What Is The Oldest Knife You Own,That You Bought New?

[toolguy]

I have a Puma Game Warden that I bought new in 1971.I have always said that every knife purchase has a story and this one is no different.

When I was a kid my dad used to take me to a gun shop that was two towns over from where we lived.While he and the owner,Mr. Bowman,talked guns,politics and current events,I walked around and marveled at all of the handguns in the glass display case.I also would check out his knife displays.He had two display cases that always caught my attention the Buck and Puma cases.

During that time the Buck 110 Hunter had become popular among my older brother and his friends.At that time it was a huge folder.During one of our many trips to Mr. Bowman's gun store,I couldn't help but to take notice of a Buck-like knife named the Puma Game Warden.I set my sights on buying that knife because it looked like the Buck 110 but it was much sleeker,weighed noticeably less and fit a skinny 125LB kid like myself much better than the Buck.

During that summer I worked cutting lawns and at odd jobs and saved my money.Well,I actually horded my money.I never spent a dime until I had the money needed to buy that wonderful Puma.I wasn't sure my dad would allow me to own it,since I was still in grade school.I didn't want to take that chance so I hopped aboard my banana seat,ape hanger bike and rode that eight miles to Mr.Bowman's shop.

When I arrived I told Mr.Bowman that I wanted to buy a Puma knife,while pointing at it.He was always accommodating, so he took it from the display case and handed it to me.He left for a few minutes while I fondled this beautiful work of art while opening and closing the blade a dozens times or more.When he came back he asked if my dad would allow me to buy this ? I told him yes and I gave him the money I had saved.He rang it up on his old cash register,bagged it and away I rode.Upon arriving home dad caught me walking my bike into the garage and asked where I had ridden.Before I could make up a story he said that Mr. Bowman had called and told him I was at his store buying a knife.Busted! My dad was very cool,as he grew up on a farm and he had a knife before he was in first grade.He asked to see it and he immediately set down the rules as to when I could carry that beautiful Puma.I wasn't real happy with his rules but as he always said his house,his rules.

It wasn't until many,many years later that I learned my Puma had been manufactured at least seven years before I bought it.So,if Mr. Bowman had received it new from Puma,he had it in stock for seven years before I eyed it for purchase.Pumas have a date code engraved onto the back of the locking bar but that didn't start until 1964.Mine has no date code.So it is a Pre-'64 folder.

So members,what is your oldest knife that you bought new?

 Puma Game Warden.

[SteveC]

 

Great story tg !   

[toolguy]

Great story tg !   

Thanks Steve. Like the Puma four star knife that I displayed,I still have the green and yellow plastic box in which it was shipped from Germany.

[SteveC]

I guess the oldest one I still have that I bought is this  G-96 JET-AER that I mail ordered in the early 1980's from the back of a magazine.







There's more of a story to it here

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/asc67/JET-AER%20Knife/DSC06801%202_zpsrjgnxmv0.jpg

[ThundahBeagle]

The oldest knife I still own that I bought new is my Victorinox Super Tinker I bought after graduating high school back in '88. No special story,  just that I had a Caughlan knockoff for many years prior and wanted the real deal. The Super Tinker went with me everywhere and had very little good care taken of it, yet never failed me.

It was essentially ruined about 5 or 6 years ago, and I breathed new life into it last year, so I can carry it and it is both useful and presentable again.

I had previously bought a Pakistani knockoff of a Buck 110 back in the early 1980's, without my parent's knowledge. My father had a Buck-like folder he kept in his back pocket, and I wanted to do the same. He used to close his one- handed by pushing the lockbak, and then pushing the spine of the blade against his thigh. So, I wanted to do the same. After keeping my flea market purchase of Pakistani goods a secret for weeks, I remember helping my mother with something in her sewing room and I needed to cut some thread. I'd been practicing the closing technique my father used. Forgetting that my folks knew nothing of the knife, I whipped it out, opened it (with two hands) cut the string and closed it one-handed against my leg the way my father always did with his. That's when my mother shrieked. She thought I was getting the knife stuck in my leg. Once I closed it and put it away, then came the 3rd degree. "Whose knife is that? Where did you get it?"

