Actual collection or just rerouting knives?

[DMG]

I would imagine a ton of what you see here is the result of not having a brick and mortar knife store close to us (that sells more than a benchmade) and we are all forced to buy something online to “try out” and end up not liking it. I have a few “never sell” knives but I’ve also learned that the longer I buy, my tastes change over time and some of those have moved on. For sure you see a bunch of people buying the new hotness and flipping for a little more than they paid but that is getting harder and harder to come by these days with all the options out there.

This right here. There are no decent stores near me and most of my friends consider a 940 or PM2 to be the absolute pinnacle of knife design. The first CPK, Spartan, CRK, etc I ever touched were knives I had bought.

 

[Spillproof]

This forum draws all sorts.
Some folks will never sell anything.
Some folks will sell knives to buy more knives.
Some folks buy strictly to flip for profit (see the GEC sub).

I'm involved with several "hobby" forums and this particular forum welcomes flippers more than any other I've encountered. I tend to stay away from competitive consumption.

 

[madcap_magician]

I'm kind of a mix. Some I buy intentionally and will probably never sell. Some I buy to try out because I want to see it in person, and then I'll resell, make a little money if I can, lose as little as I can if I can't - seems to about even out in any given year. Some I buy and intend to keep around, but tastes have changed over the past 20 years, and I tend to keep a small collection. If it's no longer super interesting to me, I let it go.

 

[sgt1372]

What specific innovation or new idea would need to emerge in the knife industry to push you towards making a new purchase? Or is it possible that such an innovation is currently unknowable since it would be completely novel?

There is nothing "new" what would entice me to buy another knife. because I already have more than enough knives.

If I were willing to buy more knives, they would only be those knives that I'd like to add in order to fill "gaps" in my collection but I can do w/o them.

 

[catspa]

Perhaps the term “collection” is throwing some of us off here.

I have close around me certain inanimate objects that I think are (or will/could be) cool, useful, or remind me of people and places past.

Not as close around me (but I still have them) are inanimate objects that don’t sparkle in any of those aspects, that I keep because they’re still somewhat useful, or somebody else might use them eventually, or I don’t feel like undergoing the hassle to get rid of them.

Knives, guns, antique tools or truck parts, I don’t think I collect them as much as “I was in the right place at the right time to receive/accept/purchase them somehow.”

Someday when I’m gone, the poor bastard whose task it is to settle my affairs will see them not as a collection, but as “what Parker possessed when his ticket got punched.” Maybe he’ll find them a home in the collection of somebody more sophisticated than myself, who sees them more as part of a cumulative whole. Maybe not.

I intend not to care by then.

Parker

 

[Peter Hartwig]

Neither
I buy what I like with the hope of keeping it, but would not call it a collection-there is no solid theme. However things happen, and I may sell for any number of reasons.

 

[Delgadonine]

Collector.

I don't sell any. However, I do give them away when I feel like it or when someone I like made the mistake of buying a crappy knife.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

I buy for the learning experience....
As a young maker I can't fly out to other makers and see all their work, but I can buy a piece every now and then. I then later have that to hold and learn from it/them.
By using it I can understand sometimes why things are the way they are.

Or........ I can make it Better.

 

[Cgw1984]

I’m just wondering if everyone here is actually collecting knives or buying them just to later sell them at either a loss (seems likely) or a gain. I see more knives for sale here than on online stores.

What exactly do you consider your “collection”? Is it something you plan on keeping or just what’s new and shiny that will require you to get rid of the last latest and greatest?

I dont collect. I accumulate. I also dont care what others do or consider the way to do things. I dont sell stuff. More hassle than its worth

 

[Rabbit9]

I don’t collect anything; I use my tools. I evaluate the knives and firearms I have, and when they aren’t making the rotation, i.e. being used / carried on a regular basis, it’s time to sell them to someone else that will enjoy them..

 

[vinprom]

I have about 40 knives, all purchased for less than 100. I also sharpen all of my new knives within a day or two. A "scary sharp" or "razor sharp" factory edge glides through paper, but using the knife for food preparation reveals the knife is not so sharp - even though no burr is noticeable. So, no factory edge on any of my knives.