[ReadyFreddy23]

My first knife was a cheap "Rambo Survival Knife" I paid $5 for it in 1982 or 1983. It had the compass on the handle and a hollow space in the handle for all your survival needs. The blade was some crappy steel it was very hard to sharpen and it wouldn't hold an edge. At 11 or 12 yrs old I didn't know what I was doing with the cheap stone it came with. Just as I have no clue now. The sheath was fake leather.

My first real knife came at Christmas 2006. I convinced my wife to buy me a Benchmade Auto Stryker. Actually, I bought it and brought it home and said thanks for my gift. A gun store near me was closing and it was clearanced for $80. Well, it's been downhill since then and my collection has grown exponentially.

What was your first knife?

[trueblue1776]

Dad's KaBar when I was about 9, still have it, still use it.

[8830]

Dad bought me a Puma folder when I was about 10. I don't remember a model name for it but it was great at skinning game. The first one I bought was a Gerber boot knife I paid $20 for back in 1985.

[ReadyFreddy23]

trueblue1776,

Great story about your Dad's Ka-Bar. Unfortunately, I don't have any knives with a history. I grew up in a city and it wasn't acceptable/allowed for kids to have knives.

8830,

Another great story. It's stories like these that make me giddy to share my knives with my 2 daughters and son. I hope they look back some day and remember some fun times with Dad and his knives like you two.

[theken206]

"I grew up in a city"

so did I and I have carried one with me since I was six!!! My first knife was prolly a swiss army knifearound the age of 5

[GRB]

I grew up in New York City, and my great-grandfater gave me plenty of knives. I never had much of a problem carrying a knife whereever I went in the city, so long as I was not being a jerk.

As for my first knife, it was a folder for sure, came from my great-grandad's collection - he had an awful lot of them, and I have absolutely no idea as to what brand it was. He gave me a bunch of them over the years.

All the best,
Glenn B

[Winter Borne]

WOW, what a nice memory moment!!! It was my first camp out with the Boy Scouts and my dad came along. After the secondday I earned my totenchip card and my dad took his K-bar off his hip and presented it to me in front of a bunch of older scouts who had admired it the day before.

Needless to say I still have it and plan on handing it dowm to my son when he comes of age.

mk

[AndyC]

Apart from the usual Victorinox Swiss Army types, my dad brought me my first high-quality knife - an Al Mar Osprey-type folder with ivory micarta scales - back from a business trip to the US; I must have been around 13.

[sonofodin]

My first knife was a Shrade with green handles and brass bolders, 1 blade. Lost while fishing

My first serious field knife was a Sog Field Pup, Then A Cold Steel ODA.

My first serious pocket knife was a CRKT M-1601KE, Then a Cold Steel Ti-Lite, Then a Benchmade Monochrome.

[Rinspeed]

Brother's KaBar when I was about 10, still have it but it needs a little work.

[sm]

Case Peanut with carbon steel blades, real bone handles


This knife and a .22 revolver were put in the dresser drawer crib next to me when I was brought home from being born.

I actually carried a Imperial Midget, with one carbon steel blade from the get -go.
I was a handsome devil with my beaded key ring with that knife sporting real cloth diapers.

:)

[hksw]

Mine (bought by my parents) was when I was 7 or 8 or 9. Family made a trip to Niagra Falls and I got one of this tourist knife trinkets with a picture (which rubbed off after awhile) of the falls.

[ReadyFreddy23]

Wow! These are some fantastic stories. I'm jealous. I'm keeping a mental note of all of these stories and I'm going to do many of these things with my kids. It's obvious that they had a positive impact on all of you.

[Hunter0924]

Buck 110 influenced by my father. I still carry one today.

[Sistema1927]

I had a sheath knife (possibly a Shrade IIRC) in Boy Scouts while living in England c. 1966. it was stolen/lost by the movers when we moved back to the States in 1968. My Dad took me to Sears, and we purchased a replacement, a carbon steel sheath knife with leather washer handle and a bear's head at the butt. It took and keeps a very nice edge, and i still have it today.

I also carried a Buck 110 all through High School. It was part of the "uniform" that all young men had.

[hso]

Schrade faux stag delrin handled Uncle Henry large 2 blade hunter. :D Bought it myself with my allowance. Wish I still had it. Might ought to go find one and add it to the collection.