But she didn't take it away from me...

When my father came home, at first he said nothing until we were outside working alone. Then he asked me to show him how exactly I had closed the knife that caused my mother to chicken snap on me. I showed him, and thought for sure I was going to get a backhand and have the knife taken away. But instead, he smirked at the fluidity with which I wielded and closed the knife, and went over some knife safety, and when is, vs when is not an appropriate time to use it, cut away from yourself and all that.

I got to keep it, but it was eventually lost to time.

Bought a Browning model 810 back in the mid '90's, i think,  to satisfy my urge for a Buck. This is a great knife with arguably better lockup than a Buck 110 and certainly lighter.

Recently I picked up a Buck Ecolite and was gifted the classic 110, and picked up a used Spyderco, all of which make me wish I had purchased a Buck instead of that Pakistani knife, and wish I'd picked up a Spyderco back in the 99's when I was introduced

[ThundahBeagle]

I guess the oldest one I still have that I bought is this  G-96 JET-AER that I mail ordered in the early 1980's from the back of a magazine.


(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)


There's more of a story to it here

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/asc67/JET-AER%20Knife/DSC06801%202_zpsrjgnxmv0.jpg

Nice one Steve.  I remember seeing that one in another thread, and people asking about the carving and scrollworked wood behind it. Nice

[microbe]

This one is from the late eighties. A rosewood Laguiole Rossignol.
The brass used to be high gloss, but developed a natural matte patina over the past 30 years.

[toolguy]

I guess the oldest one I still have that I bought is this  G-96 JET-AER that I mail ordered in the early 1980's from the back of a magazine.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)
There's more of a story to it here
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/asc67/JET-AER%20Knife/DSC06801%202_zpsrjgnxmv0.jpg

The Japanese make great knives and they surely recognize a good design when they see it.

[toolguy]

Good story Beagle.

Parents didn't freak-out about knives when I was growing up.They were more practical and just set some rules in place.

Heck,they didn't freak-out about guns either.

[toolguy]

This one is from the late eighties. A rosewood Laguiole Rossignol.
The brass used to be high gloss, but developed a natural matte patina over the past 30 years.
(Image removed from quote.)

Very nice microbe.

[microbe]

This one is from the late eighties. A rosewood Laguiole Rossignol.
The brass used to be high gloss, but developed a natural matte patina over the past 30 years.
(Image removed from quote.)

Very nice microbe.

 
It had a rough life, and is retired to a display shelf now.

[toolguy]

That's really cool,you have a retirement plan for your knives.LOL

[Ray S]

The oldest knife I have that I bought new is also the first knife I ever bought. A little background first:
   I was raised by my grandparents(my parents were divorced before I was born and it is a LONG story) and I became fascinated with knives at a very early age. Fascinated enough that I took my grandfather's pocket knife once when he was out of the room and attempted to open it and nearly amputated my finger when the blade snapped closed. This was at the age of eight. The only reason I didn't get a whipping for that stunt was he figured I had probably suffered enough.I still have the scar although it has faded out a bit since then.
Anyway at the age of ten I saw a hunting knife(I believe it is a Utica Sportsman although it isn;t marked as such)in the local hardware store for the grand sum of 98 cents! I tried to purchase it but Mr. Allen(the store owner) knew my grandfather and wouldn't sell it to me unless I had his permission.
After much wheedling on my part my grandfather finally relented and allowed me to buy it(with my own money of course).I think it may have had something to do with the fact that my grandmother had recently passed away and he was faced with the prospect of raising me by himself.
There were rules imposed as to when and where it was to be carried and not wanting to screw up again I followed them religiously. When not being carried it was kept in the drawer of a small table in my room(important fact to the story).
Time passed and I enlisted in the Navy in 1964. While I was in my grandfather passed away and by the time I returned home the house had been sold and whatever possessions I had left there were nowhere to be found.
More time elapsed and in 1987 I received word that my mother had passed away and as I was her only living relative I was designated to clean out her apartment. Not an easy task as I had recently undergone spinal surgery was a bit less than successful. However there was no one else to do it for reasons I won't elaborate on here so one day I started.
In the midst of cleaning out the apartment I run across the little table that had been in my room at my grandfather's house and in the drawer was not only my first knife but also my grandfather's pocket knife that had so unceremoniously tried to remove my finger so many years ago!
They now occupy a place of honor in my vast accumulation of edged tools and when I pass will go to my son and grandson along with the story. By the way I bought that knife in 1954.

