Why do you like traditional knives?

Case slip joints and back patting. Now that's tradition I can get behind! Thanks all around, what a great bunch of fellas. Keep those CSJ's comin!

PS: Having someone disagree with you isn't "trolling". I'm starting to see words mean whatever the group is herded into thinking they mean, here and beyond. Lrn2freethink, less groupthink. Google is your friend.
 
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I like Traditional knives for many of the reasons stated by others but a very big factor for me is the harmless gestalt.

I am an older guy now, but it was some years ago that knives became more tool than cool for me. With 9-11 a trend for knives to be perceived as weapons accelerated dramatically.

I can take out my "Grandpa knife" in almost any situation and location and use it. I enjoy that, I revel in that, I shove that into my face with both hands and consume it with relish. :p

'S kinda cool.
 
A knife has always been a tool for me. i have never really considered it a self defense weapon. I carry a .45 for self defense and luckily I've never had to use it. I use a knife all day long.
 
The porch wins again ;)

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Fausto
:cool:
 
cinnamochoil said:
Case slip joints and back patting. Now that's tradition I can get behind! Thanks all around, what a great bunch of fellas. Keep those CSJ's comin!

PS: Having someone disagree with you isn't "trolling". I'm starting to see words mean whatever the group is herded into thinking they mean, here and beyond. Lrn2freethink, less groupthink. Google is your friend.
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Woah
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2EDGY4ME
 
jackknife said:
Couldn't have said it better myself, Doc!! ^^^^^^^^^

I don't know abut the rest of you guys, but that post of Doc's needs to be sticky why we like traditional knives.
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On a serious note, thanks for the kind words Jackknife. After spending many a minute reading your stories, coming from you that means quite a lot but I'm 100% certain you could actually say it better. :D
 
cinnamochoil said:
Case slip joints and back patting. Now that's tradition I can get behind! Thanks all around, what a great bunch of fellas. Keep those CSJ's comin!
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The condescension is strong in this one!

How is this guy still around??
 
esnyx said:
The condescension is strong in this one!

How is this guy still around??
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I completely agree.

On the positive side......our regulars did a great job in here. Which is why I keep coming back to the porch.

Jim
 
Give it time, Evan. These guys always finish their own nooses once they start the first knot.

Other than the fact that he's wrong about the brand that gets the most attention these days, I think he's got it figured right. We are all about the spirit of camaraderie where we appreciate and approve of the finds, collections, and enjoyment of our fellow forum participants. Plenty of pats on the back, which is GOOD thing. He may phrase it sarcastically, but it's an 'insult' I will proudly accept and wear prominently.

I am a Case (and GEC and Buck and Queen and Schrade and Canal Street and Victorinox) slip joint owner and back patter (encourager, congratulator, friend) of my fellow forumites. I appreciate the compliment, thanks!

While I don't get to as many of the events as some of you do, I have had the pleasure of meeting two of my fellow forum participants recently at a knife show and it was as though long lost friends were getting back together for a reunion, even though we had never met. Good times and good memories from it.
 
Cinnamo hasn't done anything explicitly wrong here. But I would love to see some actual contribution. I'd live to know why you like traditionals cinnamo and what you carry.
 
onejim said:
I completely agree.

On the positive side......our regulars did a great job in here. Which is why I keep coming back to the porch.

Jim
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As they usually do! Our friends here are my main reason for stickin' around! I mean, don't get me wrong, the knives are the honey that draws us in, but the community is the reason we all stay once we have found this place! Keep on keepin' on, my good folks.

I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but he just looks so hungry!

In all honesty, sinna, if you weren't so condescending and disingenuous, the community would welcome you with open arms. In most online communities, you would be blackballed for this behavior, and never offered an opportunity for redemption. If you care to, you might find that over here, it is quite the opposite. Even though you ran up and took a big smelly dump on our porch, you could find that instead of getting a swift kick in the arse, you would be handed a bucket and mop to clean up your mess, and a chance to take a seat on the upturned paint can in the corner. Take a breath, relax, and realize that the world isn't out to get you. If you want to have a civil debate, we would be more than happy to oblige. As long as you remain courteous and actually try to contribute on occasion, you might find that this isn't the terrible group of people you have imagined us to be.
 
These knuts give lots of traditionals as gifts to each other. So nice.
I was gifted a Case Yellow Sodbuster Jr. in CV steel. Time for me to fire one off.
rolf
 
davek14 said:
I like Traditional knives for many of the reasons stated by others but a very big factor for me is the harmless gestalt.

I am an older guy now, but it was some years ago that knives became more tool than cool for me. With 9-11 a trend for knives to be perceived as weapons accelerated dramatically.

I can take out my "Grandpa knife" in almost any situation and location and use it. I enjoy that, I revel in that, I shove that into my face with both hands and consume it with relish. :p

'S kinda cool.
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Dave, you make such a great point, in that 9-11 was a game changing event in so many ways. It did indeed bring knives into focus as a weapon, and in all reality they are. The damage a sharp edge can do is terrible, as well as gruesome. On that day, thousands of people died because lowly cheap box cutters were used. A flight attendant was killed for trying to resist, and I'm sure that had a cowing effect on the rest of the passengers. The ongoing trend of tactical knives capitalizes on the fantasies of young men, while vilifying the knife in general. We, as a result have to suffer for the actions of a few. Butthat's always the way it goes, the masses suffer for the actions of the few.

