What a long strange trip...

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I've carried a traditional pocket knife since I was about 8 or since the late 60s, first it was what ever Imperial or Colonial Tin Shelled knife I could pick up for a couple of dollars.

Eventually I bought a Schrade Trapper back in the 70s and this along with my Schrade 510T stacked together in one sheath, these two knives served me for well over 20 years, till I retired them in the early 90s.

About the same time I came across a Robeson Suredge Serpentine Jack, I loved this knife, the Carbon Steel blade took a wicked sharp edge and kept it forever. This knife made it to Texas with me on a road trip and I wound up tradin' it at a flea market for a cheap OTF Auto and a Case Camp Knife.

I still mourn the stupidity of that trade but I still have the Case and carry it quiet often, along with the Queen Serpentine Jack with Winterbottom Bone Scales I picked up at a local yard sale in PA.

The Robeson started my love for Traditional patterns and I've spent nearly 20+ years tryin' to replace that knife, in the mean time I've accumulated quite a few boxes of Traditionals along with the more modern patterns I've picked up along the way.

Aside from the 2 Forum knives I carry frequently, (2008 Stockman and the 2009 Barlow) most times I find a 100 year old Union Moose pattern in my pocket these days.

I'll always carry at least one Traditional pattern in my pocket and most times it's a vintage knife I'd picked up at a yard sale or flea market, livin' in PA home of Case and not too far from Schrade or Camillus's factories I seem to find a lot of vintage blades for a decent price, (although it is becomin' harder these days to find good quality older knives) I still find bargains.

Thanks for another great story Carl.
 
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Growing up in the semi- country I was exposed to all maner of slipjoints. Most of those were Case and the overwhelming pattern of choice was a Stockman.
Being attracted to knives I have tried quite a few patterns and have found that some are better than others depending on my specific needs. Having spent most all my life either farming or in construction I have found non better than a SAK Old Soldier or Cadet for outright utility.
I've only come close to wearing out two knives in my life. A SAK Tinker and a Boker Whitler. Truth be told the Boker was my one knife for more than a few years and probably was wore out and have yet to connect completely with another knife since I lost it. In my eyes no other Whitler has lived up to that Boker. Even when the shield would fall off I always managed to find it and glue it back into the scale. It was my knife.
Finding a replacement has been hit or miss. I've found that even a 3 1/2" pattern is on the bulky side for me though the little RR whitler feels good in the pocket. I like the roundness of the bolsters and scales. I'm starting to appreciate the smaller patterns though. Carried the SAK Classic exclussively for the past 6 months and got along well enough but still something was missing.
Lately I've been dropping the Case SBJ in my pocket on the way to work and can't find any reason not to like it. It's been sitting around patiently waiting to be used. I like the way it rides unnoticed in my pocket and the solid feedback you get from the springs. When you put pressure on the blade while cutting there is positive feeling of build quality w/o being heavy or overbuilt. The blades touch up well enough and the pattern sits well in the hand. It's doing a standup job with the odd whitling I do and the blades are a good mix for my use. It may take a few more years to warm up to it completely but so far I like it.
As long as I have a good sharp knife on me I'm happy but I'm still more likely to have the SAK classic in my pocket when I am home. If I need something different the rest are close at hand.
 
jamesbeat said:
I'd like to see that, do you have a photo?
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Not currently & my computer won't let me download pics at the moment. The notch was cut right in front of the nail nick. You have to pay attention doing it as the combo-tool sort of blocks some of the notch, but it is far easier for me to open one-handed now.
 
My first knife was a SAK (Huntsman) when I was 12, and perhaps that predetermined my taste for having an array of implements at hand. I carried that SAK for over 20 years and still have it.

I almost always edc a Vic Spirit multitool now. It is not at all traditional, but I have found it hugely useful to have the pliers as well as the other implements for my various hobbies and activities around the house.

At work where I wear dress clothes, I carry a small traditional slipjoint instead (either a Case Peanut or GEC Barlow). It rides in dress pants pockets easily and the elegant looks are more suitable for the environment. The multitool stays close at hand in my bag.

I can imagine future grandkids thinking of "grandpa's multitool" the same way we remember our elders' knives.
 