[toolguy]

Thanks for sharing your very touching story Ray.That's one heck of a knife for $.98.I would imagine your grandfathers pocket knife is quite special.

My dad wasn't into knives,but I do have two handguns that he owned.One is very special because he taught me how to shoot using this gun.

[SteveC]

Great story Ray !   

[ThundahBeagle]

I have a Puma Game Warden that I bought new in 1971.I have always said that every knife purchase has a story and this one is no different.

When I was a kid my dad used to take me to a gun shop that was two towns over from where we lived.While he and the owner,Mr. Bowman,talked guns,politics and current events,I walked around and marveled at all of the handguns in the glass display case.I also would check out his knife displays.He had two display cases that always caught my attention the Buck and Puma cases.

During that time the Buck 110 Hunter had become popular among my older brother and his friends.At that time it was a huge folder.During one of our many trips to Mr. Bowman's gun store,I couldn't help but to take notice of a Buck-like knife named the Puma Game Warden.I set my sights on buying that knife because it looked like the Buck 110 but it was much sleeker,weighed noticeably less and fit a skinny 125LB kid like myself much better than the Buck.

During that summer I worked cutting lawns and at odd jobs and saved my money.Well,I actually horded my money.I never spent a dime until I had the money needed to buy that wonderful Puma.I wasn't sure my dad would allow me to own it,since I was still in grade school.I didn't want to take that chance so I hopped aboard my banana seat,ape hanger bike and rode that eight miles to Mr.Bowman's shop.

When I arrived I told Mr.Bowman that I wanted to buy a Puma knife,while pointing at it.He was always accommodating, so he took it from the display case and handed it to me.He left for a few minutes while I fondled this beautiful work of art while opening and closing the blade a dozens times or more.When he came back he asked if my dad would allow me to buy this ? I told him yes and I gave him the money I had saved.He rang it up on his old cash register,bagged it and away I rode.Upon arriving home dad caught me walking my bike into the garage and asked where I had ridden.Before I could make up a story he said that Mr. Bowman had called and told him I was at his store buying a knife.Busted! My dad was very cool,as he grew up on a farm and he had a knife before he was in first grade.He asked to see it and he immediately set down the rules as to when I could carry that beautiful Puma.I wasn't real happy with his rules but as he always said his house,his rules.

It wasn't until many,many years later that I learned my Puma had been manufactured at least seven years before I bought it.So,if Mr. Bowman had received it new from Puma,he had it in stock for seven years before I eyed it for purchase.Pumas have a date code engraved onto the back of the locking bar but that didn't start until 1964.Mine has no date code.So it is a Pre-'64 folder.

So members,what is your oldest knife that you bought new?

 Puma Game Warden.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

Nice story from a time gone by ToolGuy. That Mr. Bowman was a cagey fella. Smart. That's how people looked after people back then.

