Worries about carrying a very expensive slipjoint

[Peregrin]

I know knife pouches (purses?) are frowned on by some. I admit to using them, in a somewhat unorthodox way. I found a few nice horsehide slip pouches online a few years ago, and use them as shown in the included image:

The knife sits behind the strap with the flap folded over it. It sits in my pocket, vertically, with the bolster end down. I use Carl's bandana or hankie trick and stuff that along side in the empty space. I can get the knife in and out quickly, without removing the pouch, and the grippy pouch leather keeps everything from sliding around in my pocket. Since using these pouches, probably 5 years now, I've never had a knife slip out of my pocket.

I don't own a T. Bose but I carry some pretty pricey slipjoints. I wouldn't hesitate to carry one of Tony's in my pocket, if I was lucky enough to own one.

 

[quattromori]

Chris,
as Kevin said, you should carry it only if you feel like doing it, not just because a bunch of addicts on a certain forum pushes you to do that but, if you are wondering about it, then I think you should give it a try. If you are a collector, then you probably bought the knife to leave it in some glass display and admire it, or keep it hidden in a safe and clean it from time to time. But, if you are wondering about carrying it, why not?
I do not own (and probably will never own) such a fine example of excellence in knifemaking...but if I ever had the chance and decided to spend all that money on a knife, you can bet I would carry it even to go to throw the garbage in the street. And probably I would do like Christian and carry it along with something else (a bandana, or a cellphone, as I carry any knife in my right front pocket).
I will probably never own a Ferrari but, if I did, I'd drive it. It was made for that. I drove one, and believe me, it has nothing to do with driving a "normal" car. I guess it's not that different with knives...and a knife doesn't even eat gas!
I don't know mr. Bose, so I have no idea of what he would think about this. But the knife is yours. He made his part in making a superb knife. You own it, so it's up to you to decide.
If I were you, I'd just slip it in my pocket tomorrow morning, just like that, like you don't care. In the first hour, you will be obsessed about losing it. When you first need to cut something, you will wonder if that envelope deserves the honor of being opened by a T. Bose blade. At the end of the day, the knife will be still in your pocket, and you will be less worried. repeat for a few days...then the ice will be broken. And I'm sure you are curious to know how that knife actually feels when you are using it. I bet the first apple you cut with it will be the tastiest apple of your life

Fausto

 

[Humppa]

Nice thougts, guys...

I don´t own a T. Bose knife nor any other very pricey knife. My knives are users (execpt one )

Owning such a great knife like T. Bose or any other costume makers... would I carry it? I think so. But just on days/evening/nights when I could be pretty sure not getting it lost. At some times, when I´m out with friends or whatever I wouldn´t carry that knife. Drinking some beer too much or whatever - never. When it would be on a sunday afternoon with my parents and drinking coffee, eating cake and smoking a pipe with dad, I would carry it.

I would carry it and use it. Would depend on the situation I´m in.

Kind regards
Andi

 

[Will Power]

Ultimately, there's no point in having it if it causes you worry and anxiety. Gold bars are to be kept in safe deposit boxes, they have value but no use. Knives are different.

Regards, Will

 

[Gevonovich]

I have no pricey knives ...only priceless knives...and I carry and use them all.

 

[JAlexander]

You guys will think me a Philistine, but I keep my slipjoints in the same pocket I keep my keys and coins. Doesn't matter if it's an old Camillus or the Ohta, I drop it in without a second thought. ...
- Christian

Nah, I do the same thing. Almost all of my customs have carrying and use marks, and the ones that don't are the ones I'm going to sell. I've talked about this with a variety of knife makers, among them Kerry Hampton and Bill Bagwell, and all of them have said that they want their work to be used.

 

[DrPenguin]

Interesting discussion. Funny how we humans can have trouble with the interfaces in our little boxes in which we stuff things. In this case the collectors box and the carrier/user box.

Got a lot of input and I read it with a lot of interest. Only thing I can add is this: For me the most prized knives I own are the ones I have used and used a lot. I have some very nice Case and Queen knives that are a bit rare and have never been carried. They are interesting in and of themselves but they really don't mean much more than whatever their resale value is. But once I've carried them and have some prize memories associated with them they become special.

Pick your special knives with care... but then do them a favor and use them a bunch. That's how my mind works anyway.

Will

 

[Bigfattyt]

To the OP. My cut off for "use" and "carry" is about $1000 right now. Though, honestly, I really don't think if I had a knife over that value, I would change my "I use, not collect" feeling, unless it really got into expensive knives.

