What Made You Decide Knives Are Great?

Knives are great because they dovetail into many of my outdoor interests: hunting, fishing, mushroom picking, camping, metal detecting etc. What I find surprising at times are the fishermen\hunters that aren't interested in knives and axes.
 
My grandfather carried one every day. He was an amazing man. I always looked up to him. As a result, I got one as early as I could (8) and have had one since.
 
Not real sure why. I've always liked them. Craftsmanship and functionality all in one that you can carry everywhere.
 
I got my first knife when I was 4, maybe 5. THAT is when I realized that there were not many things in life that I wanted to do, or for that matter was required to do by my parents on the farm, that didn't require a knife. A knife was simply an extension of my hand. Hence my life's motto:

If it can't be done with a knife, it doesn't need doing. :D
 
My grandparents had a little house up in the mountains. We'd go up there once or twice every month, and every time I'd go exploring through the hills with my grandpa.

I brought my friend up one day, and he brought a pocketknife with him. I thought it was really cool and decided to get one.

I ended up getting a Buck Bantam BLW and, knowing nothing about high quality knives, thought it was great. I soon found out about Kershaw from the same friend, and I have been purchasing higher quality knives since, including Kershaw and Spyderco.

I just got a Paramilitary 2 and I can safely say that life without a knife in my pocket just won't be the same.
 
GuyWithTheThings said:
My grandparents had a little house up in the mountains. We'd go up there once or twice every month, and every time I'd go exploring through the hills with my grandpa.

I brought my friend up one day, and he brought a pocketknife with him. I thought it was really cool and decided to get one.

I ended up getting a Buck Bantam BLW and, knowing nothing about high quality knives, thought it was great. I soon found out about Kershaw from the same friend, and I have been purchasing higher quality knives since, including Kershaw and Spyderco.

I just got a Paramilitary 2 and I can safely say that life without a knife in my pocket just won't be the same.
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Huge Kershaw fan. Although I don't own a Buck Bantam I have heard many good things, they seem to be decent users for the price, by all accounts, so I'd say it was a good first purchase.
 
Lycosa said:
I credit my Dad and A. G. Russell.
rolf
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A.G. Russell was where my tiny mind learned I could actually *gasp* order knives and have them shipped to my door! My young self was no longer limited to what was at the local shops!
 
RedLyn x said:
Huge Kershaw fan. Although I don't own a Buck Bantam I have heard many good things, they seem to be decent users for the price, by all accounts, so I'd say it was a good first purchase.
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For the price there are better options. The handle feels cheap and the steel sucks. But as a first knife, it's pretty awesome.
 
GuyWithTheThings said:
For the price there are better options. The handle feels cheap and the steel sucks. But as a first knife, it's pretty awesome.
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I guess most could say that the steel Buck uses isn't so great, although with their heat treat and blade geometry, 420HC is really good actually (I assume this is what the Bantam uses, but I have no idea, usually when I think Buck I think 420HC).
 
I have liked knives ever since I can remember, when I was a kid I had a bunch of toy knives and guns. When I was 6 my dad gave me my first knife, he dulled the blades because he knew I was a bit ornery, then a few years later he gave me my uncles swiss army classic. That knife is very special since that uncle passed before I was born and I was named after him, the knife also has a leather pouch with our initials on it. I guess there was never a point when I decided knives are great, they always were to me.
 
I was never particularly into knives other than as tools until about a year and a half ago I bought a few on a whim, sort of a sampler - a Boker, a Kershaw, and a Spyderco. It wasn't until I started visiting this forum (when researching Kershaw knives, of which I have one left) and stumbled into the Traditionals forum and decided to try a couple of Case folding knives. That was what hooked me. I love the old-style traditional slipjoints - bone handles, nickel silver bolsters, brass liners.

Though I seem to have gotten over the original enthusiasm and have settled on a nice Victorinox SAK for daily carry and I rarely get the urge to buy anything new, or even carry any of the others that I have.

At least I learned how to sharpen. :)
 
I've had knives since I was younger but never carried one unless out fishing. One day after work on the way to a company event, one of my coworkers bought a new memory card that needed opening. Like a dummy I tried to open it by hand and cut myself on the plastic packaging because I was trying to force it. I started carrying one of my SAKs and began my real knife collecting the following day.
 
I'm a Finn. My Grandfather's older sister gave me my first puukko when I was 7 yo.

She said "A man is just a half of a man without a puukko".
 
Dang, you're making me really want a Benchmade... Basically how I got into it all, was I was raised around multitools, knives and firearms... So there really wasn't a chance the world was going to triumph over my knife needing genes. Also knives bring me comfort.
 
I am a Finn as well, Mumma and Paappa both born in Finland and Immigrated at a young age. I always remember at Christmas time you could count on Paappa having his knife to open up presents, he still carries that same knife to this day. He was the one who gave me my first Puukko at age 8 for saving my little sister from drowning. He said, " Every man needs a good Puukko and today you became a man." That knife is my most prized knife in my collection. He is the reason I carry a knife with me everyday no matter where I go and what I am doing. Paappa always says "You never know when you might need a Puukko".
 
Out of college and I had buy a knife set for my apartment! More recently when I figured out there was a sub-culture of knife lovers and a ton of knife designers all trying to build a different mouse trap that all does the same thing!
 
Trips to the local surplus store with Dad to spend our Christmas or birthday money - I was about 11 and my brothers 7 and we had quite a collection (that always seemed to disappear a piece at a time when Mom cleaned our rooms haha). I guess I cant fault her too much I guess. I can see where she wouldn't want 7 year olds running around the woods unsupervised with ka-bars and glock field knives! Oh the joys of having divorced parents - I had a balisong my Dad found and gave to me before I was in middle school (again today whereabouts unknown to all but Mom.)
 
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