Things just arent the same anymore....

gradall5200

gradall5200

Joined
Mar 12, 2006
Messages
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My brother has 2 young boys, one in 5th grade and the other 3rd or somewhere around that age group. Last spring about a year or so ago maybe a little longer, I figured the oldest one was ready for a knife. So I ordered the Opinel "my first knife" cant go wrong $7 or $8 bucks, rounded tip, knife easily locks into place etc. So on a sunday after noon I pulled him aside from the rest of the family to give it to him ( after I told my brother of course). So I gave it to him expecting him to be thrilled with it the way I was with my first knife... NO, it wasnt a play station, or a nintendo, or star wars or whatever. He Kind of acted like it was cool...

My first problem with this was and Im not that old (29) but I was raised like this. You get a gift it dosent matter what it is you act like you love it socks, underwear, or whatever or it would have been a trip out back with my dad and his belt period no questions asked. Anyway I went on to explain the importance of a first knife and how responsible use can lead to a better knife and on and on. So he said ok and ran back in the house to show his brother and cousins. Then threw it on the floor and started playing nintendo. Now Im a big boy and I wasnt mad cause he's just a kid and I know that ,but an hour later after his cousins had left he was sitting out on the front stoop complaning there was nothing to do. When I suggested his knife he just got and handed it to him. He asked " what the heck am I supposed to do with this" So I started giving suggestions from whittling a stick, to trying to stick it into the ground. he messed with it for a minnute and said sorry uncle Joel its just not my thing:confused:

I guess when I was a kid besides a first gun there was nothing that could compare to a pocket knife no less your first one, I think I wore my first one out within the first week. Im not giving up on them though but its become a world of computers and stuff and kids dont do the kind of stuff we did. When It was summer break we went outside in the morning and came back for lunch and supper other wise that was it. but we didint have anything either. I guess things just arent the same anymore.- Joel
 
man i hate to hear that! Thats a big deal at least it was to my 11 year old, you know what my son has a friend who has had a couple of knives but he just gets easily distracted, misplaces them drops them on the floor whatever, would rather be playing playstation i suppose. Dunno dont get too discouraged not all of the younger crowd has an aversion to knives:D
man i remember when my dad gave me my first real knife, was my grandads, a camillus #26 2 bladed hunter huge like having a short sword in your pocket, i carried that damn thing all the time, still have it too:) i could get rid of all my others but never that one!
ahh memories
ivan
 
Oh trust me I havent lost faith in the youth at all and I know it wont be that way for my son, he's just too young yet. I blame my brother, he is a video game nut as well and never goes outside with them so its his fault. Im not blaming anyone I guess just trying to help ya know what I mean , and Im not knocking computers or game systems either they are cool but like everything its good in moderation I guess.- Joel
 
I practically had the same thing happen to me this past weekend. I went back home to visit family and went to my brother's house. My nephew was there and like yours he is right at that age for his first knife. He just started cub scouts this past fall so I asked him if he would like me to buy him his first cub scout knife for his birthday that is coming up. He told me no that all he wanted was another nintendo ds game. I got him the nintendo ds for last Christmas and my brother has told me that is practically all my nephew does now. Like you I am not an older guy I'm 25 but still getting my first knife, BB gun, .22 and 12 gage were huge moments in my life and I would say have made me part of who I am today. I always have had video game systems in fact currently I have every system but the ps3. However, like when I was younger and still today really the only time they get use is if I am up late at night or when the weather is too bad to be doing things outside. Lastly as mentioned I too still have my first knife. That knife was a $5.00 cheapie bought at a hardware store and later on when I got my first good one in second grade (a vic tinker) I still have that as well in safe. :confused: maybe next time we go to buy them knives we should go for the vic cyber tool and tell them they can use it to work on their computers.
 
