More than half of these companies that make Blacked Out super tactical knives "for military and law enforcement" sell more to collectors and suburbs than their intended target audience, someone once said that the base stores where military buy their stuff are loaded with mostly sog and gerber, both owned now by GSN a massive Chinese retailer and purveyor of some of the lowest quality refuse I've ever seen, yet that's what they're going to buy, not a high end knife made from wolverine claw steel, but exceptions of course apply, some I'm sure have spent 400+ on a folder. Back then for me, my limits were 250 and under for a folder and 300 and under for a fixed blade, I rarely spent 200 on a folding knife, however with the huge push for "super steels", folding knives with S35VN or better quickly became a Standardized mainstay, the second clown car that started up was the endless crusade for the strongest lock known to man, lots of companies have titanium frame locks, which do 2 two things, it allows the company to charge 200+ easily just on that alone, and it convinces buyers that they can abuse the living daylights out of the knife because the titanium framelock can most likely handle it. so youtube is filled with dense-heads "batoning" trees with folding knives and putzing about the woods like a maniacal forest hobo --- if I don't stop now I'm sure I'll crash the thread with my never-ending story-rant
A year and four months.
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I've been thinking about that too, the troubled youth probably carried switchblade which contributed to the long term ban, I miss old timer, and schrade before they cared more about a big paycheck than keeping the company going and sold to China, my dad gave me a schrade stockman when I waa young, I don't remember too much about what I did with it but I do believe it got lots of use, especially the smaller sheepsfoot blade. Now I wouldn't buy anything from schrade, just won't last, I've been thinking a lot about the slipjoints from 1800s to 1940s, I went on a barlow binge from Germany for a while, spent 167 on a solingen barlow from boker made in 01, came duller than a spoon edge, still bewildered from that, and bikers traditional series has some suspect fit and finish quality even though they all come from their factory based in solingen.
I think pre China gerber and schrade were what America used mostly in thr 50s, especially in and around the central valley, there you get the farmer types and rural folk and they definitely had slipjoint knives apart of their daily lifestyle
"May their knives chip and shatter!"
I can tell you exactly what the menfolks carried in the 1940's and 50's. I grew in that era and young pups learn by watching the big dogs. All men and most women has a knife on them or in a purse. It was just part of normal everyday life. In fact, it would have been abnormal for a man NOT to have a knife. Even the priest down the road at St, Andrews had a little two blade jack knife about 3 inches closed. That was the normal pattern; a small, 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 in ch two blade jack or penknife pattern. They were so common place, there was a stand up cardboard display at the five and dime store, right up front by the cash register, that held them. They were made by Imperial, or Schrade Walden, Camillus, PAL, Ulster, or others.
There was even a folded sheet metal folder made by Trim, called the trio, that was sold alongside their nail clippers. It was a little bigger than a SAK classic, with a cutting blade, screw driver/bottle cap lifter, and nail file. It was made to go on a keychain, and they were VERY popular. The little jacks came with a white fake pearl plastic scale handle, or white 'crushed ice' celluloid scale handles. Blades were decent carbon steel and they sharpened right up on the bottom of a coffee mug.
Also around in the 1950's was the humble Christy knife. Made since the 1930's, it was around and you saw them now and then, but not in the numbers of the little white plastic handle jackknives down at the five and dime store. A lot of the me who came home from WW2, just kept on carrying what Uncle Sam had given them. My Uncle Charlie carried his Camillus TL-29 for many years after the war, and it was worn down to nubbins, so I brought him a new one when I came home on leave from my own army service. You'd thought I handed him Excalibur! He carried that one until he passed away. In the war, Uncle Charlie ran up a beach in Normandy and walked most the way to Berlin.
Dad carried his little Case peanut, because his mother had gifted it to him as he left for college. A family of Irish immigrants, dad was the first one to get a higher education, so his mother, my grandma gave him a little knife fit for an academic. He carried that knife until age and arthritis made it hard for him to open it and he switched to a Christy knife. In the war, dad had been with one of the spook outfits, and had dropped into occupied France a few occasions. After the war, he stayed on with the outfit in D.C., but after he and mom had a really big fight over it, he finally took the office job upstairs, as a married man with a couple kids didn't need to be playing cloak and dagger games in East Berlin. He gave in to mom, me, and sister Ann, who made it clear we wanted a father on premisses. He loved the Christy knife, and bought 50 of them to hand out to the operatives in his section.
My Uncle Paul was a machinist at the Curtis Wright engine plant in New Jersey, and he carried the little give away knives with the tool logos on them from the vendors selling the dies, drills and bits, and thread taps. He had those little 3 inch closed two blade pocket knives with logos from SK tools, Timken bearings, TRW taps, Bridgeport Milling machines, and others. I don't think Uncle Paul ever had to buy a new knife, he had a supply of give aways from the venders. Most of these knives were made by Ulster or Imperial. They actually cut good and sharpened up great. During the war, Uncle Paul had driven the landing craft ashore at some islands in the South Pacific that the Japanese really didn't want to let go of.