[ReadyFreddy23]

So glad that you have fond memories of that knife. Good luck finding one just like it. These stories keep bringing a smile to my face when I read them.:)

[thekid]

Mine was a single blade Uncle Henry folder. I can't remember the model name but its a great little knife.

[pdowg881]

Just your basic swiss army knife brought back from grandparents vacation to Switzerland.

[Caimlas]

I'm not exactly sure which was first. I'm pretty certain it's a red-handled Swiss Army Knife - the standard model predating the tweezers and toothpick - what they now appear to be calling the Spartan (http://www.swissarmy.com/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=300&query=spartan&hiword=spartan%20) (jeezus they've got a lot of different combinations now!) My dad gave it to me; I still have it and still use it, alternating between it and a couple others which are identical but in different colors and have the toothpick/tweezers.

He also gave me a couple pocket antique knives with mother-of-pearl handles which were his grandfather's - they were unfortunately lost on a fishing trip when I was about 10, and to this day losing those knives is one of my biggest regret. I have nothing from my dad's side of the family, and nobody knows much about them, so they were significant in that manner. I could go to an antique store and pick one up for $15 or so, but it just wouldn't be the same.

My dad giving me those knives was and still is very meaningful to me, because he wasn't/isn't really a knife person. A knife, to him, was a tool - but being a kid, I had a real fascination with knives (no undue responsibility goes to my grandfather for that :P). So, he gave me his own Swiss Army knife, and got himself another one. There was nothing wrong with the one he gave me; I think it was simply a matter of sentimentality.

The first knife I got which was just a bladed knife (no extra stuff) was an Schrade lockback with green (plastic) handles and brass bolders with a high-carbon blade. My grandfather bought it for me (while I was there) at a gun shop for $20; "we'll get you a real knife there," he'd said. The other one is an Old Timer Skinner with two blades and antler handles, which my grandfather also got for me. :)

I'm not sure how people wear out their knives; I've never done it, and I've always got one in my pocket. My grandfather always has a skinning knife in his pocket, and he's skinned a lot of animals and cleaned a lot of fish, as well. He's gone through 3 in his lifetime - one due to a broken blade.

I, like him, prefer the high-carbon blades - but they are very, very hard to find anymore. Though, unless I'm going to be doing some prolonged cutting or going out into the woods, it's unlikely that it'll matter enough for me to worry about - stainless holds a decent enough edge.

I don't know how some people function in today's world without a utili-tool of some kind in their pocket. Whether it's the blade itself or the extra tools, I seem to use my knife at least once or twice a day: tighten a screw, open a bottle, pull a cork, etc.

My son already has a knife of his own - it's a "swiss army knife" impersonation knife all in stainless. He's 3.5 years old. He doesn't use it yet except when I'm around, but it goes in his box of "special things". When he's a bit older than I was when I got my first knife (5 or 6, I think), and when he shows an interest, I'll give him one of my Swiss Army knives (if that's what he wants).

[M.E.Eldridge]

My first knife was a Swiss Army Knife copy, probably made in a dingy third world factory--I got it at a local discount store for a couple of dollars. I still have it and it's pretty much useless. Always has been, for that matter. But that didn't matter to me when I first got it--I was too excited about owning my very own knife to give a damn.

[mjrodney]

My age is going to show through here, but the first knife that I can remember owning as a young man had a spoon on the outside of the handle on one side and a fork on the outside of the handle on the other side.

Circa mid-fifties maybe.

[coelacanth]

as I recall it was an old Imperial barlow pattern. Later it got donated along with the contents of an old tackle box to a young fellow who needed it more than me at the time.

[.cheese.]

when I was 8 or so, my father bought me a Swiss Army style knife with I think 8 different functions. Maybe 10. It was a POS, but I liked it a lot and used it all the time.

2 years later he bought my brother a Swiss Army style knife with at least 20 functions, and my brother immediately threw it in a drawer and for the most part never looked at it again. In fact, it's been a decade and a half and I believe it's still in that drawer untouched.

The only time he ever took it out was once when he was mad he unfolded the longest knife and chased me around the house with it. I swear to G-d I'm sure to this day he was going to stab me. I was terrified. Ironically, he's incredibly anti-gun (maybe knows he can't trust himself with a weapon?) and I'm incredibly pro-gun nowadays.

