Breaking rules and downsizing

[silenthunterstudios]

Well, like many here, I decided to downsize. I've really cut back on the amount of knives I buy each year, but the costs have increased. I've got a couple custom orders for this year, while keeping my eyes peeled for a few different production knives. I've got a gunstock jack from Brent Cramer, a Menefee Zulu shadow from a group buy from VCM3 and a peanut from Tracy Larock. If Scott Gossman opens his books for custom orders, I'm definitely getting a Golok. Other than that, my eyes are peeled for a Blind Horse boat tail flat grind, a Gossman trapper fixed blade that a friend has for sale, and a Bark River Hudson Bay camp knife II. The ever elusive Case Bose stag Tribal Spear is a pipe dream now, as far as I'm concerned.

I had one rule with my knife collecting, never get rid of your slipjoints. I've downsized a lot. I'm down to the remaining few that do not have any sentimental value. Overtime, saving and determination will pay for my custom orders. But it's tearing me up inside downsizing knives I do not use. Talking with Carl after my accident, I had lost a few knives. They may be rusted by now on the side of the road, but he said "don't cry over things that can't cry over you".

Why can't I just stick with my peanut/pioneer/surefire titan 300l light?

 

[jackknife]

Why can't I just stick with my peanut/pioneer/surefire titan 300l light?

Because Dan, my old friend, we are the afflicted! We're the mutants of society, obsessed with the knife as an object of semi worship.

It doesn't really make any difference what the object is, stamp collectors, coin collectors, matchbook collectors, gun collectors, it's the same old story. The quest for the holy grail of the collection, the endless search for the perfect "one" that will be chased after until we're old and ready to drop.

Or not.

Sometimes, if we're lucky, we find the "one", or we find something else that is way more important. Life is funny that way. I used to have a collection about 70 to 80 knives. I went through a sodbuster craze where I had to tryout every sodbuster on the market. Case, Eye-Brand, Kissing Krane, Boker, and more. I've had stockmen, barrow's, jacks, pens, and even a sway back. For most of my life I was a knife nut and bought a lot of knives. Then one day it stopped. Not all of a sudden, but a big slowdown and downsize. I just looked around one day and thought "what the heck am I doing?"

I think it was about the time of late middle age, and I was thinking about life in general, and what it was all about. Then there was a health scare involving what may have been the bit "C" and things crystalized. I sold off, gave away, and donated most of what I had. The people in my life became the most important thing to me, one in particular. So when I sold off my Randall and other customs, Karen and I took a one month road trip around the whole U.S.A. and saw and camped out in all the major National Parks. Built memories that will last to my dying day.

Things are just things. Never let the pursuit of them rule your life. Never let your possessions own you. Of course it took me most of a lifetime to figure this out. By that time my beard was mostly gray. But better late than never. Now I have a very small collection of my obsessed over objects. In all actuality, I could go the rest of my mostly suburban life with just these three:

But then I wouldn't have the pleasure of using a nice reslza for BBQ at the local pit.

Or carry a nice stockman to get in the "Texas" swing of things.

Ya see where this is leading? Even with a small collection, a very small collection, I can't just have the "one" like my dad did. BUT…even my dad, with his trusty peanut, was not a one knife man. He had a Christy knife that was mysteriously 'around' a good deal of the time. And in the trunk of his Pontiac was his bushwhacker, the cut down machete that he used for the dirty hard work. I'm beginning to believe that the legendary one knife man is in the same class as the unicorn.

Go ahead and downsize, Dan, but keep in mind that as the current sitting Grand High Muckba, you have to have a minimum number of peanuts. That means a collection!

 

[abcdef]

Here is Wiki's reason none of us can downsize. Someone make a sticky.



Psychologists perspectives on collecting:

Psychologists have often taken a Freudian perspective when describing why people collect.[1] They highlight the controlling and impulsive dark side to collecting, the need for people to have "an object of desire." This desire, and hence the innate propensity to collect, begins at birth. The infant first desires the emotional and physical comfort of the nourishing breast, then the familiar baby blanket the child clings to for comfort and security. Stuffed animals, favorite toys are taken to bed and provide the emotional security needed to fall asleep. A sense of ownership and control is facilitated through possession of these items for the vulnerable child.[1] Freud himself took a more extreme position on the origins of collecting. Not surprisingly, he postulated that all collecting stems from unresolved toilet training conflict. Freud took the stance that the loss of bowel control was a traumatic experience, and the product from the bowels was disgusting and frightening to the child. Therefore the collector is trying to gain back control of their bowels as well as their "possessions" which were long flushed down the toilet.[3] Where Freud linked object fixation to the anal-retentive stage in childhood, Muensterberger, in his perspective paper "Unruly Passion" believes collecting to be a "need-driven compensatory behavior where every new object effectively gives the notion of fantasized omnipotence." Jung had his own theories about why people become collectors. He touted the influence of archetypes on behavior. These universal symbols are embedded in what he termed our collective unconscious. Using this logic, collecting and completing sets have as their archetypal antecedents the collecting of "nuts and berries" once needed for survival by our early ancestors.[3][5]

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I've been doing a little downsizing lately.... The wife read a book that made her think a little differently and I've been desiring a simpler life with less clutter. The one thing she read that helped was if when you touch that item, does it bring you joy? If not, get rid of it.

