What was your gateway drug?

It was Spyderco for me. This would be in around 2001; back then (and even now, to a lesser degree) it was uncommon to see much variety in quality knives down here. I was looking for a "good knife" I could use for emergency service rope work. I was impressed by how Spyderco actually explained what materials they used (you mean there's more than just "carbon steel" and "stainless steel"?) what their geometry was all about and why they made the design choices they did. I had been interested in knives since I was a kid and already owned quite a few but they were all rubbish; it wasn't until I bought that Delica that I understood what made all of the others rubbish.
 
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Spyderco for me too, specifically my first Spydie, a Manix 2 XL.
I got it 'cos I decided I needed a good pocket knife for work, about 4 or so years ago. Still got it, use it and wouldn't part with it.
At the time it was just going to be one good folder, 'cos that's all I need right?
Yeah, well, I think y'all can guess whats happened since...
 
Coast cutlery, not sure the model. Looked like a buck 110. Loved it lost it. Then a gerber liner lock opened the door to a whole new spectrum.
 
Buck Vantage Pro for me. I remember a lot of people recommending knives on here with s30v years ago as the sh*t. So i found a buck pro for about $50 and was pumped. Then I found spyderco and bought a sage 1. And know here I am...hooked
 
Spyderco. Got the police model as soon as I could. Found out I didn't like the smooth metal grip and that got me looking around. Still a huge Spyderco fan though.
 
Lot of interesting replies, seems like Spyderco is to be blame for a lot of us but still so many different ways and companies that got people interested in quality knives. Really I suppose if I think back to my first introduction to quality cutlery I bought a Gerber 525 Fixed Blade from a friend about 30 years ago (oh man does that not seem like 30 years ago) I recently sold that knife to a gentleman that was moving to Alaska. He had carried the smaller version of the knife (the 425) for years but had it go missing in a divorce. He was happy to get it and I was grateful to see it move on to someone that appreciated it for what was and was going to put it to use. They are pretty cool things knives.

 
Made do with buck 110 copies as a kid, then CRKT as a young adult. Still have those first couple of CRKT's, to much sentimental value to get rid of them even though I've moved through productions, midtech, and now into customs. All thanks to BladeForums.com!:D
 
Ken44 said:
Same here. My first good knife was a Case Barlow that I got in grade school, and I've been into knives ever since.
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The first knife I bought myself out of high school has this Case Barlow. I made the sheath for it about ten years later.

Case%2520Barlow%2520Open.jpg
 
I carried mostly trads through high school and college. Usually Buck, Gerber or Old Timer folders. Still have my OT 108 from then. Also the occasional auto. Turns out all of this was foreplay.

My first non-traditionals were Benchmades: a Panther and 975 Emerson-design, purchased in about '93 and '94 respectively. Lost the Emerson in the mountains a few years later (I have a feeling it's still lying where it fell, closed). I still have the Panther.

After that I fed the addiction accumulating a lot of knives through motorcycle riding, mainly fixed blades, then back to folders several years ago.
 
I've carried daily for probably over 40 years. But just figured whatever I had on hand was "good enough". Then one day a US Made Kershaw caught my eye. Damn, that was probably $5k ago. :o) Then I was introduced to a few sharpening skills beyond just hacking on a 70 year old stone left by my dad. Now it's not just about looks, or new modern features, I had to see what I could do with this steel, then that. Then I was re-introduced to the beauty of traditional slip joints that I had all but buried. Now that is costing me as much if not more than trying to keep up with new modern designs.

Guess I'm a little beyond gateway. Heck, according to my wife, I'm into a full blown $400/Day habit. ;)

I need, I need, I need, I'm not a slacker, gimme, gimme, please, I need.... -What About Bob
 
Carried a Gerber for years. Was looking at a knife article about shoving a Benchmade AFCK M2 through the hood of a car over and over. That was the beginning. A Benchmade in M2. For a while I was concerned that my EDC rotation should be a different knife for each day of the year. I finally god hold of myself. I kept buying knives and when I would get them I would like them, but kept carrying mostly Benchmades (and Spydercos, and Dozers, and McHenry & Williams, and ......................). Know I limit myself to mostly Benchmade Axis Locks, and some Kershaw assisted opening knives that are my beaters.
 
I always had cheap $20 and under knives until one day I wanted to try out a Spyderco and grabbed a tenacious and it was all she wrote. I loved that knife.
 
I really liked the classic look of Randall's back in the 80's and 90's. Those were my first "expensive knives". Did I need them? Hell No. SOGs got me buying a lot of different kinds of blades about the time I joined BF. I think they were truly the gateway knives for me.
 
leghog said:
The first knife I bought myself out of high school has this Case Barlow. I made the sheath for it about ten years later.

Case%2520Barlow%2520Open.jpg
Click to expand...

I ran through a couple Imperials in grade school (cost about $0.50-$1.00 each), but that Case Barlow was my first "good knife". It remains my dominant reference point for traditional knives.
 
My great grandmother gave me a Bowie and a tomahawk and I was shown how to use them and my grandfather he also got me a good amount of folders and taught me a few things. I still prefer a Bowie and a hawk on my side than any other combo. My great grandmother taught me more than I can even remember about the outdoors!
 
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