What got you started

My dad. He gave my my first knife in 1959 and spent hours with me showing me how to use it and have respect for it. I am almost 55 and it has been a fantastic journey. I am looking forward to the rest of it.
 
I don't really know for sure what got me started.

My dad gave me a camping style knife when I graduated from the Indian Guides to the Cub Scouts, but I honestly don't know what happened to it. I bought my first knife when I was about 10 years old.

I am drawn to just about any small mechanical device that is designed to be manipulated by hand. There are so many toys, gadgets, and trinkets I would like to collect if I had the money, but the traditional folding pocket knives are just so damn useful I can't imagine not having one on me.

For me the traditional folding pocket knives serve me in many ways;
genuine practical need,
my infatuation with mechanical devices,
a little vanity maybe,
a hobby that has introduced me to a whole bunch of really nice, interesting people,
A connection with the past,
And most importantly, I just love 'em.
 
Grandad gave me a navy knife with a marlin spike on it when I was 8 (1970), later that year dad gave me a bayonet cut down and reground to 4" for fishing and kayaking.

Lost them both one summer when I was 28. Took a breather, and just used whatever - SAKs, opinels, kitchen knives, cheap axes - for whenever I was out. Though I did have a nameless rosewood and brass Buck 112 copy for a long time.

Started looking for a decent knife in the late 1990s - been addicted since


My name is Rob
 
But - I think the thing that really got me was buying a 1972 Puma Gamewarden off an estate sale in Oregon - much used but still in good shape - that's what made the connection again
 
Dad always having a small stockman around, and his big Schrade folding hunter that he carried in the bush, and can't leave out his Western skinner... But mainly that big folding hunter, I remember always wanting one like it.

Little pearl handled Queen stockman of my Moms probably had a big influence too, she always had that knife when ya needed one.(that and a p-38 that my brother gave her when he came back from 'Nam-- the one I carry now.)

And;
Crocodile Dundee. :D
"Thats not a knife...."

My first knife was a SAK knock off that Dad got me for my 8th or 9th birthday, but my real interest was in Big fixed blades, of which I acquired several over the years.

Then after being a knife maker for a couple years, and finding out what a pain in the but(sometimes literally) it is to carry a fixed blade, even the smaller ones, I got into SAKs.

Then, thanks to a forum thread or two about traditional slipjoints in outdoor and survival use, I got back to a want for a large folding hunter like my Dads. If it was good enough for him homesteading in the Alaskan bush for 20 some years, I figured its good enough for me!

Trying to get a large folding hunter like his Schrade got me my first trapper,
and the rest, as they say, is history...

G.
 
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my dad always had a boker slipjoint in his pocket, used it for everything. my uncle ed was in the border patrol and always carried a 110. both of my parents' families were in rural areas, knives were just always around. was given a vic pocket pal when I was about 7, had several other vics after that. got away from knives for a while until I bought my first spyderco, a dragonfly, and then a goddard jr. progressed from there, but missing my dad got me pointed back towards traditional knives.
 
Knives are part of the male DNA. Living in the tropics I was exposed to belt and pocket knives at a very tender age; and the attraction was immediate.

However, I found out about fine hand made knives when I was a teenager and lost a diver's knife an aunt had given me as a present. The knife was stamped Made in USA and I kept it for many years until I lost it during a diving trip in the Atlantic. I then started looking for another Made in USA diving knife but by then all diving knives were made in Japan; except Randall's. The quest for that Made in USA diving knife led me to the best knives that man has ever built; Randall was only the first step. It's been a decades long journey. And a great journey, I must add.

For some years now, though, my obsession has been Bose knives.
 
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My Granmother lived next to us when I was growing up. She had 9 sons(one still living), and most all came to visit EVERY weekend. In hunting season many would hunt across the road, and they all fished the river that our road was a dead end to. They grew up on that river about 15 miles upsteam.

They also spent alot of time around the table playing cards, and it seemed like at least one of them had a Case knife and a round whetstone in hand at any given time. Sometimes a few at the same time.

They would show me how to sharpen, and let me have a hand at it often. I couldn't do much good with getting them sharp but it sure was fun, and made me feel a little older. I was hooked then, and have been since.

