What have you done?

T

TomW

Joined
Oct 7, 1998
Messages
1,128
What have you done to promote the joy of owning knives?
Have you ever taken somebody to their first knife show?
Left your old knife magazines where they'll be read by non knifers?
Given somebody a knife?
Were you successful?
I'd like to hear about it.
 
My female best friend enjoys owning the CRKT Neck PECK I gave her and carries it with her...although it´s in her purse instead of being worn as a neck knife. :rolleyes:

And I will buy a tactical folder for my best male friend as soon as he enters police duty.

The rest of my buddies isn´t very interested in knives, but they don´t act "sheeplish".
 
I got my wife a few knives over the years until I hit upon the one that she would actualy carry everyday, a Kershaw Chive. That was about a year ago, now she has a new Rainbow Leek from Kershaw that has replaced the Chive. The lady that she works with thought the Chive was cute so she bought one to and carries everyday. Two women and six guys work there and only the ladies carry everyday.

I also gave my dad a Gerber SL 3.25 and a Benchmade AFCK. He seems to carry the AFCK everyday.:)
 
The rest of my buddies isn´t very interested in knives, but they don´t act "sheeplish".
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Yeah same here....if they do carry a knife, they only do it occasionally and it's a no name cheapo "tactical" liner locker.

They can't comprehend spending real money on a knife (even just $40-50).

Warthog
 
About ten years ago I took a young lad that was the son of a friend to a knife show. He was in awe for the whole show. Since that time he has built a rather nice little collection of knives. He has really good taste.

I lend my knife books and magazines to all that show an interest. This may not have shown anyone the light, but I am sure it didn't hurt either.

My wife really likes the Mike Snody neck knife I gave her. She has become more interested in knives recently, but could not be considered a knife knut.

I talk about knives to any that will listen. Hopefully I have had a positive effect.
 
I run this little website that averages about 5500 hits per day.
 
I believe I've been succesful in passing on my interest in knives to my 6 kids. I've always instilled in them my belief that most knives are tools rather than weapons, and urged them to do the same with their friends.

My oldest, a 20 year-old young lady blessed with uncommon beauty, herself carries a Warren Thomas Neck Knife of laminated Ti and carbon fiber. It even has a pink cord-wrapped handle. I gave it to her on her 18th birthday. She carries it with her when she jogs.

I've given as presents to all of my 5 sons knives. My 19 y.o. carries a Emerson CQC-7BTS. The 17 y.o. a full size Commander BTS. The 16 y.o. a Spyderco Endura. My 6th and 7th graders carry a small Ruana, and a Gerber Paul knife, respectively. We have a contingency plan for whenever any of them accidentally pull on a pair of pants to go to school, and forget to remove their knives. It only happened once, and the plan worked without very smoothly with the school officials involved, who also praised my plan.

All the kids I've taken up to the Oregon Show several times. Once I lost 2 of them for awhile, but found them sitting with Bob Lum and his son behind their table of all places! Bob said it was fine and that they were well behaved. :)

I'm thinking that I've brought them up all pretty well with regard for respecting knives, knifemaking, and the different styles of the craft. The late Al Barton even befriended one of my sons, and forged a knife for him out in the parking lot of the Oregon Show years back. He's never forgotten it. When I told him of Al's passing, he was visibly saddened.

So my kids all know the world of knives and makers, and the close freindly community of knife people in general, and with a little luck, they'll pass the torch to their kids, with a little help from old Grampa if I stay healthy. ;)
 
I just sold a knife to my brother for way less than retail.In the past I have sold knives to friends male and female. Ive been suprised by the amount of woman Ive encountered that appreciate knives.
 
Originally posted by Kwaiken56
We have a contingency plan for whenever any of them accidentally pull on a pair of pants to go to school, and forget to remove their knives. It only happened once, and the plan worked without very smoothly with the school officials involved, who also praised my plan.
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Why don't you start a thread outlining your plan and how it worked, I'm sure there are many forumites with kids that would appreciate it. I don't have kids but I would still be Interested.

Thanks :)
 
Originally posted by BigDeeeeeeee
Why don't you start a thread outlining your plan and how it worked, I'm sure there are many forumites with kids that would appreciate it. I don't have kids but I would still be Interested.

Thanks :)
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I'm glad you asked! It's eleven something right now - I have to get up at 3:30 am, and I'm getting pretty sleepy, but I'll indeed start a thread tomorrow about it. It's really pretty simple, but the kids have to do there part.
 
