What does your path to the traditional folder look like?

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farmboy

Joined
Aug 31, 1999
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As a farm kid growing up in the 70's, I always had an Old Timer Stockman in my pockets. I carried one so often that a hole was usually worn in my front right pocket.

In the 80's and 90's, I carried a couple of Buck and Gerber lock backs, Pretty good knives back then, imho.

Then came the internet...........:eek:

Spyderco's, Kershaws, Al Mar, etc. Mostly some form of lock back, and a few of the new liner locks.

Then the tacticals, and finally some of the custom collaborations. My hard work knife is still a Spyderco Techno. Sharp, tough, and strong, like me..........or like some people I know, anyway.

And then I discovered the GEC's. And I'm home again.

How did you get here?
 
My path was similar. My dad gave me my first pocket knife, a well worn Case stockman, in 1962 at age 8. ( Try given a knife to an 8 year old today!) In 70s it was a Buck 112 and a Puma Game Warden, Spydercos & Benchmade AFCK in the 90s but since about 2001 its been mostly Case knives and SAKs.
 
SAK -> nothing -> Buck 110 -> Gerber Bolt Action -> nothing -> Boker -> Kershaw -> Spyderco -> Case -> More Case/Buck/Victorinox/GEC/Queen/Canal Street/new Schrade/Rough Rider -> Zero Tolerance -> Benchmade -> Done.
 
Short path. Somewhere around 1958 Dad let my adopt an old pocket knife I found in the tool drawer.
 
I never really got "into" the "modern" and/or "Tactical"/"Tacticlol" knives. I don't like pocket clips, I don't need one hand opening or assisted opening. I've never had a desire to have a switchblade or butterfly knife, either. I prefer at least two blades on my pocket knife. The only blade lock design I trust is the old fashioned Buck type lockback.
I do own a couple modern folders, nothing fancy or expensive, just a couple M-Tech and Tac Force "truck stop specials" and a CRKT Ripple, that was on clearance at a truck stop that had a real knife shop in it (knife shop since closed and gone, darn it).
I guess the most "modern" knife I regularly carry is a Buck 110. It was/is the first modern lockback.
 
I'm a 90's kid so there were no traditionals in my childhood but my father did (does) have a small, historical sword collection.

As a dumb kid I went through several "mall-ninja" knives and cheesy push daggers. My first step towards recognizing quality was a Benchmade mini-grip with a half-serrated tanto blade, so it was a slow transition.

More Benchmades and Spyderco, Kershaw and ZT kept me occupied for a few years until I got my first CRK. Now my only modern-style knives are a couple sebenzas.

What got me interested in traditionals was... The 2011 annual forum knife!

I didn't get one in time but loved everything about it in a way I couldn't explain, it was compelling and exciting. I started eating up GEC, especially anything with a cap lifter, and was heavily involved in the '12 and '13 forum knives. (Pretty stereotypical, eh?)

When I realized that I wasn't using any of them nor gaining much joy from the collecting aspect I started selling everything with dust on it. All that extra money in my leisure fund made the once distant dream of the custom world suddenly real. Davison, Coats, Menefee, Ohta now Kawamura...

That's not much of an ending, sorry, but my path is far from ending so it fits.
 
I started with whatever modern junk folders I could get my hands on. That lasted until about 3 years ago when I picked up a buck 110. After that I made my way through modern folders picking up a case stockman and a pioneer, but neither of them caught on. I figured I would give traditionals another chance, so I picked up a northwoods presidential. That knife really shifted my focus towards traditional pocket knives and fixed blades. Now I only focus on a few modern makers and spend the majority of my time and money on traditionals.
I still carry a modern most days out of habit, but my slip joints sees 99% of my cutting needs.
 
It started when I was in holiday camp in Savoie, we bought some Opinels with the small money allowance, later my parent's house being 2km from the Swiss border, a basic SAK became evident.
Still later I was often working on location and a more sophisticated SAK always in my work bag. And it was while working in the great Paris fair that I discovered and bought a Smith & Wesson lockback. This was the beginning of my real interest in knives. Now I am retired and can spend time to carry out my (among many others) hobby.
 
I was introduced to pocket knives early in Boy Scouts via earning the Totin' Chip Badge. Needed for legal knife carry within scouts. My Dad let me carry a victornox and later bought me a Buck Lite. At the time, these were tools, and I did not look at them as collectibles or with the respect that I now give them. I used them on campouts and hikes to achieve merit badges, food prep, etc. I did not know them as traditionals or have an open eye to a new hobby. They were tools.

Later, at 12, I was finally able to participate with the elder men of my family in deer hunts. Again, my Dad lent me one of his two large 2-blade clasp hunters. He lent me the Kabar, while he carried his Grandfather's Case. Again, at that point in my life, these were tools, used to dress and skin/butcher deer. Never thought of them as a hobby.