All those guys came home from the war, and got jobs in machine shops, car repair garages, welding shops, factory production lines, driving trucks, and none of them saw need for more than a little penknife size pocket knife. They worked hard, made the 1950's American dream come true with a house in the new suburbs with tract housing developments, and two cars in the driveway. They sent their kids to college in the 1960's so they would have a better life and not work as hard as their old man. This was the great migration to the city after the war. The birth of the office cubicle. Now, their grandkids work in offices doing the daily TPS reports on the computers and feel the need for a knife that Conan The Barbarian would appreciate.
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^ is a fountain of wisdom, knowledge and experience, it is a shame that the knives at the five and dime store isn't seen or made available today, in the manner it was then, and they lasted forever because people didn't abuse them or do dumb things with them as people do now --- the knife industry today is making a big money grab at people's pockets and I see, they happily oblige. For exampleand 50's. I grew in that era and young pups learn by watching the big dogs. All men and most women has a knife on them or in a purse. It was just part of normal everyday life. In fact, it would have been abnormal for a man NOT to have a knife. Even the priest down the road at St, Andrews had a little two blade jack knife about 3 inches closed. That was the normal pattern; a small, 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 in ch two blade jack or penknife pattern. They were so common place, there was a stand up cardboard display at the five and dime store, right up front by the cash register, that held them. They were made by Imperial, or Schrade Walden, Camillus, PAL, Ulster, or others.
There was even a folded sheet metal folder made by Trim, called the trio, that was sold alongside their nail clippers. It was a little bigger than a SAK classic, with a cutting blade, screw driver/bottle cap lifter, and nail file. It was made to go on a keychain, and they were VERY popular. The little jacks came with a white fake pearl plastic scale handle, or white 'crushed ice' celluloid scale handles. Blades were decent carbon steel and they sharpened right up on the bottom of a coffee mug.
Also around in the 1950's was the humble Christy knife. Made since the 1930's, it was around and you saw them now and then, but not in the numbers of the little white plastic handle jackknives down at the five and dime store. A lot of the me who came home from WW2, just kept on carrying what Uncle Sam had given them. My Uncle Charlie carried his Camillus TL-@( for many years after the war, and it was worn down to nubbins, so I brought him a new one when I came home on leave from my own army service. You'd thought I handed him Excalibur! He carried that one until he passed away. In the war, Uncle Charlie ran up a beach in Normandy and walked most the way to Berlin.
Dad carried his little Case peanut, because his mother had gifted it to him as he left for college. A family of Irish immigrants, dad was the first one to get a higher education, so his mother, my grandma gave him a little knife fit for an academic. He carried that knife until age and arthritis made it hard for him to open it and he switched to a Christy knife. In the war, dad had been with one of the spook outfits, and had dropped into occupied France a few occasions. After the war, he stayed on with the outfit in D.C., but after he and mom had a really big fight over it, he finally took the office job upstairs, as a married man with a couple kids didn't need to be playing cloak and dagger games in East Berlin. He gave in to mom, me, and sister Ann, who made it clear we wanted a father on premisses. He loved the Christy knife, and bought 50 of them to hand out to the operatives in his section.
My Uncle Paul was a machinist at the Curtis Wright engine plant in New Jersey, and he carried the little give away knives with the tool logos on them from the vendors selling the dies, drills and bits, and thread taps. He had those little 3 inch closed two blade pocket knives with logos from SK tools, Timken bearings, TRW taps, Bridgeport Milling machines, and others. I don't think Uncle Paul ever had to buy a new knife, he had a supply of give aways from the venders. Most of these knives were made by Ulster or Imperial. They actually cut good and sharpened up great. During the war, Uncle Paul had driven the landing craft ashore at some islands in the South Pacific that the Japanese really didn't want to let go of.
All those guys came home from the war, and got jobs in machine shops, car repair garages, welding shops, factory production lines, driving trucks, and none of them saw need for more than a little penknife size pocket knife. They worked hard, made the 1950's American dream come true with a house in the new suburbs with tract housing developments, and two cars in the driveway. They sent their kids to college in the 1960's so they would have a better life and not work as hard as their old man. This was the great migration to the city after the war. The birth of the office cubicle. Now, their grandkids work in offices doing the daily TPS reports on the computers and feel the need for a knife that Conan The Barbarian would appreciate.
All the major online retailers can't keep XM18s on the shelf longer than an hour, I'd watch them drop and be sold out before I'm done getting ready for work, and at 415 USD a pop you'd think someone would be more concerned with saving for the future.
