The humble penknife

[AimlessWanderer]

I never saw anyone in want of more in 90 percent of the situations that came up.

Yup, that was my experience too    Much of the time, the only benefit of the larger knife, is being easier to find in and amongst all the other pocket detritus 

[Barry Rowland]

I agree!!

[ElevenBlade]

Interesting read.

I wonder, as the years go by, what's left of the humble pen knife.   My grandfather always carried a penknife (two blades out of either end, the longer of the two no more than a couple of inches).  He gave me one, that I leave on the shelf. Sometimes I look for something similar, to use day-to-day.  I can't find anything except perhaps a Victorinox Secretary. 

[Ray S]

I read the responses to this post with a bit of amusement as it brought back a few memories of my own. I have been on this planet for a little over 3/4 of a century and as a boy was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather's everyday knife was a shell handled 4 blade Kamp King(the USA SAK) and in his pants' watch pocket(remember those?) he always carried a small pen knife(never saw the name on it and it vanished after his death)that was reserved exclusively for paring and cleaning his fingernails and removing the ever present splinters that he seemed to get.He removed a few from my unwilling fingers as well.
My grandmother's brother(Uncle Jim Dalton)used to visit us every Sunday for dinner from his residence at the Soldier's Home.He always wore the same blue pinstriped suit(his only one that he was finally buried in)with a vest that contained his pocket watch on one side and a small gold penknife in the other.The knife was used not only as my grandfather's was but also for trimming the end of an after dinner cigar that my grandmother made him go outside to smoke. I don't know what he had for an everyday knife(I assume he had one)as he was an ex-Marine(sorry;there are no EX-Marines)who served in the Spanish American War.
My impression of a "pen" knife is that of a two bladed knife with a blade at either end and less than 3 inches(76mm) in length closed;the smaller blade sometimes being a file/manicure blade and handles of either metal or pearl.

[ElevenBlade]

I read the responses to this post with a bit of amusement as it brought back a few memories of my own. I have been on this planet for a little over 3/4 of a century and as a boy was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather's everyday knife was a shell handled 4 blade Kamp King(the USA SAK) and in his pants' watch pocket(remember those?) he always carried a small pen knife(never saw the name on it and it vanished after his death)that was reserved exclusively for paring and cleaning his fingernails and removing the ever present splinters that he seemed to get.He removed a few from my unwilling fingers as well.
My grandmother's brother(Uncle Jim Dalton)used to visit us every Sunday for dinner from his residence at the Soldier's Home.He always wore the same blue pinstriped suit(his only one that he was finally buried in)with a vest that contained his pocket watch on one side and a small gold penknife in the other.The knife was used not only as my grandfather's was but also for trimming the end of an after dinner cigar that my grandmother made him go outside to smoke. I don't know what he had for an everyday knife(I assume he had one)as he was an ex-Marine(sorry;there are no EX-Marines)who served in the Spanish American War.
My impression of a "pen" knife is that of a two bladed knife with a blade at either end and less than 3 inches(76mm) in length closed;the smaller blade sometimes being a file/manicure blade and handles of either metal or pearl.

What a wonderful collection!  Traditionals with a Delrin or stag handle are nice too.  I've pined over my fair share of those.  But there's something about these pen knives - like you say - metal or pearl handles - that really captures my interest. 

[Ray S]

Thanks for the kind words. Here are a few mostly metal handled models.

[Aloha]

Thanks for sharing Ray.  I always love to hear such personal topics.  I would love to sit in your among your knives and listen to more stories.   

[Ray S]

Thanks for sharing Ray.  I always love to hear such personal topics.  I would love to sit in your among your knives and listen to more stories.

Thank you for the kind words.If I ever finish my book on the stories on how many of my knives came into my guardianship I will make sure you get a copy. I just started back to work on it after a long absence.

[Aloha]

 

[cbl51]

The pen knife seemed to be the knife, along with the Vic Classic, that everyone in my part of the world seemed to graduate to once they tried out all the bigger stuff.  My father in law carries both, and my Dad was a devoted penknife fan.  I have a couple Schrades, but the closest I come to carrying one is my Opinel No 4 and a Classic.  I never saw anyone in want of more in 90 percent of the situations that came up.

Barry, the harsh truth is, that knife nuts are just like car nuts, gun nuts, and other obsessed aficionados of a cult worship item. They have lost all judgement and common sense so that the truth is mostly obscured in a fog. My friend Lenny is a car nut, and he just can't understand how I can be satisfied driving around in a mundane little Toyota Corolla. I am not a car nut, but I value the steady reliability of my car, and how it didn't cost an arm and a leg and if someone runs a stoplight and t-bones me and totals it, I'm not gonna cry. Its just a car. My gun nut friend Wayne can't see why I just shoot a .22 revolver instead of the latest tactical 9mm with the light and laser sight and Hollywood stuff hanging on it.

