pro tip...

[ladybug93]

...when you are using your favorite knife to open a package, don't set it down inside the package.

i almost threw away my manix 2 lightweight kc exclusive in xhp tonight. those who know me around here know that's not just my favorite spyderco, but my favorite pocket knife. fortunately, i checked my pocket as i was getting ready to go to bed, remembered i had been using it, and remembered where i left it before the box went out to the trash. the thought of such an amazing knife sitting in a landfill makes me feel ill.


tell us your stories about the ones that almost got away or that were lost and then found again.

[Chuck James]

This is why I choose a pocket knife that can be operated with on hand.

Open with one hand and cut whatever it is that needs to be cut.
Close with one hand and put it back in my pocket with one hand.

I never lay my pocket knife down after use. Learned this a very long time ago.

Glad you recovered your pocket knife!!!

[Mushroom]

A friend of mine, who is also a member on here and hopefully doesn’t mind me retelling his story, works in shipping and told me a story about misplacing a knife in a similar way.

I’m paraphrasing but apparently he was packing an order at work and his knife accidentally made its way into the box. Noticed he misplaced the knife after work, so when he got in to work the next day he checked some of the boxes he packed the day before and ended up finding it inside one of them.

[Evil D]

I only have a story of one that did get away, and it wasn't a Spyderco. Losing that knife brought me here though, so in the end it was actually a worthwhile loss.

[Pokey]

I have a similar experience with my cats pushing things off of the countertop. I'll breakdown thin cardboard packaging and put it in a larger box or paper bag next to the counter. Many times I'll hear something sliding across the counter, then the "thump" sound of something heavy falling into the flattened cardboard. I've learned to pull each piece out of the the bigger box or bag before tossing them into the dumpster.

Following Chuck's advice I'll open the knife, use it, and at the very least, close it again while cutting up the packaging on the floor. My younger cat has a "personal assistant" personality, so she's right there "helping" by diving into the pieces and scattering them around on the floor. I don't want her swatting an open blade or wrestling with one while she's rolling around on the floor.

[JRinFL]

I only have a story of one that did get away, and it wasn't a Spyderco. Losing that knife brought me here though, so in the end it was actually a worthwhile loss.

Your loss was our gain!

[standy99]

Had a mate that lost a wallet, two sets of car keys a few torches, $28 in change and 3 pocket knives and about 4 slices of toast for several years…..

Son had placed them in Sub woofer hole over about 2 years. Got them all back

[TkoK83Spy]

Working in shipping/receiving...I think I've been guilty of this a couple times now, and it's terrifying every time! Normally I find it within a minute or so, but one time it happened when I had first got my 4V Shaman (I believe the first knife I spent over $200 on??) I was opening a bunch of boxes delivered by UPS. As I was doing that, I heard my name get paged over the loud speaker so I went into my office and took the call. I was needed (well my forklift was) down at the other end of the mill for assistance. I dropped off the forklift and headed back to my area, talked to a few guys and had a cup of coffee in the break room first.

When I got back to my area to continue my work, I had forgot that I didn't clip my knife back in my pocket! I looked around AT the boxes, didn't see it. Checked my office, no luck. Headed back down to where I dropped off the forklift, nothing. I remember feeling panicked. I'm kind of OCD lunatic and I don't lose things...let alone an expensive knife!

Turns out it was INSIDE the last box I had just opened. My dock door was open and there's always a breeze with a lake nearby, one of the flaps of the box blew closed...hiding the knife! After a good 20 minutes of terror...all was well!

[sethwm]

We lost my wife’s pink s30v dragonfly for nearly a week. Garbage night comes and I’m bringing the recycling bin out. Accidentally trip and dump the entire thing on the driveway. And there sits the dragonfly, open, in all its glory. Guess she was cutting up a box and tossed it in with the box. Only time I’ve ever spilled the garbage bin.

[ladybug93]

I'm kind of OCD lunatic and I don't lose things...let alone an expensive knife!

i feel this. i'm the same way.


i was opening my daughter's birthday gift (a large bird feeder for the yard) and i was putting it together as i pulled pieces from the box. that's why i left the knife open and had just set it down in the box. i was done cutting things before i knew i was done cutting things and then was distracted by putting the pieces all together and getting it out in the yard for her, all with the standard distractions of being a dad and husband. i'm so glad i didn't throw my manix away. i'm glad you didn't lose your shaman too, even though i'm anti-shaman.

[ladybug93]

We lost my wife’s pink s30v dragonfly for nearly a week. Garbage night comes and I’m bringing the recycling bin out. Accidentally trip and dump the entire thing on the driveway. And there sits the dragonfly, open, in all its glory. Guess she was cutting up a box and tossed it in with the box. Only time I’ve ever spilled the garbage bin.

oh man... i bet you were so mad at first and then so relieved when you saw the knife. that's a great story.


i lost my df2 salt for months because i stuck it somewhere safe where i'd remember it and then promptly forgot.

