Necessary stuff.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but seems like a lot of kids these days just ain't gettin' taught basic, every day stuff. They're wrapped in cotton balls physically, but starved to death when it comes to basic life skills, and emotionally. I was thinking about one of those skills today, and even though it seems obvious, to me anyway, maybe it's not.

When I was about 6, best I recall, my Granddaddy gave me my first pocket knife, and showed me how to use it without cutting myself. It wasn't nothin' fancy. A little ol' Victorinox, Swiss army knife.
I loved that thing. Mostly because it was a gift from the man I looked up to more than anybody, but second, I didn't realize how I ever functioned without it! A knife is a handy little tool that's often either overlooked, or taken for granted.

(Me and my Granddaddy, God rest his soul, gettin' ready to go fishin'.)

Ever since then, I've carried some sort of knife practically everywhere I've went, even in high school, sometimes berried in my pocket when I really wasn't suppose to have it on me.

Ya know, In all that time, all the arguments and fights I've been in over the years, the thought never once crossed my mind of pulling it out and cutting somebody with it, even though I knew the option was there. I can think of a hundred different times my knife has got me out of a bind, or into something that I couldn't have got into otherwise. It's even helped feed me more times than I can count, cuttin' up apples and such.

In my opinion, every young man, (Especially young men, but young women too!) should have a decent quality knife, and be taught how to use and care for it.

It's also important to know how to take care of one. I've ran across SO many people who either don't know how to sharpen a knife, or must have learned off some silly life hack video. Thank God I was blessed enough to get to know my grandparents, and even my great grandparents. Some folks think a lot of these old sayings are corny, but there is a lot of wisdom packed into them little one liners that you shouldn't just dismiss. A couple that apply here are:

• "A sharp knife is a safe knife."
• "Take care of your tools, and they'll take care of you."

If a knife is good and sharp, (and I don't mean letter opener sharp, I mean shaving sharp), It's not going to take as much force to get the blade through whatever material you're trying to cut. Most importantly, that reduces the chance of you slipping and cutting yourself, (yea, A dull knife can still cut you pretty good, just ask my buddy @tennesseeshadoe about the butter knife incident, haha.), and second, it lets the knife do the work, which is the whole purpose of having a knife in the first place.

When you need your knife, you usually need it right then. Taking the time to clean and sharpen the thing is important, because you ain't gonna have the time or the opportunity to do it on the fly.
Me, myself, I find it therapeutic, but I reckon I could say that about a lot of things. Working with my hands always clears my mind, but enough chasin' rabbits. Point is, Get yourself a medium, fine, and super fine stone, (not one of those piece of junk pull through sharpeners), learn how and when to use them. A good strop of some sort wouldn't hurt either, but ain't necessary. I use the case of my leatherman for my pocket knife.

Bonus consideration:

As I've got a little older, when practical, I've come to prefer a small fixed blade like this ESSEE Izula 2. Not so much for the cool factor, but just because It's a little more heavy duty, and can still do fine work like all the little folders. It rides comfortably on my belt, and hides nicely under my shirt, not hanging out there hollerin' "LOOK AT ME, I GOT A BELT KNIFE!" haha. Those type of people drive me nuts. It's also a good option for kids. They don't always have the strength in their little hands and fingers to close a folding knife safely. A sheath is a lot easier for them to manage. There are other good options for little fixed blades too if you do a little shoppin', but for the love of everything that's holy, don't hang the cotton pickin' thing around your neck!

So, don't be afraid to put a knife in that youngin's hand and show them how to use it! The sooner they learn, the better off, they'll be, and the less you'll have to worry about them hurting themselves. If YOU don't know, there ain't no time like the present! If you need some help, feel free to drop a comment, I'd be more than happy to get ya straightened out.

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