Knife collection - from my father to me

I lost my father to brain, stomach, and lung cancer in early 2019 (Agent Orange exposure during Vietnam). While I miss him intensely, I've largely been able to weather it pretty well, due in part to our faith, the way he raised me, etc. My mom, on the other hand, has not taken it very well. As such, many things that probably should have been done by now (e.g., getting rid of some stuff, cleaning the house, etc.) have often been put on hold, or she's backed out at the last minute, etc.

This weekend she finally decided to clean, organize, get rid of some stuff and so on...and I was given my father’s entire knife collection. I’ve wanted it forever but never dared to hope it would someday be mine until yesterday. Spent four hours transporting it home today, and not ashamed to say I then spent several hours alternatively admiring the collection and crying.

Below are maybe 30% of the knives. And I’d give every one of them up to have him here again. He built the chest you see here that contains them.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. He put together a real nice collection. Now it's yours to cherish and add to it.

 

Thanks for sharing your story about your Father. Been almost 8 years since I lost mine and still catch myself doing things he taught me as a child. The tough times gradually get replaced by good memories.

 

Yeah, that's the plan. I'd like to do a bit more to the chest itself to smarten it up - e.g., hit it up with some wax + steel wool and the like, possibly add a locking mechanism, etc.

I'm not the 'only child' so to speak, but I am my father's only biological son, and my brother and sister both agreed I should get this. With that said, my brother has 7 kids, and I've already told him that when each of his kids turn 18, they'll get a knife of their choosing. But yeah, as you said, knives I own (that aren't actively being used) will be stored here

 

Oh yeah, the same holds true for me. Part of the reason I've largely been 'OK' with his passing is because not only was he a great father, but he was a very strong personality. If I have questions I essentially feel like I can just say to myself "Dad, this one's kicking my butt...I could sure use some guidance here..." and hear him tell me the answer. LOL

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. Definitely a nice collection.

 

Very cool collection. I don’t know much about knives, or losing parents, but clearly, this will be something special to you that forever brings back memories. I’m sorry for your loss, but happy for you that you’ll have this to remember him fondly.

 

I do the same thing. My Dad taught me so much about fixing anything that broke but sometimes I still need to think what would he do in a situation like this and I'm 66!

After Dad died I got a delicious promotion at work but it just felt hollow. Same as the day I retired. The feeling was because I wasn't able to share the news with him. My wife said that he knew without me telling him.

 

I'd agree with that sentiment. What's interesting is that I'd actually just gotten a promotion, and was able to tell him about it.

I think I'm going to catalog them over time. One thing I WON'T have to do is sharpen them; he kept them sharp as hell, so every one of them is ready for use.

 

Thanks for sharing with us. I lost my Mom and Dad two weeks apart in 2009 and I cherish the things my Dad passed along to me like my first .22 rifle, .410 shotgun, his fishing gear, his shotgun, etc. It never stops hurting losing them, but it also keeps many fond memories alive. Your Dad was quite the collector and a very good cabinetmaker as well. Enjoy the memories.

 

I appreciate the sentiments. Losing your Mom and Dad 2 weeks apart...I don't even know what to say, other than that - while it may be 13 years later - you've got my sympathies.

With that said, you're right - it doesn't stop hurting, but over time the bad memories sort of lose their power and the good ones push to the forefront.

My dad was a damn good carpenter/cabinet maker - this was an example of his 'basic' stuff. LOL He was one of those guys who could sort of wave his hands at a pile of wood and *voila* a hutch appears. I once asked him why he didn't do it for a living - he could have EASILY gotten rich building stuff.

I'll never forget what he said. "I absolutely love what I do when I'm in the shop; I work at my own pace, etc. If I did it for a living, I'd be under a timeline and beholden to measurables. I'll never subject myself or my passion to that."

 

Your Dad was a wise Man.

 

Terribly sorry to hear of your loss. Good on you for being patient with your mom. I spent nearly five years doing pretty much the same, so I totally know how it can be difficult. As for the knives, absolutely beautiful! My advice is to consider humidity exposure, maybe some rechargeable silica gel pouches for that. Next on my list would be tornado or fire risk, so for that reason, I would be grouping them into a smaller arrangement that is both fire/heat and wind safe. Lastly, my final concern would be possibility of theft, which basically means out of sight in a secure spot. Just my .02. That said, I know you will continue to be rock solid support for your mom in the days ahead and I wish you all the best with that task. Take it one day at a time!

 

Man I hate threads like this. I've lost both my grandparents (grandma only a few months ago) and I can't help but feel like my Dad will be next. He watched over my grandma like a hawk - doctor appts, hair apps, etc his entire week by week was according to her schedule. Now that she's gone well...

