Your Father's Knife:

[1911bphil]

My dad does not carry a knife. I don't know how I got interested in them, but I have been carrying a knife for 50 years. I hope my kids/grandkids would remember my cool knives like my autos or 4MAX Scout. They probably will remember the box cutter though, since I carry it at work.

 

[coolbreezy37]

believe the technology is called MIM.

You are correct. It’s a controversial technology in the 1911 world.

 

[shane45-1911]

It’s a controversial technology in the 1911 world.

It's not controversial - MIM sucks.

 

[awjones]

I gave this to my son Jack when he was born. It’s not the best pic, but the ebony is a beautiful coffee color. I used this for years, I was carrying it when he came into this world, and then stopped on the day he was born. It’s His now. Cleaned, oiled, and stored in the safe…

 

[Lee D]

Easy answer for me…Swiss Army knives.

There’s too many for one to be officially “mine”, but my wife knows which are special and why. Those are the ones that will be passed down to my daughters and grandkids.

 

[Frank.K]

Opinel. My dad lived in France back in the day. He would stop by the Opinel factory to see what was going on and hang out with the Opinel brothers. He said that at that time it was powered by a giant water wheel.

 

[coolbreezy37]

It's not controversial - MIM sucks.

Oh I agree, but some guys swear by it. Anything MIM in my gun gets replaced ASAP.

 

[ScarFoot]

One of these ( gift to my oldest this summer) or an opinel. I have knives that cost way more but that‘s where my dad started me and that’s where I’m starting my boys. When I die, the safe will be full goodies for them but they have to learn/appreciate quality first.

 

[TR#3]

My father never really carried a knife.

But over the past year of him watching me be an idiot with knife collecting he's warmed up to carrying one. I was looking to sell my mnandi at the time as it wasn't seeing any carry time.. He said he liked it a lot and asked what I was going to sell if for, he scoffed a little at the price jokingly I assume (or before he was going to call me an idiot) and said OK he wants it... I went and grabbed the box and said here - its yours and happy birthday. He's been carrying it daily since I gave it to him. Saved me from buying him a birthday gift this year... or a few years at this point.

SO this is now his mnandi.. Sebenza for scale.

Matt

This shot is such a vibe, golden hour was showing up that day HAHA

 

[TR#3]

I love this idea and I'm lowkey sad that I don't have "my knife". I'm just too disloyal to my knives, I'll absolutely love one for week and then get a new one and not touch the previous one for months. But I think the one that always comes back in to rotation quite a lot is my Para 3 Lightweight in SPY27!

 

[Alone]

What a great thread!...and a lot to think about.


I feel sorry for some of you who didn't have a relationship with your Fathers. My experience was quite the opposite. My Dad was my Hero, and a bit of a "Renaissance Man". He wasn't "college" educated but was still very-well educated and very well-read. (*He'd read the local "paper" EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. from cover to cover and had a penchant for History and Military History books) He was a Soldier, a local Politician, an Energy Industry Executive, a hunter and fisherman, and (*later in life) a Game Rancher.

I posted this in the Buck forum, just a bit back. In all my years afield with him, I only saw him with ONE knife...his trusty Buck 110. I reckon he scored his first one at the PX before getting out of the Army in '65. As I posted, and knowing him, he was probably quite proud to show his Buddies that he was sporting the "latest and greatest". (*For him, in '65, the 110 may've well been the ZT/Chris Reeves/Hinderer/etc. of its time) If he was out hunting in "the great outdoors", that black leather sheath was ALWAYS on his belt. In-between accompanying him on his whitetail hunts for decades and watching him train other hunters in the art of field dressing, I probably watched him gut/skin/quarter whitetail in the high double digits with his 110s.

The "Internet" wasn't a thing in those days. So, "warranty" wasn't much of a thing to him. He'd destroy a 110 about every 10-or-so years and just score him a new one. I have his last and second-to-last 110s. I lost him in April of '12 to Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. Anyhoo, here's his second-to-last 110, complete with broken tip and "Redneck reprofiled" blade...







Me? I'm a child of the 70's and a teen of the 80's. So, large "survival/wilderness" fixies have always been my thing. I have about a million knives, but think that my favorite Cousin would tell everyone that this TOPS 107E was "My" blade, in the event of my demise...

 

[J85909266]

This is the only knife my dad ever carried:

 

[tiguy7]

Not matter what knife I carry, it seems that I keep going back to a couple of knives. One is a Kershaw Zing with orange scales. The other is a full size Griptilian drop point.
Also with orange scales. The Griptilian was in my pocket for the road trip to take my daughter Rebekah out of state to the university she wanted to attend. It was used to cut open food packages, slice bread while on the road. Also made the trip from California to Utah for her wedding and another trip to Idaho to see Ruth, my granddaughter.

