a large drill bit heated and untwisted then hand forged to shape, stainless bolsters , cherry wood scales, he made about 6-8 of them before going on to other projects, mine was #3 and he was still perfecting the mechanism, the tip of the blade sticks out just a bit, holds and takes a great edge, rusts like a bugger if not cared for (HSS/tool steel am not sure which).

Sadly he and my mom gave a lot of his "kitchen knife" era away to friends and distant family that I would love to get back as keepsakes.

Didnt realize how talented my dad was when I was a kid.

That I would guess is what got me going down the sharp edged path.

A
 
Ive always had a fascination with knives
the one that kicked me off tho seriously messing with knives is this little beastie
1159966970.jpg

it was the first knife I figured out how to sharpen myself , it also holds a great edge and has skinned a goodly number and variety of critters . Its traveled with me over most of this country and now is pretty much retired , living in my desk drawer .
Its not easy to find a solid abuseable carbon steel blade in Australia .. at least not in my price range anyway

I ended up buying direct from the factory in South Africa ... they sent me a catalogue to look at and the rest is history :) , I know have a pretty comprehensive Okapi collection ...
 
Fieldtestornothing said:
My dads old K-bar! God I loved that knife!!! The first knife as a kid I couldn't destroy and trust me I tried :)
Click to expand...

I just picked up my first Ka Bar and I'm having a real hard time convincing myself to buy anything more expensive. It was $45 or so, and I just paid $50 for the nice Eagle Cordura sheath for it.

What a great knife. Rather than blowing more money on a more expensive knife, I might pick up one or two more.
 
In the early 80's I came across the Schrade deerslayer and the sharpfinger. They rode on my belt alot, and turned alot of hogs into pork. From hoof to BBQ and remained very sharp, good steel and a good grind. The pattern has had an influence on my own knifemaking as people have commented that there is some shrade influence in some of my patterns.
 
My grandfather made my first knife. I think he cut it out of an old truck spring. He ground it down in his shop, did the heat treat himself, and made a very ornate leather sheath for it. He had a buddy that was in the precious stone business and laid four 1 ct. rubies around the buttcap. He stamped out the leather washers from the hide of a moose he had shot with a bow. The lanyard had a buckeye hanging on it for good luck. After a few years of use, I surrendered it back to him to be put in his gun cabinet. In that time, I beat the hell out of it, all of the jewels had fallen out, the buckeye lost, and so on. I kept that steel in good shape though. Everytime i go visit him, we pull that knife out of the cabinet and I play with it the whole time I'm there. When he dies, it'll stay in my cabinet until my son has a strapping young handsome boy and It'll be his first knife. I thought about giving it to my son when I have one, but then I remembered how much of a bonding thing it was between my grandfather and I, so I decided to use it for the same purpose for my some day grandson. I got that knife before I can remember. I think it was my sixth or seventh birthday I got something new and thats when we put it in the cabinet. I've always had a knife ever since i could walk, but that one was my first and is still my favorite. I think before I give it to my grandson, I'll have the four rubies replaced and pick out a good buckeye for the lanyard.
 
Marbles brand was my down fall. First time I saw the brand was in Michigan at a hardware store while I was on vacation. They had so many styles back then, wish I bought one of each. My first one was a Pearl handled Fieldcraft, then I call the store and had them ship me a 7" Trailmaker craver handle. I couldn't get the Trailmaker out of mind, it felt so good in the hand. I'm surprised that more knife junkies here on BF don't talk more about Marbles as much as they do about the other barnds. I also bought a 10" Loveless Trailmaker blank on ebay and worked with a knifemaker to put on a Scagel style handle. Now I collect and love them Marbles!!! Have a Bison, Sport, Woodcraft, Trailcraft, Plainesman and Ideal. Then came all the other brands and now I can't help myself
 
I'm noting, with interest, how very many of these posts refer to LOST knives. Which is a really important point, given that this is a wilderness/survival forum. We get very caught up in knife design, and of course breakage is a big concern, but look at all these lost knives we're mentioning.

I'm feeling more confirmed in my suspicion that two (or three, or four) less-expensive knives may be a better survival investment than one hugely-expensive knife for that reason alone.

Also, it points out that knife RETENTION has got to be an important part of one's emergency preparation.

I still have my first Boy Scout knife--a 4-bladed Ulster, with the old-style high carbon blade. I still have it because I figured out early on that I could loop a long shoelace through the bail, then run that through a belt-loop on my trousers, and the knife through the shoelace loop, with the result that the knife stayed tied to a string longer than needed to let me use the knife at will (or even loan for quick cutting tasks), but secure enough to keep it from falling out of a pocket, etc. On a couple of occasions I did find it dangling by my lower leg, having fallen out of my pocket while I was sitting, etc.
 
knifeandgun116ff6.jpg






My dad gave me this knife which was old back in 1956. Still have it and its been used a bunch. This one helped me in a couple of real survival situations. No marking on the knife at all but it says Sweden on the Sheath.
 
mneedham said:
Don't have it anymore, but it was a Buck Pathfinder. I can still remember the smell of the sheath!
Click to expand...

Every time I catch the scent of neatsfoot oil or 3-in-1 oil it reminds me of those early scout knives...


Return of the J.D. said:
I'm noting, with interest, how very many of these posts refer to LOST knives.
Click to expand...

A few of the posts refer to no longer having a knife but, unless I missed something, none of them refer to loosing a knife in the field. There are quite a few knives I have owned that are "lost" because I just can't remember what I did with them not that I dropped them.

The old beat to death question of buying many inexpensive knives or fewer expensive knives would seem to be another issue altogether.
 
+1 on the Buck Pathfinder...#105 I believe. This was my first Fixed Blade.

First SlipJoint was a Schrade Old Timer #123OT.
 
SAK Swisschamp my mother purchased for me at the factory while on a choir tour to Europe. I still have it.
 
4" fixed blade western knife ,leather stacked handle,leather sheath,funky aluminum pommel,but being 8 I thought it was the coolest...no longer with me... I still think about it ,it was my first fixed blade....
 
Return of the J.D. said:
I'm noting, with interest, how very many of these posts refer to LOST knives. Which is a really important point, given that this is a wilderness/survival forum. We get very caught up in knife design, and of course breakage is a big concern, but look at all these lost knives we're mentioning.

I'm feeling more confirmed in my suspicion that two (or three, or four) less-expensive knives may be a better survival investment than one hugely-expensive knife for that reason alone.

Also, it points out that knife RETENTION has got to be an important part of one's emergency preparation.
Click to expand...

in this thread , its mainly folk looking back sometimes way way back at their early knives , the one that got them into knives seriously .... its understandable that some would have lost that knife over that time .

Ive lost knives when they got dropped off the wharf or they fell out of my pack ... not many but enough to feel the loss even now

I agree that a back up knife / knives are a good idea tho .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top