Anyway, I am sorry for your loss, Matt, and everyone else who has lost their heroes. I lost years not getting along with my Dad. Now that things are where they should've been, I cherish them. The knife collection is amazing and shows man's love of a nice blade. It's a shame GIs are dying because of stuff we did to the enemy. I would hope the Gov't is doing right by them but I know better...

 

Those are some excellent suggestions. Right now they're in our bedroom; tornado/wind is pretty much a non-issue where we live. Wind, possibly, but our bedroom was actually built to Florida hurricane standards. Humidity exposure is something I'd not even considered. They'll likely end up in our basement eventually, which is dry as a bone...but yeah I'll have to buy something.

As far as theft, yeah I plan on insuring them; and I'll likely be storing them in our closet inside of our bedroom, which is alarmed and has cameras (turned off unless we're not there, because Amazon Ring employees don't need a free show LOL).

 

Well, in my Dad's case, they did, eventually. He applied to get VA disability about 4 years before he passed; about a year before he passed, well...let's just say he checked his account one day and had to sit down. LOL! So not only were they able to pay bills off, but mom got survivor benefits as well, so if nothing else, Mom is taken care of, and ultimately that's what he wanted.

 

So awesome Matt, thanks for sharing. I counted 4 of those that I have as well so I know he had great taste. Looks like her really dug CRKT!

 

He did, though he's got plenty of Schrade, Case, Buck, etc. He's got one of those knew Civivi knives in there as well. There's also two knives he made in there.

 

It might be kinda cool to add a new knife every year on his birthday. Just my idea!

 

Damn. That is a fantastic idea!

 

My grandpa gave me an old Schrade bone handle once. Well, he sold it to me for a dollar. Said it was bad luck to give a knife away

 

Well sh*t. I was just given an entire knife COLLECTION. What's that mean?

 

Lol different situation altogether

 

About as much as me breaking many mirrors, stepping on many cracks, opening a few umbrellas inside, walking under over fifty ladders, etc. It means whatever you wish to believe!

 

Yeah I was looking up @ the sky ready to duck one of those cartoon boulders as I wrote my previous post LOL

 

Nice collection - hold on to them and enjoy.

Kind of reminds me of what got me started collecting a few years back. Started out with the old man calling me one day telling me he started collecting pocket knives. He had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was getting ready to go in for surgery - clearly he wasn’t going to be up and around for a while - so he started browsing eBay and buying stuff that interested him.

So I started picking up things here and there for him to add to his collection. I was down in Orlando one day and had been reading the Guy Clark biography - I’d heard of Randall knives - and kinda knew the song Guy wrote - but never really knew the story until then. Called the old man and asked if he was familiar and he started going on how that was “the knife” to have when you were in country in ‘nam - and got him to open up a bit more about his time over there.

So looked them up and found out they were still in business and still made in Orlando. Stopped over at the shop and looked around - thought I’d just buy him one while I was there as a souvenir - quickly found out that wasn’t going to happen with the wait list. They did put me in touch with some dealers who regularly carried an inventory and I bought my/his first Randall.

I told him what I had bought him and he was beyond words - could tell it truly meant something to him. A few months later things started to take a turn for the worse - and without anything to keep him going day to day - we worried he might give up. So I told him to tell me what he wanted - gave him the catalog and said you need something to look forward to - so I’m going to order a few for you. On top of that I put a deposit down on a vintage Randall with a layaway payment - told him it’s his but you gotta be here to receive it.

He made it through for the layaway Randall and had the first one I bought for him (a 1/7) - sadly he didn’t quite make the custom ordered knife. Oddly that knife showed up about 10 minutes after I got the phone call he had passed - I knew it was coming that day and was planning on driving down to surprise him with it that night. I got the phone call at work and was just stunned - he had actually been doing better for over a week - then boom. Buddy walked back to my office to give me my package and immediately could tell the news I had just gotten.

I was gonna bury him with that one - but decided against it. It sits in my desk drawer for now - that one will never be for sale and has strict instructions on who gets it when I pass. Some of the other knives I had bought him - I passed amongst his friends when mom gave them back to me - some I kept - but there are 3 Randall’s that will never be sold again - just passed on when the time comes.

 

My condolences, man. I know it's tough. In my case, I was driving to see him that a.m., and as I was maybe 15 minutes away, his doctor called me directly and told me to get the hell there ASAP.

Was literally running to see him, and was maybe 1000' away when she (his doctor) called me back. It was tough....but with that said, I can truthfully say he went the way he wanted - knowing we were there/nearby, in his sleep, without languishing in an elderly home dependent on people for months, etc. He always told me "When the time comes, I'm going by myself" and he did.