[ThundahBeagle]

The oldest knife I have that I bought new is also the first knife I ever bought. A little background first:
   I was raised by my grandparents(my parents were divorced before I was born and it is a LONG story) and I became fascinated with knives at a very early age. Fascinated enough that I took my grandfather's pocket knife once when he was out of the room and attempted to open it and nearly amputated my finger when the blade snapped closed. This was at the age of eight. The only reason I didn't get a whipping for that stunt was he figured I had probably suffered enough.I still have the scar although it has faded out a bit since then.
Anyway at the age of ten I saw a hunting knife(I believe it is a Utica Sportsman although it isn;t marked as such)in the local hardware store for the grand sum of 98 cents! I tried to purchase it but Mr. Allen(the store owner) knew my grandfather and wouldn't sell it to me unless I had his permission.
After much wheedling on my part my grandfather finally relented and allowed me to buy it(with my own money of course).I think it may have had something to do with the fact that my grandmother had recently passed away and he was faced with the prospect of raising me by himself.
There were rules imposed as to when and where it was to be carried and not wanting to screw up again I followed them religiously. When not being carried it was kept in the drawer of a small table in my room(important fact to the story).
Time passed and I enlisted in the Navy in 1964. While I was in my grandfather passed away and by the time I returned home the house had been sold and whatever possessions I had left there were nowhere to be found.
More time elapsed and in 1987 I received word that my mother had passed away and as I was her only living relative I was designated to clean out her apartment. Not an easy task as I had recently undergone spinal surgery was a bit less than successful. However there was no one else to do it for reasons I won't elaborate on here so one day I started.
In the midst of cleaning out the apartment I run across the little table that had been in my room at my grandfather's house and in the drawer was not only my first knife but also my grandfather's pocket knife that had so unceremoniously tried to remove my finger so many years ago!
They now occupy a place of honor in my vast accumulation of edged tools and when I pass will go to my son and grandson along with the story. By the way I bought that knife in 1954.

RayS

Good story. You are probably around my father's age. He was with 101st in Vietnam in '66 for sure.

That must have been a surreal moment of realization when you found that table back in '87 and nobody left who remembered those knife adventures in the 50's and 60's with you. I hope you still have the table as well.

[ThundahBeagle]

Good story Beagle.

Parents didn't freak-out about knives when I was growing up.They were more practical and just set some rules in place.

Heck,they didn't freak-out about guns either.

Thanks ToolGuy. For better or worse, in the 7o's I would be sent, alone, down to the corner store to buy beer and cigarettes for my dad with something like two bucks in my pocket. And nobody blinked an eye, I guess. there were a bunch of Mr. and Mrs. Bowmans running around our neighborhood, I'm sure.

A knife was chump change. After living in the city my early life, we then moved to the Adirondacks in the late 70's. I was logging for home firewood with my brother and father when I was 10 years old. And guns? My father came home from Vietnam and taught me to shoot when I was just three, albeit with a BB gun. But by age 10 I had my own .22 rifle, and a whole boatload of rules to abide by.

[AimlessWanderer]

The first knife I got was one of my grandfather's old knives, but that is long since lost. It was a traditional two bladed penknife, but wouldn't hold an edge. I had to sharpen that thing far more often than any knife I've owned since.

The second, was the lambsfoot slippie in the attached picture. It was gifted to me by a friend who worked in the cutlery trade. He had been gifted it by the Little Mester who was making knives in a workshop in one of Sheffield's museums, which I believe was Stan Shaw (though it isn't stamped with a makers name), and he passed it along to me (he'd been given two, and kept the other for himself). I was probably 17 at the time, so that's 28 years ago. It was probably the better part of ten years before I owned another slippy, so there's a good few miles on the clock.

The other in the picture is the first knife I bought for myself. It's an off-brand liner locker, which I probably got a year or two after the other one, and it too has done a fair bit of cutting work over the years. It's now one of my "dirty work" knives, for when I don't want to risk ruining something nicer, and it still works fine.