Before I lost my knife nut obsession, I couldn't see why anyone would not lust after a Randall. Then I sold off all the knives and just carried a small SAK. Looking back on my life, even with all the backpacking, canoe camping, hiking, and fishing, I very very rarely ever needed more knife than some small "pen knife" like my Victorinox secretary, Boker 240 pen, Buck 309 companion, or now my every present executive. Ego driven obsessions distort our view of things greatly. I wish I could go back in time like Marty McFly and kick myself in the butt and tell myself to stop with the knife obsession bull hockey. Just stay with a small SAK and an Opinel and thats it.

All the years growing up, I watched my dad do all his cutting with his little Case peanut. It was enough to cut any rope/cordage, open boxes, slice sausage and cheese out in the woods, gut and clean pan fish, and open plastic blister packages. Dad was of the "pen knife" generation of men who lived through the Great Depression, WW2, and raised a family in the 1950's. I had a great example to learn from, but chose to ignore it until later in life. My bad.

I regret the passing of the sensible 'pen knife'. In most of my life, I didn't really need more knife that that.

[GearedForwards]

I read the responses to this post with a bit of amusement as it brought back a few memories of my own. I have been on this planet for a little over 3/4 of a century and as a boy was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather's everyday knife was a shell handled 4 blade Kamp King(the USA SAK) and in his pants' watch pocket(remember those?) he always carried a small pen knife(never saw the name on it and it vanished after his death)that was reserved exclusively for paring and cleaning his fingernails and removing the ever present splinters that he seemed to get.He removed a few from my unwilling fingers as well.
My grandmother's brother(Uncle Jim Dalton)used to visit us every Sunday for dinner from his residence at the Soldier's Home.He always wore the same blue pinstriped suit(his only one that he was finally buried in)with a vest that contained his pocket watch on one side and a small gold penknife in the other.The knife was used not only as my grandfather's was but also for trimming the end of an after dinner cigar that my grandmother made him go outside to smoke. I don't know what he had for an everyday knife(I assume he had one)as he was an ex-Marine(sorry;there are no EX-Marines)who served in the Spanish American War.
My impression of a "pen" knife is that of a two bladed knife with a blade at either end and less than 3 inches(76mm) in length closed;the smaller blade sometimes being a file/manicure blade and handles of either metal or pearl.

What a wonderful and heart warming tale and what a collection! Your collection also reminded me of a special part of my own, an antique fruit knife gifted to me by my parents for my 21st birthday:

[Aloha]

   Very lovely and the little purse for it is equally amazing. 

[ElevenBlade]

Always nice to read the well-written words of the group here. 

I often wonder, more than I should about what will happen in the next generations. 

I wonder what makes traditional knives traditional, in the same way I wonder why I like penknives so much.  It's all about the previous generations.  My grandfather and his penknives, and my father's generation and their traditionals.  Then I wonder some more... and realize that traditionals represent a time in my youth prepared me for the time in my life when I gained an "interest" in multitools out of extensive use...  when I learned to be self-reliant, and subsequently when my self-reliance paid off in its own right.

When we say "traditional"... whose tradition was it?  I wonder if I have replaced tradition in my mind with my own symbolism.  I think I have to a certain extent.   Though, I can still stay true to my roots with a pen blade even if I can't find a shiny new penknife.  That's something I've made my own. 

[Ray S]

Sometimes I wonder what it was exactly that motivated me to begin "accumulating" knives.I don't consider them a "collection" per se as I usually take that to mean assembling a number of items either made by the same manufacturer or items of a like pattern. I like ALL knives for whatever reason(or no reason)I choose at the time.
Some would refer to people such as me as,"hoarders". I prefer the term,"indiscriminate accumulationist". I bought my first knife(with my grandfather's permission) sixty-six years ago and it is the centerpiece of my accumulation even though it was MIA for almost 25 years.It is a Utica Sportsman fixed blade with grooved bone handles to simulate stag and came with a leather belt sheath. The original price is still written in pencil on the back of the sheath:98 cents! Another chapter in my book.
Sometimes I wonder what will become of my accumulation after I leave this earth.If I should pass before my wife I have put in place provisions for it to be sold off by a couple of good friends who are also knife enthusiasts. However if she should pass before me I still don't know how to dispose of it.None of my children have any real interest in knives other than how much they could be sold for. I'm still working on a solution to that problem.
While I always like to get a "score" on a knife,monetary value isn't the only criteria I like. One of the knives in my accumulation is a Pakistani made Barlow that was given to me by a good friend and long time customer of my art work.The story is a bit long but that knife means a lot more to me than any one I might get that is monetarily much more valuable.
Sorry for the long and at times incoherent rant but that is brought out in me by recalling some of the knives and how they came into my possession.I look at a tiny knife that could not have been made any less than a hundred and eighty years ago and wonder how it survived so long and what it has seen and the stories it might relate could it speak.