Don't lose faith in our youth Gradall!!=====>

I gave my 9 year old nephew his 1st knife last year
A Western Gambler (with playing cards of course)
He was very thrilled
To be honest, I gave it to him because his mother (my soon to be ex-sister-in-law) has some ridiculous policy that my nephews aren't allowed to play with toy guns :thumbdn:
I figured giving him a knife would piss her off ;)
I cleared it with my brother first and he said "Hell yeah..he will love it!!"

This Thanksgiving I found a bunch of my father's old knives (and True Temper Tomahawk!)
I decided I was gonna give one to my nephew
Knife number 2 ya know...
Being a Homo Economicus I decided to give him the "cheapest" one in the lot
It was an Imperial 2 blade with a fake mother of pearl handle (aka plastic) that had ALASKA on it and a diagram/outline of the state
I think they go for like 8 bucks on EBAY???
I kept the more valuable ones for my self of course
Not that I would EVER think of selling them

"LL...come here..I found something of your grandpa's that I want you to have"
"What is it T Rock?"
"Well..It's an Imperial knife...I don't recall your grandpa ever going to ALASKA though"
"Sweet!!!..This thing is cool!!!"
"OK...Now take care of it..It's very valuable...Look...Imperial...This company went out of business a few years ago...These are scarce...A true collectors item...Now you have TWO knives in you collection..You can't take it to school...Only use it when you are camping or fishing"
He runs to my brother===>
"Dad...Dad!!! Look what Uncle Trent gave me...It's grandpa Louie's old knife!!! he said it was worth a lot!!"

My father passed away before he was born
He has only heard stories about "Grandpa Louie" from my brother
How he was a sheepman/cowboy in Colorado
Radioman on the USS New Jersey
A Spanish professor
A great trout fisherman
Etc
I tell you I got choked up hearing him so happy
I was thinking about my dad the whole time
How I wish he could have been there :(

I decided I'm going to give him a knife for his birthday every year
I can't decide if the next one is gonna be a Buck 112 Hoyt Buck Founder's Edition (with collectors tin) or a Buck Mini Mentor (his 1st fixed blade??)
I wanna keep the blades small until he hits 13
Then I'll get him a Crocodile Dundee Commemorative Bowie :eek:

And yes...His mother still thinks I'm a bad influence because of my knife, gun, hatchet, SWAT, commando, sniper fascination
You should have seen the look on her face when I showed him my Glock 27
Priceless I tell ya
I even let him hold it after I showed him how to rack the slide to check for a round in the chamber
(It was unloaded..no clip)
All he was talking about Thanksgiving was the Glock
Even grandma was a little irked for a bit
(She HATES guns for some reason)
My brother thought it was cool

The funniest part is envisioning him on the playground===>
"Check out what my Uncle T Rock gave me....Sweet huh?...It's worth a lot of money......"

It's exactly like this one===>
http://cgi.ebay.com/Imperial-Prov-R-L-A-2-Blade-Alaska-Pocket-Knife_W0QQitemZ110228756402QQihZ001QQcategoryZ43331QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
I was actually happy to hear that my aunt bought my cousin a swiss army knife this past christmas. I was gearing up to get him one, thought he should have one. I grew up with parents who were not into firearms, but still sent my brother and I OUTSIDE rain or shine after school because we needed it. Got my first knife at 8 years old and was taught to whittle on a bar of soap. I have had one close by since then. Even after I sliced my thumb open, still was allowed to carry a knife. Its an important LIFE skill. I own firearms, I feel a certain way about being prepared. That is a personal choice. Knives in my opinion are necessary, and I don't understand why people shun them, I can understand the guns to some extent, but knives are a benchmark of civilization.
 
I ordered the Opinel "my first knife" cant go wrong $7 or $8 bucks, rounded tip, knife easily locks into place etc. So on a sunday after noon I pulled him aside from the rest of the family to give it to him ( after I told my brother of course). So I gave it to him expecting him to be thrilled with it the way I was with my first knife... NO, it wasnt a play station, or a nintendo, or star wars or whatever.
Click to expand...