My Senior year of highschool, I entered a pawnshop and picked up a Camillus Yellow Jaket large double lockback trapper. Looking at this knife as an upgrade to what my Dad had always "lent" me during deer season (with the two locking blades), I picked it up for $25 (it was new in the box). I carried it for years dressing and skinning and aiding in butchering deer. It was a tool.

My initial turning point was after I was married and had my first son. I thought, I need to find another Camillus double lock so when he is of age, I could "lend" him a knife for hunting. That led me to start researching Camillus and the Yellow Jaket line, and so I ended up collecting up a few for future use/distribution.

The true addiction occurred at this time 2 years ago. I enjoy history and American Industry, and during deer the 2013 Pennsylvania deer season, I asked Dad if he was up for a trip to Queen CC during the middle of the week to change things up. We have relatives in Meadville, so we set the plans in motion. I later discovered that there was a new company in Titusville as well, GEC. I called and talked to a nice lady if we could stop by and she said, "as long as you are here before 3pm, you can come anytime". After the factory tour at GEC we entered the store and I purchased my first traditional pocket knife while becoming a true addict, my Copperhead Jigged Bone TK Cuban.

Its been costly, but enjoyable ever since.
 
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I never got off the path but I have stumbled once or twice. Once with a Benchmade Bone Collector 15055 1 and again with a Benchmade 586. Those really aren't carry knives, I use them as hunting knives.
Started on the path with a boy scout knife, then a Case stockman, which was replaced by a buck 301, 303 and 503 those were carried for 20 plus years. If Buck hadn't changed their grind no doubt I'd still be using Bucks. These days I'm on the path with Queen Northwoods and CSC.
 
Uncle Henry stockmans up until I joined the Army and then an SAK for a bit. That is until the Leatherman PST came out and from there it was a Leatherman guy for several years until I found my way back to my SAK. I carried both an SAK and Leatherman for 4 years until I put them up for a #15 Crown Lifter last fall. I've been traditional since.
 
I started with a SAK in my scout days, and carried one for years! Took a little time off from knife carry until I landed a college job that required one. I went through the usual modern knife progression before getting back on the traditional bandwagon with a Buck about 8 years ago.
 
I recall my Grandfather's and Dad carrying small traditional pocket knives when I was a kid. I think they were just run of the mill advertising knives given to them by an insurance agent or salesman. As an older kid I had the occasional SAK and even a leatherman (still have it). Used a Gerbor Gator, Buck Vanguard Zipper, and Martinni Rapala filet knives for hunting and fishing chores. Never carried a knife everyday until about 10 years ago when my father-in-law razzed me about not having one. I started out with modern knives and still enjoy them, although my collection as dwindled in favor of traditionals. It was this forum that sparked my interest in traditionals. Something about them just calls to me... I simply can't put a finger on it. I don't know for sure but I think my first traditional knife purchase was a Case Mini Copperlock.
 
I got my first pocket knife in about 1957! It was a Cub Scout knife, Camillus made I believe. I carried it for many years. All I knew as a boy was traditional pocket knives. Sometime in my teens I picked up a Stiletto and carried that because it was cool, at least we thought so. During that time there was also a Schrade Old Timer my dad got me, a Case Little Fin which went fishing, hunting and woods walking with me. There's a box somewhere with some other old pocket and sheath knives in it. I'm not sure where it is now...

I reacquainted myself with traditional pocket knives and some modern folders in my mid 30s. I bought a few Puma's and Gerber's and the like. An early Spyderco or two also.

When the Cutlery World shop closed in our mall I quit buying knives, until I discovered the internet. Woe is me! I was off to the races until I retired. Now I've got so many knives I just can't talk myself into buying more then the occasional traditional pocket knife or small sheath knife (or a William Henry or a Reeves Mnandi) now and then. I still have a few I'd like to own, so I've still got the bug. I've promised myself that I'd get to one of the big knife shows, either in Atlanta or New York, and find something special.

I guess once you've got the bug, any thought of a cure is highly unlikely.
 
My first pocket knife was my boy scout knife back in the early '60s, this Ulster that I still have and use almost daily.

IMG_9806_zpseed8f28c.jpg~original


Early on in high school, around 1970, I picked up a Gerber Silver Knight lockback. Carried it for about 14 years until it slipped out of my pocket. One of our selfless forumites read this story and replaced it with one from his collection.

IMG_9988.jpg~original


After that I bought a BuckLite lockback, and it was my only folder for another decade or so. The tip broke off, and I reground it to this, it's current condition.

