The Case of the Missing Knife

[30-30remchester]

Like IVAN THE BUTCHER, I as well had an early Leatherman Wave gifted to me by my children at Christmas @1996. It was on my belt every day after. It was used daily in my construction business, big game seasons saw its use daily, and was always at hand when I was on a call with the fire department. It was credited with rescuing 3 children from a burning car. Countless grandkids toys were assembled with the "jaws of life" as my grandsons called it. Then after wearing out 4 belt sheaths for it, I took it on a 5 day cruise with Carnival Cruise Line. Though not on their banned list, and coming back to the same port 5 days later, they saw fit to remove it from my suitcase and destroy it. As if a folding pair of plyers was equivalent of anthrax. Though I bought a new one it will never replace the stories and history of that well worn tool that I had promised to my grandson.

 

[the ringo kid]

Last week, I thought I'd lost my favorite Swiss Army knife, the one I usually carry. It's a Victorinox Spartan.

I had gone shopping with an acquaintance and thought the knife had slipped out of my pocket and was probably in her car. Couldn't find it at home and I looked everywhere after I reached in my pocket and couldn't find it.

Nope. Not in her car, either.

I gave up and substituted an identical Spartan from my spare knife box.

A couple of days later, I wore the same slacks as I had the night I lost the knife. I put on the slacks and began dropping the usual stuff in the pockets: keys, small flashlight, Chapstick, etc. I dropped the new knife in the right pants pocket...and it clanked against the "missing" one!

Now, I had patted down those pants and checked that pocket. How did I miss the knife?

I'm baffled. Maybe the handkerchief I'd left in the pocket padded the knife enough that when I patted the pants hanging in the closet I missed feeling the knife? But I put my hand in the pocket, too!

A mystery, but I have my friend back. It had been in that pocket the whole time!

Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm amazed that the knife didn't fall out of the pants when I hung them in the closet.

The only similar thing that's ever happened to me was when I lost my Zeiss 6X20B pocket monocular a couple of years ago. I thought it'd fallen out of my jacket when I had it on the back of my chair in a restaurant. Looked everywhere. Nada. I bought the current 8X20B model, the 6X no longer being made. Figured that someone in the restaurant had found it and kept it.

The 8X is a good little glass and I like it. But it wasn't my beloved little 6X companion, which is a more elegant, traditional style. And it has a wider field of view.

A month or more later, I moved a box in the closet, and there was the monocular, in its nice black leather case! It had evidently fallen from the coat onto the soft carpet, so I didn't hear it. Thankfully, it was undamaged and has continued to give fine service.

These experiences seem almost surreal, like something out of the twilight zone. Have you had anything like that happen to you?

More than I wanna admit. Its never things like guns etc, usually my hand sanitizer or keys or glasses. Oh and, once in a great while, my wallet.

 

[the ringo kid]

I carry a Buck knife and keep a Swiss knife in one of the cup holders in the truck, one day I went to get the Swiss knife and it wasn't there, I tore the truck apart looking for it, no luck, a few months later, I was looking in a kitchen drawer for the stone I use to sharpen knives and there it was, to this day I don't remember bringing it in to sharpen it.

Memory problems, brain surgery perhaps? However, brain surgery hasn't help my memory probs at all.

 

[ACORN]

Not a knife but I was working on my sisters car and removed a hair pin type clip that retains a temperature sensor into the engine. I placed it down somewhere in the engine compartment. When I went to replace it, I could find it. I looked everywhere. Crawled on hands and knees with a flashlight could not find it. I went over the engine compartment, rad support, anywhere I could see a flat surface. Nothing. I even had my wife look. I went to where I work hoping maybe I had something I could substitute to no avail. I returned home walked to the car and there it was, laying on top of the battery. You literally couldn't miss it. I swear I looked there before I left.

 

[SW MP15]

My BAD! I thought this was a thread about a missing Case Knife? A real Knife?

 

[Erich]

It's the elves . . .

