All About Pocket Knives

73 year old living on the SW Oregon coast ( land of milk and honey ). Lost some rt. hand finger and part of thumb when a kid, doing dumb stuff. My friend said, " never get in knife fight with a guy with 3 fingers "-
I collect a few odds and ends, mostly from local sales for $ .50 to a few bucks. Mostly knives, some ax and hatchet heads.
Spend most days on our tree farm / hunting ranch or hunting, trapping, fishing, gold prospecting or other such activities.
Oregon allows in state, don't know about out of state, 2 bear and Mt lion tags. Fill one get a second.And you can bait lions, but not bears.
This site has been great to me. Many have answered some questions already.

Three fingers, we're just as pleased as punch to to have you here . Just a bunch of good ole boys that like knives and having fun. Some of th are pretty doggone smart too!
Enjoy your time here and don't ever be afraid to ask a question. The only dumb question is one that is never asked.

Welcome tres dedos! As you've already discovered, this is the place to talk knives (and there's a place here for just about anything else). Explore the site. Question are always welcome - and we like pictures!

Ken

Welcome. We really do love pictures so don't hesitate to post them even if it's one of those 50 cent jobs. Sometimes these guys go nuts over them and some would have even paid twice that much for it. I paid a buck for a hatchet yesterday and you'd have thought I won the lottery and these guys agreed. My wife scolded me for buying "another" hatchet. I listen to these guys. ___Dave

Hola Tres Dedos! I'm a 3 1/2 fingers. New here too.I like butcher knives and hatchets.

Welcome Tres Dedos.
Where you from on the SW Coast?
My wife is from Lincoln Country. Since we moved to Salem 15 years ago. I can't get her to move back; maybe next year after she retires.

My grandparents lived in Reedsport, nearly 100 years ago. I have a knife and hatchet grandpa made while working in a foundry in Reedsport.

We have another AAPK member, mossdancer, who is from the North Coast. We got quite a few Oregonians here on AAPK.

Welcome aboard!!

orvet and others thanks for the welcome.
I live in Gold Beach. My wife and I moved here in 02/03 when I retired.My love of the area started when I was about 15 yo. Dad was K-3-7, Ist Marine division, Peliliu and Okinawa, ( the old breed ). Wounded 2x on Okinawa and was sent to VA Hosp. in Roseburg. Day trips in a bus allowed him to learn a bit about the area, and he loved the climate and surroundings. So, when I was 15 we camped from Mich. to here and back. He wanted to move here but Mom wasn't ready.In 1985 my late wife, daughter and dog moved from the Kalamazoo area to CA.By 1989 we coming here for vacation, the rest is history.
Most of the knives I have collected have been sold or traded over time, but I will post up some pics. I also have some newer ones given to me as gifts. I still have Dad's trapper / skinner, and his .22 rifle, from when he and another fellow trapped a 20 mile stretch of the Kalamazoo river in winter time.I also trap and use knives in skinning and for handling fish, deer, elk and bear. Plus, like most all of you I just love sharp things, they make me feel secure. I also like giantness, big heavy knives.
Orvet, I can share the feeling about living in a location you don't like. When I was Ca. I lived that life of quiet desperation, counting the days to my retirement so I could move here. We love this area. Many think it rains here every day, we want them to think that. First is a Marbles, a few dollars, second is a Western, $.50, third is a Jay Bear, new, 1800's walrus tusk handle- a gift.

More pics- 2 knives picked up and estate sale- 5-10 dollars each 3 blade is Italian, fixed blade is bone handle and sheath, Finland, I think.

3 folders- old Imperial/ Prov. RI free, 2 bucks were gifted to me.

The third is Finish and they are pretty expensive knives new or old. ___Dave

These 4 folders were recently purchased at an estate sale for $.25 each.
-top down-Camillus, Keen Kutter, Cattaraugus, Imperial.

You have some really nice knives in that pile and the price is even more impressive. ___Dave

Welcome

Knice knives!

djknife13, I visit small,out of the way garage sales,thrift shops,second hand shops and estate sales. When I have time I'll post some more. We start a logging operation Wed. the 15th so kinda busy.