[telkontar]

Started with a Yellowstone NP souvenir (with fork and spoon!) at age 7. Acquired (along with my 2 older brothers) a lockback cheapie for pocket change a couple years later. Carried a Victorinox Tinker to school for the later elementary school years. Got a lockback Schrade at age 12 for Boy Scout usage. Still have the Schrade and have rotated SAKs numerous times. K-Bar is my outdoors knife unless the Leatherman Wave is appropriate.

Can a knife be representative of an entire life?

[JesseL]

A little single blade "Old Timer" that Dad bought from the local True-Value hardware store when I was about 8-10.

[ReadyFreddy23]

After my Rambo knife, I went on to a few cheap butterfly knives. I saw one in a movie and had to have it. I got one and practiced until I could open it with a fluid movement. I eventually learned a few other ways to open them. Luckily, I never cut myself (at least not with a Butterfly).

[fletcher]

My first knife ever was this bugger right here:

http://www.driverrecruiteronline.com/store/CMBSA885.jpg

It's still floating around somewhere.

[ReadyFreddy23]

fletcher,

was it a gift? did you buy it yourself? It looks like a Camillus, is it?

[fletcher]

It was a gift during Cub Scouts for getting my Whittlin' Chip (card which allows you to have a knife). I never looked at the brand.

[jahwarrior]

when i was a kid, there was an old married couple who lived across the lobby from my family. they were a sweet old couple, and having no kids of their own, they adopted all the kids in the building, and some of the adults, like my dad. i was about 9 when the old man died. his wife, Anita, insisted my dad take all his toolboxes, saying he needed and deserved them more than others. after about two days, my dad gave in. turns out the old man was a WWII navy vet who served in the pacific campaign. those tool boxes were a literal treasure trove of pocket knives, fixed blades,tools, compasses, maps, medals, safety glasses, gloves, tool belts, and anything else you can imagine an old sailor would have picked up along his travels. there was even an old shin gunto dagger he took from a dead japanese soldier that my dad still has. among the knives in the collection, my dad gave me two: a fixed hunter, which he said i could have when i was 12, and a two blade, eisenhower style pocketknife, with stag scales. i carried that from age 9 until 16, when a cop (NYPD) took it from me during a traffic stop. i'm 35, and i'm still pissed off about that. i still have the hunter, though; it never gets used. it's funny, he was one of 4 people in my building growing up who were somehow involved in WWII. 3 vets, and one woman, who survived Auschwitz. lots of history in my old building, i guess.

[Baneblade]

The classic, a red handled Swiss Army knife. Not sure of the model, but it was the moderately sized one with about half the available "options." My father gave it to me when I first started in the boy scouts.....

Be warned, the awl punch is sharp and my younger brother still has the 5 inch scar to prove it. He doesn't get nervous when I pull out any type of firearm, just blades.

[theboondocksaints22]

i was about 6 when my grandpa gave me a old timer lockback .he gave it to me when i started cub scouts when i made eagle scout i got a S&W swat with my name and troop number on it from my dad.

[hksw]

Wow! These are some fantastic stories. I'm jealous. I'm keeping a mental note of all of these stories and I'm going to do many of these things with my kids. It's obvious that they had a positive impact on all of you.

For me, it was, I felt at the time, the first time my parents had the confidence in me (meaning they felt I was mature enough) as a kid to possess and own a somewhat dangerous object.

[trilateral1]

Mine was and still is a Pal folder. It has a can opener, bottle opener and two blades. I got it from my dad when I was around 8. It has black bone handles and is my favorite thing ever given to me by my dad. I don't have a son but I did give a nice little folder to my daughter. She carries it wherever and whenever possible. I will be giving this Pal to her on her 18th next year. She loves knives so I know she will keep as I did.

[MudCamper]

My first one was some cheap Swiss folder copycat. My second knife, I bought myself from the store in Camp Navaro, a Victorinox Boy Scout Tinker. I still carry a Tinker or a Spartan to this day.

[CZ.22]

First knife was a cheapo lockback that my dad gave me- it was a promo from his work.
I was jealous of my brother with his proper Swiss Army Knife, so I bought my self one- actually two, plus two multitools, plus a flashlight, in a $20 set from Home Depot. I carried those knives in the Smokies, they were great for whittlin.
But they eventually were lost, so I asked for a knife for Christmas one year, expecting a Swiss Army like my brothers. But I hinted to my dad that I would like a Case.
Christmas Morning I wake up, open the smallest present and, lo and behold, a Case stockman with those yellow handles which I thought were bone.
Still have and carry the Case, although, hanks to sm, I think I'm going to be getting a Trapper of the same style soon.

