How Old Were You When You Began Carrying?

[akapennypincher]

First knife was Case, and Year was 1952. Every boy had pocket knife.

[Foehammer]

First knife I carried was some Swiss army-type knife. It was given to me when I was about 8. Being outside all the time it was perfect. Fast forward about 4 years and I had saved up and bought a brand new Ka-bar USMC. Still have it today but I was an idiot and batoned it so hard that it bent. First Spyderco was a Sharpmaker actually, second was a Tenacious that, yes, I also ruined by a batoning it lol. After that I bit the bullet and shelled out the cash (was 17 at the time, working part time) for a pm2. The knife blew me away, with everything about it being literally perfect for me, and the rest is history. Definitely a pm2 fanboy!

[billdoier72]

I guess it was about 1982, I would have been 10 years old.

My uncle gave me an Old Timer 3 blade folder.

Been carrying a pocket knife ever since.

[cjk]

I guess it was about 1982, I would have been 10 years old.

My uncle gave me an Old Timer 3 blade folder.

Been carrying a pocket knife ever since.

This was me too, except it was 1984 or 1985 and my Dad instead of my uncle. In Tennessee too.

[Wandering_About]

Maybe around 10 years old. Started with a Victorinox SAK, can't remember which model.

[Manixguy@1994]

Started carrying a knife around 8-9 years old , Ulster Boy Scout camp knife . Various others first large single blade was a Case Sodbuster . Gerber is from 1976 purchased in Anchorage, Alaska . I have a Buck 110 Two dot from my Dad and a Schrade LB7 from my Mom .

[ladybug93]

Let me guess the ZT0350 crawled its way in to you’re mind thanks to watching NCIS ?

i actually never watched ncis until about two years ago. i just happened to see the knife in a local shop and thought it looked awesome.

the flash 2 was a really great knife for the time. sog's aus8 was pretty alright. it had a spring assist, safety lock, and deep carry clip. i think it was actually pretty ahead of it's time for a lowish cost production knife at the time. but, it definitely always had a little bit of play, which really bothered me. the clip also popped up too high, causing it to scratch everything i walked by and causing me to lose the knife about two dozen times in the decade i carried it. sometimes it would catch on stuff, pull out of my pocked, and then drop to the ground and spring open from the impact. sometimes it would be gone for days and then i'd find it clipped to a seatbelt of a car i rode in. sometimes i'd find it clipped to my backpack strap or the drawstring on my jacket. it got to the point where every time i lost it, i hoped it was finally gone so i could replace it with something else. finally, after seeing the zt0350 and thinking it was cool, my wife surprised me with it for father's day.

the zt is a much more solid and substantial knife. the assisted action is strong. the lockup is like a vault, especially after carrying a blade with play for so long. the ergonomics are basically perfect with that knife too. it's so good. however, the jimping on the back of the handle was so aggressive and the handle is so wide that it was a pain (literally) to get my hand in and out of my pocket for other things when i was carrying it. between that and me being a little worried about losing it (after my experiences with the sog) and substantially higher price tag, i started looking at other knives to carry instead.

Not embarrassing at all, I've got several. My buddy also loves those knives and has several. For years I carried one as a box knife.

i know. it was actually a good little knife. it was a big part of my journey to finding what works for me. oddly enough, it was my first pocket knife with a clip, which is probably the number one reason it became the first knife i consistently carried. i hated having knives down in my pockets it always felt awkward to me. i quickly realized the utility of having a knife though and wanted something with more length. i carried that knife for less than a year before moving on to the sog flash 2.

[skeeg11]

Probably around 5years old.
It was a gift from my Grand pa.
We spend allot of time in the nearby forrest. He learned my brother and me how to safely use a knife.
It is the one on the right side of the Picture.


My first Spydie was an endura 3 when i was around 14 years old. Sold it a year later to afford my Chinook 2.

The knife on the left looks to be one heckuva knife. Looks to me like a carbon steel Henckel folder with nicely patina'd cherry wood scales.

[Doc Dan]

I was six years old. My dad gave me a tiny pearl handled automatic. it had a green knob on the end that when pulled the blade would fly open. It took two hands to operate but sure was fun. It was no bigger than a pendant knife, as I recall. Once I lost it, someone (uncle?) bought me a Boker Tree Brand Barlow. All of us boys carried pocket knives to school in those days.