[Aloha]

I look at a tiny knife that could not have been made any less than a hundred and eighty years ago and wonder how it survived so long and what it has seen and the stories it might relate could it speak.

 / I often wonder the same when I find knives much younger.  My recent WW2 Imperial is one I'd love to hear where its been and what its done. 

[SteveC]

Interesting read.

I wonder, as the years go by, what's left of the humble pen knife.   My grandfather always carried a penknife (two blades out of either end, the longer of the two no more than a couple of inches).  He gave me one, that I leave on the shelf. Sometimes I look for something similar, to use day-to-day.  I can't find anything except perhaps a Victorinox Secretary.

Let's see a pic   

[David]

Let's see a pic   

 

[ElevenBlade]

Let's see a pic   

   It's in safekeeping in another state, which I'm unable to get to due to COVID-19.  One day, I will post it.  I promise. 

[Gareth]

I read the responses to this post with a bit of amusement as it brought back a few memories of my own. I have been on this planet for a little over 3/4 of a century and as a boy was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather's everyday knife was a shell handled 4 blade Kamp King(the USA SAK) and in his pants' watch pocket(remember those?) he always carried a small pen knife(never saw the name on it and it vanished after his death)that was reserved exclusively for paring and cleaning his fingernails and removing the ever present splinters that he seemed to get.He removed a few from my unwilling fingers as well.
My grandmother's brother(Uncle Jim Dalton)used to visit us every Sunday for dinner from his residence at the Soldier's Home.He always wore the same blue pinstriped suit(his only one that he was finally buried in)with a vest that contained his pocket watch on one side and a small gold penknife in the other.The knife was used not only as my grandfather's was but also for trimming the end of an after dinner cigar that my grandmother made him go outside to smoke. I don't know what he had for an everyday knife(I assume he had one)as he was an ex-Marine(sorry;there are no EX-Marines)who served in the Spanish American War.
My impression of a "pen" knife is that of a two bladed knife with a blade at either end and less than 3 inches(76mm) in length closed;the smaller blade sometimes being a file/manicure blade and handles of either metal or pearl.

that's an awesome collection Ray. 

[Gareth]

I've gone down a little penknife kick this year myself.  Some of these I've owned for years but not really given much thought too, a couple are more recent buys.  The RR half stockman is an interesting one IMO.  It's the same size and format as a "pen" knife but doesn't quite seem to fit in my head due to the blade shapes.  Oh, and like all other Brits of a certain age ALL folding pocket knives were called penknives when I was growing up.  To the extent that I used to own a "Swiss Army Penknife".

[SteveC]

 

[Aloha]

Some good looking pen knives.  The RR half stockman is a neat one.  I do like the blade on it a lot. 

[Gareth]

I've gone down a little penknife kick this year myself.  Some of these I've owned for years but not really given much thought too, a couple are more recent buys.  The RR half stockman is an interesting one IMO.  It's the same size and format as a "pen" knife but doesn't quite seem to fit in my head due to the blade shapes.  Oh, and like all other Brits of a certain age ALL folding pocket knives were called penknives when I was growing up.  To the extent that I used to own a "Swiss Army Penknife".

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

So, it's just possible I've not stopped buying these in the last couple of years.    I'll need to snap a photo of the whole lot but that will involve admitting how many I own.

[Gareth]

Here's my group of what I think of as "true" penknives.  Around 3" or less and two spearpoint blades on a single spring. I've not even included the Vic Secretary type SAKs or anything with a clip blade (such as a half whittler). 

[Gareth]

...and I smurfing forgot one!   

It was in my pocket.

[SteveC]

Great collection G !   

[Gareth]

A few slightly more close-up photos, including a group of "near" penknives.    Also included the one I left out of the main photo.  Can you tell which one it is?

[Aloha]

Great bump Gareth.  Great collection. 

[Gareth]

Great collection G !   

Great bump Gareth.  Great collection. 

cheers gents. 

[Barry Rowland]

Great seeing this thread again!  Looking great everyone!