These little pen knives and jacks get so much darn use, to see someone whip out a tacticool battle blade to do something a peanut can do --- I have to say now, just looks funny
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My dad is 77, and as soon as he could get a locking folder, he did. My grandfather used slip-joints his whole life (other than the FS in WW2), but when he saw my modern folders with quality locks, he thought that looked like a good idea.
For all the disdain some folks have about locks, the simple fact is that a knife with a lock is less likely to close on your hand. Same way as how a seat belt makes you less likely to go flying through the windshield.
Doesn't 100% guarantee you can't find some idiotic way to make it close on your hand...you just have to try harder.
And oh yeah, I did have a Swiss Army Knife with a locking main blade.
Think it was Wenger rather than Victorinox.
Wish I still had that knife.
For all the disdain some folks have about locks, the simple fact is that a knife with a lock is less likely to close on your hand. Same way as how a seat belt makes you less likely to go flying through the windshield.
Doesn't 100% guarantee you can't find some idiotic way to make it close on your hand...you just have to try harder.
And oh yeah, I did have a Swiss Army Knife with a locking main blade.
Think it was Wenger rather than Victorinox.Wish I still had that knife.
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My Dad grew up in a small town in central Florida. Citrus and indoor foliage was the business in the 40's and 50's on up. He was a grower in the largest foliage production operation at that time before becoming VP. After his passing I found a really nice 5" or so 2 blade jack knife with stag handles and a broken blade. No Idea what it was, I think it was a toothpick pattern. Never saw him use it. But I did see a little 2 blade pen knife from Imperial that he carried. I kept that one. Also an early Buck 505 with the burgundy micarta scales. I think he cut a live wire with it, it has a scorched blade tip... I remember all those guys back then carried small jack knives and stockmans. Mostly Schrade Old Timers. That was what Walter Stokes carried at Stokes Hardware. Wooden floor and the nail bins. Even had the whetstone stuck to the counter. Never could figure out why he didn't use/need a bigger knife like me.... Then when I turned 60 last year, I figured it out. He was a work smarter, not harder kind of guy. Khakis and a small knife, white hanky and a .38 under the seat was all he needed to get by. Tool box behind the seat and good to go. So, I took Carl's test with the Peanut. Then when the arthritis set in I switched to a 58mm, then 66 mm and 74mm because they are easier to open. Well what'do ya know.... My old man had it figured out. I've been passing out SAK Classics to my Pastors family for their birthdays. Pastors wife got hers last week in her favorite color, blue. I think she was quite pleased. "Oh, my very own. Now I don't need to use Addy's anymore !" I think if it gets to the point of facing down an enemy tank or ravaging zombie, I'll quite likely run in the opposite direction and regroup and re-arm. I'm too old for that nonsense.
I remember all those guys back then carried small jack knives and stockmans. Mostly Schrade Old Timers. That was what Walter Stokes carried at Stokes Hardware. Wooden floor and the nail bins. Even had the whetstone stuck to the counter. Never could figure out why he didn't use/need a bigger knife like me.... Then when I turned 60 last year, I figured it out. He was a work smarter, not harder kind of guy. Khakis and a small knife, white hanky and a .38 under the seat was all he needed to get by. Tool box behind the seat and good to go. So, I took Carl's test with the Peanut. Then when the arthritis set in I switched to a 58mm, then 66 mm and 74mm because they are easier to open. Well what'do ya know.... My old man had it figured out. I've been passing out SAK Classics to my Pastors family for their birthdays. Pastors wife got hers last week in her favorite color, blue. I think she was quite pleased. "Oh, my very own. Now I don't need to use Addy's anymore !" I think if it gets to the point of facing down an enemy tank or ravaging zombie, I'll quite likely run in the opposite direction and regroup and re-arm. I'm too old for that nonsense.Great story. I guess the tactical knive fanboys are not gonna like reading this ;-)My Dad grew up in a small town in central Florida. Citrus and indoor foliage was the business in the 40's and 50's on up. He was a grower in the largest foliage production operation at that time before becoming VP. After his passing I found a really nice 5" or so 2 blade jack knife with stag handles and a broken blade. No Idea what it was, I think it was a toothpick pattern. Never saw him use it. But I did see a little 2 blade pen knife from Imperial that he carried. I kept that one. Also an early Buck 505 with the burgundy micarta scales. I think he cut a live wire with it, it has a scorched blade tip...
