A friend of mine (yes I do have a friend or two, and I don't even have to pay them to admit it) gave me this knife yesterday. The knife is kind of cool, but it is the back story which makes it something I will treasure for a long time to come, and for anyone else to truly appreciate it, this story must be told. J has been travelling with me on my perilous trek deep into the Black Powder Dark arts, although on a similar but slightly different path. He is not so enamored with the fire sticks as much as 'Hawks, knives, and bows. He only shoots long bows or the repro coastal indian bows that I helped him make last year. He actually still goes out camping and a group of us are trying to get a primitive survival skills class together. Plus he is my martial arts instructor and a former Marine (although I don't hold that against him). He gave this to me when I stopped by his house to drop off some knife & striker sets I had got for him to work on fire starting. This knife was given to him by his father, who had passed years before I met J. He had it made when J was born in 1965 and carried it until he gave it to J on his 18th birthday. It's J's father that is the crux of the tale. His father was older, and a Raider Marine in WWII in the Pacific, 4th Raiders, 4th Marines. His campaign bracelet had 6 places on it.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a603/hotfxr/Blades/Jan%205th%20004_zps6xl9kydu.jpg) (http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/hotfxr/media/Blades/Jan%205th%20004_zps6xl9kydu.jpg.html)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a603/hotfxr/Blades/Jan%205th%20003_zpsteem28nw.jpg) (http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/hotfxr/media/Blades/Jan%205th%20003_zpsteem28nw.jpg.html)
He received 3 Purple Hearts, countless medals and commendations,lost an eye, and spent the rest of his life with shrapnel working it's way out of his skin. I have heard many narratives of his exploits and if I had not seen papers from USMC archives, I would never believe that one person could have accomplished what he did. Unfortunately, I guess due to the psychological scars from killing so many in hand to hand, he was never able to make his way in the normal civilian world afterwards. He became a true mountain man living mostly in the woods up in the gold country in the Sierras in California. I have seen pictures of him always wearing Apache moccasins, patch over one eye, and always with a large knife and a very scary look in his eye. He lived mostly off the land and was a hunting guide as well as a Clamper, for those of you who know what that is. The interest for us is that he only hunted with traditional black powder rifles. He could throw any blade any distance and make it stick, his aim with a rifle was unerring. He once took on 11 Hell's Angels during the frog jumps and he was the only one who did not need medical attention. He was truly a bad mother.
So with this partial story of where the knife came from, it has a lot of meaning for my friend. And he gave it to me because not only did he not use it much, but he felt that I was the only person he knew that would treat it like he would and he thought it was proper for my persona and wanted it to be out in the world. So here it is in all it's glory.
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a603/hotfxr/Blades/Knife%20002_zps7v8px07r.jpg) (http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/hotfxr/media/Blades/Knife%20002_zps7v8px07r.jpg.html)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a603/hotfxr/Blades/Knife%20005_zpspfet8fif.jpg) (http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/hotfxr/media/Blades/Knife%20005_zpspfet8fif.jpg.html)
(http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a603/hotfxr/Blades/Knife%20006_zpscu90xij4.jpg) (http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/hotfxr/media/Blades/Knife%20006_zpscu90xij4.jpg.html)
Neither J or I know much about it. A magnet sticks to the blade, it is 10 1/4" long, and the only markings on it are a "W" and a "K" with an anvil in between the letters. The sheath has an R11 stamped on the bottom and my friends name and birth date written in pen on the back.
If anyone knows anything about who made this knife, I would be happy to learn about it.
Very nice! thmbsup Definitely a blade worth carrying.
It seems to me that I have seen the touchmark on your knife before. If it was a commercial mark, it may be registered somewhere. You might try googleing it.
Mark
An update on the knife. It is made by the Walt Kneubuhler company in Toledo Ohio in the early 60's. And get this, the model is called "The Rendezvous" and it is in their "Mountain Man" line of knives. How cool is that. If nothing else it resolves the question as to whether or not this knife is PC or not.
quite a selection ! http://www.wkknives.com/Default85b6.html?PID=4
thats a very valuable knife . check the price list !
Quote from: beowulf on June 06, 2015
quite a selection ! http://www.wkknives.com/Default85b6.html?PID=4
thats a very valuable knife . check the price list !
In the interest of full disclosure, the Rendezvous knife that goes for a grand or so is the newer (post 1971) version. The original Rendezvous was redesigned into the "Old Gabe" (named after Jim Bridger) and sells for $450. That's still a hefty chunk of change for a knife, not unreasonable, but still a hefty chunk of change. After contacting the company and a couple of auctions sites, this old knife is still worth somewhere between $950 and $2500, depending on who you talk to, the time of day, and the condition of the tides. Regardless, it is way too valuable a blade to be given to me without making sure my buddy knows it's retail worth. The next time I see him, it will go back to him to be passed onto his stepson or displayed in a case or whatever, I just don't feel right letting him just give it to me.
