Buy expensive knives, carry cheap ones. My dilemma.

Feel bad if you spend $1200 on exercise equipment and never use it. Don't feel bad if you enjoy having a $1200 knife without using it.
 
abcdef said:
The OP's reasoning is exactly what slowed my purchasing habit. Even though I do not use knives much, my more expensive ones stay home while others ride in my pocket. It's all mental.
Click to expand...

Agreed it's definitely mental! Folks are just wired differently.
 
The knife makers don't care what you do with them, they got paid for the sale. While they may love to see their knives used, they don't lose sleep over the ones resting somewhere in somebody's safe.

You shouldn't care what you do with them either, as long as you are content.

I'm 50/50, I have some knives I use, and some I don't. If I know there is a high risk of my knife being ruined or lost, like at my job, I opt for a cheaper carry. But I still have some >$100 knives I do carry, and when I do I intend to use them, say out in the woods; mud, blood, guts, etc... I won't carry them to work though, but it's not so much a fear of the blade and edge getting scuffed up, but more so the fear of losing it into a tank of God knows what; binder, glue, wax, slurry, etc. having it get all gunked up with "schmutz" the doesn't just wash off... I also won't carry my higher end stuff to say a house party or cookout where there will be lots of strangers coupled with a high probability of my consuming alcohol, because I'm an untrusting person by nature, and my friend's friends and family are not my friends and family, and if I would lose it or misplace it, (and/or have it "stolen"), a $20-30 Buck, CRKT, or Kershaw I can easily laugh off and say, "whoops, that was stupid of me", chalk it up as a loss, whereas a $200 Benchmade or Arno (my 2 latest higher end acquisitions), I would likely cause a scene and possibly lose friends over if it turned up missing... So, I avoid the situation by removing the potential catalyst.

At the end of the day, you decided what you do with your stuff, and as long as you can live with your decisions, you're doing great... If you have reservations about your decisions, make different decisions...
 
These days I am into traditional knives. I sold most of my folders and all of my mid-tech and custom knives except for a neck knife Charlie Mike made for me that I almost always have with me and I use a lot. I have a small Sebenza 21 and a Mnandi (Christmas present from my wife this year) I kept and never carry them because I want to keep them minty so I can pass them down to my son some day. Other than that I have no problem using any of my knives however I have way over 100 so I have some that never get used because of the amount I have. I guess I have the I buy too may knives syndrome but I just can't seem to stop buying them. I don't think I'm alone in this. Does anybody else have this problem?
 
My cheapest knife was $90 ... a GEC 22... and it got daily carry until I got my first custom slipjoint, and now it gets carried. At the highest, I've spent $2200 for the perfect use to be built. I carried and used it for 6 months until I had something better suited to my needs made. Sold it on eBay for $680.
 
though i can totally understand and relate to the op i have to say that i switched up my "collecting habits" (not just for knives, but bows or whatever) because of that. i want to use my knives etc and be it just to slice open a letter. so basically for my needs a SAK would totally suffice (and also be legal here), but that doesn't keep me from buying other knives... also using doesn't mean abusing. and for those who collect anything for the value and the artistry more power to you. i can understand collectors i just don't want to collect without using the stuff.
 
Generally speaking the more expensive they are the more belt time they get. Some of the cheap knives I have accumulated have never seen the light of day and only pop up when there is a job for it that I wouldn't want to subject good ones with.
 
The most expensive knives I own are 4 plain-jane CRK models, and the one I now carry the most is a large Insingo. I carry and use it every day. I also always carry a couple of inexpensive (but high quality) knives; a Victorinox Executive SAK and a Spartan SAK. The Insingo is for heavier cutting, while the SAKs are for everything else.

My first CRK is a 2002 large regular Sebenza that has seen quite a lot of use over the years. The more character marks that develop naturally through use, the more I "bond" with the knife. I personally feel I get more enjoyment out of a knife when I've used it a good while.

If anything keeps me from carrying a knife, expensive or inexpensive, it's more to do with the design than the price. This might sound odd, but it's similar to people; some you feel good around and can bond with, while others you will never (or can't ever) seem able to develop any connection with. Some are great, and some are not a match, even though others may feel they're the greatest designs.

However you choose to use your knives (or not) is completely up to you. Everyone approaches this interest in knives in their own way.

Jim
 
I personally carry my large double thumb lug plain jane Sebenza 21 in a vertical CRK leather sheath all the time.
 
Pulling out my troodon to do something is just so much better than pulling out a cheap Kershaw you got from lowes.
 
I started to feel this when my ZT0566BW came in. I'm sure I could put it through just about anything but I'm a little hesitant to because part of me says this is something nice, keep it that way.

So I bought a kershaw cryo in blackwash which cost about 1/5 of the zt to thrash on. The thing is if any non knife enthusiast were to look at the two side by side most would conclude that they're the same, one is just smaller. It's all about perceived value.
 
You will not find "the" answer here. All you'll find is others' opinions on what is an entirely subjective matter. If you think you're wasting your money on things that you don't use, don't do it. If the enjoyment of owning a thing you like, but don't use, is of sufficient value to you, have at it. No one knows the answer but you. Knives aren't a magical commodity. They're just things.
 
If you view the knife as an art piece than that's not an issues. People collect art worth a lot more and it just hangs on the wall.
 
Blues Bender said:
:rolleyes:

Use your d*mn knives:D

43658A1B-509B-48A1-8E48-EC9054B5FF31_zps5zgwgbpb.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's illegal! Lol dude your rockstead has scratches on it!
 
Its all good, carry on! You should enjoy at least one of your more expensive folders though! One thing that you could do to fight ocd is find one that you really want to edc and then buy a second user that is already well loved. You'll be more inclined to carry it.
 
Last edited:
Insipid Moniker said:
Feel bad if you spend $1200 on exercise equipment and never use it. Don't feel bad if you enjoy having a $1200 knife without using it.
Click to expand...

So much this.

I use my knives, from my Randall to my Striders and Sebenzas to my Spyderco and my Buck Stockman, etc. While I enjoy having and using them I do understand where some would rather enjoy having and not using. In the end, we all love knives.
 
I'm really surprised by the responses to this OP's P. I was bracing myself for 500 dudes saying "listen bro, if you don't use every knife you have, then you may as well put on a skirt & change your name to Sally." It's cool to see these comments to the contrary....& I liked the point he made about most knives for sale by members here on BF having light to no use....a lot of us guys choose not to use every knife in our arsenal - and that's OK. Like some others here in this thread, I'm a user & a collector, so as such I've got a few knives I use, but I EDC my really pretty fixed blades to show them off & open a box here or cut a string there, & I spend my evenings ignoring my wife & kids while applying a completely unnecessary 15th coat of Ren-wax to them. Did my kids eat dinner tonight, does my wife feel special....I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that my non-user knives are flawless, & that's the way Daddy's going to keep them.
 
Sometimes this is impossible. 1) everyone has their edc favorites. And I know that many including myself go on these knife buying runs curious to try out a model. It happens!
 
I don't own any really expensive knives, but I am slowly building up my collection of knives over $200. I got a sebenza about a month ago and it hasn't left my pocket. I cut mainly boxes, paper, and zip ties throughout the day, and ONLY use a knife for what is was "designed" to do. I never use it as a screwdriver or pry bar or anything else. That applies for a $20 knife, or $500 knife.

That being said, if I spend that much on a knife I'm definitely going to carry it and use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top