My Dad wouldn't let me carry a knife untill I was about 7 or 8 though.
By the fifth grade we were all taking our cheap knives to school and traded them about as much as baseball cards.
My friend, and classmates Dad owned the local Hardware store that sold case knives, and he was also a huge knife nut and helped start the "Three Rivers Knife Club" in Rome. My friend(his son) brought a Case barlow in that year, and we all wanted one, and most wound up buying one from him that year(5th grade).
That was my first good knife. We traded knives all through grade and high school, sometimes with a couple of the teachers that loved knives.

The club is now closed, and I don't see my old school friends as much as I would like. About to leave to meet a few of them for lunch today, as we do every now and then to talk knives.
 
Where I grew up pocketknives were pretty common, but what really got me started was my Grandpa giving me my own knife when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I've been in love with knives ever since.
 
Guess I got into knives through osmosis. The older guys always had one in their pockets and would give us younger guys knives that had been replaced by newer/ better ones. I did the same, I guess so the cycle continued. Got my first brand new one in IIRC 1962, a Camillus Cub Scout knife from my Mom. Always had knives and I guess went full cycle back to my first love; slippies:D Don't no what else to say...I Just love 'em;)
 
Dad bought me one at a flea market when I was about 6 years old. He said "Are you sure that's the one you want?" and I said "Yeah." and that was that. Truthfully, it was a crappy knife, but I liked it.
 
When I was a kid all the men carried a pocket knife so I guess I just wanted to be like them. First I had a little Imperial jack with hollow bolsters and carbon steel blades then a little later on my Grandad gave me a Case 3318. I been carrying one ever since and accumulating them as well.
 
Thanks for starting this thread. I've recovered some lost memories that I will treasure for a while...

My dad gave me my first pocket knife when I was probably 8. It was a Camp King Scout knife with a black leather belt snap for the bail. Learned to whittle with that knife.

But I think my earliest memory of knife use is watching my grandad use his pocket knife to cut up apples to eat while we were out deer hunting. He wore dentures so he couldn't just bite into an apple. Loved to watch him cut slices out of an apple just as slick as anything. I have his Camilus (?) electricians knife. I can't remember now if it is one that was supposed to have been made out of an old battleship or if it was to replace one that was made out of an old battleship. For whatever reason Grandad didn't like it as much as the original he lost but it's one of my treasures now. I have one of his wallets (with a traffic ticket and an old license), his deer rifle, that pocket knife, and one day his KaBar is to be mine too.

As far as starting off others, I think two of my nephews definitely got their start from their dad and their grandad (my dad), but I got to be the one to buy them their "first" knife/multi-tool. One got a Gerber Suspension as he wanted a multi-tool. The other got a SAK Tinker delux because he was a little younger when he got his. Maybe they'll both get Pioneer Pruners for Christmas...
 
2.5 years ago I lacerated my shin with a Gerber Pruning Saw. As I walked home from the woods I thought to myself, "how did that happen?" It occurred to me that I was using the saw more like a knife at the moment it cut me and I walked the rest of the way home thinking, " that was dumb." Later that day I decided I needed a knife for knife duties and would use the saw as intended. I researched online and the more I read the more fascinated I became with the different styles, metals, handle materials, grinds, sheaths, and sharpening skills. I now have a large pile of knives :eek: from various makers plus some production knives too. :D Wonderful tools!
 
Of the venerable , traditional pocketknife ?

I had three inspirations.

First of course was my Dad.

My Dad is offspring of those generations that bought something and made it last until it broke, usually that is.
I remember being a kid and goin fishing with him , he had two knives which I thought were the best knives in the whole world. First knife is an old filet knife which I still have in my drawer , IIRC it is an old Rapala. The second knife is one he gave me some 15 years ago and I wish near every day I still had it , it was his knife he bought while in the Coast Guard , single blade with rope or marlin spike , those knives go by various names.
I think it was an old Case , it had dark , dark brown scales.... long story short it was 'liberated' when I had a party some years ago , I shouldnt have left it where I did.. oh well.

Second was my Grandpas.

My Grandpa Fries gave me his old Sodbuster , he found it while walking in the nearby park one day , another knife I wish I still had. I do not recall where it is but hopefully someone , somewhere is putting it to good use !
My Grandma Reynolds gave me my Grandpas pocketknife after he passed on ,this knife I still have thankfully. :) The blades are all well worn , the honest wear and tear one see's on older user knives. The scales were almost worn off so I replaced them with stag , not the best job in the world but it works , I did this well before the advent of bladeforums and the internet :)

Last but not least !

