Romancing The Pocket Knife
February 24, 2008 - 8:50pm — ecooley
You can not beat a good pocket knife. The other day I found myself in a hardware store. You know the kind. A guy named Tom, Chuck, or Bob comes from behind the counter to help you. The place has everything from garden hoses to galvanized nails. Why there is even a section for bird seed. The place smells of oil, and industrial strength hand cleaner.
Well I needed some keys made and in the process I thought I might look over his pocket knives. I walked over to the display case to have a look. My mind wandered back in time when as a boy a pocket knife was essential pocket gear, along with a couple of matches, a bandana, a compass, and some fishing hooks stuck on an old piece of cork. My boyhood pocketknife would whittle a stick, cut a willow branch, help me craft a good marshmallow roaster, and pick up things I did not want to touch.
My first knife was given to me by my grandfather my last knife was given to me by my father. Right of passage? No, they just know the value of a good pocket knife. Even this desk jockey knows that today a good pocket knife can cut open a box, trim a CAT 5 cable, or open a key fob to replace the battery. A pocket knife puts a little extra swagger in your gait gives you a little more machismo. What a resourceful implement.
Today, I have a Leatherman multi-tool but not a pocket knife. So I ask Tom, Bob, or Chuck to show me that knife on the right, second from the bottom. Its a W.R. Case Pocket Worn Old Red Bone Knife, a classic Case Knife. I hold it in my hand taking note of the heft and balance. I open the knife to look at the blades. I slide the knife into my pocket and say “This will do. This will do right nicely.”
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Comments
broken knife
This story kinda cracked me up. I was in a DOT garage bout 6 months ago cleaning my cruiser. The dashboard was looking a bit dusty so I started snooping around to try and find some Formula 409 maybe some Windex. A peculiar door at the back of the garage looked promising but seemed to be locked. Every cop worth his salt has a flip blade clipped to his pocket. I took out my trusty tanto blade Kershaw and began to "open the door". Well...got the door open and sure enough there was the 409. Looked down to close my knife and noticed 1/2 inch of the tip was snapped off. Served me right I guess.
Well Dad came up to visit and spent a fun week about a month or so after that. He came out and went on patrol with me when I relayed my story of my knife which I was still a bit bummed about. Dad never said a word other than "that was stupid" (he was right). After a great week, I was carrying their luggage out to the car and saying our goodbyes. Gave dad a hug and he handed me a box. Got a brand new Kershaw! Won't be picking any more locks!
How Times Have Changed
I feel you on this post. I remember back in the day, (which according to comedian Dane Cook was a Wednesday), getting a knife for Christmas. I wanted a Swiss Army Knife. You could be MacGuyver with one of those things. I ended up getting a "Swiss Style" knife instead. But, coming from mom and dad, it was just as good, so I was happy. I still have it somewhere. I had a few other knives over the years, including a near-new BUCK knife my dad had found in the street. I remember when we could go to school and show our new knives off to our buddies, getting an "ooh" and "aah." If the teacher caught you with it, you lost it until the end of the day and that was it. You got it back, and maybe got told not to bring it again.
With my job, I have a handful of kids I work with who did that and had to go to court, hence the reason I work with them. Zero Tolerance. How times have changed.
Cousin Mike
The Boy Scouts
Like baseball cards, knives were part of a boy's essential gear. The Boys Scouts always had a knife that featured a fork, spoon and one blade. Growing up I thought it would be the perfect Knife. You would never have to use the utensils at school, and you could still cut, carve, or whittle.
The zero tolerance issue in school is a sad occurance. We have opted for security over freedom. Tragedy does exist but we need to way carefully the things we give up in exchange for a safer lifestyle. I believe if we all took more responsiblity for our actions. Learn what is right and what is wrong and teach the youth what is right and wrong we could do better for ourselves, our community and our country.
Perhaps today its not about buying a Boy Scout knife. Instead we should buy into the Boy Scout Oath.
Thanks Mike. Good comment.
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Trowel and error
I typically don't carry a pocket knife, but I do usually have one in my kit when I'm out doing fieldwork. But the "zero tol
erance" policy at schools and other public places has impacted me in an unusual way. Often when I'm invited to speak to students at a school, the teacher asks me to bring along my tools so the kids can get a little understanding about how archeologists do their job. Well, the basic tool of any archeologist is her trowel. To make the typical mason's trowel a better tool for scraping (the more accurate description of how archeologists actually dig) we grind the top edges of the blade down to a fine edge. My trowel is now considered to be an "edged weapon" by some school districts, so I always need to ask if it's OK if I bring my trowel.
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