OK a couple more- these are working knives big game and some skinners #1 no name I can see
#2 geen river professional #6150.5
#3 has a mark on side of blade begins with letter F- set in a crest- got these from an old butcher for a few bucks Gerbers were from a flooring guy- he used them to cut carpet and tile $10-15 dollars at his moving sale.These 2 are Flayer- and a smaller Pixe with sheath

Howdy again! Readin' a little this afternoon and noticed you mentioned tree farm, what kind of trees are y'all growin' over there on the other side of the world? Over the years we planted our farm to Improved Slash Pines, a standard I suppose here in the South. Trees are a long time investment and have been very enjoyable to manage as they grow.
You certainly have found some great old knives at great prices along the way!
Welcome again to AAPK!
Treefarmer

Treefarmer,we have 160 acres of mixed trees and prarie. The high side is a ridge with praries and mixed Douglas Fri. Moving downhill white oak,doug fir,madrone,pepper wood and s cads of berry bushes. Our money tree is doug Fir.We are doing awhite oak release where we cut back the Fir so that the oaks can get more sunlit.Most of the birds and animals like the white oak acorns,which makes good hunting.also have 2 springs on propert.We will pull about 10 log trucks in this select cut.
I don't know the tree you grow,what is it used for? How long does it take to grow? What do you do to keep them growing healthy?

Tres Dedos,

Planted pines maybe strictly a southern states thing? Long leaf pines once covered much of Florida, they were cut for lumber, they were managed as naval stores (turpentine) as they decreased in number, faster growing pines were developed and planted in much the same way as a row crop. Trees are planted with a mechanical planter or by hand at the rate of , guessing now, 750 seedlings per acre, rows run from 8 to 10 foot wide. Wide rows allow more sunlight and for maybe 10 - 12 years cattle can grass on the grass if planted over a permanent pasture. Dual purpose land use is not real common in the timber industry.

The trees are usually thinned at about 10 years, we cut every 3rd row and also removed the diseased trees, most all of the 1st cutting goes to pulp wood. Managing the harvest like this gives more room for the growing trees and depending on growth rate, more trees will again be harvested in maybe the 15 - 20 year range, depends on soil types and a lot of variables. Each subsequent cutting brings a better return per ton of wood as the trees progress from pulp to "chip and saw", then saw timber and finally poles. The "chip and saw" is where the processor cuts a couple of 2X6's out of the center and the rest is chipped for pulp. We also used to know these boards as slabs, round/wane sided boards, given away or burned in the past, not any more.

A dense unmanaged pine stand is almost desolate after a few years, only pine growing, ground covered with pine straw, effectively keeping the ground clean of any plant life. Bad on the wildlife but does provide income for pine straw harvesters, you know a small bale of pine needles for $5 at the garden center. Fire is a great tool to keep undesirable growth from robbing nutrients from the soil. Fire lines are plowed and when the wind is right we try to clean up the ground just prior to the spring green up. Try to burn every 2 or 3 years but wet weather has been an issue in the last few seasons. Fire also kills a lot of bugs and in just a week or so as it greens up, the critters have some quality browse.

We got a few acres of 34 year old trees at this time and some as young as 16 years. We clear cut one patch of 10 acres and it has grown up with oaks, wild blueberries, some natural long leaf pines and has become a sanctuary for the deer to lay up in. We have a couple of food plots adjacent to planted pines and have killed enough deer for the freezer.

I've rambled on, but maybe you have a glimpse of a very small southern pine plantation, we only have 80 acres.

Here's a picture of a food plot next to some 16 year old pines. Treefarmer

Treefarmer,very interesting,I appreciate your sharing info. about your tree farm,different than what we do.Does the state tax offer assistance for tree farmer? Do you prune or limb your trees?
Our land was logged in 1950s and was not 're stocked but has grown up natural. When we select cut we MAY have to replant,depends on bio mass removed. Still,I spend hours replanting seedliings and also cuttings from Fira trees.I dip the cut green end in root hormone and stick them in the wet ground.
The state is encouraging T F to save white oak woodlands for nature,not much money in the wood.That is why we are doing the release thinning. Our land abutts approx. 500,000 acres of wilderness so no shotage of critters and big game.We don't live on the land,we are about 30 miles away.Still I go there about 150 days a year.
Doug fir is used much like your pine,building lumber,chip and peelers all depends on grade.
Thanks again for sharing.