My dad would carry a Leatherman micra most of this knife when going out fishing and backpacking and camping, later he gave me and my brother one, I wish I appreciated it more than I did, I made fun of the size of the knife and would always make fun of him for carrying that as his sole blade when we go backpack I would say " if you got yourself into a situation out here where you'd need more than that little knife you'd be screwed, I forgot what he said but it was some smart-alec response dad's are known for, I would later always carry a kabar usmc and later a gerber fixed blade of unknown model, it got some use out there, but mostly stuff I went out of my way to do, not had to. But it is how he said, the knife industry is 98% BS, these companies are making space age military grade weapons and convincing everyone that they need it "cause you never know" " gotta be prepared" mostly they use phrases like "consider this knife for an addition to your collection" " you should seriously consider this as your next knife" ultimately convincing people who wouldn't normally have built a collection otherwise to keep buying more knives, ebay is filled with barely used super steel folding knives people are selling off probably mostly due to buyer's remorse, one individual onnYT likes to show off his CRK collection of over 15, which is over 8k in knives ---My Dad grew up in a small town in central Florida. Citrus and indoor foliage was the business in the 40's and 50's on up. He was a grower in the largest foliage production operation at that time before becoming VP. After his passing I found a really nice 5" or so 2 blade jack knife with stag handles and a broken blade. No Idea what it was, I think it was a toothpick pattern. Never saw him use it. But I did see a little 2 blade pen knife from Imperial that he carried. I kept that one. Also an early Buck 505 with the burgundy micarta scales. I think he cut a live wire with it, it has a scorched blade tip...
Everyone knows a good tactical knife is black as black can be, super scary looking and will be just the thing they need when the military contracts them for behind enemy lines missions after being impressed by their super mean pocket sword, they will leave their family behind, the dip that developed in their recliner chair to be a soldier of fortune and justice
Cybertool with the brown leather case if you have to do a bunch of unscrewing, otherwise the Handyman since it has the plyers, file, saw, and scissors. Add the firefly or fireant fire starters if you might find yourself in the woods without a lighter and want to stoke up a fire. Otherwise just get the little one (Classic SD) that fits on a keychain.
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When the arthritis sets in to the point of choosing easier to open knives, good luck outrunning zombies and tanks.My Dad grew up in a small town in central Florida. Citrus and indoor foliage was the business in the 40's and 50's on up. He was a grower in the largest foliage production operation at that time before becoming VP. After his passing I found a really nice 5" or so 2 blade jack knife with stag handles and a broken blade. No Idea what it was, I think it was a toothpick pattern. Never saw him use it. But I did see a little 2 blade pen knife from Imperial that he carried. I kept that one. Also an early Buck 505 with the burgundy micarta scales. I think he cut a live wire with it, it has a scorched blade tip...
Heck, with some arthritis and a recent diagnosis of COPD I won't be outrunning any threat worthy of being called a threat...and I can still open any type of knife!
Well, other than some of the blades on those old SAK knockoffs from the 1980s; some of those require a set of needle-nose pliers to open.
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Guess you missed out on the pink camo and donut with sprinkles tactical fad...
No no.. I see them quite often, even swiss army has a couple in pink donuts, I had real fits when I saw a 500 dollar mean body building folder in pink sprinkle was sold
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Yes, in Canada we can fly with small knives again as of a few years ago. Neener neener!
I bought that one specifically to fly on the plane.
Final decision is up to security at the airport, so pink with peace sign seemed to be good way to go.
I guess on Canada to Canada flightsYes, in Canada we can fly with small knives again as of a few years ago. Neener neener!
I worked tsa for 15 months and we took so many knives away, people cried, it was either miss their flight so they can check it in their luggage that was already checked in or surrender it, usually they give it away and leave a broken soul.
It took a while to sink through my heavy duty Irish Skull, but the thing about backpacking is, if you get into a "situation" in backpacking, at least you have food, water, and most of all shelter and sleeping bag with you. Soooo, no need for hacking up the wilderness with the oversize bushcraft knife or whatever. When I got out of the army with a badly damaged right foot and ankle and a 50% disability rating, but still in possession of a love of the outdoors, I turned to the ultralight backpacking. I ditched the heavy stuff, to include my Randall number 14 and S&W .38 revolver. A SAK in the pocket and a mini .22 in the pocket worked. When I was downsizing, I looked back and couldn't remember using the big 7 inch bladed Randall for anything at all except ego boost. For the next 20 years my SAK small Tinker was my backpacking knife and it did all that was needed.
My wife loves her Leatherman micra, and uses it for everything I use my SAK for. She operated with that little blade light a surgeon. But she really loves that with the blade out, and the rest of it folded up, it's like a fixed blade with no way to fold up on her. You'd have to take her micra from her cold dead fingers, she loves it sooooo much!
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Yep, domestic flights.
The rest of the world doesn't have much appeal to me anyway, and costs too much, so it works out for me.
Blade also has "Love, Peace, Friendship" etched on the blade.
Extra insurance to be able to carry it.