I had the great fortune to grow up with a foot in two very different worlds. When my dad came home from WW2, he moved us to Washington D.C. We lived in an apartment for some years, and my play ground with the other kids was the alley in back of the building. It was actually a nice dead end alley, with a small grassy area and a swing set. But it was still an alley in the big city, and I had early experience to some rough people. It wasn't a bad part of town, but it wasn't great and there were some two legged varmints around. Spending summers, down on the eastern shore, I still had exposure to some rough old cobs of people. Men who were, for lack of a better term, were outlaws from society at large. Illegal poachers, trappers, hard drinking men who had very little regard for the law and acted much like hermits or mountain men in an earlier age.

But in those days, I never saw or heard of, a knife being used as a weapon with a few exceptions of the lowest tavern crowd that was actually looked down on by the members of the liars circle at the Jenkins store. These men, who would actually shoot a game warden, or pay a call to someone in the wee hours of the night with a shotgun if they molested their daughter, wouldn't use a knife. If it wasn't a shooting matter, then a sawn off piece of pick ax handle was sued for a lesson. But to these rough old cobs of hermits and poachers, a knife was a tool. It was used to process the game, slice a chaw off the plug of twist in their pocket, cut a string or rope, whatever. And it was always one of two different types of knives. The leather handle little finn fixed blade, or a two bladed jack of some sort in a pants pocket. That was it, a little two bladed jack.

In the later 1980's, I witnessed the birth of the so called tactical knife market. It had nothing to do with hunting or fishing, of everyday utility, or memories of a fall quail hunt or granddad showing you how to make a perfect hot dog stick. The knife went from being a daily companion for the utility of it, to being a weapon. One enterprising your man, for lack of a better way to describe him, even went so far in his advertising to show how well his knife penetrated a car door. Now, why would somebody need a knife that penetrated that well? I've been around this rock for 74 years now, and I've never been attacked by a Chevy or a Ford. The elephant in the room is, while the traditional pocket knife was always a simple cutting tool, the tactical knife is a pocket weapon, and is marketed as such.

We live now in an age where the tool is the one that is vilified and blamed. It's no longer proper to hold one accountable for one's actions, and it's easier to blame some inanimate object. 9-11 didn't help it any. Neither has Hollywood, with it showcasing knives as weapons. Now knives take center stage in some shows and movies, with young kids falling into the james Dean thing that a knife makes you cool. TV show, movies, video games, all don't help. With world wide attention to how easy it was to cut a throat with a box cutter, knives now took center stage as the new villain. Before 9-11, I actually flew with a small pocket knife in my pocket where it belonged. A small SAK or peanut sized knife would be let on with only a brief second glance. 9-11 took care of that.

Carrying a knife, it needs to be kept in mind that we are ambassadors for our hobby. When we pull a knife out, people are looking at us, like it or not. How we act, what we do, and just as important what we do it with, are all being watched. Some young guy dressed in 5-11 tactical clothing flipping out some largish knife is going to get negative attention. Especially compared to some well dressed person taking out a small jackknife and just cutting what needs to be cut. Unfortunately we are living in very politically correct times. What we do and what we do it with are now much more important than before. Like it or not. Again, we are ambassadors for our world of knives. In a world where pop open cans, pull tab boxes and easy tear open packages are becoming more common, most people don't even carry a knife any more. And it's not actually needed really, since millions of people go through their daily life without one just fine, and the are not dropping dead by the wayside.

So…in this world we liven now, carrying a knife has to done with some care. Never mind the warm memories of the crisp fall morning quail hunt, or the lazy warm summer day fishing a shady river bank. Or even granddad teaching you how to make the perfect hot dog stick. The traditional pocket knives with their old time looks at least give us a chance to carry an effective knife with little negative impact. These days, I'll take whatever little victory I can get. But it's important how the rest of the world perceives us.

So, aside from the sheer utility of the traditional knife, with a choice of blades in multi blade types, or the outright beauty of nicely jigged bone or mellowed old stag, or even the fun of carrying a knife that some cowpoke pushing a herd up the trail would recognize, the traditional slip joint is a great knife for our uncertain times. 9-11 changed everything. Most of all, how the rest of the non knife carrying world see's us knife carriers.
 
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Wise words, and a pleasure to read as always, Carl :thumbup:
 
I pull a knife out in front of people all day long. It's expected. I'm always opening boxes or cutting plastic bands, trimming wire or what have you. People don't even bother to ask "Do you have your knife on you?" They just ask if they can borrow it or if I can cut something for them. Men and women. If I don't have a knife (or two) on me, it's like I forgot my wallet or keys. I get a cold sweat. It's been that way since I was 6 yrs old...and I'm one the older guys. Knives weren't called "traditional" when I started carrying them. They were pocket knives. Every kid had one.
 
I want to echo Gus and Frank's thanks to all you great folks. Thanks for doing this forum proud and having a little patience while the problem was removed.

On the question originally asked. My grandad and my daddy carried and used traditional knives. It's all I knew growing up in the 50s and 60s.
The older you get the more important tradition becomes, it seems. It helps us keep a connection to those that went before us.
 
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