.....are you a knife tart.....?

Chui

Chui

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I think I am :confused: ........ :rolleyes:

Was chatting via pm with another member about various folders and I was impressed that he said he was only buying certain makers / certain types. Hats off...!! That is self-discipline - I can spell it, but that's about all.

If there's something that catches my eye out there, wherever, whenever.......I'll weigh it up and potentially buy it.

So - I get the feeling there's many more members here with self-discipline - how do you manage, do you stick to your own rules or do you allow yourselves "exceptions and loopholes" ;)

Would love to hear your thoughts...
 
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There are things I just know I don't like, but beyond that I just buy whatever appeals to me.
I do have a short list of about 7-8 I've been interested in that I wanna try checking off before making any impulse purchases this year, but I still have to rhyme or reason to what I like really.
 
I’ve set a few parameters for myself but I break them occasionally. Sometimes it turns out to be a good decision, other times I have buyer’s remorse but for the most part, I’ve done pretty good at sticking to my guidelines....lately lol.
 
I buy whatever I like and don't buy what I don't like (black blades, strange shape blades, crazy high prices, frame locks).
No themes etc., just if it strikes my fancy.
Rich
 
.....the more I think about it, the more I reckon I'd be better off following my friend's self-discipline.

I have a very eclectic collection and if it was more specialised, focused, if you like, perhaps it'd also be more satisfying
 
marchone said:
How is this topic peculiar to 'Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades'?
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- because it is only with respect to traditional folders and fixed blades.

Do you, for example, only collect Case, or perhaps only Lannys Clips..........or maybe we have some members who only like Stag handled folders.

Apologies if I have somehow caused offense, Wayne...

If the word 'tart' weighs differently in USA than UK, then apologies......please delete altogether @Peregrin
 
I am still learning about this vast world we call knives.

Though I am somewhat "dialed-in" on what I like, I also realize there are all kinds of things still to discover.
I guess that's partly why I hang around here. To learn.

Not familiar with "tart" other than a pastry :)
Maybe explain the context you're implying here.
Thanks
 
I've bought lots of different brands of Traditionals, but the bulk of them have been Great Eastern Cutlery, Case, and USA Old Timers. My Case knives are mostly Trappers, my Old Timers are mostly Stockman, and my GECs are mostly Jacks. I tend to stick to buying those with a few exceptions. I do have a few A Wright Lambsfoot knives and a few Victorinox SAKs. So, I guess my collection varies but with a definite focus.
 
mrknife said:
Im still working on the tart, please elaborate
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.....oops, what have I done :oops:

Besides the tart you eat, here in UK a tart is also referred to a loose lady who will seek the company of more than one man - so we use it to take the mickey out of someone who will use/buy/collect many different things rather than sticking to just one type
 
marchone said:
How is this topic peculiar to 'Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades'?
Click to expand...

IMHO it isn't. We just have a lot more patterns, handle materials, etc. to chose from than the "modern" crowd. :) They are limited to brand, steels, locking mechanism... and maybe a couple other things.

I'm not a "collector"; An "accumulator" would be a more apt description, I suppose.

I don't limit myself to one or two patterns, handle materials, or any specific brand(s). That would be "boring" … at least for/to me, and no doubt I'd miss out on a good user.
(although there are brands I will never buy for budgetary reasons, and I won't buy a Frost. based on the ones I had as a kid. I even know where all those Frost "knife shaped objects" I had are, too! They be in the mud on the bottom of the Mississippi River, near center stream, as far as I could throw them, north of the vicinity of the (now gone and replaced) old US Highway 136 bridge.)(If they had been merely placed in the trash, someone might have "rescued" them from the land fill.)

There are "too many" patterns I like (more than I don't care for at any rate.)and a several I've yet to try.

As for slipjoints, generally speaking, I don't go for the single blade models.
The multi-blades (with different blade profiles) are just so much more versatile. (One reason I never really "got onto" or have any moderns. I also detest pocket clips, don't need one hand opening (yet) ...), or EDC a fixed blade/sheath/belt/neck knife.

