What started you on the "Traditionals"..?

[jakemex]

I'm going on 64 and like many have said here, there weren't any of the modern style knives at that time. That said, there are many modern/tactical knives that really catch my eye. I still love the materials and styling of the traditionals... Natural woods, bone and stag etc are the greatest attraction to me.

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

More like came back too. Like many others here I grew up when traditional knives were the norm, not a classification. Like many too, I got caught up the bigger and badder is better. At one point I was carrying and using a Kershaw Ken Onion 1550 (I think) Blackout. Now I will admit, it was a good knife and really handy to flip out and was easy to keep sharp and lasted a while. I don't recall the exact thing that got me moving back to "old timey" knives. Mayhap it was just a feeling of disconnect and a desire to reconnect with a way of life that I miss and there's not much chance of getting back to. Probably a good thing because it was "...the best of times and the worst of times." It could have been landing here in this folder on BF. Whatever the reason I dug out the few slippies I had and started using them.

Once I really took a look at and started using a more traditional, slim bladed, traditional type knife I realized that these were real cutting machines that also had an elegance to them, a touch of class that the tattycools just didn't come close to. As well as my Kershaw KO cut it didn't slide through like the thin blade of a trapper or a sodbuster.

I was also reminded that with few exceptions such as hard use field knives, pocket knives and most sheath knives are meant to cut. Not pry, dig, hammer, but cut. So I started thinking when it came to using them about actually cutting and not forcing whatever I was using a knife on into submission. I also started thinking about thinking about making the cut before I found myself with my hands full then realizing I needed to have an open knife to cut with.

 

[MrVandercar]

My dad always carried some kind of drop point lock back with some kind of maroon handles(I'm thinking they were micarta). I have no idea what it was or where it went. Due to a major knock to his noggin he lost most of his memory a number of years back and can't shed any more light on what happened to it than I could. I've never liked tactical or aggressive looking blades, there is no way I would ever stab someone! I just love the beauty and timelessness that a nice traditional has. It's simple to see how people have a close connection to these knives.

 

[Blueberry815]

My grandfather had some old traditional and I always loved the look of them. So I decided I would collect them too.

 

[Brian.Evans]

Hmm...well, I guess I don't exactly know. I have always carried a knife, since I was a kid. For most of my school years it was a plastic handled Schrade SP3. When I went overseas I carried a junk $20 Smith and Wesson tanto, half serrated, oho liner lock. It did everything I needed it to do though. I carried one knife or another until my daughter was born, when I bought her peanut made on her birthday. Which led me to bf, which led me to the Traditional sub forum. It's where I belong. People are gentlemen (and Sarah) here.

 

[jackknife]

I'm old enough to be retired for 10 years now. That puts me back in an era where there was no tactical knives. A tactical knife back then was a surplus store Camillus MK2 or a TL-29. The hardware store has a Case display of all kinds of slip joints and sheath knives for hunters and fishermen. If a man had pants on, he had a pocket knife in one of the pockets, and it was sully a serpentine jack of some sort around 3 1/4 inches closed. Usually with two blades. The only folding knives around back then was the Italian stiletto's and switch blades. I grew up thinking of those kinds of knives as a punks weapon. This was long before the Buck 110 came out and changed everything.

I remember when the tactical craze started in the 1980's, and I thought the knives looked ridiculous. I just stayed with what I grew up with, and never changed over to the so called new and improved knife. I started out with a scout knife, went to a stockman, and now I carry a Case peanut. If I need a knife that I don't have to worry about a blade closing, I carry a sheath knife on the belt or in the pack. But so far in a long life of camping, and fishing, I haven't had a slip joint let me down yet. Why change what works?

Some years ago I had to have surgery on my left hand and thumb. I came out of the hospital with a left hand wrapped up in gauze like a mummy and unable to open my slip joint. A younger family member loaded me a modern one hand knife. I tried it and hated it. Yeah, I could open it easy with one hand, but most times the blade was too long, or too wide, or too something and didn't even cut well because of the thick grind. I gave it back and just put a small old Case little finn sheath knife on my belt. Worked out just fine.

