A limited carry rotation.

JM2

JM2

Basic Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2013
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2,196
I carry the same knife every day, a Case XX 75 pattern Jumbo Stockman. Once in a while I’ll switch and carry a trapper but mainly it’s the 75.

I see lots of folks sorta carry a different knife every day or even for as long as a week then rotate through what I consider a large number of knives.

Even though I have 30 knives, mostly I carry the same 5-6. Even my watch pocket carry that I rotate often is always the same 3-4 most of the time.

My belt knife is either a buck 110, 192, or a case 65 folding hunter. Once in a while I’ll rotate something else in to try.

So basically I have three sets of knives, main pocket, watch pocket, belt knife, all with their limited number of knives I rotate as desire hits. I guess I find that I build a relationship with the knives by limiting the number I carry regularly.

Not to say I don’t carry a new knife here and there to try, just that my rotation is generally pretty stable.

Also, I don’t carry various knives of the same pattern. I have my one 75 stockman in stainless. When I get a carbon steel 75 I’ll add that to the main pocket rotation. What I mean is, I don’t have 10 that I rotate through. I see that a lot here.

Not knocking anyone, just wondering if anyone does something similar?
 
I'm in the opposite category. For now.

I was away from traditional knives for decades. When I came back, I purchased quite a few different patterns and handle materials. Now I'm mostly done buying, and in the "deciding which patterns and handle materials stay, and which are going to go" phase. I don't want a collection to have a collection. I want the knives I have to be ones I enjoy carrying and using.

Once I finalize my decisions and pare down the horde, I'll have a much smaller amount and I'll be closer to what you are doing.
 
I too tend to find what works and stick with it. I'm kind of between traditional knives right now, mostly due to a difference in pocket capacity from winter to summer clothes. Right now it depends on what I've got lined up for the day.

Edit: for one reason or another auto correct thinks "knifes" was a usable word...
 
i get in my moods.

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Essentially every one of these knives in the box are "my users" and by definition of users is very generous. Most of these knives are still new, but Ive had them modified so they are no longer stock, but they have never been sharpened or cut much tbh. At best two of them are actually users in the sense that Ive sharpened them or have bought them as users to mod. Several of these knives are fairly rare and difficult to replace if lost due to when I bought them. Thats where the S knives come in. I would not be terribly upset if I was to lose one as I have learned my lesson once. The only knife not seen in the picture is that northwoods lincoln jack Ive been carrying lately. I get in my moods where I take them all out, just to carry them then put them back in their tubes. The lincoln jack was bought as a user and serves its purpose.

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I have 14 traditional knives that are coming to mind right now. 7 fixed, 7 folders. I've already gone through a phase of acquiring and pruning over the last couple years and I'm very satisfied with what I've ended up with. The timing was perfect because my disposable income is a lot less now than what it has been for the last few years. I think I'm in a place where I'll just keep the knives I have and enjoy them. Aside from the SAK I always have in my pocket on workdays, I mostly carry traditional knives on the weekends. I don't have any set rotation. I just carry whatever I feel like, and that's usually a folder paired with a fixed blade.
 
I have my everyday front pocket knife that never changes. It took a minute to find a suitable replacement for my last one, but this knife fills the beater role. Screwdriver, scraper, pry bar.... All the fun things it shouldn't be used for.

The traditional knives... I bought a handful of inexpensive ones to try patterns out. Now I have a nice Case that will be stuck to me everyday. I do love a couple of the rough ryders and will probably swap them in and out occasionally.

Other than the Robeson knives I want to collect and an occasional interesting (to me) Camillus on the weekends, I'm thinking my rotation will not really rotate much anymore.
 
Every day, I carry the same two knives: an Alox Electrician, and an Opinel No.6. The Opinel is the only knife I need about 95% of the time. Many days, I will add a third, mostly for fun. Often it is an Okapi Biltong, but I may as easily add a Wright lambsfoot, a RR improved muskrat, or a Queen Hawbaker. This past week, on a road trip to the Black Hills, I added an Opi 10, selected by my lady friend for making sandwiches.
 
I’m fairly monogamous with my knife for long periods. I tend to carry the same knife for a year or so, before I get the itch to try another. It’s a habit to just transfer my pocket contents from one pair of pants to the next. I also like the consistency. I don’t often carry a second knife, unless I’m going to do work that I know would benefit from a larger blade.

This also means that I don’t own a ton of knives, in fact I’m currently in the process of timing down the numbers to a critical few. This makes me a very boring member of the porch since I don’t post a different beauty every day.

I really appreciate the knife philanders around here because they bring such variety to the porch.
 
I have around 50 knives or so, some real beauties, but mostly carry the same three: Case trapper, Opinel No. 8, and Victorinox Spartan. I like the trapper and Opinel best, but carry the SAK most often because of the extra functions. Opened a botttle of Topochico this afternoon with the caplifter, for example. At the moment, have a Buck 301 in my pocket, and a GEC boys knife on my nightstand. But it's mostly the first three. They just feel right.
 
I have ... too many knives. Most doomed to be incredibly well-built paperweights. Sure, some will come out to the desk and admired, but of them all it's my GEC 71 and my Case Eureka Jack that gets the most use. And I recently found a little pepper spot on my Cattle Knife (guess I didn't wipe it off well before putting it away last) so I'll make this user beater too.

