Your first pocket knife

I can remember getting my first knife from my dad, a little hunter green lock back of some sort that was given to him by a college buddy with the express purpose of giving it to me. I wasn't very old, but I don't remember how old. I can remember everything about that day, so I must have been pretty impressed. I don't have that knife, it is lost to time.

I do have one of my first knives. It is an Imperial Ireland scout, and it looks exactly like a young boy carried it. It lived in my sock drawer for years, I took it with me when I moved to my first apartment, then all the apartments after, then into my families first home. Then I found this place and realized I was a knife guy. I found a brand new one exactly like it in the package from the 'bay, so I snatched it up. It's from 1994, so right about the same time I probably got my original.


Space saved for a picture when I can find the one I took.
 
My first was an SAK Alox Cadet - had it since I was in grade school, and when I was a kid, it went everywhere with me. I was recently at my folks house, and digging through a drawer, I found it again. It's been decades, and just assumed it was lost at some point. The tip was bent on the primary blade, and I tried (gently) to straighten it again, and it snapped right off. :grumpy:
 
My first knife was when i was 5 years old me and my family went to the Great Smokey Mts National Park. We had a great time.We took a ride on a sky lift and Dad thought i should have some responsibility so he bought me a little one blade souvenir knife. It started my love for knives.I still have it and that little 5 dollar knife still has to be one of my favorites.
 
You guys had some great stories! I loved reading them. It's nice hearing where your love for knives started!:thumbup:
 
My first pocket knife was a scout pattern given to me by a boyfriend of my mother. Never having owned a knife before, much less a sharp one, I promptly proceeded to cut myself. Still have the scar on my left index finger. I don't remember what happened to it. It may have been taken away from me. That was the beginning of a life long interest in knives. It's sad that kids today can't own a pocket knife without being suspended from school or the swat team being summoned.
 
I posted the model of my first knife earlier, but no pics. But seeing all the pics here gave me motivation to dig mine out and take a few quick photos (sorry about the crappy cell phone pix)....

Here it is - or I should say here they are... one of these Buck 305's was given to me by my dad when I was somewhere between 8 and 10 years old. Carried it to school every day and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I saved my pennies, and eventually picked up another one. I can't recall, but I think the one with the brass pin, long pull, and swedge is the older one. The other one has a silver pin, nail nick, and no swedge. I could be wrong on that - someone please correct me if you know for sure. Thanks!



 
I'm quite certain that my first is my Camillius Blue Cub Scouts folder. I remember while I was in the cub scouts I had a pocket knife clip on my belt and this is the only that would've been able to hang on it. My guess is that I've posessed this knife for 12 or 13 years now, if I count the times I lost it my room for few months to a year.

 
Old timer, really wanted a case but they
Cost more. Remember the hardware and
Sporting goods stores had a couple cases of each
Brand. I would stare at knifes until I got ran out of
The store.
 
Same as my first, Sunday School Christmas present when I was 6.

r8shell said:
I remember a green Girl Scouts camper-type knife. I was probably about 8 yrs old. I don't know what ever happened to it.

When I was 12 or 13 years old, I found this penknife on a picnic table at a park. I was in love! I put it in my pocket and carried it for many years. All through high school and college. So beautiful and useful! I know it's just a cheap knife, but it got me hooked. Since then, I discovered modern folders, and still use those, but I've circled back to traditionals, and it's funny, but the Buck Lancer is probably a knife I use as often as anything else.

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I can't remember if it was a Camillus or a Schrade ( had uncles who worked for Schrade back then), but it was 1960, when I became a Boy Scout and it was a Boy Scout knife. The knife came with me to South East Asia in 1968, and I gifted it to a papa-san in Pleiku.
 
Mine was a Colonial Pov. R.I. ececutive that was given to me by my mother when I was about 5yrs old. I carried the little knife until the letters wore off the handle, I still have it and another one that i will carry with whatever else im carring that day. And the little executive will hold a verry sharp edge . Maybe its a good thing that i didnt know how to sharpen a knife when i was 5 lol.
 
My dad gave me a knockoff SAK for my 13th or 14the Xmas not sure which it was back in the 70s . It went everywhere with me and eventually fell apart.There was a Saddlery in my town and I had him make a belt pouch for it. These days I still have the pouch but I I replaced the knife with a VIC Angler(the one with a cool fish on) about 30 years ago. I even had a new pouch made a couple of years ago using the original as a template for my Puma "swiss army type" camper knife.
It was the same logo as Countryblokes-.
 
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Derek, the Buck 305 with the long nail-nick is the older of the two you show. It is certainly interesting and enjoyable to read of everyone's "first knife" recollections. OH
 
I'm sure my first knife was a cub scout knife back in the day. I really don't remember it well and don't have it. However, I do still have this Imperial Frontier double eagle lockback. I bought this off of the MAC tool truck in about 1976 and carried it every single day until sometime in 2010 when my knife interest was rekindled. It's had the tip broken off, (not by me), it's been sharpened down plenty and it's got plenty of blade play. I used it for everything you can think of over the years. Now it rests in my knife chest and I carry newer, fancier blades, but I still have a soft spot for my old companion.

Chris-

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I'm sure I'm not the only one who's first knife was from a vending machine at a rest area of the highway, my Old Man wouldn't buy me any of the balloons from the machine in the men's room so he bought me a all metal Trim keyring utility knife with nail file, caplifter, screwdriver.

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Whenever I think back this always comes to mind as the very first, (of many of the same,I lost a lot) it seemed like every time we went on vacation I either got one of those or one of those miniature colonial bowie knives. ;)
 
T. Erdelyi said:
I'm sure I'm not the only one who's first knife was from a vending machine at a rest area of the highway, my Old Man wouldn't buy me any of the balloons from the machine in the men's room so he bought me a all metal Trim keyring utility knife with nail file, caplifter, screwdriver.

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Whenever I think back this always comes to mind as the very first, (of many of the same,I lost a lot) it seemed like every time we went on vacation I either got one of those or one of those miniature colonial bowie knives. ;)
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Ted I forgot all about those, I know I had probably a half dozen of those growing up, I remember them on a cardboard display at the barber shop..I bet I have one somewhere at my folks home.

Pete
 
I forgot all about those, Ted. I had a few of them as a kid myself.
 
My first was given to me by my grandfather around 1990/1991 and it was a Victorinox SAK. I dont remember him putting it my hand but I do remember going with him to Wallys Hardware and picking up a belt sheath and some leather stain. Had to wait the whole weekend for it to dry and that was one long weekend.

First thing my mom did was "put up" the toothpick and tweezers so I wouldnt lose them. Of course she ended up misplacing them. Still have the knife and the belt sheath. The knife has been assigned nightstand duty but I still use the sheath.

Fond memories of going out to his garden armed with my SAK cutting okra and cabbage heads off the stalk and shelling butterbeans for what felt like hours.
 
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