A special moment in collecting
Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 8:45 am
In many ways collecting knives (or anything) is a way to connect with the past. If a person is fortunate he or she will have some things in their collection that have family ties.
This weekend I was back down to my parents place, helping them get their stuff sorted through as they have sold their place and are going to AZ in a fifth wheel for a few months. I an bringing many thing home, especially tools & equipment I can use in my shop. It is neat for me to use my dad's old tools when I am making a knife.
One of the things I got this weekend was a .22 rifle I grew up with. A Remington pump that was my grandfather's, possibly even his father's. It has been in the family for close to 100 years and put a lot of meat on the table. Even more special is a knife that my grandfather made. I remember my dad carrying that little knife. I think he dressed my first deer with it. My grandfather had worked in a foundry in Reedsport Oregon at one time (circa 1920's) and made the knife when he worked there. He also made a hatchet that he used when he cruised timber for the C.C.C. during the Depression in the 1930's. My dad is keeping the hatchet for a while longer, but I will get it when he is through with it.
Here is a pic of the knife & hatchet. My grandfather also made the hatchet sheath & put his initials on it (RV). My dad replaced the hatchet handle and made a sheath for the knife as the old one fell apart.
My dad has given me a number of knives that he no longer wants. Many of them are unused. My grandmother's cousin was a sales rep for Imperial for about 30 years or more, so I have gotten knives that he gave my dad & my grandparents. These knives are special to me, but the most prized knife in my collection is the little fixed blade my grandfather made and I remember my dad carrying while deer hunting all my life growing up.
As a knife maker & a collector my grandfathers knife is the crown jewel of my collection.
Dale
This weekend I was back down to my parents place, helping them get their stuff sorted through as they have sold their place and are going to AZ in a fifth wheel for a few months. I an bringing many thing home, especially tools & equipment I can use in my shop. It is neat for me to use my dad's old tools when I am making a knife.
One of the things I got this weekend was a .22 rifle I grew up with. A Remington pump that was my grandfather's, possibly even his father's. It has been in the family for close to 100 years and put a lot of meat on the table. Even more special is a knife that my grandfather made. I remember my dad carrying that little knife. I think he dressed my first deer with it. My grandfather had worked in a foundry in Reedsport Oregon at one time (circa 1920's) and made the knife when he worked there. He also made a hatchet that he used when he cruised timber for the C.C.C. during the Depression in the 1930's. My dad is keeping the hatchet for a while longer, but I will get it when he is through with it.
Here is a pic of the knife & hatchet. My grandfather also made the hatchet sheath & put his initials on it (RV). My dad replaced the hatchet handle and made a sheath for the knife as the old one fell apart.
My dad has given me a number of knives that he no longer wants. Many of them are unused. My grandmother's cousin was a sales rep for Imperial for about 30 years or more, so I have gotten knives that he gave my dad & my grandparents. These knives are special to me, but the most prized knife in my collection is the little fixed blade my grandfather made and I remember my dad carrying while deer hunting all my life growing up.
As a knife maker & a collector my grandfathers knife is the crown jewel of my collection.
Dale
s-k
Thanks Dale very touching story! I never had a Grandfather on either my Moms or Dads side, both were gone when I was growing up. Your story makes me realize all the things that I have missed. 