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The old mans pen knife.

3K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Ranger99 
#1 ·
When I was a kid, it seems that the 1950's was a more simple time. There wasn't any anti gun mania, even living in Washington D.C. lke we did. There were guns around, and a lot of people in the neighborhood carried a small gun for self defense. It wasn't the best part of town, and it was better to have than not have and need it.

The same for knives. It seemed like every man who had pants on, had a pocket knife in one of the pockets. Mostly they were small one and two bladed slip joints that were no more than 3 inches closed. Knife es like Case, Camillus, Schrade, Western, Boker, were common.

I've carried a wide variety f pocket knives over the span of my life, and they usually ranged from 3 blade stockmen in the 3/34 to 4 inch closed range. Swiss Army knives were always around for me, and I've long lost track of the stuff I've fixed while out someplace.

But now at 68 years of age, I find myself drawn to the small pen knives of my memories. maybe my knife needs have shrunk in my old age, but I find I rarely need much more than an inch and a half to two inches of blade in my everyday liftoff retired machinist in Georgetown Texas. Small pen knives like the Buck 309 companion, the Victoriox executive, Boker 240 pen knife, all seem to fill the bill for this'd mans pocket knife.

I wonder what you guys carry?
 
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#3 ·
The only knife I always carry is the Swiss Army Classic. It's so small and light you hardly even know it's there.

I use the scissors almost as much as I use the blade, and the tweezers are indispensable when I'm out and about and get a sliver or a tick!

I sometimes carry an Opinal #7 or a medium size lock blade folder depending on what's planned for the day, but they're in addition to, not a replacement for the Classic.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Oh man, the little classic is a great knife. I carried one for about 20 years on my keyring. Used it for darn near anything I needed to cut. The only place it fell short was food duty when off someplace. Then someone gifted me a Victorinox executive, and it was like a classic that got upsized. A bit longer main blade that could actually cut a sandwich in half or slice a piece of pie, bit bigger scissors that are great for a lot of things like trimming monofilament fishing line, and a broken nail. The nail file tip makes a good small Phillips screw driver for those little Phillips that you find in electrical devises.

The only use I've found though for that silly orange peeler is, the screw driver tip fits S&W adjustable revolver sights pretty fair. I'd be happy if they just did away with it or replace it with a full serrated blade.
 
#6 ·
Years ago I carried a pocket knife, sometimes also a small pair of pliers. For part of my career, I drove 50-60 thousand miles a year and developed sciatic problems. Moving my wallet to my front pocket fixed that issue, but space for knives and pliers went away. My favorite was a 2 blade Schrade USA (if I remember correctly) giveaway with a well drilling logo on it. That knife for a lot of use.
 
#7 ·
i used to go to a auction just to buy cheap knives. you know, no-names folding knives and they were always in a box marked junk and usually 2 or 3 of them(knives). i would take them to work(heavy equipment operator, laborer, masonry and ditch guy) with a pocket cresson wrench. i would use it a screwdriver, prying, cutting things, scrapping...it was a wonderful tool. and if the cheap knife breaks, throw it away and in the back of my jeep, get another knife.

i have a buck 110 that i retired after years of service. the bucks and does i have gutted and skinned.....now it is a knife made by the late marvin wotring(morgantown, wv)....
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#8 ·
i guess the definition of pen knife has changed somewhat
from looking at the various catalogs i have.
a penknife used to be a long oval shaped frame with rounded
bolsters and a couple of small spear shaped blades, one usually
1/2-3/4 longer than the smaller 1 inch or so blade, one at
each end of the frame.

one catalog has a case with a small spear pen blade and a
clip blade at opposite ends with a long oval frame listed
as a pen knife.
another has a case knife that's nearly identical listed as a
"half whittler"
in that same catalog hen & rooster has a nearly identical knife
with deer stag scales listed as a pen knife.
schrade calls their nearly identical knife a "minuteman two
blade pocketknife" with no mention of pen knife or otherwise.

i've been carrying a small pocketknife with a small pen blade
and a clip on the same end. closed is about 3-3 1/2 inches.
they used to call that configuration a "jackknife" when i was
younger. i haven't heard that name used in a good while,
although case and schrade both have what they list as jackknives
with both blades on one end.
i noticed that there are other manufacturers that list some knives
as jackknives although the knives they show have blades on
opposite ends like the "pen" knives and "half whittler" knives
others list.

the knife i have is/was a cheapie, one of those that they sold in
five and dime stores back in the 60's and early 70's (probably the
50's too, but i can't say for back then) displayed on a pegboard
with cheap barlow knives and those "fish" knives with a long clip
blade and a scaler/hook disgorger blade on that same end.
that knife i have and use daily has carbon steel blades and steel
liners and brown plastic "antler" scales.
 
#10 ·
I guess I was using the term 'penknife' in a generic way. I grew up hearing the small one and two blade slip joint pocket knives called by the generic term 'penknife, or 'jackknife' as you said. It was always in reference to a small conventional pocket knife with one or two blades and no lock.

I remember in the 1970's any large brass framed lock blade being called a "Buck Knife" even if it came from Pakistan or some Asian nation. An insult to the real Buck Knife but there it was.

Even today I takeout whatever Swiss Army knife I have like a small classic or the executive, and people still call it a 'pen knife'. I was in London England a few years back, and a lady at a food concession was having some trouble unwrapping a scone that was cocooned in plastic wrap. I helped her by snipping off the plastic with the scissor on my Victorinox classic, and she remarked "Oh how nice your little pen knife has scissors on it." I didn't bother to correct her on the technicality of it not being a "Pen knife."
 
#9 ·
I've carried the same knife everyday for about 19 years. A Bench Made 710 lock blade with D2 steel.
It does every thing with a constant razor edge.
Before this knife, nuthin but carbon steel yellow handled Case . Occasionly I'll still get one out and carry it during the winter.
 
#11 ·
Dad carried the yellow handled Case Muskrat pattern for a long time. Can’t really remember any other, though I’m sure he did.

I’ve got a small Case Stockman that I consider gentlemanly. A small Al Mar Hawk that reminds me of a fighting knife for a 5 year old boy, and another Al Mar slightly tactical model I probably carry the most.

Box cutters don’t count do they? Because honestly I have one of those the most often.


I need a kinder gentler machine gun
 
#12 ·
Reading Ranger99's post got me to thinking - yes a rare event I know!

Anyhow, back when I was a kid and all boys carried a pocket knife they were all universally referred to as a "jackknife", at least where I grew up. And there were only 2 kinds of knives: jackknives and hunting knives (kitchen knives don't count!). I didn't even know there was such a thing as a lockblade folder until I was old enough to afford a Buck 110.

Ah, life was simpler back then.
 
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