I am with you, though, on the number one concern being loosing the sucker!

Might try a pocket slip. I have made a couple, just to keep multiple knives in my pockets.

Just try to be hyper aware of the knife in your pocket. All my "lost" slip joints have been found in my couch eventually.

I had one stolen, but it left it hanging in my jacket unattended. (as a kid......it was an Oldtimer stockman).

Right now I have no "expensive" slip joints at all. No customs.


I have one that I have not been able to make my self carry much, for fear of loosing it. It is a Western Barlow that was my Grandfathers. I just got it this year from my dad, who found it while cleaning out my Grandmother's place when they finally moved her into an assisted living facility at 97 years old. We had thought it lost, so I was very excited to get it.

That and a custom made by my deceased Uncle, (custom maker Glen Hornby) I consider these "irreplaceable" and have not carried or used either. I have had the custom from my Uncle for over 20 years, and never used it.

It is not a fear of scratching or hurting them, simply of loosing them.

You guys will think me a Philistine, but I keep my slipjoints in the same pocket I keep my keys and coins. Doesn't matter if it's an old Camillus or the Ohta, I drop it in without a second thought.

Maybe I'm just a clumsy gorilla, but it seems that no matter what I do my knives seem to pick up the marks of usage. Little dings here and there, scratched bolsters, pocket worn handles, and the like. My knives don't seem any the worse for wear, so I no longer worry about it. After all, my guns, my watch, my car -- none of them are pristine. And I have to admit that more often than not, my knives look better with some wabi-sabi, a Japanese term that roughly translated means the patina of age.

- Christian

Yes.......Yes I do............The thought of carrying change or keys in the same pocket as my knife (any knife) drives me batty. I must be OCD about it.

It is not so much the thought of it getting use marks. I drop knives all the time, and just shrug.


For me, I can not stand the feeling of coins or keys touching other metal. It is like chewing on coins, or something.

I also cannot wear another ring on my hand where the two rings might rub against each other. The metal on metal feeling makes me cringe.

I carry my slip joints multiple per pocket, only if at least one is protected in a leather slip sheath to keep the other from rubbing it.

Nice Otha? in that picture, and I really need to get a traditional fixed blade with a birch bark handle (that is what it looks like to me?).

 

[kamagong]

For me, I can not stand the feeling of coins or keys touching other metal. It is like chewing on coins, or something.

How do you keep your keys from touching each other?

Nice Otha? in that picture, and I really need to get a traditional fixed blade with a birch bark handle (that is what it looks like to me?).

Good call on the birch bark. I really like the way it feels, so different from other woods. I applied some Tru-Oil to make the handle water resistant, and now it has a luxurious, leathery feel.

- Christian

 

[rma100]

I never forget that the basic reason I own a pocket knife,let alone several hundred,is to have a necessary tool close at hand when needed. Yes I have several Safe Queens,but I also have many EDC knives. And for most of my life I had A EDC knife and no Safe Queens.

 

[Bigfattyt]

How do you keep your keys from touching each other? For some reason, the soft metal of the keys touching eachother does not bug me. Nor do coins touching other coins. Although rubbing them together does feel "not good" to me. My OCD must only be with knives, rings, jewelry etc. I have to admit........classic knife poses, where the knife is sitting on rocks sets my teeth on edge. I can just imagine the scratches on the knife once picked up, or if shifted. Also, piles of knives in a picture touching each other also worries me. If it is any consolation, my OCD stuff goes beyond knives. I can not stand Mayonnaise to touch me. I like to eat it, but if it touches my hands or face I gross out. I am the same way with Tuna. I like to eat it (cold only), but not touch it or have it touch my face. Tuna sandwiches are tasty, but present gross issues when I eat them because often the tuna and mixed Mayo touch me! But, for some strange reason, quality Tuna seared steaks or raw tuna for sushi does not bother me at all. Another great shudder inducing thing is to step in water while wearing socks (I have two young boys, and a wife who mops all the time, so this happens a lot!). I don't mind stepping in water while barefoot, but in my socks drives me batty.





Good call on the birch bark. I really like the way it feels, so different from other woods. I applied some Tru-Oil to make the handle water resistant, and now it has a luxurious, leathery feel. Does it feel a kind of like polished sealed cork? Or denser?

- Christian

.......

