Most buyers of CPMs buy them to use. And that's what Nathan wants, everyone knows this. But many who buy knives have inquiring minds, something we see every day in this subforum with the questions asked.
And just as many wonder why sane men would collect knives.
But consider that it is man's oldest tool and probably the biggest reason we are still on this earth. Much of it's development over time is lost to history, but at some point, we began to look back in time, to analyze how current knives developed. Human curiosity. And probably the beginning of collecting. By the mid 20th century, most antique knives were in collections, museums, private hands, etc.
In the late 19th century, fancy California knives were already being faked since they had value. Not until the 1970's did anyone begin producing fine examples of blades from the past, since legitimate, desirable antique knives had become scarce. Buster Warenski decided he could make a living producing examples, not fakes. His skill as a knifemaker and an artist was almost universally acknowledged as supreme. Today, almost all experts rank him as one of the best knifemakers ever to have lived. His creations almost never come to market.
Think about it. The first collectors were users. The love of knives doesn't just go away, users find out this fact as life and time catch up with each other. One day, many of you will collect some form of knives, and this discussion is purely so that you will understand that there is often an inexorable progression that begins with user and works it's way up to collector, almost whether you like it our not. The knives I post in this thread are for your appreciation, collector education - not to show stuff off and beat my chest, something I hope you'll understand. And with that said, here's an example of one of the pinnacles of knifemaking art. It recently left my collection to be added to the collection of another Warenski collector.
credits top image: From Dr David Darom's series of "World of Art Knives" and "Julie Warenski"///Bottom image: yours truly