The One?!

[jackknife]

I have a shoebox full of pocket knives, and at some point, I'm going to go through that box and start gifting out some knives to folks. I don't need them, I don't really use them and I'm getting to the point in life where I have just too much stuff.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Congratulations!!!!!

You've made an important discovery that few make before it's too late. Both Karen and I felt such a feeling of liberation after we cleared out all the stuff we didn't need anymore.

 

[J Buck]

Thanks Mr. Carl. My wife and I downsized this past spring into what I hope to be our retirement home. We have half the house and a postage stamp sized yard. We have a bunch of "stuff" in storage that has been waiting on cooler weather so that we can deal with it and start clearing it out. We have been in our home for 8 months now and I have not stopped once to get anything out of there that we might need. Go figure. You being a bit older than me, I take your insights very seriously and your previous comments regarding life changes really hit the point with me.

To keep this knife related, I'm finding that settling in on a couple of daily users does work for me. I have enough disposable income to buy anything I really want, but I can't bring myself to spend more than $100 on any knife. Case products fit the bill for me and hit my price point on money vs quality. I know some folks have an issue on Case quality in the past, but I have bought probably a dozen knives in the last 5 years and they have all been great except for a little thin in the dye. Doesn't affect their use and that's what I do, use them. Everybody has their level of what they can accept. I do enjoy this Traditional forum that we have going on here, and I really enjoy looking at the beautiful tools that we all own.

 

[netguy1999]

I've been looking for the 'one' knife almost my entree life. There was some periods where I actually found it, and carried nothing else for spoke years at a time. But…life has a habit of changing, due to jobs, lifestyles, marriage, kids, area of dwelling. And, sometimes this big change of life means a change of edc stuff.

For about 20 years my 'one' was a Buck 301 stockman. The three bladed knife was good for a young single guy travel ing the world, camping, fishing, hunting, and some whatever. It was good work knife for the construction sites in the army engineers, then the machine shop I worked at. But…life changed as I got older and the three blade stockman was a bite much. For those years I carried it, I felt no need for another knife, except a SAK that was in my pack, but most times if my pack wash[t near, and I needed a screw driver or can opener, I used the P-38 in my wallet or the sears 4-way screw driver.

After my dad passed away, I carried his little peanut for a while. Mostly out of some sort of sentiment and sense of something gone but still much on the mind. I carried it not as a sole edc, but with my old stockman. But a strange things happened; I would use it now and then for some cutting jobs, not wanting to 'mess up' a family history artifact, and it cut so well that I decided to experiment. I put dad's old peanut back in it's place in the tray on top of my dresser, and bought a yellow Case peanut. I then left my old war horse Buck 301 home and just carried the 'nut. It did everything my old stockman did; cut the filthy tape holding round stock in the shop, cut gasket material, cut cardboard, twine, fishing line, opened mail, plastic blister packages, whatever. It did the job of the edc pocketknife, so it became one, while taking up amazingly little room in the pocket. For almost ten years it was my sole edc, and it became the 'one'. My old Buck got retired.

For the next several years, the Case peanut was my 'one', and I never felt the need for another pocket knife. Then I discovered this place and everything went to heck. I tried sodbusters, trappers, larger jacks, pen knives, and barrows. In the course of a few years I tried more knives than I had ever owned in my whole life. After a few years of the insanity I backed off and just went back to my 'one'. I gifted off most of my knives and kept just a few of my edc favorites, ones that I actually used the most. Today, a peanut still rides in my pocket, but it shares duty with a SAK. I am oldr now, and the SAK is just easier on arthritic fingers with it's smooth even pull. The peanut gets left home a lot now, just because it's a bit more fiddley to deal with than a SAK.

I've come to the conclusion that the 'one' will change with the changes of life we have have to deal with. Even my dad, who loved his little peanut, and swore that it was all the every day pocket knife he needed, retired it to the sock drawer in his older years, because his fingers couldn't deal with the nature of it, and he carried a little Christy knife in his pocket for the easy opening of it. His life had changed, and he had to change with it. Now, as a senior citizen, I look back and realize that I have done the same over my life. What was my 'one' 30 years ago, could not be my 'one' now. I am not the same person I was then, as now.

Today, my edc is smaller than it was when I was younger.

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Very well written, sir, and a point well made. The "one" does change over time. I am still searching for it. After hearing so many people talk about their peanut, I think perhaps it's time I give one a try.