Carl.

 

[Sjostygg]

Carried my grandpa's 34OT and a SAK I got for my sixth birthday. Been hooked on old slip joints since. Though I always carry a modern knife on my person in addition to the 34OT.

 

[VESPASIAN]

As a kid in the 60's, dad had all sorts of knives around... having a pocket knife and a 22 rifle was normal boy stuff back then because we had a summer place away from the suburbs and spent a lot of time there. Shooting, fishing, whittling... Of course I know now how really fortunate I was.

I saw dad last night and he hands me a bunch of the knives from back then, "Here, you should take these, I don't use 'em." He carries a small SAK.
Kinda funny because then I reached in my pocket and gave him a new Kershaw Leek I had bought for him. "Here, I got you a knife!" I said.

We both laughed.

Then he had a bit of a strange look as he eyeballed the new knife, like he was looking at a piece of an alien space craft or something.

"You can open it with one hand Dad"

"Ah... uh huh...hmmm"

Cheers, Ed

 

[555]

When Traditionals were all that were carried by everyone around you and are the only knives that are stocked/sold in the stores, makes it easy to carry and have an interest in Traditionals, back in the day.

 

[arizonaranchman]

At 50 I remember when these old classics were the norm. I've had a few modern folders over the years but never had a passion for them. They were just tools and carried no attraction for me.

Now i've recently "rediscovered" them after perusing this forum earlier this year and it sparked an interest in getting back to the basics. I don't collect them, but I do now have a few GEC's that I carry and use exclusively now - moderns are now of no interest to me at all in fact.

 

[lambertiana]

When my interest in knives started, there were no tacticals or one-hand openers. "Traditional" knives were all that we had.

 

[Rsmith_77]

i am an odd one. my father never carried a knife until he retired like 5 years ago. i was edc'ing before he was. I recall my grandfather had some sort of pen knife that i saw on occasion but knives were never a part of my family or upbringing. But i was a cub scout and the first knife i can remember receiving was some sort of stockman pattern probably 3 1/4". No idea what make or model though. i remember going on a cub scout trip and i was opening all three blades and throwing it at a wooden door trying to make the knife stick. yeah that knife got confiscated.

I think i picked up the habit of carrying in the military. I still have a gerber gator and i gifted my gerber lst (to my sister) but somewhere along the line i picked up a sak and i carried one of those for several years until i finally lost it. i was researching a decent replacement knife when i found this site. But i went a slightly different way (becker bk11, the necker and a dozier folding hunter one handed opener). This brought me a round about way to the subforums. It was actually Carl's stories that kept me coming back to the traditional sub-forum. Reading several of his stories really spoke to me..and through his eyes i discovered a love for traditional style knives. I still have a couple Moderns (the kabar dozier, the gerber gator, a buck rebladed by Duanne) and an assortment of modern fixed blades. I AM a fan of becker knives lol but my heart belongs in the traditional camp and has for several years now.

and wow that was a long, convoluted story, this is probably what happens when you type up stuff at 2:15 am

 

[Eric J]

For me it was simply getting tired seeing the same design recycled over and over again. All these tactical folders are generated from one design and it shows. The edges are often too thick or the blades are made out of a hard to resharpen steel. Spyderco came up with the original and best and now it has been copied badly by many companies. I own another famous knife from another manufacturer and it will not get sharp no matter what system you use. The list of failures is far too long for me. Bad locks, thick edges, handles that produce blisters after a few minutes, screws that need special bits, etc. I don't need a knife used by Navy SEALs or Delta Force. I need a knife that works for general utility that doesn't scare my family members or encourage admiring looks from gangbangers. Give me carbon steel or Victorinox Rostfrei and I'm a happy man.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

For all the reasons listed below...

Jack, perfectly said, having a little age on the young guns has the advantage of watching the industry evolve and having the time to check out the new kid on the knife block, the tactical one hand knife...