Off hand, the only knives I can think of off-hand that I might get for a "user collection" would be the Rough Rider "Riders of the Silver Screen" series Moose pattern knives. There are just five in the series, and I am "only" four short of a "complete set". I suppose I should get the other four while they are available and affordable.
(not sure about the Zorro knife though. I never understood Mr. Zorro, nor why the bad guys didn't just shoot him and be done with it/him before he got close enough to use his whip (I think he had a whip) or carve his initial on their chest.) If I get a Zorro, it will only be to complete the set. His will not be carried or used.
No doubt Rough Rider will drop them eventually or soon, and prices for those in-stock at dealers will double or worse.
 
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I understood "tart" completely, because I am a knife ho. My collection has little direction, and changes course frequently. GEC and Schrade USA seem to be the main constants, but anything might catch my fancy and get snatched up. Lately I've been grabbing quite a few older USA made fixed blades from Schrade, Western and Camillus. Lots of SAKs, Queen/S&M, Case, Camillus, Frank Buster, Bulldog . . . What can I say, I'm weak! ;)
 
Chui said:
.....oops, what have I done :oops:

Besides the tart you eat, here in UK a tart is also referred to a loose lady who will seek the company of more than one man - so we use it to take the mickey out of someone who will use/buy/collect many different things rather than sticking to just one type
Click to expand...

TIL...

now that I officially understand the question, I will have to say no. Because the longer that I have been in the game, the more I know what I like. I am very particular about the knives I buy and there is usually a checklist of things it must fulfill. (single blade (usually clip maybe spear), end cap, usually symmetric appearance) The caveat is sometimes I impulse purchase because its a snap decision. Some companies produce knives in such a number that if you dont grab first and then decide, you'll have to pay through the nose on the secondary for no good reason. Unfortunate, but that is the nature of the beast which will not be discussed here.
 
I pretty well stick to plan on new Traditionals . Buy only GEC and then only Northfields with very few exceptions like SFO's made by GEC . When it comes to Old Traditionals I am for sure a TART . It only has to be Old . Barlows are a Whole Other Matter . With the number that I now have , and at my age , I do not need too many more knives . I am cataloguing them now so that my heirs know what I have for pete's sake . I did use the word NEED kind of loosely and the definition of OLD is not very defined either .

Harry
 
Chui said:
.....oops, what have I done :oops:

Besides the tart you eat, here in UK a tart is also referred to a loose lady who will seek the company of more than one man - so we use it to take the mickey out of someone who will use/buy/collect many different things rather than sticking to just one type
Click to expand...

Mmkay. I also got the "tart". But then got lost with "take the mickey out" :)

Anywho. I'm a buy what I like person, but still very picky. I have a few gec's, because they called to me. And a ton of Rough Riders, because I could afford them. I've got one, or maybe two of many different brands. And non of some, for no good reason other than maybe I couldn't afford something I saw and liked. Strangely enough, I don't have one of the most popular middle of the road brands....Case. Weird. Don't know why.
 
Well, if the slipper fits. I don’t seem to have any conscious plan although I do have my likes and dislikes. I left Spyderco world after a long time and over 2000 posts on their forum because there is only so much one can say about G10, carbon fiber, super steels and not so super steels, locking mechanisms, flicking and figit factors.

what brought me back to the traditional world, after all I will be 78 this year so I do have somewhat of a history with traditionals, was a photo I saw somewhere of a great Eastern cutlery 44 in Ebony. I thought what the hell is that? And, man is that cool.
After getting one and discovering how well they are made and learning about how they do it, I soon sold all of my Spydercos and that was that.

Every time I think about buying another brand of traditional knife and check out the GEC I am caring I just think why? Although, I did buy a 2 blade Case Barlow last summer, kept it for a few days but it just never clicked with me. Not sure why but there it is. So I moved it on to a real Barlow appreciater. Maybe I’ll find a GEC Barlow that I can afford some day or maybe not. That’s part of the fun.

But last week my tart reappeared and after reading maybe far too much about the Case Peanut I had @knifeswapper send me one. Should be here today.
 
Some of the best knives I own are the ones where I broke through my own limitations and decided to try something new. Generally speaking, slipjoints and traditionals fall into this category. 3 years ago they weren't really something I desired. I owned a couple over the years but didn't really carry or use them. Now paired with my CRK I can't imagine not carrying one. When I get home for the day the CRK comes out of my pocket and the traditional stays.
 
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