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Timeless. Versatile. Enduring. The Venerable Pocket Knife

By Skip Harris

s a small boy growing up, I remember one of the most highly-anticipated events in my young life was that magical day that I would turn 10 and my mother and father would allow me to carry around my first pocket knife. Back when I was a kid, most every boy on the block either already had their pocket knife or anxiously awaited the age their parents deemed as old enough to have one. Some of the kids already had theirs, even

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Athough they weren’t 10, but my parents said “10”! Plead as I might, I would have to wait. Every adult I knew carried a pocket knife. My grandfather did. My grandmother carried a small pearl-handled one in her purse. My dad carried his to the office in New York City. My uncle had a big one he used for processing the fish and game he harvested and another long, skinny pocket knife he said was especially for cutting continued ...

My collection of family pocket knives including my great grandmother’s, my grandmother’s and my mother’s pearl-handled knives, my grandfather’s and my dad’s small knives, and my first small buck knife. grapefruits. Everybody had one and I wanted mine so bad!

My grandmother had taught me that every young boy should never leave home without his pocket knife and a dime in each penny loafer to call home if necessary. Since turning 10, I think I can count the days I left home without one on one hand—excluding airplane trips post-9/11.

There are all kinds of pocket knives used for any number of tasks on a daily basis.

As a kid, we used them to whittle sticks into sharp pointy arrows for our homemade bows. We would cut the rope we used to fashion our crude log rafts. And we would cut the rat’s nest of fish line off our bait caster when it fouled. With our knives we would open cans and bottles, dig a splinter out of our hand, and—every now and then despite being told not to, we’d spend hours trying to throw our knives at a tree to see who could get their knife to stick the most.

My first pocket knife was the traditional Barlow pocket knife. The Barlow knife has been around for centuries. It dates back to the late 1600s England. It was carried by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and written about by Mark Twain.

Other kids on the block had the official Boy Scout knife and a couple of my friends had these multi-functional devices called the Swiss Army knife. We didn’t quite understand what the corkscrew was useful for, but it looked really cool.

Over the years, I have collected hundreds of pocket knives. I have collector knives, Buck knives, Kershaw (instant-open) knives, Gerber knives, and knives made by pretty much any manufacturer you can name.

My personal favorite for the last two decades has been my Leatherman. It’s really more than a pocket knife with folding pliers, a saw, a file, two blades, and even a bit driver with 16 bits. My Leatherman features 18 functions including scissors. It’s the one knife I never leave home without and I’ve had my current one for almost 20 years.

As an adult technical worker, my pocket knife was mostly regulated to cutting the cake at an office party when no one remembered to bring a cake knife. Today, I reach for my Leatherman almost as often as I reach for my cell phone. And these days, in addition to all the other things I use it for, it’s great for opening Amazon boxes.

Times have changed, and not everyone carries a pocket knife like they did in days gone past. But to me the pocket knife is the one tool I consider indispensable. The iPhone may have replaced the wristwatch, but nothing can replace the pocket knife.

My wife says there are two types of men—those who carry a pocket knife and those who don’t. I will always be the prior.

Turning ten and getting my first pocket knife is one of the most memorable days of my life. Turning 12 and getting my first Daisy BB gun—now that’s another story. A Swiss Army knife and the much more functional older brother—the esteemed Leatherman Wave including bits.

An older Buck 315 specialized for boating with the marlin spike.

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While enjoying our beautiful downtown keep an eye out for these bronze owls designed by local artist Walter Palmer. Inspired by the history of Downtown St. Marys, the Owls are a result of a public art program collaboration between St. Marys Mainstreet and Rustapalooza.

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St. Marys is a place where history walks around each corner and city block. I watch from above, near the dearly departed, right where you finish just as you started.

Seven seats and many doors. The people's place and so much more. It's the heart and it's a hall. Tomorrow is shaped by us all. 02

Whoooooo will find the Owls of Osborne? Just follow the clues... 03

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