 

[major_works]

I'm quite new to collecting/appreciating traditional pocketknives, so I have accumulated a small roster in the past year or two. So I'm still in the process of figuring out what I like, never mind "the one." I already know that I don't like really large, heavy knives in my pockets. The largest ones that I have and actually carry are my Sodbuster Jr. and new #77. Both of them are rather unobtrusive and definitely more than enough blade for whatever I need.

We just moved and are still unpacking, and when I reach for a knife for carrying around the house to cut tape, it's most often my Peanut or Swayback Jack.

 

[plk7]

The others are really just pocket jewelry.

Shawn, I get that. I honestly don't do very much cutting on a daily basis, but it's nice to have a blade available if I need it. Also, they're just something that speaks to me about carrying a pocket knife; for my it just feels right.

 

[plk7]

Locutus - They are relatively easy to find with a Google search; also check my original post. I think that's all I'll say given that we're supposed to keep the focus on the knifes themselves, and not where to purchase them. Also, I like your username and avatar!

Old Engineer - Really nice photos of your terrific 73. Thanks for sharing. It's all the more special given who gifted it to you. Side note, I saw a photo of you in another thread with your great-grandchild - wow, what a blessing to see an additional generation in your family.

Will Power - Sounds like a really nice one you've described. I wonder, given your long time here, if you've ever posted in the appropriate forum asking if there are any makers willing to take on the challenge?

J Buck - Didn't Case used to make a medium jack in CV. I think the the model was 62087. Have you tried hunting one of these down?

 

[plk7]

Carl - Not much more I can say than thanks for your insightful words both now and in all of your previous posts. You have had a profound impact on a number of people - you should know that, and be proud. I wonder if you have gotten any of use out of that Small Tinker I sent you a couple of years back while you were still close-by in MoCo. Also, while I appreciate the lines of the Case Peanut, I think I prefer the profile of your current 'nut. Is that a Camillus? I think it's the one that SilentHunterS- gave you.

 

[Aias]

plk7 : Enjoyed reading about your finding The One . I decided to get the Coyote in Stag and also in the Red Bone because it was just a new pattern . After receiving them I was very impressed with both of them as well . They are outstanding little knives to carry when I feel that I should carry something small. However , right now what I would call my The One is a 73 in Stag. I really like the 73 pattern , but there is also just something about having some stag in my pocket . This particular 73 is one that my Son bought me and that also makes it special to me .
I hope your The One brings as much enjoyment to you as mine does to me .

Harry

Wow, that is some exceptional stag! Love it. Great knife, overall. :thumbup:

 

[jackknife]

Carl - Not much more I can say than thanks for your insightful words both now and in all of your previous posts. You have had a profound impact on a number of people - you should know that, and be proud. I wonder if you have gotten any of use out of that Small Tinker I sent you a couple of years back while you were still close-by in MoCo. Also, while I appreciate the lines of the Case Peanut, I think I prefer the profile of your current 'nut. Is that a Camillus? I think it's the one that SilentHunterS- gave you.

Yes, the current peanut is the Camillus made Remington that Dan gave me. Good 1095.

The small tinker is a regular carry, and was used much during the move to Texas!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[bflying]

That's a great looking Beagle. I really love stag, even though I only have a few. I have a number of peanuts, but think the blade config on the Beagle is just more versatile. So my stag Beagle became the most I've ever spent on a knife of it's size.....but don't regret it a bit. [emoji56][emoji41]

However, my "one" is really just the "one right now" because I have too short of an attention span. Midlife ADD. So for the moment, I'm carrying the new forum knife. But the little 18 sits right next to it on the table at night, begging for more pocket time the next day.

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Sent from my mind....using Tap-a-Thought. (tm)

 

[Davor]

The one for me is the Chris Reeve Manandi I bought in 2009. I used it a few times in functions and found it to be most carried edc later on. It's so far the smoothest action sharpest blade knife and it can go anywhere in any setting. I'm not promoting Chris Reeve but the Mnandi is a finely made small blade.

 

[plk7]

Yes, the current peanut is the Camillus made Remington that Dan gave me. Good 1095.

The small tinker is a regular carry, and was used much during the move to Texas!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Great to hear! Dan and I exchanged a few messages earlier in the year. He told me about the knife show in Hagerstown. Wasn't able to make it this year, but hope to in 2017.

bflying - Thanks for your post, but also for your second photo. You obviously didn't know this, but it was one of the things that tipped the balance to pick up a Beagle. I first saw in a thread in the General Forum soliciting what people's small edc blades were. Nice-Looking forum knife also; sure is a stout spear.

Davor - I don't believe that is a knife discussed much on the traditionals forum because they typically come with a belt/pocket clip. I think there is a way to convert them to clipless. It's definitely a dandy, though.