[rgc]

Kindergarten or first grade I got my first little pocket pen knife from my Great Grandfather. I don't think I really started carrying until around fifth or sixth grade when I bout a Kamp King pocket knife with my own money from a hardware store. That lasted until high school (well I would end up with some fixed blades prior) when I bought a Buck Lite with an OD green handle and a camo nylon sheath . . . sure did love that knife. Unfortunately I broke the tip and moved on.

[apollo]

Probably around 5years old.
It was a gift from my Grand pa.
We spend allot of time in the nearby forrest. He learned my brother and me how to safely use a knife.
It is the one on the right side of the Picture.


My first Spydie was an endura 3 when i was around 14 years old. Sold it a year later to afford my Chinook 2.

The knife on the left looks to be one heckuva knife. Looks to me like a carbon steel Henckel folder with nicely patina'd cherry wood scales.

Thx! Honestly i have no real idea what brand it is since the only Marking left is Solingen.
The knife belonged to my great grandfather. He gave it to my dad before his passing.
And he then in turn gave it to me. Knowing my great grandfather passed away in the second half of the 70’s it safe to presume it will be around 50 years old at least.
And since its in used condition and my dad and me never used it i guess he could have had it for a reasonable amount of time already so the knife can even be allot older.

[JRinFL]

On and off carry, I was around 9 years old and it was a tiny, cheap slip joint. I carried daily for years once I found a Victorinox Executive that had been run over at least once in a hobby shop parking lot. That must have been around my 12th or 13th year.

I carry more now even though my needs are less.

[bearfacedkiller]

My father and my grandfather both carried Old Timer Stockmen. I got one and an Arkansas stone when I was about seven years old which was in 1985. I have carried a pocket knife everyday since then. I got really into SAKs after that.

[James Y]

I was 13 when I found an old, rusted, used-up Camillus scout-style knife that my dad had discarded in a toolbox. Who knows how many years it had sat there, discarded. I confiscated it. The blade was so sharpened down that the tip protruded from the handle when closed. The other blades were so corroded they wouldn't even open.

Not long after, I went to a small, family-owned hardware store and bought a Schrade stockman with some of my newspaper delivery money. That was my first EDC. In retrospect, it's a bit surprising they sold a pocketknife to a 13 year-old kid; I later discovered that many stores that sold pocketknives required you to be 18 years or older to purchase.

I'll be turning 60 in May.

Jim

[ladybug93]

it's fun to see all these old knives that were made with lesser steels than we use today, but far greater craftsmanship than is typical from those same brands, if they're still around currently. it's nice to see some of them starting to come back around a little though.

[ladybug93]

I don't exactly recall what age I was when I got this. Probably between 10-12. It is the first knife I can remember. May have had one before. I do know I had a machete before this, but that was for wackin' mocassins going fishing at a pond on our property and clearing trails.

A childhood friend had saved his money in order to give this to me. Still have it to this day.

Schrade Old Timer

this reminds me of my old schrade. i think it is an lb7 with the brass on both ends and rosewood handles. last i looked at it, it had some significant corrosion. i think i need to dig it back out and give it a good cleaning. maybe i'll make an off-topic post about it.

[jwbnyc]

Five

[Bolster]

Ten. Dad gave me a worn, ebony-handled carbon steel stockman and I loved it, carried it everywhere. Then lost it. Searched for hours where I'd been the past day. Started to grieve so badly for the knife that dad got me a replacement a week later, this time a worn bone-handled carbon stockman. But I wanted the original so badly I never bonded with the replacement. Two weeks later I found the original on the workbench in the garage. (Dumb kid.) By then the knife was so precious it never left my desk and I carried the replacement. But a puppy of ours hopped up and grabbed the knife from the desk and chewed it, breaking the ebony handles and leaving toothmarks all over. Now it resides in a box of valuables from my youth.

Thanks, Dad! One of the best presents ever.

[Cycletroll]

December of 1977 got a Swiss Army (Basic 4 blade with awl & corkscrew).on my 7th birthday. Carried that religiously until I was 12 when I got a Buck 112. Went off to boarding school and switched out the 112 to a Gerber "Blackie Collins" bolt action (LST?). The rest is a sad history of addiction and compulsion and and endless parade of knives lol :)
1st Spyderco was a tenacious followed by a GB1 and Mille in short order circa ~2010?

[JSumm]

this reminds me of my old schrade. i think it is an lb7 with the brass on both ends and rosewood handles. last i looked at it, it had some significant corrosion. i think i need to dig it back out and give it a good cleaning. maybe i'll make an off-topic post about it.

You should! I have to wipe down the green stuff off the brass from time to time.