The Zing is an amazing little knife with a 3 inch blade that I plan to have buried with me. That decision came about because my wife said that I can’t take a knife with me when I die. Au contraire was my response.

If I had to scale back to 3 folders, I would just add a SAK to the Griptilian and Zing and be done with it.

And it has a match striker blade.View attachment 1888859

 

[Hashishiin]

Had to dig this up. This knife is a knife left by my dad, very representative of who he was. It's cheap, fake, functionally useless. The "China" emblem is a great addition. He was a functionally useless person, at best. Downright malicious at worst. Glad to close the book on that chapter. Alcoholism and ruin, and this knife, are about all that's left of him. Glad to leave it well hidden.

View attachment 1888871


My mother's knife is altogether a different story. This is her Walnut Opinel no. 6 I got her, as well as a Donut Tinker in the mail. She loves this, God bless her, as it speaks to her love of simple elegance. The knives that are possessed and what they do and represent are representative of a different chapter. I intend to re-guide my family from the insanity of its past. I am ensuring a new future for my family as, I suppose, the new patriarch.

View attachment 1888872

 

[Alone]

Had to dig this up. This knife is a knife left by my dad, very representative of who he was. It's cheap, fake, functionally useless. The "China" emblem is a great addition. He was a functionally useless person, at best. Downright malicious at worst. Glad to close the book on that chapter. Alcoholism and ruin, and this knife, are about all that's left of him. Glad to leave it well hidden.

View attachment 1888871


My mother's knife is altogether a different story. This is her Walnut Opinel no. 6 I got her, as well as a Donut Tinker in the mail. The knives that are possessed and what they do and represent are representative of a different chapter. I intend to re-guide my family from the insanity of its past.

View attachment 1888872

Damn. That was hard to read.

I'm sorry.


In the spirit of "Every storm ends in a rainbow", I'm glad you get the chance to re-write YOUR own history with YOUR loved-ones. Good luck, man. Life is a b!+ch, but at least we can learn from the past and try to be the Masters of our own destinies.

 

[Hashishiin]

Damn. That was hard to read.

I'm sorry.


In the spirit of "Every storm ends in a rainbow", I'm glad you get the chance to re-write YOUR own history with YOUR loved-ones. Good luck, man. Life is a b!+ch, but at least we can learn from the past and try to be the Masters of our own destinies.

I appreciate your kind words! Despite certain misfortunes like not having a worthwhile man as a father, there are silver linings to each downside, learning to do things myself is rewarding, I learned a huge amount of what NOT to do as a man, and, of course, I can now steer the ship in a new, happier, and healthier direction. I am optimistic.

 

[Alone]

I appreciate your kind words! Despite certain misfortunes like not having a worthwhile man as a father, there are silver linings to each downside, learning to do things myself is rewarding, I learned a huge amount of what NOT to do as a man, and, of course, I can now steer the ship in a new, happier, and healthier direction. I am optimistic.

Much respect, Brother.

 

[Fixall]

I posed this question to the wife. I thought it might stump her... Or maybe she'd mention the knife I carried during our wedding... Or maybe one of the knives she’s bought me for a birthday. Nope. She knows me way better than that.

She said "my knife" is a Victorinox Yeoman. I don't think she could have chosen a better knife. Who knows what I'll be carrying in my right pocket (or on my belt) on any given day... But you can be darn sure that the Yeoman will be tagging along in my left pocket. I carry it every day and literally can't think of the last time I left the house without it.

As far as my dad goes... He carries a Benchmade Infidel these days. However, the knife that I'll always associate with him is the Gerber Harsey Hunter he got from Operation Iraqi Freedom. He carried this knife on four tours in the Air Force EOD, from Staff Sergeant to Chief Master Sergeant.

 

[LimpCroissant]

You are correct. It’s a controversial technology in the 1911 world.

Yeah it's kind of an interesting process. I believe that Kershaw bought the machinery to do the MIM themselves and then only ended up making the Offset with it.

 

[Alone]

It's not controversial - MIM sucks.

Yeah it's kind of an interesting process. I believe that Kershaw bought the machinery to do the MIM themselves and then only ended up making the Offset with it.

"Kimber" and the Remington 870 come to mind.

I don't know very much about expensive folders. However, when it comes to the above firearms, it appears that the aftermarket has addressed and solved many of those issues. (*as usual)