The first knives I carried as a kid were slippies as did other men in my family. There weren't any modern/tactical etc. knives around. Except for switchblades.

I still prefer them overall but I do have a couple tacticools with assisted opening (vs over 100 slippies). They both have their place and uses.

Since I'm 58, there weren't any tactical/OHO knives around for much of my lifetime. I have tried modern knives from Spyderco, Kershaw, CRKT, Gerber, Buck, but they just don't have the combination of charm, carryability and slicing ability of a good 3-4 inch traditional. Plus, and this is a BIG plus, traditionals can and, for me at least, usually do have multiple blades for all-around utility.

I was born in 1960 and thats the only knives I knew about until high school.
We all traded(at school) cheap or broken knives our father/older brothers would give us. Then a friend who's father(he helped start Three Rivers Knife Club a few years later) owned the local hardwear store and was a huge Case collector brought a Case Barlow to school in the 5th grade. Many of us bought one soon after, and thats when I started really getting into knives, and have been ever since.

My first locking knife was a Puma Game Warden that I bought while in high school.

I'm 60+. There just weren't any tactical (what does tactical mean?) when I started buying pocket knives. I grew up with what we now call "traditional" folders. I started off with a Boy Scout knife, then I bought an Imperial Toothpick, then Buck and Old Timers. I carried theses until I bought a few Sogs.

Tom

Growing up in the 60's, my Dad and my uncles all used Old Timers...I was given an 8OT (my first knife) by Dad in the mid 60's....bought a Victorinox Champion in '72.

I'm going on 64 and like many have said here, there weren't any of the modern style knives at that time. That said, there are many modern/tactical knives that really catch my eye. I still love the materials and styling of the traditionals... Natural woods, bone and stag etc are the greatest attraction to me.

I'm old enough to be retired for 10 years now. That puts me back in an era where there was no tactical knives. A tactical knife back then was a surplus store Camillus MK2 or a TL-29. The hardware store has a Case display of all kinds of slip joints and sheath knives for hunters and fishermen. If a man had pants on, he had a pocket knife in one of the pockets, and it was sully a serpentine jack of some sort around 3 1/4 inches closed. Usually with two blades. The only folding knives around back then was the Italian stiletto's and switch blades. I grew up thinking of those kinds of knives as a punks weapon. This was long before the Buck 110 came out and changed everything.

I remember when the tactical craze started in the 1980's, and I thought the knives looked ridiculous. I just stayed with what I grew up with, and never changed over to the so called new and improved knife. I started out with a scout knife, went to a stockman, and now I carry a Case peanut. If I need a knife that I don't have to worry about a blade closing, I carry a sheath knife on the belt or in the pack. But so far in a long life of camping, and fishing, I haven't had a slip joint let me down yet. Why change what works?

Some years ago I had to have surgery on my left hand and thumb. I came out of the hospital with a left hand wrapped up in gauze like a mummy and unable to open my slip joint. A younger family member loaded me a modern one hand knife. I tried it and hated it. Yeah, I could open it easy with one hand, but most times the blade was too long, or too wide, or too something and didn't even cut well because of the thick grind. I gave it back and just put a small old Case little finn sheath knife on my belt. Worked out just fine.

Carl.

As a kid in the 60's, dad had all sorts of knives around... having a pocket knife and a 22 rifle was normal boy stuff back then because we had a summer place away from the suburbs and spent a lot of time there. Shooting, fishing, whittling... Of course I know now how really fortunate I was.

I saw dad last night and he hands me a bunch of the knives from back then, "Here, you should take these, I don't use 'em." He carries a small SAK.
Kinda funny because then I reached in my pocket and gave him a new Kershaw Leek I had bought for him. "Here, I got you a knife!" I said.

We both laughed.

Then he had a bit of a strange look as he eyeballed the new knife, like he was looking at a piece of an alien space craft or something.

