WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BLADE OR MT??

[JBW1]

I miraculously still have my first knife, from when I was 7 or 8. Its been lost, stolen, misplaced and confiscated, but somehow remains with me today.
 My friend broke the tip off when we were trying to 'fix' a bike, then later on I thought I could fix it by grinding it into a point again. I sold the most popcorn for Boy Scouts, and won this beauty. I was so proud, and loved it so much, and of course I had to edc it to school haha, which even back then, was frowned upon, so I got it taken away in class in the 3rd grade. The teacher kept it in her desk for the whole year. If I had told my mom I got it taken away at school, I figured she would have threw it away, ..... so I took my chances at getting it back from teach. Then a friend decided he needed it more than me one day, but I found it and it led to my first, kinda, fist fight. Then it just hung around, and now I really am glad its made it.
I really wish I could replace the blade some how
 
So what was your gateway knife? What lead you to this mutitool fascination and appreciation

[jerseydevil]

My father carries an Imperial Barlow knife every day, has since well before I was born.  My first knife was a Barlow, also an Imperial though not quite as good as Dad's older one.  I lost that knife a long time ago, though I did manage to get one exactly like it here on the forum several years ago.  In terms of SAKs and multis, for quite a while a Tinker was my only one, and I was perfectly happy with it.  Then one day I made the mistake of looking at other models of SAK online, found SOSAK, one thing led to another, and the result is a collection large enough to fit in comfortably here and over 6,700 posts on this place....... 

[Zed]

My first sak was the spartan that my auntie got me around 1983,luckily i still have it ,back then i collected mainly militaria like ww2 bayonets and kukris and fighting knives,i all so had a collection of butterfly knives,my first MT was a original wave that my dad got me in 98 ,the rest is history 

[nate j]

My first knife was a Case pen knife.  My first MT was a Spartan.  I still have both.

[Breezy12]

I told the story of my first knife a few months ago, but I certainly don't mind sharing it again.



the blade is worn, the handles are scratched, it's lost some of its "snap"... but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[kkokkolis]

My first was a Camilus Demo knife, made in the '60s, my father gave me. I was around 12-13 years old. As it is usual with these the main spring broke.
My mother gave me a promotional knife with scales of stainless steel and the tools of a Vic Classic, but obviously an early knock off. Since it was of better quality than the usual Chinese tools and it was the mid '80s, I guess it was made from a European maker (Aitor, Ritzardz, Shiefield, something like that). I lost it.
Just a couple of years later, during 1985-1986, my wife bought me an Alox Cadet. I used it heavily for three decades and it is still strong and fully functional. I retired it just a couple of years ago when I joined MTO. It is my first from the ones I still have (pic).
The first knife I bought myself was a Swisschamp, during 1986. This was my main knife for all these years. It was lost once and stolen another time and I bought immediately another without thinking I might choose another model. The last one was bought during 1998, His successor in my EDC is an XLT but I still use it a lot since it is in the drawer by my bedside and usually I reach for that when I'm home and not the ones in my Skinth or the collection drawer.

[Chako]

I still have my first knife. Not sure how that happened, as it was misplaced for many years before I stumbled upon it in a storage box. It was given to me when I was either 6 or 7 years old, and mostly because we were going camping in the Elliot Lake region for a full summer. It is a Hobo knife marked STAG Ireland on the tang. Nothing fancy, and suprising it has survived all the adventures, and even a few misadventures. This knife even spent a few days lost on a trail until my persistence re-found it. At the time, it meant a lot to me. Come to think of it, still does.



In grade 9, my father thought it would be a good idea to give me a better knife...seeing that I hadn't used or seen the first for a year by then. He gave me this stunning Ruko Elite made in Japan. These days, Ruko = junk...but this knife is quality. I took such good care of it, wearing it as a dress knife alongside my dad on weekends, that it almost looks brand spanking new to this day.



As for my first MT, it would have to be around 1992-3ish when both my dad and I started archery. Our first summer shooting the outdoor range was very hard on arrows. My father would carry a dedicated pair of heavy pliers to extricate field points from the local woody wildlife. I didn't want to carry around a big heavy pair of dedicated pliers, and it was a chore having to find him to remove field points. I came across this set of American Camper multi-tools and thought we could both have a set and be done with the heavy pliers. Worked like a charm. Nice thing also, being cheap, I was able to afford them on a shoe string University student budget. These did admirable duty in the field. Note these have the Pat Pending on the edge of the handles. I think you can find the same pair being manufactured today.

[JBW1]

Some awesome stories and history guys

[Toolslinger]

My first MT was a Charge XTi given to me by girlfriend for our first Christmas together. Needless to say, both were keepers. I still have the XTi. It has seen the most carry and use of any of my MTs and it's only been the last year or so that I've been around this place picking up new tools. The XTi is now happily retired with it's original sheath in the safe.

[MadPlumbarian]

Thre she is, Swiss champion plus, I got it when I turned 12, still have it to this day. JR

[Toolslinger]

Very nice JR. My first SAK was a Ranger I bought to match an older one my dad has. You never forget your first SAK.

[MadPlumbarian]

Very nice JR. My first SAK was a Ranger I bought to match an older one my dad has. You never forget your first SAK.

Ty, no, you never forget your first ! I first saw my grandfather use his sak when I was like 10, and he asked me if I liked it, well of course, duh! So he promised me to get me one when I turned 12, so I had to wait 2yrs of down time, the worst part was not even a year later I lost it in the woods, I search non stop forever, never found it, till a year later and was running threw the woods tripped and fell, landed flat on my face, sat there of a sec shook it off and thought I saw something, and sure enough right there under a few leafs there it was sitting in its sheath! So I took it home and cleaned it up, everything still worked, the leather was still ok, the button around the edge was green, but still for spending a full year in the weather of the northeast it was priceless! But of course I ended up breaking the corkscrew off like a month later, but when my grandfather passed I got his sak and used parts from his to fix that sak and another part to make a custom sak, this way I'd always have a part of him everywhere I went. JR

[Saluki]

I was reunited with my first knife last year after being separated for over 20 years.  I had looked for it a couple of times at my parents house over the years to no avail.  It later turned up in a box of stuff given to one of my brothers. 

I bought this at a flea market for a buck or two when I was about 10.  It is a cheap Imperial with hollow bolsters made in Rhode Island.  Despite being a cheap "gas station" knife, I've read on Bladeforums that the old Imperials actually had decent carbon steel blades.  Anyways, it met all of my cutting needs when I was 10.

Can any of you knife experts identify this knife and/or explain the purpose of the hook in the tang?  (I know the answer.)

[wsm0807]

I got my first knife when I was 9. It's a camilus boy scout knife. I got it when I got to webelos in scouts. It resides in the corner of my socks drawer next to my dad's scout knife. Nowadays I edc a wave during the week and carry a victorinox climber every where else. But when I die and get buried those scout knives will be in my pockets