What was your first traditional knife? (Fixed and/or folder)

[Pàdruig]

Hi all,

I thought I would introduce this question as I actually find it curious. Now I am not very old in the grand scheme of things, some call me a youngster and others call me "old". I like to think that I am in my prime... In any case, perusing these forums, particularly this one, has gotten me a wee bit nostalgic. As a result, I felt compelled to bring out the very first knives I ever owned and it just so happens that they are both traditional blades.

When I was 8 or 9-ish, my dad felt that I had achieved an adequate level of responsibility and took me shopping for my very first pocket knife. Once we arrived at our local Bi-Mart, I rushed over to the knife case, which happened to be my favorite spot in the whole store, go figure... As I practically drooled all over the glass, practically giddy that I would be taking home a piece of awesomeness, my dad began to lay out the "criteria" by which I needed to adhere to in regards to selecting my first knife. It had to be good high carbon steel (it will stay sharp longer, but I had to take good care of it), none of that shiny stainless, which practically disqualified two thirds of the knives in the case. It had to be simple to operate, with no more than 2 or 3 blades, and no fancy gizmos. This pretty much left but a small selection of Old Timers. With his criteria set, he had the gentleman behind the counter pull one out and he then proceeded to educate me on the do's and don'ts of knife handling. Once he was satisfied I understood, he paid for the knife and the rest is history.

Fast forward some 7-8 years and I found myself back at the very same Bi-Mart, this time by myself. Even then, I needed no excuse to go stand at the knife case. In this particular instance, I had my eyes on only one knife, the beautifully sleek Buck 119. I had already been working for a couple years for a local nursery at this point so I had cash burning a hole in my pocket and visions of grandeur, thinking how glorious it would be to own such a beautiful piece of steel. Not able to wait another second, I placed my cash on the counter and asked for the 119, fearing I would be turned away since I wasn't 18 at the time. The clerk didn't bat an eye and quickly pulled the knife out with its box, bagged it for me and sent me on my way.

Fast forward, yet again, to today, almost (but not quite) 20 years later and I still have both of these knives. The Old Timer has been through some tough use, I even thought I had lost it years ago, only to rediscover it after my dad passed. The Buck has been to Mexico, Canada, and all over the states, on my side at most of my jobs, and despite not receiving the gentlest of care from me, it still shines like a diamond.

I have many knives, but these are the only two (besides one of my dad's), that I can be absolutely certain that I will never willingly part with.

(I did peruse the threads to see if a similar one already existed and did not find one. However, if I missed it, I apologize ahead of time for the redundancy.)

 

[Jack Black]

I like to think that I am in my prime...

Me too, but that's because I'm old and daft!

When I was a very young boy, pre-school, my uncle, who had been a sailor, gave me a large Kukri which he had brought back from his travels. It was accompanied by two smaller blades. My parents thought that I was a bit too young for such a large knife, so it was kept at my grandparents house, where my uncle lived. I carried it a few times, playing on the 'tip' and bomb-site behind their house. Sadly, when my uncle died, one of my relatives stole it.

Being from Sheffield, I had pocket knives waiting for me before I was old enough to carry them. I remember there were two, which I think came from the same uncle, a jackk knife with a black handle, which I cannot remember too much about, and a Richards knife with a bottle-opener and clip blade. This had a Swinden Key construction, and on the Mark side was a picture of a Native American on a horse, and the legend 'Little Chief'. I remember taking it out with me, one evening after school, at the age of seven. I have carried a pocket knife ever since.

Apart from the Kukri, the first sheath knife I ever had was one out of my mother's kitchen drawer. My dad sharpened it up at work, and my mother made me a leather sheath for it. I carried it for years.

 

[Pàdruig]

Apart from the Kukri, the first sheath knife I ever had was one out of my mother's kitchen drawer. My dad sharpened it up at work, and my mother made me a leather sheath for it. I carried it for years.