Wow. What a gift. What a honor to have. Great back story and the knife is awesome. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us.
Maybe your buddy knows what it is worth and you are a better friend to him than you thought!!!
Mark
Well, I tried to give it back, citing financial and sentimental worth, but to no avail. Seems he has had offers to buy it but said if he sold it, the buyer would just sell it for a profit and it would wind up in a shadow box somewhere. Apparently his father was a friend of the knife maker and had it made for him in 1964 to his specs, so it might even be the prototype of the catalog knife. He said it is too big for his hands and he did not want it to sit in a box somewhere, forgotten and unused. Since his father really lived the mountain man life in the second half of his life, he felt that I was the only one who would 1st, appreciate it for what it and his father was and 2nd would actually use it and treat it properly, and last, would help his fathers spirit stay alive through my interplay with other front loaders. I am honored, but that is a bit of a load to carry. On the other hand, given my propensity towards loquaciousness, I will tell the tale of this knife over and over ad nauseam, embellishing more and more with each telling until it is a part of folklore history. ROFL
Keep the story simple and don't embellish - That knife will do the talking for you... Feel the honor, stand up straight and carry on the tradition....
A very good story and a very true friend you have Hotfxr! Now, please do not take offence to what I am about to say here, but I must share my story with you. Many years ago I was friended, mentored, and apprenticed in the mysteries and skills of "the old ways" by an old fellow by the name of "J". J was his name and not just an abbreviation. Anyway, J and I were the best of friends for many years and would exchange gifts to each other every Christmas. The gifts were always items that were hand crafted by ourselves and that always made the holiday that much more special. One Christmas, I was presented with a fine hunting knife. After I had opened the wrapped packaged knife, J asked me to give him a coin out of my pocket. I was a bit perplexed with his wishes but reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to him. He said for me not to be dismayed by this because of the early custom behind it. That whenever a sharp blade (knife) is given between friends, the receiver shall return to the giver a token coin in return for the gifted blade. This is to prevent the blade from "cutting the friendship" between the two. Hotfxr, please share this story with your friend J and give him a coin!
that is awesome what a great story to it as well.
Bernie thmbsup
Quote from: Cranbrook on July 04, 2015
A very good story and a very true friend you have Hotfxr! Now, please do not take offence to what I am about to say here, but I must share my story with you. Many years ago I was friended, mentored, and apprenticed in the mysteries and skills of "the old ways" by an old fellow by the name of "J". J was his name and not just an abbreviation. Anyway, J and I were the best of friends for many years and would exchange gifts to each other every Christmas. The gifts were always items that were hand crafted by ourselves and that always made the holiday that much more special. One Christmas, I was presented with a fine hunting knife. After I had opened the wrapped packaged knife, J asked me to give him a coin out of my pocket. I was a bit perplexed with his wishes but reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to him. He said for me not to be dismayed by this because of the early custom behind it. That whenever a sharp blade (knife) is given between friends, the receiver shall return to the giver a token coin in return for the gifted blade. This is to prevent the blade from "cutting the friendship" between the two. Hotfxr, please share this story with your friend J and give him a coin!
I like that and I will use it. Thanks.
Quote from: Red Badger on July 03, 2015
Keep the story simple and don't embellish - That knife will do the talking for you... Feel the honor, stand up straight and carry on the tradition....
Embellish? Me? noway Never, perish the thought. As far as this story goes, I don't think that even I could have come up with this one, not that I wouldn't try.
Quote from: Cranbrook on July 04, 2015
A very good story and a very true friend you have Hotfxr! Now, please do not take offence to what I am about to say here, but I must share my story with you. Many years ago I was friended, mentored, and apprenticed in the mysteries and skills of "the old ways" by an old fellow by the name of "J". J was his name and not just an abbreviation. Anyway, J and I were the best of friends for many years and would exchange gifts to each other every Christmas. The gifts were always items that were hand crafted by ourselves and that always made the holiday that much more special. One Christmas, I was presented with a fine hunting knife. After I had opened the wrapped packaged knife, J asked me to give him a coin out of my pocket. I was a bit perplexed with his wishes but reached into my pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to him. He said for me not to be dismayed by this because of the early custom behind it. That whenever a sharp blade (knife) is given between friends, the receiver shall return to the giver a token coin in return for the gifted blade. This is to prevent the blade from "cutting the friendship" between the two. Hotfxr, please share this story with your friend J and give him a coin!
Also a true story - It was a custom developed by early Greek's and evolved into the story above....
thmbsup Love the custom.