Are you ashamed of your hobby?

A

A. G. Russell

Joined
Mar 10, 2001
Messages
2,033
How many knife people do you know that tell every one about knives and how much fun they are?

Who calls themselves a knife nut and never lets anyone know about them and knives.

Do all the folks in your church know about your knives.

Do the folks you work with know how you feel about knives.

I had a Bank VP from another bank come looking for my business and he confessed to me that he had to get permission from his head office in Alabama to google the word "knives", that word falls under the classification of "Weapons" on the Bank's web search engine.

Hiding our hobby will not help it spread, and it needs to spread.

Talk it up or watch it die!
 
A. G. Russell said:
Hiding our hobby will not help it spread, and it needs to spread.

Talk it up or watch it die!
Click to expand...

I don't buy it. Knife nuts are born, not made. For us, the knives sell themselves. You can't talk a non knife nut to go under the spell anymore than I could be talked into playing Dungeons and Dragons, or watching ballet.
 
Definately no shame here.

Many of my co-workers are also knife fans or at least use and carry daily. Both my supervisors are avid hunters and one is a casual knife collector.

I don't go on and on about knives to friends and family that don't share the passion, but they know my hobby (family bought me a 10th anniversary Al Mar collection last Christmas) and my knife block in the kitchen speaks for itself.

Kevin
 
I try to educate folks about knives. Most listen to what I have to say.
 
most of the people i know think collecting knives would be like collecting screwdrivers. just another tool to them. not more than 5 family/ friends know i like knives, hatchets, tomahawks........ paul
 
I always try to spread the good word wherever I can. One of the best ways I can do that is by gifting them to others and imploring them to make good use of them. I have yet to find a person who has not gained a newfound tolerance and appreciation of a good blade...or three. :D
 
As an electrician I go around lots of different sites and meet lots of different people. I've often had people mention my knife, and I'm always willing to tell them all they want to know.
In the last few years I've sold about 20 knives to people who previously had no interest in them. Its always nice to hear people say things like they "never realised how handy it is to have a knife with you" etc.
So no, I'm definitely not ashamed:)
One lad I work with had never owned a knife before. I've since made three for him.
So I agree, spreading the word does work.
The sooner people come to view knives as useful tools and not as weapons (especially in the UK) the better it is for all of us.

Ian
 
Not at church or school, but at work they sure do! Anyone I am at all close to know and know I love em as gifts. No reason to be ashamed unless it conflicts with paying bills and supporting the family. I have had a hand in the creation of a knife nut or two myself!
 
Most everybody knows about my passion for knives and guns. That doesn't mean they share it, or even understand it. And yes, plenty of them think it's pretty nuts.

Their opinion certainly isn't going to change my mind, but similarly, I'm well aware that my opinion isn't going to change theirs either. "Talking it up" would only serve to further convince the ones who think I'm nuts that I need to be locked up or something. Thanks, but no thanks.
 
Most of the guys that I talk to are gun nuts as well so they think nothing of my knife hobby. Others haven't expressed much surprise other than they are shocked at the amount of money I and other collectors are willing to pay for a knife. At least our hobby can be used for a practical purpose, what does one do with ceramic birds?

John
 
irbailey said:
As an electrician I go around lots of different sites and meet lots of different people. I've often had people mention my knife, and I'm always willing to tell them all they want to know.
In the last few years I've sold about 20 knives to people who previously had no interest in them. Its always nice to hear people say things like they "never realised how handy it is to have a knife with you" etc.
So no, I'm definitely not ashamed:)
One lad I work with had never owned a knife before. I've since made three for him.
So I agree, spreading the word does work.
The sooner people come to view knives as useful tools and not as weapons (especially in the UK) the better it is for all of us.

Ian
Click to expand...

Then I guess you disagree with Shecky?
 
I don't think it's just a hobby; it's more of a passion or even an obsession. It started when I was at a kindergarten age. I was not allowed to have knives because of my young age so I had to unlawfully obtain them from sources other than my parents and secretly keep them. Sometimes the knife became discovered, taken away and hidden from me, until I find it again. I could be wondering for a long time in front of the store counters where cheap knives were sold, dreaming about which one to get. My absolute favorites were the hand made auto knives made by convicts at the prison.

Now when I became an adult and can buy/carry pretty much any knife that I want, it does feel awkward sometimes about this.
Yes, knives are tools and can be very useful, but I can carry one for days without coming use for it. All the hand tools I have, and I have a lot because of my profession, cost less than all my knives combined.

It’s like in a comedy movie Mr.Deeds, one character says “I like feet….. I don’t know why.”
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Yes, everyone knows me for knives, and you know how word spreads in a small town. Everyone at my Church knows and I usually carry a knife to Church with me as well.
 
A. G. Russell said:
How many knife people do you know that tell every one about knives and how much fun they are?

Who calls themselves a knife nut and never lets anyone know about them and knives.

Do all the folks in your church know about your knives.

Do the folks you work with know how you feel about knives.

I had a Bank VP from another bank come looking for my business and he confessed to me that he had to get permission from his head office in Alabama to google the word "knives", that word falls under the classification of "Weapons" on the Bank's web search engine.

Hiding our hobby will not help it spread, and it needs to spread.

Talk it up or watch it die!
Click to expand...

Too many anti-this and anti-that trouble makers in the world, I don't tell nobody nothing! Also the one's that aren't interested in causing trouble may just rob you instead!
 
Not at all. Anyone that knows me knows about my knife addiction. Gave the woman I am seeing a nice custom (along with some other stuff) on her birthday last month.

People at work make jokes, but they bring their knives to me for sharpening and ask advice when they are buying.
 
People around here not only carry knives to church they carry concealed pistols.
As long as you have a permit carry it wherever you go and it's allowed. It's not going to do any good if you need it and it's home or in your vehicle.
 
I'm ashamed about how much money and time I've spent, but not about the knives themselves nor an upcoming custom knife purchase.
 
I am not ashamed at all. At my youth group, I am the person people come to when there is some cutting that needs to be done. I'm the only person who carries a knife with them, and they are very grateful for it.

At school, I help out in the photo lab and the teacher is very cool about knives and guns. We always discuss these things when working with each other.

Of my friends, I am the person they go to when they need advice on a knife or anything like that. For my friend's 18th birthday, I gave her my Spyderco Delica 4, which she is now completely attached to. Before, she was afraid of anything sharp. Now, she can't get enough of them.

There are people who tell me I'm crazy for spending so much time and money on my knives, but then again, there are people who spend hundreds of dollars on clothes and shoes and computers. I have no shame for my hobby. I just tell them that they are worth the money.
 
I had a similar experience to your bank VP, "knife, knives, blade", etc were all blocked as 'weapons sites' on our work PCs.
You got a nasty message about the forbidden viewing of porn, weapons, hacking, anarchy, etc.

This 'anything sharp is a weapon' mindset is something we need to try to turn in a logical direction, as AG said. Tho' in my elder years I've seen too many idiots and their ideas become PC, then law, to have much faith that we can change the world. My activist days are over, I guess, but I do laud knives as handy, non-threatening tools whenever the opportunity presents itself.

One convert at a time...
 
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