Who likes toothpicks, and why

This old guy has been in the family for a long time, seems to be handmade (no makers mark at all), brass handles and one scary sharp blade! It is from my Dad's side, one of his Uncles gave it to him.....knowing them, it has seen some of the exploits described by JK, and likely been there for it's share of "trouble" on a hot summer night in the South.

250nsxw.jpg
 
Back about 9 years ago I started collecting Tiny Toothpicks for a couple of years...why I don't know.
I've got rid of about half, including this mammoth.
2uo06y0.jpg


edit- Here's another I like.
xc7nn5.jpg
 
Last edited:
This is currently the only toothpick i have, and i love it!
DSC00864.jpg

It often rides along with my case small texas jack.
 
jackknife,

What did you mean by "one or two did the match stick in the handle thing?"
 
^ The large toothpick was the fighting knife of choice here in the south years ago(and elsewhere i assume). Knew a guy about 30 years ago that always kept a tiny piece of toothpick between blade and handle for quick opening. Never did it myself.
 
local rednecks in east texas & arkansas used to carry these in pouches sewed to inside of their boots.these practasizes have passed with advent of tacts.we always called these knives East Dallas Specials. although fairly light in construction they were feared cutters in hands of an angry individual.
 
DennisStrickland said:
local rednecks in east texas & arkansas used to carry these in pouches sewed to inside of their boots.these practasizes have passed with advent of tacts.we always called these knives East Dallas Specials. although fairly light in construction they were feared cutters in hands of an angry individual.
Click to expand...

They were popular in the Ozarks when I was a youngster.

I had a couple of them.
 
I can see how these would work nicely as a boot knife too, and the matchstick trick was a great idea for faster blade access.....I know I would hate to be on the wrong end of one of these.

Although the one I posted earlier won't win any beauty awards (especially compared to some of the very nice ones posted) it does rank up there for "effectiveness", knowing the folks that had it prior to my Dad getting it.....it's proven itself, likely more than once.

Tactical blades can be nice (for some I guess) but they tend to bore me when you think of, and look at, blades of this type and the history associated with them. Not slamming tacticals, they certainly have their place, but the history is what floats my boat.
 
The Queen 5" is my fav toothpick, having both a Queen Maple in D2 and the Northwoods version in Italian jigged bone. They are the best apple knife ever. Period. Also good for stuff the folks on here mention, but they are the apple's enemy.
 
I love my Queen toothpick in Cocobolo/D2. Very nice for food & general chores, looks elegant too since it's so slim.
 
The only toothpicks I had till recently were the fisherman model ones. I did however pick up an old "Black Box" Winchester small toothpick and have to say that it is a great, very pocketable pattern:thumbup:

winchesteruticabone.jpg
 
With all of the talk lately about toothpicks, and with the advent of GECs slightly "meatier" offering, I decided to take the toothpick plunge. I was never too fond of the 5 inch plus models, or the tiny ones either, and always thought they would be too slender to be really useful.

Well, I got two of them this week. The Tidioute is in 2nd cut burnt jig stag with 1095, and the S&M is in goldenroot jig bone and ATS-34. Hope you like the picture.

toothpicks.jpg
 
Hey
I do not own any toothpicks. But...


Black Mamba, I really like the Tidioute one above... slightly broader blade...AND 1095 carbon steel ?

that and the Winchester have set me thinking now.

I really like the idea of a Case CV in red bone as well.

:)
 
having been raised in w.tex. we pretty much ignored this slender user. it was all about stocks since most of us had something to do with cows & horses. even city kids had friends or relatives with range animals, so hard working stocks & an ocassional trapper was the menu of the day.dehorning stiill goes on today but tendencies for castration due to infection & associated problems have decreased with many selling off the young bulls to other cattlemen to be utilitized before they become a problem for original owner. 2 mature bulls in same pasture will fight & usually this is termination for one animal.many of us have ourselves or had friends that after a warning to owners of trespassing bull have had to shoot offending animal.seems to be an unspoken rule that positive action by owner of trespassing animal needs to be taken quickly after warning or he loses the bull.i've not seen any legal or even long term resentment in these situations. the fighting of bulls can be very destructive to fences with associated problem of cattle moving where not desired. sorry i'm drifting. the graceful lines of toothpicks ca'nt be denied & as some of us mature the beauty of this pattern ca'nt be denied. always desired as a fish knife, collectors as myself are showing renewed interest in this pattern.if purchased as a user the slicing & skinning capability is a real plus.
 
Where I grew up in north central Tx they were known as a "Saturday Night Special. On Saturday and Sunday mornings as kids, we used to ride our bikes to the local stretch of honky tonks on the edge of town and scour the parking lots for stuff the drunks dropped out of their pockets when they took their car keys out as they were headed home. We found more than a couple of "SNS"s. Along with a few items I'm sure our parents didnt find out about!--KV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top