99% Collector and 1% user. Am I strange?

Quiet said:
This. What cracks me up is when you see on Instagram people who overuse the hashtag #useyours&^t and you look at their feed and see a bunch of pristine knives, or worse, they're one of those "tactical icepick/shiv" guys that have cropped up lately.
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My favorite is the #useyourshit crowd who posts pictures of $500 or $1,000 midtech and custom folders being used to cut muffins or steaks. I'm just... use the plastic knife or the steak knife that came with the food.

I have three tiers of knives that I acquire. Spydercos for using, Spydercos for collecting, and fixed blade knives for collecting, primarily Vehement Knives and custom knives. I truly don't have much use for more than a mid-sized folding knife in my life, so there's no reason for me to use any of the fixed blade collection. I just like the designs and the fit and finish.
 
I'm a user/collector. I probably don't have more than 3 knives I've never carried. However, my "collection" is rapidly approaching the 800 mark. Hence, most only get carried a few times a year as I rotate through the hoard. I carry a modern folder, SAK and usually a nice slipjoint every day. Sitting at a desk 5 days a week means they rarely leave my pockets. But I have some nice tools on my person ready to use if the need arises. And truthfully, there is hardly a mark on most of them. That's fine with me. I still buy knives that I'm willing to use that catch my fancy and that just means more in the rotation. We all have different needs and preferences. If you can afford what you have/want and enjoy doing it, that's what counts.
 
I use all my knives, whether it's my new $100 Kershaw Launch 8 or my $350 Bailey model 2. I don't buy knives I don't plan on using.

The exception will be in 2021. I plan to buy a custom to my specs to celebrate 30 years brain tumor free.

It's hard for me to own a tool and not use it.
 
You are perfectly normal and amongst the like minded. :)

I am a collector of customs and certain factory knives but I have a edc rotation of the same 10 knives that I have consistently carried and used for years.

Truth is an $18-00 Case Peanut does most of the work!:D
 
Sometimes with knives it's just nice to have something nice.
Tight tolerances, sharp edges, smooth action, nice looking finishes, interesting shapes, these kinds of things make many things nice.
Watches, cars, guns, even jewelry. It doesn't have to be practical. So many things are just purely practical and it's boring, no matter how useful.
Knife guys and gals just seem to be the kind of people that get an extra kick out of the fact that their "nice thing" they keep in their pocket for the sake of having a nice thing is also practical.
Doing mundane tasks with a $500+ knife is a way of spicing things up and spoiling yourself for the plain ole hell of it. :D
 
Kuroth said:
Oh, and I love the whole bladesmithing side of things.. It is something I don’t think I would ever do myself but love reading about it and watching how it’s done.. Fascinating.
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Same here ! I'm a Metal Rat and do a lot of metal work and knife mods but won't be forging blades etc.
Kuroth said:
In my job and current lifestyle, I don’t find myself having the chance to actually “Use” a knife very much if at all.
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. . . er . . . I'm guessing you don't ever spend time in the kitchen then.
I get a lot of enjoyment from my larger knives there (just bought a Police 4 in K390). It wasn't in the door an hour and it was cutting up an apple for breakfast.

Am I strange?
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No . . . I'm strange. I don't own a cell phone, ride my bicycle to work four seasons in the Colorado Rockies, could care less about team sports, don't have kids, am not obsessed with destroying the environment . . .
Yeah I'm weird ! ! !

You ? You just don't like having your beautiful knives all scratched up and worn looking from hauling them around.

I'm so weird that all but one of my knives are users and are worn looking.

Enjoy your self with your hobby as I do with mine.:thumbsup:
PS: do spend some time in the kitchen; if for no other reason than make your significant other do a double take. ;) :rolleyes:
 
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PS : Well you are Strange in one aspect. You are taunting us with your collection but not posting a single photo. That's not nice. :)
Here I will show you my entire collection of Collectors if you will show us a few of yours.
Here it is. I can't bear to scratch it up or blemish it so it doesn't get used. (I have a cammo DLC that I carry and use though).
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So I'm weird in that I have very particular tastes. Every G-10 knife I own have had the scales replaced. I like colorful handles, won't buy more than one of the same model, dislike assisted, dislike S30V, and dislike thumbstuds. Oh and dislike plain Ti.

I've put deep carry clips on many of my knives, I don't like stuff sticking out of my pocket.

3.5" is the max for me blade length wise. If I need bigger I'll use a fixed blade.
 
At this stage in my life , I’m more of a collector than a user too. I still carry daily but my tasks and uses for my knives have changed a great deal from say 10 years ago.

But that doesn’t stop me from buying up any knife I like regardless of size , style or purpose. They all do a great job of looking awesome in my knife drawer.
 