 

[black mamba]

My most expensive traditional pocket knife is a $500 custom, which I do carry occasionally (my avatar). I owned it for almost a year before I decided to carry it, and I still only pack it 5-6 times a year. At that time I decided not to buy anything I would NOT carry, and I really think $500 is about my limit. If the concern for damage or loss is greater than the joy of using it, then don't force it. Use or fondle as it makes you happy.

 

[user knife]

The saying "life is to short to carry a cheap knife" comes to mind but a custom is a whole other story in my book. I would never carry an expensive knife in my pocket but if I had a large bank account I would have no problem doing so. It really just boils down to personal choice. I say go for it if it's something you would enjoy

 

[zippofan]

This is a topic that comes up on the watch forum from time to time. Guys will buy a Rolex Daytona (10+ grand) and then not want to wear it except maybe inside the house for an hour or two. While I can understand the sentiment having banged around some fairly expensive watches (~1K), if I was able to afford a Daytona I'd be wearing the thing except maybe in neighborhoods where I would be likely to be mugged for it.

I like to use my possessions. The use part is one reason why I stopped collecting so many Zippos. In order to hold their value they must be mint. Since every Zippo is identical (on the inside at least), I only rotate through 4 of them.

So, even though up until late last year I never would have paid over 50 bucks for a knife, now I have a couple fairly expensive production knives and I carry all of them. I had my Scagel Fruitport on me when I was kayaking over the weekend, definitely a situation where it could have slid out of my pocket and into the boat unseen, then been lost when my son was out doing tricks with the kayak and it would be at the bottom of the lake.

I'm rambling now, but count me in the user category. You have to follow your own heart though, and while I do use all my knives, if I was fortunate enough to come across an RCA His Masters' Voice Zippo in mint condition it would go into a display case and never come out...except to go into a safe.

 

[cnas122]

I carry several Bose knives on a regular basis. It's fun and they cut stuff when I need something cut. I've never seen coins or key break a knife so I'm not worried about that. I also have a OCD habit of touching my knife in my pocket about every 30 seconds (habit from carrying expensive knives). I've only lost 2, but I always seem to find them again. If your worried about scuffing the knife, then you didn't buy it to carry....you bought it to collect and you will probably have a hard time keeping it with you. Just my thoughts. Here are a few I carry regularly. Of course, even I have a price limit. I have a few that are not worth (at least in my eyes) using because it will decrease their value. It would be fun to carry them...but no fun enough if I ever decided to sell them. Some of those are the bottom knives.

Do Carry

Don't Carry:

(but I'll stick it in a tree

 

[kc custom]

Since I'm a maker I usually don't have the worry about the cost (though I haven't carried one of Tony's)
I don't think twice about carrying a $1500 shotgun though and yeah there are scars. The only reason I can come up with for not carrying an expensive piece is resale value. I'm sure if I could afford $5000 shotguns I'd carry them.
Ken.

 

[whetrock]

While I currently only own production slipjoints. I must say that if I ever do pony up the cash for a custom or semi-custom that I'd try and treat in no differently than one of my cheapies. In fact I'd probably try and give it a tad bit more use out of it seeing as I'd look at it as an investment and try and get my monies worth of useage out of it. I don't find honest wear the least bit unattractive or undesireable but rather just something that happens with the use of any tool.

 

[drj211]

Carry it. Use it. Enjoy it. Take care of it. Some day you will pass it on to someone, and it will mean more to them because you did all of the mentioned activities with it.

Hope all is well with you.

 

[sitflyer]

One man's expensive may be another man's pocket change...that being said, with my knives if I can afford to own it, I can afford to USE IT! I find it's much easyer once the first scratch or ding is there You only pass this way but one time, and things are just things...

 

[neeman]

May I suggest there are two components to this thread.

1. Scuffing up a knife from general use

If you purchased the knife to use, then it will get scuffed from usage
If you purchased it as investment, then protect it and don't use it


2. Loosing a knife

You sit down and the knife might slip out out you pocket (don't call then slipjoint for nothing)
Ron on this forum makes leather slip covers for knives, singles for front pockets and doubles with or with out a partion for back pockets (named Blue)
They are thin of a very soft to a stiffer leather, and hold the knife in the cover and then the cover in your pocket
They are quite secure, and they protect the knife
You can choose the stiffer or softer leather


I dislike things in my pockets, so I carry my knives in belt pouches
I know where they are and at the end of the day the pouch comes off the belt
You can find some very nice belt pouches that are fitting for top quality knives