Something about that just screams awesome. I think my mother would have been horrified had she seen me running about with one of her kitchen knives thrust in my belt....

 

[Emspop]

I posted this last month over in the Buck sub-forum in a "1st Buck Knife " thread...thought I'd share it here as well.

My first Buck was a birthday gift from my grandfather ( a well known and respected Case man) on my 10th birthday. He took me into Johnsons Hardware/feed store walked me over to the knife display and told me to pick myself out a pocket knife because it seemed a little strange that young man my age should still be pestering him every time I " needed" a knife.

I'll bet my smile really did touch both ears like he told my folks later. Anyway I looked at every knife in every case and pointed to the middle sized pocket knife in the BUCK case, then it was my granddads turn to smile! He just grinned and shook his head and told the guy to " give the man what's he wants" and I haven't gone one day without owning at least one Buck 303 since that day in 1975.

My pop really gave me the business about that Buck knife..." 1st a Cubs fan and know a Buck knife?! "( pop was a Case man as well) " you sure you're my Boy?" He asked with a big grin and my granddad said I must be because I was as bull headed as he was at my age...
I'll never forget that day. Not just because of that knife but because to me it was the day I joined the men in my family.

 

[yablanowitz]

My first traditional knife was my first knife, since there weren't any other kind back then. It was (and still is) a little bone handled Tuxedo pen knife that I found and repaired when I was six or seven years old. I still have it more than half a century later, and if I could get Photobucket to cooperate I'd put up a picture of it. Like that's going to happen.

 

[Trout Hound]

Mine was a Victorinox Recruit. I'm pretty sure I got it for Christmas when I was eight. That knife and I did a lot together. Still have it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[deltaboy]

Colonial 3 blade stock man which I planted several before moving on to Imperial Barlows.

 

[JR88FAN]

I am just a Rookie!

Rick Nowland coin pocket in Mammoth with D2 steel.

Got this from Rick maybe 5 months ago, and still think it's every bit as beautiful as the first day I saw it!

 

[TLARbb]

Mine was an Imperial Barlow. Didn't take me long to lose it. I really liked it and it was shaving sharp right out of the store, which was a good thing because I didn't know how to sharpen the blade. I tried on an old medium carborundum and the blade got so scratched up it looked pathetic. But it was my first.

Ed J

 

[Hickory n steel]

My first knife that really counts was a Shcrade old timer 33OT stockman that someone ( I think my moms husband at the time ) had bought at Walmart and forgot about without even opening.
It sat in the living room for weeks , so I just pocketed it and never said or heard a word about it.
I still have it, but I don't use it anymore since I realized it was actually a lemon when I got it ( that Walmart deal caused a major decline for schrade )

 

[The Fort]

Mine was a Case Texas Jack, nearly forty years ago.

 

[Old Hunter]

My first was an Official Cub Scout pocketknife received for my birthday circa 1963; it had dark blue handles, came from J. C. Penney Co (the local BSA distributor) and is long gone. The first knife that I still retain possession of is a Western F66 Black Beauty fixed blade that I still own (minus it's original sheath). I received it as a Christmas present from my folks, circa 1966-68. OH

 

[derrman79]

It hard for me to remember but I think my first was an Imperial Barlow. I found two identical barlows in some boxes at my parents several years ago. One of them was given to my oldest son for his first knife when he was 6. The other is standing by till my 4 yo son matures a bit more. By the way my oldest now has a cigar box nearly full of traditional blades, all at the ripe age of 9.[emoji6]

 

[5K Qs]

...
(I did peruse the threads to see if a similar one already existed and did not find one. However, if I missed it, I apologize ahead of time for the redundancy.)

Padruig, I think it's a very interesting question, and similar threads have certainly appeared. But being able to find them is sometimes a challenge; the BF search function takes some getting used to, IMHO!

I enjoy reading threads like this, and what I'm pasting in here is something I posted in a thread that started in October. It contains links to other threads similar to this, as well as some info about my first knife.

