sac troop,
I was going to post a link to the U.S. Militaria Bolt Knife thread. I know you were in there somewhere. These knives survived and thrived in a lot of places they were never intended to be.
Your 1969 knife struck a chord with me. I wrote this on another site last year when I received my Bolt Knife. I think it would fit well here.
Well way back in 1969, I stumbled across one of these on a shelf in my buddy's basement. At the time I was nine years old. To say it left an impression on me would be an understatement. Back then I had a hatchet and a belt knife. My pal was not into or allowed to have knives. But to me this thing was beyond cool! Aggressive lines, leather handle, bolt pommel, teeth, it was the stuff dreams were made of. And it came in a well used condition that made it even cooler.
It belonged to my buddy's Uncle who spent some time in Southeast Asia. He had a chopped Mode-T and was pretty much larger than life at that point in time. So I think that added to the knife's coolness factor. I was allowed to handle it a few times then it got put away. Probably smart, it was the "Only" thing in my life I ever contemplated stealing. But common sense prevailed. I realized even in my intoxicated state, that I was the only kid in the neighborhood with my drool all over it. Wouldn't be too hard to figure out where it went.
Fast forward to more recent times. In this world of uber high tech, high priced knives, with technical steels oozing out in every direction. My revered Bolt Knife has pretty much been left for dead.
People call it a throw away knife, cheap government crap, and other less than flattering names. I feel it doesn't get the respect it so richly deserves. (in my mind at least). So last week I took it upon myself to finally acquire one and actually put it through it's paces.
As delivered it reminds me of a slightly rough around the edges Ka-Bar. Your basic low budget military hardware. As of today it's going on my belt and getting some woods time. After some time to get acquainted with each other, I may modify it or I may leave it alone. It may break soon or last the rest of my life. I may love it or hate it. Only time will tell.
But right now I'm headed out the door with the coolest knife this nine year old ever handled.
This is a great thread, but your story takes the cake. We know exactly how you felt at 9 because we were all there once, and I would have been on Cloud Nine to get my hands on that knife. In today's knife world there are plenty of "better" knives, but to a 9yr old (or an old dude who's still in touch with his inner-9) it's the perfect fixed blade knife.
Suddenly I'm feeling the need to dig through the basement and find mine................