Buck424regrind_zpsa1d7c2db.jpg~original


Up until about 10 years ago, I usually only had one folding knife at a time. I had several different fixed blades for hunting, but only had single blade lockers, though all traditional. Another long time EDC was this Queen teardrop linerlock.

IMG_0610.jpg~original


Sometime in the early 2000s I discovered the usefulness of multi-blade knives, and really settled on the stockman as my favorite pattern. More than half of my traditional folders are stockman or cattle knives. Now I rarely carry a single blade, and through the enabling of this forum and the fact that I now have more than two coins to rub together, I have many knives and don't carry any of them more than a few days at a time. I do own 6 or 8 modern OHO knives, but don't carry them often, either. Traditional I started and traditional I stay.

FBcutStockmanopen_zpsprv3zldm.jpg~original
 
My path started with Buck pocket knives, in the 70's. Of course, I liked knives, but wasn't a knut about them. I lost those Bucks at some point, but wasn't really concerned.
Then I went through a mall ninja phase in the 80's (Rambo of course :rolleyes:) and was obsessed with fixed blades for the rest of the 80's. I could never afford any good ones, but I really wanted the Buck Buckmaster, but I couldn’t afford it on teenager odd job money. But I remember seeing an ad for Chris Reeve Knives in some magazine someplace and thought someday I would have one of those (never did get one, lol). Then I went through a phase where I wasn't interested in knives at all (about 2 years). Then in the Army I got all stoked on the modern folders (Spydercos) but I became disenchanted with those knives for reasons not relevant here. Then I went through a cheap china made phase where I was just buying knives to use and didn't care about steel, handle materials, or a particular company. A few years ago I finally decided it was time to buy a really high quality camp knife and found blade forums. I’ve been a knife knut ever since. It seems a natural progression to go from camp knives, to modern folders, to traditionals. And, that’s what I’ve done. Heck, next year it might be balisongs or swords, haha.
 
My first knife was a some kind of 3 or so blade pen knife with brass handles and no bolsters, I cant remember anything else about it except I was six and my dad ground off the points and edges because I was pretty ornery. Then after I proved I could be responsible with a knife I got a sak classic that was my late uncles, it has a pouch with his and my initials on it which are the same, thankfully I still have that one. I never really used that sak because it was so special, so most of the knives I had growing up were cheap modern linerlocks, swiss army and leatherman knockoffs, a few cheapo traditionals and in my teen years a camo synthetic case little lockback which I still have. At 16 I got a kabar then a buck 110, then came the tacticals. After a several year reign of excessive tactical I got bored of them and went mostly traditional. I still like modern knives enough to keep and occasionally use all the ones I have (60+ or so) but they still kinda bore me, they just dont have the nostalgia and character of patina and natural handle materials. Traditionals have been proven long enough they arent going anywhere now, but modern fads like overbuilt will surely fade away.
 
Started out thinking that fixed blades were the best thing since sliced bread. After some cheap, skeevie "survival knives" I got a buck 119. Someone stole the sheath, so I pretty much threw it in a drawer and eventually sold it for like $15. Then got a Kabar. Soon after I decided I needed a folder. My dad gave me my first quality knife, a Victorinox climber. After that I bought a Kershaw blur tanto with a serrated edge. Awesome knife but I learned that I vastly preferred clip points to tanto or drop points.

A few months ago I saw the buck 110 and had to have one. What can I say? Brass looks awesome after it ages and gets that dull finish. Picked one up and love it. Unfortunately I live in Ohio. Our knife laws are VERY skeevie surrounding everything. I also work in retail. An almost 4" blade is frowned upon, not to mention uncomfortable after 7-9 hours of walking, lifting, pushing, etc.

So the search was on for a less threatening looking edc that didn't lock and was preferably lighter than the tank. I mean 110. I saw the sodbuster thread and ordered a case "American Workman" with blue delrin scales and a stainless blade. I'm hooked. There, are you happy bladeforums? I said it. Might as well convince me to save up for a custom next.
 
Similar to most.

Started with a Case fishermans/toothpick knife & a Shrade Sharpfinger. Then a couple Schrade stockmans. Then lusted after Buck 110s, but got a Craftsman copy instead. Then moved on to butterfly knives for a bit. Then the pocketclip/one-hand opening knives took precedence. Then the tactical knives during my 20s & Army days. Then bushcraft, camping knives. And back to enjoying the pocketknives of my youth.

I still cycle through some of those knives on a regular basis.
 
I've carried a pocket knife daily sine the second grade. I started off with what I now call traditionals and have had more than one on hander. In fact the last one I have recited was a spyderco that I received for being my brother's best man. I will never part with that one but all I have purchased for the last few years have been slip joints. I also work in corporate America so it doesn't hurt that I don't get called into HR to ever talk about a knife with bone or wood.

These knives just speak to me and seem to connect me with the history of the world.
 
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