If you're like me in that you enjoy reading about everybody's first pocket knives, here are links to a couple of similar threads:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1240360-Your-FIRST-POCKET-KNIFE-as-a-kid-Show-em-if-you-still-gott-em?highlight=first+knife
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1152768-Your-first-pocket-knife?highlight=first+knife
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1436281-Your-first-knife/page2?highlight=Forest-Master

Here's what I posted almost 2 years ago in the thread in the first link:

I got this Colonial Forest-Master around 1960 when I was 8 or 9. I carried it every day on the dairy farm until I left for college in 1969. Used it to cut a LOT of baler twine from bales of hay and straw; whittled wiener sticks and apple slingers and little shims and "guns" and "knives" and cars and boats; carved initials and other important messages; opened bottles of pop, cans of paint, grease tubes for the grease gun, oil cans; drove screws and pulled nails; bored holes in belts and milking straps; just generally used (and occasionally abused) it almost every day, and I don't remember ever cutting myself, at least not badly!
(The bail in the picture is not the original; I lost that somewhere in life, and made the one that's pictured out of an S-hook I bought for toilet repair.

And then, although I always knew where that knife was (usually in my desk drawer), I rarely used a knife and never carried a knife again until last January! At that time, my wife happened to show me a knife (see below) she thought she probably got from her dad after he had carried it for years and then replaced it. I cleaned that old Imperial up and decided I was going to start carrying a knife again, and see if I could find some other old knives I could "rescue" and use. I soon ran across BladeForums, and now I say, "Hello, I'm GT, and I'm a knifeaholic!"

Thanks for starting an interesting thread, Brian! Your first knife is looking good after your TLC!!

- GT

Here's a recent pic of my Forest-Master, which I've been using a LOT recently, for some reason (despite bowed springs and horizontal play in the main blade):

- GT

 

[Pàdruig]

Padruig, I think it's a very interesting question, and similar threads have certainly appeared. But being able to find them is sometimes a challenge; the BF search function takes some getting used to, IMHO!

I enjoy reading threads like this, and what I'm pasting in here is something I posted in a thread that started in October. It contains links to other threads similar to this, as well as some info about my first knife.

Quite honestly, I didn't even think about using the search function... I just manually perused this particular sub-forum, oops.. I will be sure to remedy that the next time.

Regardless, thank you for sharing the links, I will peruse them shortly. I am finding that I certainly enjoy "origin stories" of sorts as well, it is interesting to see how an individual's first experience might or might not dictate his or her future tastes in knives, or even life in general. I discovered I pretty much liked anything sharp, metal, and pointy as a kid and my tastes as an adult, though far more refined, are still pretty varied.

 

[oldpardak]

Not sure if it would be considered a traditional but my first knife was one that I made with my grandfather out of an old file when I was about 12. We made the whole thing together all the way from annealing to making a sheath for it. I carried it whenever I went outdoors (hiking, camping, etc) until I was in my late 30's when someone broke into my house and stole it along with a bunch of other stuff.

 

[Jack Black]

Something about that just screams awesome. I think my mother would have been horrified had she seen me running about with one of her kitchen knives thrust in my belt....

Different times I guess :thumbup:

...Anyway I looked at every knife in every case and pointed to the middle sized pocket knife in the BUCK case, then it was my granddads turn to smile! He just grinned and shook his head and told the guy to " give the man what's he wants" and I haven't gone one day without owning at least one Buck 303 since that day in 1975...

That was a great post, really enjoyed reading it :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[Henry Beige]

Duplicate

 

[Henry Beige]

My first knife was what we would now recognize as a Camillus demo knife. I haven't seen that one for well over sixty years. The first one I can remember was this Loewen Hippekniep, or sodbuster I bought in Amsterdam in 1970 while backpacking around Europe.

 

[Emspop]

Different times I guess :thumbup:



That was a great post, really enjoyed reading it :thumbup: :thumbup:

Thank you kind Sir.


Clay