Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/11/22/the-genius-of-w-r-case-sons.html
…
3 Likes
Is it made from real hobos?
13 Likes
Hobo knives are for stabbin’ hobos, of which there are relatively few in comparison to singin’ hobos, so perhaps there won’t be much of a market for this?
4 Likes
Show me a hobo with $85 to spend on a knife, and I’ll show you a hobo who doesn’t need one.
22 Likes
Them hobo bones are the best for knife handles
10 Likes
I’ve seen similar gadgets; one of the problems here is that if you lose the central knife component, you no longer have any means of holding the fork and spoon together.
Another point, which I saw quickly brought up in the Amazon reviews, is that the spoon is unusually shallow.
1 Like
As with all folders, this will likely not last very long.
3 Likes
I have a small metal case with small but pretty practical metal utensils. May take up around the same amount of space as this hobo knife, i keep it at the office just in case but occasionally carry it with me. I like it 
2 Likes
stock up on the proper tools for the new economy people.
2 Likes
Thanks, Mark! I appreciated this opportunity to learn the meaning of Peach Seed Jigged Amber Bone handle.
That is one helluva fork’n knife!
1 Like
They trade hobo nickels for them.
1 Like
I bet Rob’s safe is just full of Hobo Nickels
7 Likes
“Splits into separate knife and fork” is virtually the definition of “hobo knife” - though I confess I’ve never before seen one with a spoon, more than two fork times, or a fancy bone handle.
My father, who came of age in the hobo jungles of the Great Depression, showed me my first one. He said he never had one himself, but then his carefully-guarded roll-up tool carrier had enough things to make do.
It was a fairly cheap ($4.00, I think, in about 1965) pocket knife, not some fancy bone-handled Case mall-cop survival-fantasy toy.
(Any hobo who couldn’t carve himself a better soup spoon than this outta scrap wood in under 10 minutes is a hobo who needs to pick up better life skills.)
3 Likes
Oh, and…
“Hobo steak”?
Do I really want to know what that’s a euphemism for?
(Probably not - I’ve heard bologna called that - but who needs a knife and fork for bologna?)
2 Likes
My recomendation:
3 Likes
Is that the staghorn? I can’t believe it.
2 Likes
The fork-knifey-spoon set from my old Boy Scout gear does well enough. (A Richards “Compactum”, Sheffield England. The spoon has an attached clip to hold the others. There was probably a belt sheath at one time.
For most add-water-and-boil hiking meals, a plastic spork is also fine.
4 Likes
I believe the proper dining etiquette for eating Hobo Steak allows one to use one’s hands as long as the diner removes the laces first.
4 Likes
One does not buy the hobo knife. It is passed down with great reverence from a hobo mentor to his apprentice. That, or you just stab someone for it.*
*Do not stab people for their Hobo Knife.
7 Likes