Most of what I've been using has been a Peanut lately. I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[Zidfeldts]

I've been doing a little downsizing lately.... The wife read a book that made her think a little differently and I've been desiring a simpler life with less clutter. The one thing she read that helped was if when you touch that item, does it bring you joy? If not, get rid of it.

Most of what I've been using has been a Peanut lately. I'm pretty happy with it.

My wife has the same book and it works for her. Unfortunately every knife brings me some measure of joy.

 

[Jsega51]

Freud was a weird dude! Not sure about his reasoning but it's quite a correlation he made.

I've downsized myself but it was because after getting more customs, I realized how much more they mean to me than a 1 of a 100 production, especially the customs that were made to my specifications. Still, there are plenty of productions that I own that I'll try to never get rid of. Why is this? Who knows! I buy what I like, when I want it and can afford it, because who knows, I could die eating the delicious lunch I just made.

On to the next bite!

 

[Will Power]

Who in their right mind pays any attention to that old fraud Freud these days?? He just projected his own manias on to generations of the gullible..

Collecting has the thrill and beauty element to it...:thumbup: it's just that those of us who get hooked on Traditionals find that these knives offer endless variations and constant distraction. Like everything else, one day it will end, but in the meantime.....

 

[idahoguy]

Freud was a weird dude!]


Ditto!

Interesting topic, kinda like an AA meeting! I started out wanting many of the knives I saw on the forum, and wanting to hit the pawn shops, and Ebay, and just buy up what I saw and liked. Trouble is that I end up with a drawer full of knives I've left behind. I just got my first custom, a gent's wharncliffe knife made from a piece of ivory that I had, by Jim Dunlap. It's worlds above the other working knives I own and it put the brakes on frivolous purchases. I'm back on Dunlap's list to get a companion knife made with ebony, a clip point. I appreciate the working knives I own, most by Queen for the quality steel. I'm just starting to see knife collecting as I got to see gun collecting, one (or a few) for each purpose. I will only buy well made quality knives, and different higher end steels are an attractant. Other than that, it sure is cheap for me to enjoy everyone else's knife pictures without the cost and the drawer full of neglected "ex's".

 

[silenthunterstudios]

A friend of mine that is a big gun collector, got into knives. He had some really nice ones, but when he saw my Sebenza, he was amazed at the price. He had seen them online, but never one in person. He went back to slipjoints and SAKs, said you couldn't beat them and no one needed anything else but a multi tool. Cut down drastically on knives, not sure about the guns.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Can't forget, other than the customs, old knives. I am pickier than I was, but any old Remington, I will find it a new home. Mine.

On lunch break, a buddy came back with a stack of old records. If he was buying CDs, he would have paid 50 bucks for these at Walmart or a used CD store. 8 bucks for these old records. I love salvaging old knives. More character to an old record cover or an old knife.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I have sold knives that I was sure I would not. I have very little disposable income. I get no overtime, and I am a public defender, so I can no longer take private cases.

I have sold off most of my expensive knives, including my only custom slipjoint. A J. Oeser.

I have a few nice fixed blades, a hawk, and another big production chopper on order, but will likely sell another to fund that one eventually.

I am down to my production slipjoints, which get carried a lot, and a few big fun chopper users, and a few custom fixed blades.


I try not to let the disease rule me. I won't take on debt to buy. I have sold most of my higher cost users to pay taxes, bills, etc. I sold my Oeser to have a cushion/emergency fund for closing on my house this Christmas. Things are tight.

 

[22-rimfire]

Tis an apt topic for the 50+ generation here. I have been buying fewer knives, but I have not sold or gave away any in an effort to reduce the clutter factor YET. Oh, I gave my niece (strike that... granddaughter, I keep forgetting) a SOG about a year ago, but I that was not a big deal except to her. I however am not thinking about what the next knife acquisition will be. I don't do pre-orders. If I have an interest and they sell out.... fine. I just saved myself some money. Moved away from handmade/customs in general for production knives simply because I don't see the big deal about customs. A knife made especially for me..... not a big deal when most of my day to day cutting is done with a $20-$30 SAK.

I will more than likely acquire a couple traditional slipjoints when I am moved with a design this year. Keep telling myself I should get a peanut sized slip joint. Looked at them a week or so ago and I just could not make up my mind and kept asking myself IF I would actually use this little knife? No answer to that question yet.

Do what is comfortable for you if you choose to sell off some things. The knives I own don't amount to much value, but the firearms could be a fairly substantial amount IF I sold most of them within a short window of time. Otherwise, the money would get frittered away. I don't consider knives and firearms "clutter" just yet.