At 8 years old I had a SAK because of all the little gadgets. When I was 12 in 1976, I bought my first Buck 301 Stockman for $17.00. Carried it everywhere. My older brother was a Case Sodbuster fan, so naturally I had to have one to be like him. I got married with a Delrin Case medium Stockman in my pocket. Sometime after that I got caught up in the early stages of tactical knives. Carried different models through the 90's, never really happy with any of them. No soul. I came back around after turning a little nostalgic after the death of my Sodbuster carrying brother, and started back carrying my Buck Stockman again. That led to a purchase of an Amber Bone Stockman, then another, then another Sodbuster in CV steel. My wife has been accepting of my little indiscretions of knife buying ( I don't drink and hangout at bars all night). I have found as I get older, I don't need as much knife in my pocket as I thought. I don't fight terrorist or pirates, jump out of airplanes at 30,000 feet or lurk in back alleys in former soviet bloc nations. I get to shoot my guns from time to time, fish a little when not working, tend my pepper patch in the garden, and watch Sadie Mae chase squirrels around the backyard. I gave my daughter a Stockman for Christmas a couple of years ago, and looking forward to one day sharing my knives with a little grandson or granddaughter. I believe I have come full circle, and except for searching for the perfect pocket knife am very content in life.
 
jackknife said:
Having said all that, I'm curious about what you all really carry when you go about your day? What do you carry to the office or work place, and what do you carry in your pocket at home fixing up the yard or putting that new toilet valve in?

How much knife do you need in your daily life?

Carl.
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Being in LE, I carry more than one on the job.

The one I use the most is probably my Leatherman Surge. Not so much for the blades but for the other tools. I have taken stolen tags off cars with the screwdrivers, cut through cheapie security chains on doors, used the blades for cutting off car parts damaged in wrecks, the pliers for a myriad of tasks, etc.

I keep a Spyderco Tenacious clipped to my strong side pocket for those instances I need a one hand only cutter. I keep it hair popping sharp in case I ever have to use it to defend myself.

But there is always a slippie in my shirt pocket next to my wallet and lately, that has been my single spring Schrade Walden 787. Good, old steel that I have very sharp and use it for food prep. I am fond of salads and use that 787 to cut the tomatoes, lettuce, and chicken up to more manageable proportions.

When off duty, it depends. My Victorinox Explorer plus with cobalt blue scales handles most of my cutting. When out doing yardwork, my Old Timer 125ot or a Schrade 225h that Trailhawk sold me tags along.

That Vic Explorer plus packs a heck of a lot of good stuff in a small package. Even though it is not a traditional knife it is hard not to carry that one. Great SAK.
 
jackknife said:
What a long strange trip ..It's been.
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Just wanted to add that I hope it is a trip that will go on longer Carl. Thank you for everything you bring to this forum of ours.
 
I started out with a cheap Camp King Scout type knife in the late 60s.Then got an Old Timer Muskrat from my Uncle George in the early 70s,along with a fixed blade from Dad around the same time frame.In the mid to late 70s I bought my first Buck 110 and carried that till I got out of the Marines in 84.While serving I accumulated several Bowies and fighting (double edged)type knives.In the the late 80s I discovered Fighting Knives Magazine and it was on.I have bought almost every type of knife,need it or not,that you can think of.I got stuck on the what if scenarios.For the past 2 1/2 months I've been carrying a Case Stag Damascus Peanut my Wife bought me(thanks Carl)in my left front pocket with a bandana on top.I only wear my Vic Climber or Huntsman on my belt when Salmon/Steelhead fishing anymore(love the scissors).I always have my little Classic on my keys and a LM Charge in my nose bag.But the only knife in my jeans has been my Peanut,love how you don't notice it till needed and those little Damascus blades zip through almost anything!Maybe I'm just getting older,but I feel quite content for the moment.I don't even feel the knife buying itch,it's kind of refreshing!
 
J Buck said:
I have found as I get older, I don't need as much knife in my pocket as I thought. I don't fight terrorist or pirates, jump out of airplanes at 30,000 feet or lurk in back alleys in former soviet bloc nations.
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Yeah, I found that out as well. Good thing too, perrogies and cheap vodka give me heartburn.:D

Carl.
 
well, carl, being retired now, i seem to be getting along fine with carrying a '08 vic alox soldier in the watch pocket of my jeans and a case yellow medium cv stockman that i carry in the chest pocket of my shirt. when i was a street cop, i just carried a small no-name slipjoint while most of the other guys carried the popular buck 110 on their gun belts.

Brian
 
jackknife said:
Having said all that, I'm curious about what you all really carry when you go about your day? What do you carry to the office or work place, and what do you carry in your pocket at home fixing up the yard or putting that new toilet valve in?

How much knife do you need in your daily life?

