18 January 2012

For the Love of a Pocket Knife


I just came across an article over at Gizmodo about a contributor's favorite pocket knife. It's 50 years old and he wouldn't part with it for the world. It won't stand up well to any knife chosen by Bear Grylls. Heck, even the bottom end Bear Grylls Compact Scout Knife would beat it in a fight to the death in a back alley. But you've got to admire the author's love for the thing.
I am not a Navy Seal. I don't need a fixed-blade, full-tang pocket sword with a tanto point and a Rockwell factor of 58. I open a lot of boxes and trim my nails with this 50-plus year-old pen knife. It used to be my grandfather's. I'm named after him. He died before I was born.
I recently lost my Buck Iceman. I missed having it clipped to my pocket, always at the ready. I carried around a Gerber Gator Serrater for the past few months, but it always seemed too bulky. Unlike Bear, my wilderness is paved and filled with public transit. It was just too much knife for daily use. Imagine my joy when I found a spare Buck Iceman in the garage. I don't even care that the clip is all wiggly and that the blade is scuffed. I think the author of that article would know exactly how I feel.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have that same knife , the yellow one at the top. Its really old( i think) and I reasontly got it at a garage sale, for three dollors. I hope I got a good deal

Kevin Smith said...

I have a knife very similar to it. It was my father's and is easily over 50 years old. Mine has a single clip point blade, and a fish scaler (which also has a bottle opener). On the blade, it reads: "Imperial Prov. RI" Hope that helped.

D.R. Cootey said...

Thanks for the comment. It's great that you have a similar memento from your father.