Both of these have earned their keep well, and they'll probably both outlive me. Despite all their use, they've lost very little steel from the edge, as I've never been one for oversharpening, and never subjected them to anything beyond their reasonable capability. If I was sharpening a pencil, and the edge was a bit dull near the tang, I'd just use a different part of the blade. When none of it was sharp, that's when I'd sharpen it, but removing the absolute bare minimum of metal. I've seen people wear away half their blade width in a few years, but because they abused them in use, then sharpened them on a bench grinder. I'd always grab a Stanley knife with disposable blades for the nasty jobs. I've always been particular about not using pocket knives for heavy tasks. There's other better suited knives for that.

[toolguy]

That stupid photo hosting site is playing games again,so I'll down load from my hard drive.

Puma game warden.

[toolguy]

Nice story from a time gone by ToolGuy. That Mr. Bowman was a cagey fella. Smart. That's how people looked after people back then.

Exactly right, people were more considerate during that era.

Mr.Bowman was a WWII vet, as was my dad,so they had a lot in common.He opened his store in 1946,following WWII.My dad found his store in 1966 when we moved into that area.I eventually bought my first handgun from him and several rifles over the years.

He's past on but I fond memories of him and that store.

[toolguy]

AW thanks for participating.

It's always interesting reading other members points of view concerning tools and knives.

[nmpops]

Like you my oldest knife, that I still have, is a Puma Game Warden. I bought it the summer of '72 just before I left for basic training from Two Guys Department Store in New Jersey. Need to take a picture of it.

[Aloha]

Some wonderful stories fellas, thanks for sharing them. 

[toolguy]

Like you my oldest knife, that I still have, is a Puma Game Warden. I bought it the summer of '72 just before I left for basic training from Two Guys Department Store in New Jersey. Need to take a picture of it.

Be sure to post a picture and the serial number as well.It will determine the date of manufacture.

Thanks for participating nm.

[Ray S]

I read all the stories here at least once as those are the most important part. i may have mentioned this before but for the last several years on and off(mostly off)I have been trying to put together a book of stories about my knives and how many of them came into my possession. Hopefully it will be finished before I am.
If I may I would like to relate the story of one knife that means very much to me.It begins with me cleaning out my mother's apartment after her passing.
In cleaning and sorting through her effects I came across a bunch of old letters and set them aside for future reading in case there was anything important in them.It is truly amazing how one person can accumulate so much stuff over a lifetime(as I think about my shop and it's overflowing contents).Anyway on with the tale.
In reading over the letters I noticed several from an aunt whom I had never heard of. My wife suggested I try and get in touch with another aunt whom I hadn't seen since I was about 5 or 6 years old to see if she knew of her. We did and I found out much to my shock that my father(whom I had been told had died during WWII) was in fact very much alive and living in Florida! I also found out that I had an older half sister and a younger half brother as well as the aforementioned mystery aunt!
We made arrangements to get together and I got my dad's phone number to call him. The conversation and the circumstances surrounding it would take up a whole chapter so I will just say it was,"interesting".
Sometime shortly afterward we took a trip to Florida to meet my dad and my half brother and his family. In the course of the visit I happened to mention that I collected knives as a hobby(more like an addiction)and my dad went out to his work shop and came back with a knife. He had made it when he was in the Navy stationed in San Diego California on a submarine. He was 17 when he went in(1921) and served 8 years. The knife was kind of crude with a piece of copper pipe for a handle and half guard and he didn't remember what he used for a blade but it was(and still is)scary sharp and also occupies a place of honor in my computer room. Sadly he passed away in 1995 but at least we had some time together and we got to know one another.
These are the type of stories I am trying to put into my book and it will likely never be published but be reserved for my son and his son after. Hopefully it will be enjoyed by them and give them an insight into what the old man was all about.

[sak60]

First half of ‘80 Puma.
Bought new at a gun store here probably  ‘81.

[toolguy]

Another good story Ray.

Thank you for sharing.

[SteveC]

 

[toolguy]

First half of ‘80 Puma.
Bought new at a gun store here probably  ‘81.

Nice Puma.

I,at one time,owned a Trail Guide with Stag handles.