Who longs for the "good ole days?"

For the longest time (20+ years), I got by with two knives. One was a very basic SAK, the other a Buck Model 110. The SAK never left my front pocket and the Buck was used whenever I was camping, working outdoors or when I felt a larger knife might be necessary.

However, for the past 5 years I've gotten used to carrying Spydercos or Benchmades. About two weeks ago, I got a case of nostalgia and went old-school. The first day, it was great -- like meeting old friends. The second day, I began to notice little things that were just "off" (like old friends who talk to much and have BO). For example, I didn't much care for the belt pouch for the 110. It got snagged on things a couple times and it just felt odd.

The biggest difference was that I hated not having a one-handed opener clipped to my pocket. If I put anything else in my pocket, then I'd have to dig around to get the knife, and then it took both hands to open. Tasks which would have been done in maybe two or three seconds (while never removing my left hand from the work), now took much longer. I also found that the significant blade play in the SAK bugged the heck out of me.

So, on day three, I put the old knives back into the "knife drawer", clipped a Mini-Grip to my pocket and was much happier.
 
I've been regressing away from modern folders, and pocket clips lately, just to test the theory that lavan is putting forward. I use the crap out of my tinker, and a few stockmans that I have around, and overall, I'm OK.


It makes me laugh, I have a new theory, that I will post in another thread.
 
Yeah, those were the good old days. We had a knife in our pocket, which we kept as sharp as we knew how, knew better than to push on the blade and have it close on our fingers, didn't know or care what kind of (carbon) steel was used to make the blade, and didn't worry about scratching it up by using it. More importantly, no only did we have a knife in our pocket, every other XY over the age of about 7 did too.
 
The funny thing is that I can't recall EVER sharpening a knife when I was younger. Now I'll take the time to mirror polish an edge to 4K grit with my Edge Pro. I also never remember asking what kind of steel the knife was made of; I apparently thought all steel was the same. Back then, a SAK was THE knife. (MacGuyver was big back then.) I still carry a SAK from time to time.

My knife knowledge vastly improved after finding BF. Personally, I'm glad the "good ole days" are over; I'm much better off.
 
Do you know I have to say that I could never go back to "two hand knives"...once I got ahold of a "one hand knife";I tried to carry an old buck folder a few years back and went nuts!:D excepting SAK's I see no reason for knives to be a two hand opener anymore,even a "stockman" type can have a thumbstud.:D
 
Krull.....my SAK is a ONE HAND Trekker. I also can't use two hands on a knife anymore.

I'm infected.

:D
 
Lavan said:
Krull.....my SAK is a ONE HAND Trekker. I also can't use two hands on a knife anymore.

I'm infected.

:D
Click to expand...
I have one too...but I'd think it hard to make a Swiss Champ one handed! (if someone would try I sure would like to see!)
 
I was a country boy, and started carrying a knife when I was four. By the time I was ten or twelve, I was ahrpening knives for my buddies at school. In the Ozarks in the 70's, we carried knives to school and nobody thought anything about it.

I'd pull out my big Case folding hunter in class and sharpen pencils, and the teachers never even commented. Things have changed a lot. :)

Even as a kid, I noticed the difference between steels, and preferred carbon steel over the stainless that was common in production slipjoints.
 
I also grew up in the Ozarks and carried a BUCK 110 to school all through High school. Nobody ever said a word about it. I graduated in 1991.
 
What was really good those days was that you could legally carry any knife you'd like, from slipjoints to autos. :)
 
When I was 12 or 13, I'd strap on a buck general and bike all over town. No one cared.

I wore a buck knife in a belt pouch all through high school. No one cared.

And this was in the Bay Area in California!

Now.... you have to hide your knives or the sheeps freak out.

I'm 40 now... I was looking on the web at some really nice 5 inch sheath knives, beautiful wood handles, flat ground blades, good looking leather pouch sheaths... and my 14 year old son says "you know if you get one you'll never carry it. People will be all scared and stuff and stare at you and you'll be embarassed." And he's right. I live in Sacramento - bad form to have a totally legal knife on your belt.

So, like everyone else, I have a 4 inch folder in my pocket.
 
What I miss from the good old days was the ability to walk into a public building without being searched and having my pocket knife held for me until I exit. I remember being able to get onto an airplane without going through metal detectors and X ray machines. I remember when I used to be able to order guns mail order. I really loved that Herter's catalog. Those were the good old days.
 
I was born in 68. Growing up, there were two kinds of pocketknives, good ones and bad ones. All I knew about the good ones were that they had names like Schrade, Case, Camillus, Buck, Gerber or Victorinox. The bad ones could be cheap plastic handles and were bought in the 5&Dime, KMart, and the gas station and had "names" like Pakistan, Stainless, Taiwan, etc.

Heck, to this day, if a non-knife knut asks me for a knife recommendation, I still tell 'em getting a good, affordable knife is pretty simple, just buy one with Schrade (USA-made off Ebay), Case, Camillus, Buck, Gerber or Victorinox on the blade ('course, I also throw in Spyderco and Queen now).
 
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