I used to work in a "younger" environment as a computer tech.. (now i'm like the younger guy where i work).. but when i was there about 3-4 years ago.. everyone, including myself was about 19-20 years old.. i would order knives on ebay while i was at work and everyone could see my monitor and people would stop by and look at the knives... i ordered a lot of knives and gave a few away too..

a wave of knife fever swept thru the office and a few guys actually bought knives because of it.. then towards when i left there, i saw some cheap butterfly knives on 1sks.. they were the dragon forge ones.. so i took orders from everyone and 6 guys ordered one.. and they got 'em :) and one of my buddies recently broke his too... he was kinda choked.. but meh.. they were like $20.. but then $20 can get u a decent knife like a Kershaw Vapor..

now i work with older people that are all hardcore computer geeks.. well.. the senior designer that i work with has some cool knives, Bucks.. cuz he's a climber/hiker/kayaker outdoor adventurer so he carries 2 bucks.. one is an FB and the other is a folder.. dun remember the models..
 
yep given away many knives to people in the forums-like to give to ones that don't have

have a box of knives i give away to young knife nuts around me-love to see the look on their faces and the twinkle in their eye

doing this has given me alot of pleasure
 
I give knives out for x-mas presents (although this year looks a little bleak! probably wont be able to), B-day presents (almost everyone in my wifes side of the family, including mom has gotten a knife, had everyone on my side covered years ago).
I also have given out four of my handmades (three folders (two of them tactical), one fixed blade). Last year I gave out one of my favorites (avalanche) to a friend of mine (youth pastor).

I also have gotten a few people started on collecting, two of them in my church, their wives are handling it well!!! the other one out of church, his wife rolls her eyes!!! (oh no another hobby for him!).


The only thing I consider a better gift is the Bible!!! I always tell my wife that a knife is "the gift that keeps on giving!!":D
 
I opened a knife store in an area that most people only knew flea market quality knives. I have spent the last 2 years educating my customers to better quality knives. Now CKRT and Kershaw are by far the best sellers. My customers now lust after quality production and custom knives. Now my customers are more impressed with names like Kit Carson, and Darrell Ralph than with Bud K and Kit Rae. When they hear Gil Hibben's name they think custom instead of United Cutlery.

At the end of the year, I will be moving the store out of the mall. I will move 10 miles north just inside WV where automatics are legal. I expect that most of the customers will still shop with me. I will be able to introduce them and a new group of people to more and different quality knives.


Pam
Alchemy Knife and Gift
 
I gave BM 910SBTs to my son and my brother. My brother has a pilot's license and I thought he should have a good knife in the event he has to get out of a "dicey" situation.:rolleyes:
 
Best of luck with the business alchemy knife
One thing we definately need is more good knife shops.
You're in a position to reach a lot more people than most of us.
I sincerely hope it goes well.
 
Two years ago I took my friend to her first gun/knife show. Although she didn't buy anything that first time, she's bought something at every one we've gone to since (every six months). I also bought her an Outdoor Edge Wedge for her birthday that year. It wasn't her first knife per say, but it was her first EDC. Now she carries either a CRKT Crawford/Kasper (her favorite), a Boron Coated Chive that I also bought for her, or a Leek. I just gave her a BM43 Bali for her birthday last month which she's been messing with. While she's not quite as into it as I am, her interest in knives has grown quite a bit over the past two years. There's nothing like creating a new knife knut.
 
I do my best to be a responsible knife owner and user. When asked why I carry more than one knife or a knife of a particular type, I justify it. When people borrow my tools, I show them how it works. For example, if they are not familiar with the lock on a folder. If they show an interest, I describe some of the features and compare it to other knives that I own. Basically, I just try to share my enthusiasm, so they can see that not all knives are wielded by psychopaths in lousy movies.
 
I have 2 really good friends at school who were into guns and hunting and such. One of them owns more firearms then I care to count. Well, being a knife collector, I constantly had them on my person or lying around the apartment (one of these gentlemen was my roommate.) They got to look at, touch, and most importantly, use my higher end production and custom knives. They also frequently would look over my knife books and magazines I had laying around the house. Eventually, they got hooked on quality production knives. I really got them hooked on CRKT, a great knife at a price a college student can afford. Just recently, one of them has ordered custom folders from Kit Carson and Mike Obenauf.

I also worked on my family some. My brothers never did get into the hunting/fishing or gun/knife thing like I did. I have always been obsessed with guns and knives from a very early age. I gave my oldest brother a pocket knife for Christmas one year. That following summer, he left for Africa to be a missionary for 3 years. He had been carrying the knife around because it was a gift from me, not really using it. When he got there, he was amazed at how much he was using it. He worked in an office atmosphere for the most part as the main accountant/financeer. When we went to visit, he asked me to bring my sharpening stones to touch it up. When i got a hold of the knife, it was obvious it had seen some major use. The knife was eventually stolen from him in London attempting to go through customs. The first thing he did when he landed, was get a new knife.

My other brother was working as an electrician, but rarely carried a knife because of having to dig into his pockets to get it out. I had a spyderco delica with pocket clip that he had seen and kept asking me about. I had a few other knives by that time, so I asked him if he would like to try it out to see if he liked the clip. Two years later, he informed me that he lost it on a job, pocket clip broke and knife fell out of his coveralls. His Christmas request was for another pocket knife with a clip.

I'm sure others have much better stories then mine, but I just thought I would share my experiences. It's really cool to see others get turned on to such a great hobby and passion.

JR
 
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