 

[30-30remchester]

My BAD! I thought this was a tread about a missing Case Knife? A real Knife?

I wanted to say that but people get their feeling hurt when you point out the obvious.

 

[Marshwheeling]

One year, Conchita gave me a Benchmade Griptilian for Christmas. I carried it every day. One day, I lost it at work. it had to be on my bus, but I could not find it.

I went home distressed and promptly ordered a replacement. The next morning, it was light out when I started my shift. As I was doing my pre-trip walk-around I spotted my knife lying on the asphalt next to the rear tire.

So for a few months, I was the proud owner of two Griptilians, until I decided my son-in-law needed one for his birthday.

 

[model70hunter]

Pulled a 1x4 Leupold off a 375 H&H I sold and put in a plastic shopping bag to carry around the gun show. Got home an put it on the kitchen island with all my other gun show plunder.

Some months later I looked for the scope to mount on something. No where to be found. Some years later, 6(?) I retired and sold the house. I packed all the guns and gun safe stuff so the movers could load it. I took a flash light to make sure all was out. It a dark corner standing vertical right behind gramps Trapdoor Springfield stood was the scope. I recently put it on a new Ruger 10/22.

A couple of years ago I was bush hogging. I had my Astra Constable 22 LR in my hip pocket. All of my jeans held it securely. I had one pair that had short hip pockets. Did not remember that until later. We searched over the next 2 days on the 4 wheeler without luck. On the 3rd day I gave it one more attempt riding the tractor this time I caught a shiny flash. Stopped checked and found the little Astra. I like that pup, accurate beyond belief. Id already popped 1 coyote, several skunks, possoms and racoons that were trying to get into th chicken coop.

A day or so later with a rest I popped a snake in the head so he could not terrorize my wife. Close to 25 yards. Still carry it to the farm, rust blem on the slide close to the muzzle. Not bad for having been run over by a John Deere and smashed into the dirt.

I've lost or misplaced knives several times. They show up and I have no idea how they got there. I looked for a nice 2 fixed blade set forever and found it last year in a hunting bag I used to keep in the truck. Went missing 2 years prior. Has a nice gut hook on it. Now if I could only remember where I put it so I wouldn't lose it again. No I'm serious.

 

[Chuck24]

Once again, this is why I shop at the 5 for 10.00 table. For every one in the eventually turned up column, theirs at least 100 in the still Mia column. The mind, like a well made knife, is a terrible thing to lose.

 

[Model 19 6"]

My dad bought me a Buck folding hunter for my B-day in June. Come Nov and deer hunting I could not find it, can't let dad know. I went to store and bought a new one. Two days later found the lost one I still have both.

 

[Cyrano]

I have a couple of small Fenix flashlights that have been through the washer a couple of times. They still work.

My Medicare card was in my wallet when they both went tnrough the washer inadvertently. It doesn't look as good as it once did.

 

[Cyrano]

It's happened to me twice. Once i broke the handle off a plated gravy boat at Thanksgiving. I took the handle into the gun room so I would remember to repair the gravy boat. A few years later i decided I'd better get busy, and then couldn't find the gravy boat, I had the handle, but that's all. I looked high and low for that thing. A couple of years later, after I'd given up looking, it turned up right where it should have been in the breakfront; a place I'd looked countless times before. It looks pretty good now with a properly installed handle.

The second involved a SAA. A first generation 45 Colt with a 5 1/2 inch barrel and plastic, steer head grips. It had been messed with but it hadn't lost too much value. Took to to the show at Phoenix, but it didn't sell. When I got home I couldn't find it. Looked all over for it but no luck. I even took out the rear seat on the car to see if it had slipped back there. I thought it had been stolen from the table, my table partner thought it might have slippped off the dolley as we carried stuff back to the car as we left the show. I felt sick; I hate to lose a gun. That was in 2009; this year I was moving some junk in the guest room closet and a flattened, cloth valise picked up a little heavy. Inside it was a gun case and inside the case was my SAA. I don't think I had the valise at Phoenix, either. Now I'm not going to sell the SAA.

