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Yeah, it's sad to see the state of many young people these days. Many don't know which end of a knife to even hold. And if you carry anything bigger than a Barlow knife people freak out as if you're carrying an AK47. Where did we take such a wrong turn?
When I was a kid, my Dad took me to see John Wayne's "The Alamo" on the big screen. That was held up to me as how people should be. Resolute against the odds, and willing to stand for something they believed in, no matter the cost. And...having Col. Bowie's Iron Maiden or a reasonable facsimile never hurt either.
From my first rubber toy knife, I was an incurable junkie. In the 3rd grade, I traded some old comic books, for an Imperial mini-Bowie with a 4 inch blade and a cracked fake stag handle fixed with duct tape (which I still have) and I never looked back. I've had a love affair with knives pretty much all my life.
When my son turned 5, I bought him his first pocket knife. I wouldn't let him keep or carry it until he whittled 50 sticks to my specifications. He had to check out the knife from me like one would have to check out a library book, and return it when finished. He had to clean and sharpen it too. I still have all 50 sticks, and he still carries a knife to this day.
Once when he was in his whittling apprenticeship, we were going to the Army surplus store to look at knives, while his mother went shopping. She asked why we were looking at knives when there were many in my possession already. My son stood right up and declared, "Mom, a fellow can't have too many knives." Truer words....
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