[ReadyFreddy23]

that's a great story. I hope to pass this type of tradition on to my kids. My 4yr old daughter and 2yr old son already come running to me when the hear the clickity clack of my Butterfly trainer.

[Nicolai]

First real knife was an official Boy Scout four-tool folder. When I got my official Boy Scout training on knives and other neat sharp pointy things, I got a sheath knife, blade between four and five inches long, close in appearance to Marble's Plainsman, but not a real Marble's knife. My dad made sure I knew how to use and maintain them properly.

[Cougfan2]

First knife was a little two blade Case pocket knife that my Dad gave me. First good knife I bought for myself was a Case Sod Buster folder (I damn near cried when I lost it after having it for almost 40 years). :banghead: Current pocket knife is a Spyderco "Horn".

[W.E.G.]

Cheap drug-store version of one of these.

http://i9.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/af/22/3f04_1.JPG

[brownie0486]

fletcher,

That was probably the first knife I owned as well:D

It would be nice to have the early tools for posterity now, but alas, they were used heavily until the broke, then replaced till they broke again in some way and thrown out as well.

Growing up in the country settings in the northeast, we used our knives for everything, and we had them with us all the time. I remember making apple throwers from apple branches and having the neighborhood kids over for "fights" with them. Cut a lot of branches to make the throwers with those cubscout folders, and then later on with the boyscout folders.

This thread really brought back some memories, thanks for the thread and posts.

Brownie

[Joe Demko]

My very first knife was a cheap pen knife, an Imperial I think, I bought from a hardware store. My first good one was a Buck stockman my dad bought me from the PX.

[mike101]

I haven't been at this long. One of these.

http://jaxknives.com/bm14900sbt.html :evil:

[Brian Williams]

I do not remember my first knife but the one that I have now that became mine is a US Army Aircorps knife from my dad.

[4v50 Gary]

Boy Scout with spoon & fork. In hindsight, it's probably one of the most practical knives to have. You can cook & eat with it.

[marley]

I got a cub scout knife when I was about 7 or so from my cousin. He also took me to the gun show for the first time sometime a bit later. I would have to say he is the reason I shoot today. My first knife was a buck lock blade. Patrick

[Grizzley Adams]

my dad bought me a Case stockmans style knife at the local hardware store.he seen me drooling over it every time we went in there but at the time it went for 20 some odd dollars wich was a lot of many in them days.but one day he came home with something for me,he said son there is something in the truck i need you to go grab it for me.so i went out there and didn't see anything so i hollered on him and he said it's in the glove box so i opened it up and here laid the box with a note attached to it saying don't let your brothers get a hold of it,lol.i still carry that knife to this day in my pocket and it is of such high quailty that all these years later it still looks almost new!!!!

[ReadyFreddy23]

Grizzley Adams,

Awesome story. I really hope my children will look back on memories like that.

[Mavrick12]

It doest have a name on it but it was bought for me when I was born. Its a Folding knife that has a blade on both ends. Its still as sharp as a razor to this day and thankfully I still own it.

[Vonderek]

One of those cheap single blade German army knives. I sent away for it from Westbury Sales back in the early 70's when I was a kid...I think it cost $1.25. I thought it was so cool cause it only had one blade while everyone else had multiblade Boy Scout knives. I thought at the time every knife was made out of stainless steel so, trying to be a tough guy, I carried it my sock (I saw Dirty Harry do it) and after one day the blade was all rusted from sweat.

It's sitting here next to me on my desk while I type this (I still use it to open boxes and envelopes in my office.) The blade is stamped "Solingen, Germany" and it does take a good edge.

I used to love the Westbury Sales catalog. The knives were displayed their actual size on each page and I marveled at how cool they were. I bought a couple stilettos and a couple others. Some were crap but surprisingly the stilettos were nice quality...brass pins, bolsters, and liners and real horn handles.