One of my earliest knife memories is an old Irish Spring commercial , where a saltyhearty looking Irishman is walking and speaking of the virtues of using Irish spring to keep smelling fine , he used his pocketknife to cut off a sliver of the soap.

It is that commercial which I can still picture in my mind that had led to this fixation for single blade Slipjoints all these years.
I have appreciation for all Slipjoints but nothing else makes me eyes twinkle like a single bladed beauty.

Share some stories folks :)

Tostig
 
I don't recall any specific episodes leading to my fondness for all things bladed, but for as long as I can remember I've always liked guns and knives.

Tostig, I remember that old Irish Spring commercial. IIRC the man had a clip-point bladed pocketknife, similar to the the Buck 110.

Don't you just love YouTube? Here's a link to the old commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPXkuRt3U6g&NR=1

- Christian
 
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My maternal grandparents lived with my family from before my birth until their passing. My Granddad always had a pocket knife with him, the 2 I remember were Sharp brand (KMart) lockblades with wood and brass handles. Of the many knives my Dad carried throughout my youth the first that I seem to remember were 2 blade Imperial jacks also from KMart. Now he carries a Gerber EAB that I gave him a couple of years ago and just loves the replaceable blade.
My first knife was a Sharp brand SAK copy called a Materhorn that my Dad got me when I was 5. He was surprised to learn that we couldn't have knives in school - this was in the early 80's. Up until his death in 86, Granddad would every now and then buy me a little Imperial knife from KMart (I guess that was the only dept store around back then) and thankfully I still have one.
The first knife I bought legally was a Victorinox Executive but loved and purchased jacks, stockmen, etc throughout the years.
Adam
 
I remember owning a couple knives as a kid, mostly Pakistani folders and a couple cheapie hunting knives. I had no real love for them though. At that point in my life, they were almost disposable. If I broke or lost one in the woods, I'd just buy another one for a few bucks. I don't really remember my dad or grandfather using knives that often either.

I think one reason my interest started to grow were the Smokey Mountain Knife Works catalogs a friend of mine would get. I'd sit there and look through those until they fell apart. Then I picked up a couple issues of Tactical Knives, and started getting the Cutlery Shoppe catalogs. Then my folks bought me a Spyderco Police model when I was about 16, and that was that. Hooked every since.
 
Tostig said:
One of my earliest knife memories is an old Irish Spring commercial , where a saltyhearty looking Irishman is walking and speaking of the virtues of using Irish spring to keep smelling fine , he used his pocketknife to cut off a sliver of the soap.

It is that commercial which I can still picture in my mind that had led to this fixation for single blade Slipjoints all these years.
Click to expand...

I too remember this commercial!

IrishSpring.jpg


For me, however, my primary inspiration for getting into traditional knives was my grandfather on my dad's side. Grandad moved down to south Florida from Savannah in the '20s. He was a carpenter by trade but ended up owning a large glass company in Miami. As my dad said, he could build or fix anything. He died when I was about 10 or 11, but I was his lone grandson and did get to spend a lot of time with him fishing for specks on Lake Okeechobee. We used cane poles, and Grandad cleaned the hundreds (thousands?) of fish we'd catch each day with a laser sharp Dexter boning knife ...



... But away from the cleaning table on the dock, Grandad always seemed to be reaching into the pocket of his khaki work pants to fetch his two-blade jack to cut or trim or scrape something. And when he did, I was in rapt attention wishing like hell I could someday get a "jack knife" of my own. Unfortunately, lung cancer took him before we were old enough to share a love of knives. Truth be told, I don't even know if he loved knives -- probably he was like most guys from his era: He just knew he needed a select few quality tools on hand to get through whatever life was gonna throw his way.
 
Well what first got me started was my dad. He wouldnt go anywhere without some kind of knife on him, usually a SAK or multitool. He wouldnt let me carry a knife till i was about 6-7. All my cousins had one and i wanted one pretty bad, so he caved and my uncle gave me one of his old SAK, a pretty cheap one with some swiss company logo on the front scale. Still carry that around sometimes though, love that thing (which reminds me it needs to be sharpened...)
I never really was fanatically into knives till i was 12, i watched a cutlerylover video and i thought, "wow this is cool." That started an addiction.
So now i have my own little collection of knives that i use for everyday tasks here and there and on the job. IMO, knives are amazing little tools that every person should carry.
 
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