Added: The 2014 Trad forum knife actually filled a lot of the "peanut void" for me. I do tend to like more hand filling knives, but not really big ones (except for fixed blades).

 

[kamagong]

I haven't reached that point yet, but then again I don't go hog wild. I know what I like and what I "need." I don't buy knives for the sake of buying them.

Do what makes brings a smile to your face. It's a hobby, it shouldn't be causing you any stress.

Knives are cheap compared to guns, boats, cars, motorcycles, drinking, women, and drugs.

 

[GaiusJulius]

I personally think that, when it comes to traditional knives, the appeal lies in the rather unique way that they offer almost endless variation without much change in their fundamental ability to do the job well -of cutting stuff. There isn't really a "wrong" choice, so one is encouraged by this to try new things, new patterns and blades.

They are also financially within reach, for most people in the West, so the temptation to try a new pattern or variation is strong, unlike with, for example, guns or cars. For most of us the prohibitive price keeps us from accruing huge numbers of these, but a knife, even a custom, is a manageable enough chunk of the budget that we can easily find ourselves buying one, or three. Plus, because of the relatively soft market demand, the companies can't afford to keep 500 models in constant production, so there's a huge scarcity element to keep any aficionado keyed in and hooked. If he doesn't keep an eye out he might miss a new release that could be exactly what he wants (even if he doesn't know it yet) and difficult or impossible to find ever again. Nobody is frantic to acquire a yellow peanut in the same way they are to buy a TC Barlow, because the peanut, which might do the job just as well and look just as good in its own way, isn't a scarce limited-production piece, and can be gotten without much angst.

So all this leads to the question we all must ask ourselves from time to time, do I enjoy these knives because I want one to do the job better than my current ones? Do I enjoy them because they are beautiful? Do I enjoy them because others don't have what I've put in the effort to acquire? Sometimes the answer is to buy another knife, sometimes the answer, for the good of our soul or the more important things in life, is to sell one. But there's nothing wrong with having a selection of beautiful cutting implements to choose from, if we choose to have two, or two hundred.

 

[22-rimfire]

I personally think that, when it comes to traditional knives, the appeal lies in the rather unique way that they offer almost endless variation without much change in their fundamental ability to do the job well -of cutting stuff. There isn't really a "wrong" choice, so one is encouraged by this to try new things, new patterns and blades.

So all this leads to the question we all must ask ourselves from time to time, do I enjoy these knives because I want one to do the job better than my current ones? Do I enjoy them because they are beautiful? Do I enjoy them because others don't have what I've put in the effort to acquire? Sometimes the answer is to buy another knife, sometimes the answer, for the good of our soul or the more important things in life, is to sell one. But there's nothing wrong with having a selection of beautiful cutting implements to choose from, if we choose to have two, or two hundred.

Wanting a new knife to do the job better or to be unique is seldom a reason any more for me. I mostly just want them..... beautiful comes closer perhaps, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

 

[jprime84]

I downsized once from a collection of a little over a dozen modern folders from the $150-$400 range to just having my sebenza and my mammoth freemont, but then I discovered a new love for traditionals and just got all that many more because customs aside, they are generally less expensive.

I do agree with not keeping anything that doesnt speak to you, and I have done that with some of my traditionals as well. After time, I just decided I wanted a single blade #48 in elk more than a double blade #48 trapper, so I sold the trapper and got the other. Its helped keep the volume down. It couldnt hurt to try and treat that urge to buy once in a while with Rough Rider instead of a Northwoods though!

 

[Halfneck]

I suppose a psychologist would explain my knife obsession as having something to do with being poor as a kid and not being able to get the knives I want. Of course I'm still not well off financially, but I do so enjoy the thrill of getting a new knife. Simple harmless pleasure.

 

[supratentorial]

I would place a higher value on time than number of knives or dollars spent. If you have 1 knife but spend all day thinking about it then it takes up much more of your life than if you have 1000 knives and only think about them infrequently.

 

[powernoodle]

Why can't I just stick with my peanut/pioneer/surefire titan 300l light?

Your toys make you feel good. Selling them makes you feel bad. Keeping them is a form of pain avoidance.

If garden hoses made us feel good, we would have 50 of them and would be talking about them on gardenhoseforums and posting daily pics. What garden hose did you carry today? Supersteel hose fittings: worth the cost?

Its all about feeling good, whether its brought about by a bass boat, a golf trip, a martini or a CV Peanut.

 

[supratentorial]

Somewhat related to my prior post... the world's largest/greatest Scagel collection is owned by someone who probably spends very little time thinking about knives.

I just reread this thread.

All the knives in the Lucie - Scagel auction were bought by ONE guy, a former Scagel collector. He told me the story -- or as much of it as he wished to share.

But he did not buy them for himself.

He bought them as agent for a very rich guy who never bought a knife before, and will never buy a knife again (he says).

Dr. Lucie was very pleased with this result. So pleased that he bought a few more Scagels, including two from me. Not to sell, but because he liked them.

BRL...