[JSumm]

Had a mate that lost a wallet, two sets of car keys a few torches, $28 in change and 3 pocket knives and about 4 slices of toast for several years…..

Son had placed them in Sub woofer hole over about 2 years. Got them all back

Dang, my son use to do that with our subwoofer.

[VashHash]

I thought I did this the other day. I actually closed my military and slipped it in my carpenter pocket instead of the RFP. Sigh of relief when I slapped my knee and felt it. I had been carrying it in the carpenter pocket since the yojumbo CF was released so I guess it was just habit.

[TkoK83Spy]

I thought I did this the other day. I actually closed my military and slipped it in my carpenter pocket instead of the RFP. Sigh of relief when I slapped my knee and felt it. I had been carrying it in the carpenter pocket since the yojumbo CF was released so I guess it was just habit.

You carry fixed blades quite a bit as well. How often do you get that quick panic feeling when you don't feel that bulge in your pocket, or the clip when carrying a fixed blade? (unless of course you carry a folder at all times as well)

It's got me a few times this week already. Grabbed a folder today as well so not to scare myself throughout the day haha.

[Mushroom]

The only knife that I’ve been unlucky enough to misplace and not find was a Spyderco Cat. I’m still convinced someone saw the clip on my pocket and pickpocketed it while I was in a bar. I’m just lucky it wasn’t anything more expensive.

———

I’m quoting a story I’ve told here before but a quick TLDR version is that I lost my all black Ladybug Hawkbill in a public park but found it nearly two weeks later because snow covered it up from the wandering eyes of anyone but myself!

Original post

… I lost my Ladybug Hawkbill with a black USN Blade swap, so I wasn't able to replace it without paying a premium! Needless to say, I was a little distraught for almost 2 weeks thinking about where it could be.

I noticed it was missing around midweek and could only remember using it over the weekend before that (maybe 4 days before). Luckily, I had only went to work and the dog park during that time. Of course, the day after losing it, I checked everywhere it could be at work and also went back to the dog park to attempt to retrace my steps. Much like you did, I was determined to find it.

After a couple days of searching everywhere it could possibly be in my house - Coat/pants pockets, under things, in the car, etc. - I assumed it had to have been lost while I was walking the dogs and someone found themselves a sweet little knife.

Then, that weekend, we got about 4 inches of snow. If my knife hadn't been found yet, I had hopes the snow might help to hide it from other wandering eyes. Everyday of the following week I would scour the park with optimism! Each day, the snow was melting more and more. The next weekend, the snow was pretty much gone in most areas of the park but at this point I basically accepted the fate of the knife as lost.

That weekend, as I was zoned out, slowly walking through the park, something caught my eye and I could NOT believe it! The Ladybug was sitting there on the frozen ground.

(Three broken photos from original post.)

After almost two weeks outside and covered in snow, my biggest takeaway from it is - THANK YOU FOR H1 STEEL! :D

[VashHash]

I thought I did this the other day. I actually closed my military and slipped it in my carpenter pocket instead of the RFP. Sigh of relief when I slapped my knee and felt it. I had been carrying it in the carpenter pocket since the yojumbo CF was released so I guess it was just habit.

You carry fixed blades quite a bit as well. How often do you get that quick panic feeling when you don't feel that bulge in your pocket, or the clip when carrying a fixed blade? (unless of course you carry a folder at all times as well)

It's got me a few times this week already. Grabbed a folder today as well so not to scare myself throughout the day haha.

I usually carry both and I do a slap check every now and then. Just tap where I carry stuff. Wallet, keys, knives, multitool. Sometimes I'll forget to clip something on and then wonder if I lost it or left it home. Had the seat belt steal my N5LW a few times.

[ladybug93]

This is why I choose a pocket knife that can be operated with on hand.

Open with one hand and cut whatever it is that needs to be cut.
Close with one hand and put it back in my pocket with one hand.

I never lay my pocket knife down after use. Learned this a very long time ago.

Glad you recovered your pocket knife!!!

that's the way i usually operate as well. i was cutting a lot of stuff back to back though and just got distracted. it's nice to learn lessons with only the threat of the consequence instead of the actual consequence.

[ladybug93]

THANK YOU FOR H1 STEEL! :D

for sure! that's a cool story. i'm glad you found your ladyhawk. i wish i had a blacked out blade to put in mine too.

[ykspydiefan]

We have moved 5 times in 6 years, all for work stuff. It is not that tough since work pays for movers to pack, load and unpack. From one place to the next, everything must get unpacked and inspected for damage. Then, the stuff we know we will not be using, we repack and move into storage.

So, we had my wife's favorite knife out during the unpack-repack process and then as things happen we lost track of it. Well, I ate crow for 1.5yrs while she was sure I had lost her knife. Then, we moved, emptied boxes and found the lost knife that must have been bumped into a box and repacked.

It is nice when our stuff can come back around again.

[GarageBoy]

Dropped two different swiss army knives two different times... Once into my bag of laundry - bought a replacement, then found the one I lost folding the clothes ... Thought I lost another one, but it saw it rolling around in my car trunk a few days later