Carl.
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I don't carry a knife at home. I have knives strategically placed so that I usually have one close by while I'm kicking around the house. In fact, I rarely use my EDC knives at home. They reside on the dining room table awaiting the next time I leave the house.

I usually carry two knives when I leave the house. I don't need two knives but it just makes me feel better. I rotate one of the knives and I have a Stockman that has accompanied me everyday for about seven months. Everytime I consider changing out the Stockman for another knife, I just can't do it. It has become an extension of me, so to speak, and I know that I would be less content with any other knife in its place.

I could probably get by with just one small, single blade knife but I like the three blades on my Stockman. If the unmentionable ever happened and I lost that knife, I would replace it with another Stockman of some sort.
 
Yeah, I have some...uh... strategically placed, too. Ahem. ;)

(Dan, there's GD knives EVERYWHERE! <---recent wife quote)
 
In the early 70's in the National Guard (combat engineer) I always had a small black Case Sodbuster that became a toothpick and eventually lost. Later in LE I always carried something traditional with a Gerber EZ Out as a main. In retirement I usually carried a medium sized single blade on my strong (sometimes tradional and sometimes tacticool) side and a two blade small slippy on the other side. I prefer single springs.... canoes, Eisenhours or but will carry small jacks,barlows or the like. I try to always have an extra sharp carbon blade set up. Carl has me pondering a damascus peanut or SBJ. I collect canoe, sodbuster and barlow patterns.

Herb
 
Early '70s, my first knife was a TL-29 (now long lost).

After a few camp kings, Kmart barlows (Imperial?) and such, I got a Buck 112 when I made Eagle (troop tradition). Nothing fancy or engraved, just a straight-off-the-shelf 112. Wonderful knife!

Got a Buck 102 the next year for my birthday. It gradually replaced the 112 in the field...carried it on every hike and camp out. It seemed just right.

Mostly gravitate towards stockman pattern these days--Case and Buck, and an Old Timer now and again.
 
for the last month or so its been this "yella" handled case trapper in cv. Its way more blade than I need, but for some reason it wont stay out of my pocket. Is it the way he handle color? Is it the way cv steel sharpens up to a razors edge? Or is it the amazing fit and finish and polishing of the backsprings? I dont know, the only thing I do know is that I am hooked on case knives with cv blades.
 
Since I don't have the same feeling as you guys about them multi bladed traditionals I haven't been carrying them until a half a year ago.
I grew up with SAKs and Herders.
Don't like the Herders for their thick wood handles.
I wanted to go back to the European "one blade knife" so I ordered a few back ups for my Alox Solo.
To be a bit traditional I carry a sears 4 way in my wallet and a bandana wrap on top of my Solo.
See how it goes.
 
My knife story is very simular to yours Jackknife. I carried the small single blade peanut sized Schrade as my only knife for years, all through the 80's into the early 90's. In the early 90's I got hooked on the onehand wonder knives and all the different steels that started to become the next wondersteel. After getting a box full of these new greatest knives ever somehow I came back to the good old Trad. pocket knives. I must have gotten a hard hit in the head or something, not sure how I came back. Maybe it was that I was never really happy with the big single blade clipped to my pocket. It just never felt right and I tried alot of them. Tip up, tip down, deep clip, clip leather case, nothing just seemed right. Now days and for about 10 years now I've mainly carried smaller slipjoints. Vic Cadet, my main grab when I know I'm going to do alot of repair work. It is also a great one to carry everyday, prbably my most carried. A case peanut has replaced my old Schrade. I had to get it after I got my Chestnut bone SBJ, witch is another one of my main carry knives. The Russell old single blade barlow has just been replaced by a Tidioute single blade barlow witch I really like alot. The biggest knife I pick up other than a fixed blade is a Vic Farmer witch I'll use for yard work mainly because of the saw. But the truth is the Cadet works just as well for 99% of the time. And btw my main fixed blade is the rubber handled Mora. What a great fb that thing is. I'm going to the movies today and because of this thread and JK, I just slipped the Chestnut Peanut in my pocket. :)
 
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'nother great story Carl, thankyou :thumbup:

For my part, i've picked up around a dozen slippies in my (40 year) life, nothing over a 3" blade and i've never owned anything 'tactical'.

Nowadays i mostly use a Roughrider Green Gunstock Mini Trapper (2.75" blades) for work or when i'm in the field hiking, hunting etc, great knife does everything i need. For everything else i use a Case Pocket Worn Harvest Orange #7410 Stockman (2.5" blades)

Craig.
 
I still carry and use the tacticals, but the knife that gets the most use is my yella handle cv case mini trapper.
 
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