"You can open it with one hand Dad"

"Ah... uh huh...hmmm"

Cheers, Ed

When Traditionals were all that were carried by everyone around you and are the only knives that are stocked/sold in the stores, makes it easy to carry and have an interest in Traditionals, back in the day.

At 50 I remember when these old classics were the norm. I've had a few modern folders over the years but never had a passion for them. They were just tools and carried no attraction for me.

Now i've recently "rediscovered" them after perusing this forum earlier this year and it sparked an interest in getting back to the basics. I don't collect them, but I do now have a few GEC's that I carry and use exclusively now - moderns are now of no interest to me at all in fact.

When my interest in knives started, there were no tacticals or one-hand openers. "Traditional" knives were all that we had.

 

[garryt]

Yep,

As a lot of you guy's, it was only slippies around when I was young. When I rediscovered knives, tactical type heavy duty folders were all the rage and I must admit they did appeal to me for quite a long time and I still have a few.

As I said, it was only when I bought the Buck, I suddenly realised how much I really liked these knives and what I'd been missing for years.
I love the look / feel / nostalgia and cutting ability of them. They just seem to have a timeless beauty about them and with certain models, I just find myself simply admiring their looks. I don't think I've picked up or used one of my others for months now.

The only problem I have now, is I just can't get enough of them and find myself constantly looking at new models to add to my collection.....

 

[clutchcarter]

I'm 53 and have as long as I can remember I've been around knives. My father was a mechanic and always had race cars around (mostly midgets and sprints), we also have always had motorcycles (dirt bikes and street bikes). For the most part the knives were lockback Uncle Henrys I think, I didn't pay much attention or care as long as they were handy there in the toolbox. They were usually abused pretty badly, just used for what ever purpose, cutting, scraping, prying, then chucked back in the tool box. It seems like most of the other mechanics I was around treated their knives like this too. Funny how well they treated their other tools but abused their knives. I own an auto repair shop now and most mechanics I know still treat their knives badly.
I only began appreciating knives as beautiful objects in the last ten years or so.......I sincerely apologize to all those badly abused knives in my past and promise to never abuse one again!

 

[leghog]

My age. In my early 50s and in my youth there wasn't all this tacticool gear. Pocket knives weren't even "traditional", they were just pocket knives. It's now that they're divided between traditional and modern/tacticool/whatever. Even when cared for, tacticools just don't age well. Same can't be said of traditionals. That's why I've stuck with traditionals.

 

[zippofan]

It seems many here are in the same age bracket and grew up with slipjoint knives. Dad had three, a Barlow (which I conned off him ), a TL-29 and a hawkbill, the latter two for work. He didn't usually carry a pocket knife, though his dad, my Grampa did. I remember him peeling an apple with a yellow handled pen knife, think it was a Case, for us kids when we sat on his porch with him.
I carried that Barlow up until high school, then no knife through college until after I got married. That's when I got into collecting Zippos and began carrying a Zippo lock back on occasion. Getting involved with Boy Scouts got me back into carrying a knife daily, a SwissChamp in a belt pouch. Came in handy at work (computers) so I got a little interested in SAK's, bought a Wood Badge Huntsman when I earned my beads. It was my Scouts that got me looking at more knives though. A lot of them had one hand openers, so I began to look at them online and discovered the Case Trapperlock, a combination of OHO and old fashioned looks. I came here looking for more information and stayed... much to my wife's dismay

 

[Halfneck]

What I grew up with as a kid, and what my Grandfather carried. Dad was a little ahead of the times with a Buck 110 on his belt. Went through the tactical craze from High School on to the Army. Still carry my modern Spydercos, Emersons, & Kershaws from time to time. I still like them, but they don't have the soul or the childhood memories associated with them like a well made slipjoint.

 

[Rich S]

I got started with "traditionals" because when I started collecting knives 60+ years ago, all folders and straight knives were "traditionals" None of these modern tacticals, assisteds, etc. existed then. While I have and use some assisted and thumb stud folders now, they are as traditional as I can find with wood handles, steel bolsters and the like. Not a fan of plastics.

Rich