At my last job I used the hell out of my knives. Constant use all day long. It was great. I got a lot of insight at that job as to what works and what doesn’t, what holds an edge and for how long, etc.

At my present job I still use my knife often, but not like at my last job. On the weekends and off work hours, anything goes. I still use a knife pretty often even off work.

Even though my usage has dropped, I’m still not a collector. I use alllllmost everything I have. If I didn’t and mainly collected, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Collecting knives is cheaper and safer than drugs. :D

Whatever puts a smile on your face is worth it. :thumbsup:
 
I "use" all of my knives, although breaking down cardboard is about as hard core as things get around here. The only 3 knives I have that get used harder than that is my Manix 2 (which I carry when doing home improvements), my Pacific Salt (which I carry when doing yard work), and an old Gerber Gator that lives in my car for emergencies.

My collection is mostly different varieties of locks and opening mechanisms which means it lacks any real consistency. I can't carry at work so they all get used around the house for whatever pops up, which is mostly a never-ending stream of amazon boxes. I won't keep a knife that I can't bring myself to use for these minor tasks and don't have any pure safe queens, although I don't have any issue with those that do lock them away. Once you get past the roughly $50 stage (or wherever that line falls) in this hobby, you aren't usually buying for pure utility/need anyway, so do whatever brings you joy!
 
I'd find it strange if the knives you collect weren't expensive customs.
If you were say collecting sodbusters, opinels, Mora fixed blades as safe queens not using any of them that would be strange.
I personally just accumulate users these days, nothing specific I just buy whatever traditional knife happens to appeal to me.
When I actually collected knives I was a teenager buying whatever cheap thing that looked cool, had a few I used and a little over 100 I didn't.
 
Steven65 said:
.....Truth is an $18-00 Case Peanut does most of the work!:D
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That is pretty much what I found to be reality too and I finally accepted reality and I'm proud of it. Peanuts are useful, but other than Rough Ryders, mine cost more than $18.

wickettedge said:
I live for those 1% moments...
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I like that!!

Korean Hog said:
Sometimes with knives it's just nice to have something nice.
Tight tolerances, sharp edges, smooth action, nice looking finishes, interesting shapes, these kinds of things make many things nice.
Watches, cars, guns, even jewelry. It doesn't have to be practical. So many things are just purely practical and it's boring, no matter how useful.
Knife guys and gals just seem to be the kind of people that get an extra kick out of the fact that their "nice thing" they keep in their pocket for the sake of having a nice thing is also practical.
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It is nice to have something nice whether it be watches, flashlights, jewelry, packs and bags, knives, pens and so forth. Practical is good, but it is fun to have something nice in your area of interest.

Hickory n steel said:
I'd find it strange if the knives you collect weren't expensive customs.
If you were say collecting sodbusters, opinels, Mora fixed blades as safe queens not using any of them that would be strange.
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I agree if you like knives. Participating here on BF exposes most of us to knives we would never see in a store. So, we see stuff that catches our interest and investigate it online. This internet thing is really useful. People collect all kinds of things that I have no interest in... beer bottles are a good example.
 
Pharmagator said:
My users are Spyderco Millies.... My collector knives are most everything else... But as a "rugged indoorsman" my hardest use is tape, cardboard, apples, and vegetables...
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I'd say that fits most of us. We have to be prepared for the "rugged outdoorsman" application for that twice a year time you actually build a fire or camp. (That means having 10 or 15 knives especially for surviving.;)) I know many do this more often, but just surviving and making a living takes time. It is sort of like living for the 1% moments mentioned earlier. :D
 
I collect all sorts of edc gear, most of which never sees the worksite or camping. Of all the things I cut at work, I stick with the right tool for the job approach, utility knives get used on tasks that I wouldn’t use my good knife for. No harm in having a collection that brings you joy, unless it’s illegal or harms someone. Don’t go broke for the collection and you’ll be fine
 
Around here, not strange at all. As a matter of fact, I would say it is more the norm. As for me, i am not much of a user nor a collector. Being a collector assumes you actually collect. Me, I'm more of a tryer-outer. Buy high to check an interesting design then sell at significant loss.
 
That would describe most of us suffering from the same illness, probably more collect than use. Nothing wrong with that as long as it does not interfere with bills or relationships. So collect what interests you, use some, play with some and others you can put away to take out another day. I like the idea of only buying knives you actually use, and having to trade or sell two for every new one you acquire, but that goes away after awhile. It is the "one more won't hurt" syndrome, only to realize you have two or five that fills that role already. So enjoy them, use them but do not abuse them, and don't forget to oil them once and awhile.
 
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