Who Inspired Your Interest in Knives?

bleev3

bleev3

Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
241
Simple question.

For me it was my Grandfather. This man always had a knife in his pocket...the same one for decades. Christmas time rolls around and you need to open that package you turned to my Grandfather and said 'Do you have a knife I could use to open this?'....and without fail he would reach into his pocket and produce a well worn Case knife with a blade half gone from all the sharpening over the years and slip it into your hand.

It's a memory I will never forget...one that should have been put to canvas by Norman Rockwell...one that inspired me to carry a knife.

So how about you?
 
G. I. Joe

I collected the figures as a kid and some of them came with little 'survival knives' as accessories. This got me interested enough to research military knives and thus develop an interest.
 
My dad. I have early memories of him stabbing a clip blade stockman into the bowl of his pipe. I remember opening his pipe tobacco pouch and sniffing that tobacco flavor. At the time, I had no idea what blade type or pattern the knife was, only that it looked cool. It was a yellow handled one. I got my first official knife when I was 13. On rare occaisions, dad would surprise us coming home from work with a gift. I will never forget the time he gave me and my older brother SAK's. It was a great model right down to the corkscrew. About 1 yr. prior to that, I bought a large Imperial fishing knife from a buddy. I did not tell my parents about that one. I wish I still had one of those first 2 knives now.
 
I used to read Tarzan comics and watch Tarzan movies when I was a kid. From that time on I always had a fascination for knives. It was only recently though, when I first saw "tacticool" folders that my interest was rekindled. Being in the Philippines, I never stopped carrying a balisong.
 
My teacher believe it or not, he showed us what looked like a spyderco karambit folding knife. He was just showing off his cool knife to us during our classroom break. Those who stayed got a little peeked at his knife. He told us that he was a huge knife collector and that He had collected about 200+ knives/swords. I was really happy when I get to touch the karambit myself and was amaze how cool and exotic the knife looked. That there started my whole interest in knives. Im only 19 years old and currently own 3 knives but I will be expanding it as I get older :D
 
Nobody :(

Well, there was you guys when I found this forum. "Wow... There are others like me..." I said to myself :D
 
My dad usually had a small pen knife in his pocket. He gave me a 2 bladed case pen knife when I was 11 years old. From then on I always had a knife in my pocket.

I still have the knife.:D

ric
 
A number of years ago I worked at a golf and country club. One of my coworkers was a knife fiend. Back then I always itched to get a Spyderco Lum folding tanto, but the knife bug never bit strong enough until recently. I credit him with getting me started.

I plan on getting a Burger LEXK in a few weeks/months. If Trevor is coming down to Blade, I'll probably pick one up sooner. I'll have to see what he says in email.
 
That really got me thinking, honestly, no one in particular inspired me. I was a Cub-scout when my Dad got me my first knife, and I started collecting and picking them up soon thereafter. Funny, I was in grade school and asking for pocket knives (and lighters) at garage sales, and hanging out at the Army Surplus Store near my house. (which was awesome!)
My first high end knife was a Crawford Leopard Cub by Benchamde, which I picked up at a local knife dealer when I was 16. I was able to buy pretty much any knife at a young age because I worked for the county and wore the same uniform as Park Rangers. :)
Thanks for the post!
 
I cut myself on the left thumb, Was 5 years old, small pocket knife bought at the flea market, I Remember the knife, Remember the cut, Love knives since.
 
i started out in martial arts and swords.
a good quality sword costs lots of money, but a good quality knife is much cheaper and can actually be used all the time instead of just hanging on the wall

so i went from cheap chinese swords to fixed blades to gerber and crkt folders, now i have 3 spydercos i just ordered a kershaw and im planning on getting a benchmade.
at that rate how long till i get a sebenza?
 
I'm one of those who would have to say no one inspired me, that I was born with the sickness. :) I was just 7 or 8 years old when I started bugging my mom to get me knife kits from the back of Atlanta Cutlery. She wasn't ok with that for some reason but did finally take me to some mall department store or another (it had a full display cabinet of knives, I don't think I've seen that since) and let me pick out a SAK. I've lost a few knives along the way but that one I still have.

Other than that, I'd have to credit Bladeforums and Hurricane Frances for getting me buying knives again.
 
My dad for sure! I remember he always had a knife on him..... not sure how old I was but one birthday he gave me a gerber EZ-out and since then I have always kept a knife with me and been buying knives! (I wish I could find that old gerber but I believe it's probably long lost in the woods I used to play in as a kid!)
 
His name was Jack Crawford.
He was a hell of a hunter, an outstanding marksman and could whittle up a piece of art here and there.
You just couldn't take your eyes off of his blade when he decided sit down to carve something out of nothing. It was masterful.
He taught me how to shoot, hunt and few survival skills.
It was this redneck kid's heaven, really.
Jack was on the beach in the thick of it on D-Day and that's all he ever said of it. No details ever.
My grandpa was too sick to participate in basic family activities and Jack helped to take up the load.
Alzheimer's finally got this man, and it wasn't pretty.
The last two years of his life were a never ending D-Day.
The details came out then... I just can't fathom what he went through.
Thanks for your service, Jack, and R.I.P.
I only offer these details because I feel it's important for everyone to remember what was, could be and to offer the appropriate respect/gratitude.
 
My dad. Although his knives are small and store bought, he always has one on him. He's 81 now and uses it daily.
 
My grandfather.He was a gamekeeper for the Duke of Norfolk on his estate in Yorkshire.
Before I started school I can remember him showing me how to paunch a rabbit. I still have a two blade stag handle Sheffield made knife that he gave me over 50 years ago.
I also was recently given his old bone handled knife from by my sister, unfortunately
one of the scales is broken and the small blade has been sharpened down to about 1/4" Shame there's not much left of it, still I guess it served him well.
He also told me if I had a knife, a shilling (old money) and a yard of string in my pocket I would never be stuck!! Wise words.
 
My dad as well. I still remember the camping trip where we thought we lost his Pony just before dinner. He looked everywhere while the trout cooked. We couldnt find it, because his friend had left the knife in the fish with the butter and garlic cooking in a very nice patina to his old trusty blade. He just told me the other day he found that knife again after many years. Its gotta be 25 years old, if not more. I was facinated with that knife as a kid.... ALso taught me to carry 2 knives incase you loose one....
 
My grandfathers both carried knives all the time. My father always had a Schrade Old timer in his pocket, and my mother had a really cool old combo that was given to her by her father when she signed up for a tour in the Peace Corps. in the mid sixties. It was a fixed blade with a jigged bone handle and a blade roughly five or six inches long. The sheath had a pouch sewn onto the front of it that carried a 4 blade camp knife, much like the classic boy scout knife only a bit smaller. I would really love to see those knives again, but have had a falling out with my folks in recent years and we don't speak.

Anyway, I think it's a combination of those early examples of knife exposure that got me interested and eventually drove me to beg my parents to let me buy a knife, coincidentally another classic 4 blade slipjoint, from the display case in the sporting goods section at Gemco, a chain department store that went by the wayside and was replaced by Targets out here on the west coast in the eighties. Soon after that first purchase I saved up enough to get a Buck 110 from Simon's Hardware downtown. It's been downhill ever since!!:D
 
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