[slabuda]

Im thinking it was around 77-79 and grandpa gave me one of his old pen knives. I was told not to take it to school but beoynd that I always had it with me. The blade was well worn too from all the years he had it. Used it to cut his plug tobacco by that time. Its around at my parents in a box. If it weren't for my uncle just taking everything after he died. (Yes he was his father but he did will it to me was :( his .22 and some fishing gear. I would have loved to have had that. He was 82 when he died in 1980 and I was only 10. He surely would have taken me squirrel/dove hunting if he were not so old. He was my hero, taught me to fish, cast and retrieve my own fish while boat fishing at the very young age of about 6. He said he had to many damn fish to catch to be helping me all the time :). I was his favorite grandchild being the first boy and beside mom and dad he was the one i loved the most. I remember at that age of 9 or so he would give me little tiny (half a cap full) drinks of his whiskey he was Irish after all lol!

Sorry for the off topic but but that knife is a real reminder of him and something of a great memory.

[ReadyFreddy23]

Great story. You should go get that knife and keep it in a safe place where you won't lose it. Too many great memories to let it disappear.

BTW, my Grandfather (not Irish) used to warm up whiskey and add a bit of sugar for himself and he would give me a small amount. He said it was medicinal. He lived to 97 (I was 6 when he died).

[frankcostanza]

it was one of those little swiss army keychain knives that my dad gave me when i was probably around 7 or 8 years old. not too long after i got it, i tripped and fell on the dock while i was fishing and into the river it went, never to be seen again.:cuss: i still get a little ping of sadness every time i see one of those knives....

[skeeter1]

The first one that I remember (and still have) is a Solingen 4" 3-blade folder with staghorn handles that my dad bought for me on a camping trip to Canada in the mid-'60s. I was probably about 12 at the time, and spent many hours sharpening it on the best-looking stone I could find (I still have that, too) around the campfire at night. It's seen plenty of use over the years and looks it, but I'll never give it up.

[cpttango30]

My first knife was a basic old brown handled 2 blade Barlow knife. That knife took some punishment. He bought it for me from the local hardware store called Mc Coys. Then after that knife gave up the gost he got me a Swiss army knife it was the Super Tinker. That knife was stolen along with a rifle while I was depolyed in the army.

[NCLivingBrit]

My first knife was a little junk-blade in the shape of a nickel-plated fish with a 2" China Stainless blade. My dad got it in London for me, as a souvenir of a day trip to see the Imperial War Musuem, back in 1978 (I was 6).

My first proper knife was a special edition Mauser Victorinox multibladed thing (I forget the model) with a couple of different blades, a saw, corkscrew and all the usual stuff that I got as a Christmas present from my crazy uncle Deitmar. I lost in a year or two later tramping around in the local woods, which have since been turned into one of the rash of new housing estates in my home town. The day I lost it I spent hours looking for it, cursing the belt loop that had broken and let it fall. I like to think some construction worker found it, but it's probably turning to rust under one of the cramped houses they peppered that whole area with.

The first good knife I bought for myself was a Buck Crosslock Solitaire 201, that I still have and use today. It was the first knife I had ever seen with a thumb stud (not counting Flikits) and a liner lock. Despite cutting my thumb to ribbons learning to "flick" open the blade, I love that knife. Solid as a rock, comfy, light and keeps a good edge. It doesn't get as much use anymore, as I mostly carry my larger Benchmade (I've fallen in love with the axial lock system) and a Gerber Mini Fast Draw. If they had made the Buck clip mount hinge down, I'd probably still carry it every day, but as is it protrudes too much from my pants.

[razorblade31]

My first knife I got when I was 6 as a christmas present from my uncle. A victorinox swiss army knife. Now I have 140+ knives, and am always looking to get more.

[Dave Markowitz]

My first knife was a cheap Barlow my dad gave me sometime in the late 70s. It has one clip point blade, and a smaller spear point, both of carbon steel. I still have it around somewhere.

I was given a Old Timer drop point fixed blade for my Bar Mitzvah by one of my father's friends. (Note, I am the only Jewish guy I know who got a knife and a black powder rifle as Bar Mitzvah gifts. I also got to spend some Bar Mitzvah loot and bought myself a Remington 581 LH .22 bolt action. :D )

First knife I bought myself was a Victorinox Pioneer, around the age of 13 or 14, back when they were made with red alox handles. I carried it for awhile, moved onto other knives, then came full circle. It's been my EDC knife since last November or so.

[Never No More]

Jap bayonet my ole man brought back from the South Pacific