Kids Outdoor Outpost – June 2022

All The Old Knives

Recently I found a movie that caught my interest called “All the Old Knives” where a veteran CIA agent came back from the past. Not a bad film, but it was the title that kept rolling around in my head. If you’ve spent any time in the field, surely you have toted a knife. 

My first knife was a classic Buck 110 Hunter model. Made by USA manufacturer Buck Knives, it was the first folding knife considered strong enough to do the work of a fixed blade. Many a deer from many a hunter has been skinned and quartered with that durable blade. I picked it out for my first successful deer hunt many years ago. Although I grew up in Virginia, this hunt occurred near my place of birth in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania. I dropped a thick-bodied 7-pointer that year and it was hauled to a barn to hoist up and field-dress. The barn was the central location for several nearby hunters to hang their deer, as well. 

I didn’t really know how to begin but was carefully instructed by my cousin. That knife had a really nice feel to it, and I begin to cut away at the underbelly with what I felt was the skill of a surgeon. From my peripheral version, I could see my cousin watching with pride. Alas, I was deceived about my surgical skills. My poking with that incredibly sharp drop point nicked the stomach and released an odor of foul-smelling air and matter, some of which ended up on my face. Chuckles scattered around that old barn from the local gentry. 

I proceeded to work that knife downward and expelled the internal organs in a large bucket. The dressing complete, I stood in for a photo to remember the day. I have kept that photo of me next to the buck with that Buck 110 Hunter clearly seen on my hip. That day was more than 35 years ago. You know, I have passed down several rifles over time to my sons and this knife will certainly go that route. I trust that it will be honed to a fine edge and perhaps allow one of my offspring and hopefully their own lineage as well to feel the same pride that I had on that day long ago.