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The 71 fits my hand the best and it's well and truly loved in the most negligent way. Sharpens easy on a stone and most of the time, a quick strop is all the maintenance I need to do. I loved the feel so much I acquired an ironwood 74 thinking it'd be the better-dressed sibling but turns out I liked the heft of the thicker micarta scales on the 71.

The Eureka Jack is the knife that makes me feel fancy despite being non-threatening enough to be acceptable for any setting. The weight, the texture of the jigging, and the snick-snack of the walk and talk is so pleasing. Maybe it's the 154-CM (or maybe this model has bearings) but none of my GECs have quite the same action.

It's weird but the two knives were good enough that I didn't feel like pulling out a new knife and go through the heartache of being the one to put the first ding on it. Maybe it's why I find myself preferring to buy users? One day I hope to bring my collection back into at least the single digits but for now... well, I just think they're neat.
 
dennishy said:
I have ... too many knives. Most doomed to be incredibly well-built paperweights. Sure, some will come out to the desk and admired, but of them all it's my GEC 71 and my Case Eureka Jack that gets the most use. And I recently found a little pepper spot on my Cattle Knife (guess I didn't wipe it off well before putting it away last) so I'll make this user beater too.

View attachment 2130193
The 71 fits my hand the best and it's well and truly loved in the most negligent way. Sharpens easy on a stone and most of the time, a quick strop is all the maintenance I need to do. I loved the feel so much I acquired an ironwood 74 thinking it'd be the better-dressed sibling but turns out I liked the heft of the thicker micarta scales on the 71.

The Eureka Jack is the knife that makes me feel fancy despite being non-threatening enough to be acceptable for any setting. The weight, the texture of the jigging, and the snick-snack of the walk and talk is so pleasing. Maybe it's the 154-CM (or maybe this model has bearings) but none of my GECs have quite the same action.

It's weird but the two knives were good enough that I didn't feel like pulling out a new knife and go through the heartache of being the one to put the first ding on it. Maybe it's why I find myself preferring to buy users? One day I hope to bring my collection back into at least the single digits but for now... well, I just think they're neat.
Click to expand...

Love the look of that eureka jack.

I prefer buying users, I don’t hesitate to drop them in my pocket. The only “new” knife I have bought in years was a GEC 33 with some slight scratches on the blade due to blade rub. That was perfect for me because I never fretted over it.

It’s ridiculous to worry about using a new knife, but apparently I’m ridiculous.
 
I have two knife cases that carry 20 knives each that are filled with my users. I have an additional half dozen or so out at any one time and rotate through all of them as I see fit. I may carry the same one or the same 2 or 3 for a week or more, or I may change every day or even several times a day. I used to carry any of the 200+ knives I own on a whim, but finally decided it was dumb to carry every carbon steel knife, exposing them to rust here in Florida, so I only go "off the reservation" with stainless knives.
 
Very interesting replies. I don't have any problem using a new knife. I've been known to buy a knife, throw the box away in the store, and put it right to pocket. I also have been known to take it home and keep the box and put it in the pocket after I sharpened it.
 
I do have a true every day knife, one that I get anxious about if for some reason I leave the house without it, and that is my Vic Waiter.

No matter what other knife or knives I bring with me, the Waiter is always present.

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The above is my second; I lost the first in Chicago when security was making you go through metal detectors at Sears Tower. I now have two in the hoard in case I lose another. I like the older versions with the grooved corkscrew. The USB contains data and my password vaulting software.

Below is my well worn previous everyday victim...
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I will rotate many other knives from the hoard based on my feelings that day or week, or what I will be doing that day that would involve more specific knife use or misuse :^)
 
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I am just over a year into traditional pocket knives. I am still in the experimental phase and the only constant is a lambsfoot of some sort in my daily rotation. I will usually toss in a different knife in the other pocket everyday.

To me it's fun to carry different things but completely understand those that carry a select few. I wish I was the type to only have a few, but know myself well enough at this point to realize that resistance is not likely.

If I ever get a knife I won't use, I sell it or gift it in short order to usually replace it with something I think I will use.
 
Don't have a 'rotation' too much stress thinking about whose turn it is 😄 there could be complaints....I like variety generally, can't relate to carrying just one knife or one pattern nearly all the time, strikes me as unimaginative.

However, finding that GEC knives are rarer and rarer in my carry preference, not exactly sure why either. It could be they don't make a decent Medium Stockman, used to carry a 73 a lot but not much now ditto the 85. I would like a Sheepfoot 15 all steel Barehead a lot but can't recall if they have done one? Have a Scout version but it's EZ-Open also a Crown Lifter but it has the lifter. So, what predominates? A French single blade pattern of some sort, an Italian single blade usually M390 steel, then a CASE or other Stockman or Swayback Gent, or a Custom of some kind. SAKS lurk, they're always to hand in a kitchen drawer or day pack but not in a pocket.
 
I'm in the knife of the week category myself, but there's definitely a handful of knives I carry more than others.
It's not intentionally a limited rotation, but there are certain knives I end up carrying most.
 
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