So, you give a kid a butter knife and expect him to to do cartwheels for you?!?!
;)
 
I bought one of those Opinel First Knives for my boy too when he was born (it's put away until he's older :) ). I'm confident that his reaction won't be like your nephew's; my boy goes crazy "ooh" and "ahh"-ing at the knife photos you guys post here. In fact, I'd say he freakin' loves pocketknives! He's only one year old...

Perhaps your brother's kids weren't exposed to pocketknives and cool "guy stuff" growing up? Perhaps everything is 'lame' and 'boring' compared to PlayStation? Perhaps he was just in a "mood." I dunno, but I wouldn't sweat it.
 
No shecky I didint expect cartwheels. What did ya want me to give a 9 year old a spyderco? he'd never held a knife before I thought a somewhat safe knife to start with would be sufficient. I didint even expect a thank you to tell ya the truth.- - Joel
 
Well, this sounds like a good reason to take him and his brother camping. Or at least out for a long wilderness hike. There he can see you, and the many uses for a knife you have, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If he doesn't get excited about sleeping under the stars, you might have bigger problems than the knife.
 
If a child is raised seeing his/her father using a knife then he/she my want to be like daddy and may want one. Does your brother carry one?
 
xdshooter said:
Well, this sounds like a good reason to take him and his brother camping. Or at least out for a long wilderness hike. There he can see you, and the many uses for a knife you have, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If he doesn't get excited about sleeping under the stars, you might have bigger problems than the knife.
Click to expand...

This is what separates us knife nuts from the world. We're looking for any excuse to pull out the blade and cut away. Fact is, most folks get along fine with very minimal knife usage, even when doing things such as camping. We have to get over the fact that most people simply don't care about accommodating our knife fetish.
 
Fact is, most folks get along fine with very minimal knife usage, even when doing things such as camping
Click to expand...
Actually, I use a knife much less frequently when camping then when at home or work. There just aren't many things in the wilderness that need to be cut...
 
It's the age of electronics and A.D.D.

I hate to hear things like that, but I have to imagine it will get worse before it gets better. Technology won't slow down anytime soon.
 
I still say the most "dangerous" thing you can let a kid do is have access to a computer with a broadband connection. There is a whole world of information out there within the reach of the fingertips. The age of electronics isn't a good thing. It's a great thing. Us here gabbing about it is testimony to that fact.
 
You are right, it is a different world today. But one thing that will never change is that kids will be interested in something if they see adults, especially their parents, using it. There’s a pretty good chance that your nephew almost never sees his dad using a pocket knife and probably no other adults that he spends any regular time with, so that is why he has no reference for what a pocket knife is or why he might want one. Most kids today grow up in an environment where the only knife use is in the kitchen. Kids today see their parents using cell phones and that is what they associate with adulthood. They will probably experience their first cell phone the way we experienced our first pocket knife.

However, my kids see me using my pocket knives regularly, even to trim their toe nails or meet their first aid needs (SAK scissors), and by the age of one were so eager to hold one and play with one that I have to be really careful to keep them secure for safety’s sake. My 4 year old was browsing the knife case at the store and asking me which one he was going to get when he is “old enough” and how long that would be. I think that my sons will greatly enjoy getting their first pocket knife, but it still probably won’t compare to their first cell phone. It is definitely a different world.

But our parent’s generation probably said the same things about us (and every other generation said it too). Most of the people in my generation have been forever deprived of knowing how to write with a fountain pen or hitch a wagon to a horse or live by the light of an oil lamp or not have indoor plumbing or bale hay or stake a claim on the frontier or whatever it may be. We can take some comfort in knowing that our kids will say something similar about our grandkids (will never know the thrill of a driving behind an internal combustion engine, maybe).
 
Sorry to hear about the reception of your gift, gradall5200.

I've been obsessed with knives and swords since before I was born, but, then, maybe that's because videogames weren't so cool when I was young.

Pong vs. knife? Knives are made by the Olympians themselves

Halo 3 vs. knife? Can't talk now!

I'm putting knives away for my daughter. She's fascinated by daddy's "booboo snippers."
 
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