 

[Brian41]

I lost a Schrade skinner knife I really liked after a deer hunting trip. I bought another one to replace it and was getting my travel trailer ready the next fall and found it in some hunting pants in the trailer closet. I don't know why I put it there as it had a leather sheaf.

Another time I was going into the city hospital and took my Kershaw that was clipped on my pocket and dropped it in my pocket so it wouldn't be noticed. Later I pulled my lighter out of my pocket in the parking lot to light a cigar. I must have pulled the knife out with it and dropped it on the ground. I checked next to my truck where I must have dropped it but someone probably picked it up. That was an expensive one to replace.

 

[Donn]

I've carried a pocket knife since I was 10. Found out the hard way over the years not to carry anything I can't afford to replace. Knives get lost, stolen, broken, lent and not returned. Lost two SAK Pioneers over the years. One to youthful indiscretion, another somewhere under the Demon Drop at Cedar Point. Feared I lost a third, it was missing over a year. Found it in the pocket of my Carhardt winter overalls, right where I left it.

 

[federali]

CRAFT Syndrome

CRAFT is an acronym for Can't Remember a ****ing Thing. It comes with increasing age. I combat it by having a drawer to contain my daily pocket junk, including my house/car keys.

Incidentally, I have indeed found several pocket knives over the years, lost by others.

 

[bigwheelzip]

My family of Brooklyn Italians is a very superstitious lot. One of those superstitions that gets a lot more use the older I get, is to ask Saint Anthony for help finding what I've lost. YMMV.

 

[gaf]

A friend of mine was deer hunting with several of his son's younger friends. He had a nice Case folder that he had carried for years.
One young fellow had shot a deer and asked my friend to borrow his knife. Sure enough after the whole process the knife was not to be found.

My friend was very upset and proceeded to let the young fellow know how long he had carried that knife and how much he had liked it.

The young guy replied "I know what you mean, I only had it for a few minutes and I really liked it." Things did not end well.

 

[model70hunter]

A long time ago when dirt was still under warranty I bagged a Doe on the last day of the season. No big deal had done it many times. I'm talking in the Ozark Mtns. Well they are not the Rockies nor the Tn side of the smokies but plenty tall when you have to drag one out of a deep holler to the top of a tall ridge and it is getting dark.

I gutted the doe, tagged her and headed up hill dragging her largeness behind me. She is remembered because she was the closest deer I ever shot. A guy jumped her, she came hot footing it my way. I was behind a large Oak watching several trails that came down some saddles and cross the valley.

I saw her coming, when she passed the tree I dropped the muzzle and fired into her neck from the hip. An inch or 2 shot.

I stuck my knife, an Old Timer Stockman present from my Dad, in the oak after gutting her.

I'm setting in my Jeep waiting on Dad and my brain said where's your knife. I checked all my pockets, dang.

I was parked on a gravel road and did not leave the gun in the vehicle. I semi ran down the ridge to where it went to the bottom. Got the knife and headed back fast. Not skeered, cloudy and overcast conditions would make the moonless night darker quicker.

Got back to the Jeep, caught my breath and lit up a cig. Dad and a guy he worked with popped out of the woods at that moment. Dad said did you just get back. yep I said not telling him I did a double trip to get the knife. He noticed the blood on my hands and gave me the congrats yaya.

I was thinking not getting a deer would have been better than telling Dad I lost the knife.

 

[Texas Star]

A friend of mine was deer hunting with several of his son's younger friends. He had a nice Case folder that he had carried for years.
One young fellow had shot a deer and asked my friend to borrow his knife. Sure enough after the whole process the knife was not to be found.

My friend was very upset and proceeded to let the young fellow know how long he had carried that knife and how much he had liked it.

The young guy replied "I know what you mean, I only had it for a few minutes and I really liked it." Things did not end well.

Well, what can you expect from a man who goes hunting and doesn't even bring his own knife?

I hope that your friend was able to replace the knife. Is that pattern still made?