Anyone else just stopped buying knives?

carnifex knifeworks said:
I think you'd have to jump up in price a good amount to find anything that's going to stand out. At least that's how it was for me.

I'm not a collector and I'm not into "pretty" knives. They're tools and I use them. If I have to baby them at all, they're not worth keeping. Since I didn't want to pay premium prices for features I don't care about, I started making my own knives. I decided I was done buying knives I could make.

Then I found out about Carothers Performance Knives (CPK). The heat treat and grind work they use is beyond me and it's worth paying for.

Get a Carothers (CPK) if you can. It's worth it.
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Thanks. I heard a lot of good stuff about them. But, extremely hard to get in Europe.

And I agree with stated - I'd have to pay significantly more to find something that will stand out here. All 3 of my main users are pretty good deals and well known knives (especially Recon1 and Izula). And they are even overkill for my needs. I guess that plays role here.
 
BOHAWG said:
I stopped once... from 2007 to 2010, I didn't make one knife purchase. The market just seemed stagnant and I took a break.
I get it.
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Well, currently the hot cake is the Magnacut.

It's not even that expensive anymore (Bradford Guardian 3 for example).

But I can't see the purpose if 1095 still does the job for me. In the past I bought knives just because they are in beter steel, only to find out that I prefer a knife I can sharpen back to shaving sharp within a minute, or that handle and geometry play bigger role for me personally.

I found what I like and I decided to stick with it.
 
I've had times where I slowed down. I don't think I bought anything between September 2021 and June 2022. Then bam, I finally after months of hemming and hawing, pulled the trigger on the Demko ad20.5 when the red CPM-3V version came out. Custom scales followed 6 weeks later. I also bought an Axial Shift around that time. I went to a knife show in August and dropped a ton (to me) on three knives. Cheburkov Strizh, Biryukov #12, and a one off fixed camp knife by Warpath Strategies made from a farriers rasp.

Then I bought nothing until the beginning of this month. My cranioversary was February 27th (32 years brain tumor free) so against better judgement I perused the BF exchange to get myself a gift. After a few weeks of looking at stuff, I snatched a Pro-Tech Malibu blue CPM-20CV. I won't be buying anything til June when I go to Blade show for the first time. I have some I plan to sell several when I get back from Texas.

This is not to say I curbed my spending between August and March, it's just other things took my money (attorney, new TV, and a Zastava ZPAP AK-47 hours before the ban went into effect).

There are not a lot of knives out there that I am really interested in, at least that I can afford, at least for now. I am also a firm believer in using my stuff, and over $500 I start to get skittish. Though I do really want a Seamus custom flipper in Stellite 6k, though $900 (probably more now) is a lot to swallow.
 
dogstar said:
This forum is mostly about acquisition.
Discussion about usage is a distant second.
If you are active here, it's hard not to hear the constant drumbeat of buy, buy, buy...
I'm not complaining, but it is what it is.
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Good point.

Like many, I stopped buying knives when I retired. Suddenly realizing that the time you've been preparing your horde of knives for is now and that it's time to start using them. (spelling purposeful, BTW) You also realize that you don't have time left to use them all. Realistically, a normal person will use a knife for years. So, you move into the mode of passing on what you have. It's actually fun, carrying a knife you have two of and handing it to the first person who admires it.

It's necessary to take a break from Bladeforums to do this. I did that by accident... getting busy with preparing for retirement. When you do that, take that break, it gives you some perspective.

This is a great board, with knowledge you cannot as easily obtain elsewhere. It also has some elitist and strictly acquisitional/commercial attitudes which you put up with to gain the said knowledge. Once you have all the knives you will ever need, perspective does follow.

Like Dogstar, I'm not complaining. I'll likely check Bladeforums until I'm pushing up daisies even while never buying another knife.
 
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It's been pretty rare that I've had enough money to be able to get a knife I like now and if I do it has to be something I'm guaranteed to be using in a steel I like ( Cruwear for instance) as well as a backlock design. In other words the last year I only bought two knives and both were Spyderco.

I'm retired and on a fixed income and I'm not going to borrow money ( credit card) to buy something I have enough of already and don't actually need. Other than that, no, I haven't stopped buying knives.
 
Yep. I sold all but 3 last year ( kept FK2, DEK and an Mnandi) and have been fine until a couple weeks ago. I was at work and found myself on the roof with no cutting tools but my Mnandi. Been fine for a couple years but it just wasn’t up to the job I found.

Sorry I digress….came back around here looking but really already knew what I’d try. New large inkosi Insingo is now in my pocket and I’m out again.

Thanks BF
 
I've been buying selectively, (Carothers, CRK, Hinderer, Demko, the occasional Spyderco), over the last few years...and all, or virtually all of those purchases have been financed by selling a variety of custom and / or reasonably high end production knives that have been in my collection for some time.

So, it's more or less like playing with house money.

I plan to continue to finance new knife interests with occasional sales of ones I don't mind moving along too much.
 
I feel ya for sure. I have slowed waay down. I was gifted a Civivi recently that gave me as much joy as more expensive knives I own. I haven't stoped but slowed way down and realize what makes me happy is not tied to the price tag of the knife.
 
I actually stopped cold turkey from about March of last year until March of this year. I made zero purchases during that time. During that time I also took somewhat of a break from the forum. Started up again this month and since have purchased a Spyderco Kapara and a QC Drift (in my hand right now) - like many here I have more knives than I’ll ever need, but I just love them. IMO its an addiction.
 
LostCause said:
Well, currently the hot cake is the Magnacut.

It's not even that expensive anymore (Bradford Guardian 3 for example).

But I can't see the purpose if 1095 still does the job for me. In the past I bought knives just because they are in beter steel, only to find out that I prefer a knife I can sharpen back to shaving sharp within a minute, or that handle and geometry play bigger role for me personally.

I found what I like and I decided to stick with it.
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I've decided to pretend like Magnacut was never invented. I was just talking with a friend about knife collecting and all the new steels. Growing up we cut things with carbon steel pocket knives, sharpened them with an Arkansas stone and never thought to complain about needing new blade steels that someone needed to create some day.

But yeah, I'm still buying knives I don't need, after meticulously reading about the various steel options for each, then fretting because I ordered the 'wrong' steel. If anyone knows a cure for such thinking, please let me know.
 
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