A year late and...
Posted: Wed May 26, 2021 7:17 pm
Well, not quite a year late. I joined last July, because I was looking for information on a knife, and discovered that there was a lot of knowledge here--and more importantly, there are a lot of good folks here. I don't get on the site as much as some, I'm sure, and I still have a lot of exploration to do, but I like most the sense of community that prevails here. And since community implies knowing and being know, I really should make a proper introduction...
I carried a knife as a kid (Boy Scouts, and my grandfather always had one--that one went to my uncle, I'm pretty sure), but kind of lost the habit as an adult. When my dad passed some years back, I found a couple of knives among his possessions, and started carrying one. It was a little yellow stockman; I have no idea who the maker was because that didn't matter to me at the time. When it was confiscated by the TSA (first time I flew since I started carrying it, and I didn't even think about it), I was, well, just a bit upset. After a bit, I decided to try to replace it. I got on Fleabay and discovered that wow! There are a lot of knives out there!
I ended up buying a Böker stockman because Dad was German, so it made sense to me. Then, being the type of person I am, I bought another, because, you know, who doesn't need a back-up. Or two. Or three...
I bought couple of other brands--a Bear, a Buck (Yeah, the Chinese one because I'm cheap--like my Dad), a BMW, and was pretty much hooked. I bought a lot of things I wouldn't buy now, but they were cool to me at the time, and I really didn't spend mega-bucks for any one piece. I like the black MOP knives, and have several Rough Riders (I know, Chinese again, but for that they're not too bad). Paid $20 (plus shipping) for a perfectly good used Case stockman (which is, coincidentally, in my pocket now). Schrade, Ranger, Kissing Crane--Hoo boy, I was on a roll.
Then I bought the kit knife. That was about a year ago. Haven't looked back. I'm still learning the rudiments of knife repair, and I have made more mistakes than I have success stories, but I'm getting better. I have eight real knives I have rescued from various problems, and twice as many sitting on the bench waiting for me to work up the courage to try not to screw up again.
I also have spent a fair amount of time looking for folding knives manufactured in different countries. So far I am up to 52 or 53 countries, depending on how you look at it, with a couple of knives that I haven't been able to identify that may or may not represent another country or two. This has been a cool pursuit, and the knives are *very* diverse in character.
Lately I've also been interested in older MOP knives (the little "gentleman's knives"). This however, seems to be an enormous venture, and I'm re-thinking how I want to approach it.
Apart from knives, I was an engineer for almost 40 years, now retired. I worked in toys, lasers and temperature sensing (three different jobs, although combining those would be interesting, if not ominous!). I have a license in massage therapy and do a little of that, and I teach music performance privately (woodwind instruments). I like to make music (both writing and performing). I like to bicycle--although I'm a bit cagey, after having two major accidents in two years--May of 2019 and May of 2020. So far I've managed to stay safe this year, but then I haven't ridden much, either. I do a little bit of gardening--flowers; the vegetables are my fiancé's bailiwick.
So that's me in a nutshell--perhaps a coconut shell; too many words for a walnut shell.
I carried a knife as a kid (Boy Scouts, and my grandfather always had one--that one went to my uncle, I'm pretty sure), but kind of lost the habit as an adult. When my dad passed some years back, I found a couple of knives among his possessions, and started carrying one. It was a little yellow stockman; I have no idea who the maker was because that didn't matter to me at the time. When it was confiscated by the TSA (first time I flew since I started carrying it, and I didn't even think about it), I was, well, just a bit upset. After a bit, I decided to try to replace it. I got on Fleabay and discovered that wow! There are a lot of knives out there!
I ended up buying a Böker stockman because Dad was German, so it made sense to me. Then, being the type of person I am, I bought another, because, you know, who doesn't need a back-up. Or two. Or three...
I bought couple of other brands--a Bear, a Buck (Yeah, the Chinese one because I'm cheap--like my Dad), a BMW, and was pretty much hooked. I bought a lot of things I wouldn't buy now, but they were cool to me at the time, and I really didn't spend mega-bucks for any one piece. I like the black MOP knives, and have several Rough Riders (I know, Chinese again, but for that they're not too bad). Paid $20 (plus shipping) for a perfectly good used Case stockman (which is, coincidentally, in my pocket now). Schrade, Ranger, Kissing Crane--Hoo boy, I was on a roll.
Then I bought the kit knife. That was about a year ago. Haven't looked back. I'm still learning the rudiments of knife repair, and I have made more mistakes than I have success stories, but I'm getting better. I have eight real knives I have rescued from various problems, and twice as many sitting on the bench waiting for me to work up the courage to try not to screw up again.
I also have spent a fair amount of time looking for folding knives manufactured in different countries. So far I am up to 52 or 53 countries, depending on how you look at it, with a couple of knives that I haven't been able to identify that may or may not represent another country or two. This has been a cool pursuit, and the knives are *very* diverse in character.
Lately I've also been interested in older MOP knives (the little "gentleman's knives"). This however, seems to be an enormous venture, and I'm re-thinking how I want to approach it.
Apart from knives, I was an engineer for almost 40 years, now retired. I worked in toys, lasers and temperature sensing (three different jobs, although combining those would be interesting, if not ominous!). I have a license in massage therapy and do a little of that, and I teach music performance privately (woodwind instruments). I like to make music (both writing and performing). I like to bicycle--although I'm a bit cagey, after having two major accidents in two years--May of 2019 and May of 2020. So far I've managed to stay safe this year, but then I haven't ridden much, either. I do a little bit of gardening--flowers; the vegetables are my fiancé's bailiwick.
So that's me in a nutshell--perhaps a coconut shell; too many words for a walnut shell.
