Changing focus

Keith Montgomery

Keith Montgomery

Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
29,205
Over the years my tastes have changed. When I started collecting it was tactical folders that interested me, then hunters. Now for the most part it is bowies, but my focus seems to be shifting from only bowies to adding some fighters and chute knives. Do you guys manage to stay focused on one area of collecting, or are your tastes spread over a few different styles? If you are focused on one style, has that style stayed the same over the years, or has it changed?
 
i first got into knives looking for a decent fishing blade

then i found CRK and then customs. still favor tom mayo blades but will look at the odd slipjoint

i got rid of all my non-user blades and bought bike stuff (my main hobby).

i limit myselves to small folders now and a few fixed blades for fishin' :)
 
I started out with lower end productions, then on to higher end productions. My tastes remained more focused on tactical folders even after my first few customs but now it is changing to reflect less tactical designs. I'm starting to get into hunters and slipjoints more and will eventually get to higher end fixed blades and folders but not necessarily tactical persay.
 
My tastes have changed as well. When I started collecting knives, I actually started with high-end production kitchen knives. I then moved up to custom kitchen knives, which was what got me into other types of custom knives. From there, I really began to like fancy gentlemen's art folders, and then I finally got into what I focus on now, which is tactical/utility folders.

It's funny, though, how your past interests influence your current ones. I'll still pick up kitchen knives, custom or production, if they impress me, and I've always preferred my tactical/utility folders to be a little dressed up, even if I plan on using them hard.
 
heres my evolutionary knife process.

age 4-10
Everything with a blade

age 10-12
cheap flea market mall ninja stuff/machetes

12-14
balisongs

14-16
Swiss army knives and scout knives

16-18
traditional fixed blades and pocket knives (got into sharpening and refurbishing)

18-21
straight razors
automatics/italian stilletos

21-25
Custom fixed blades/neck knives
Classier military/tactical/mall ninja types of things

Even though my tastes change over the years, it doesnt mean that I have completely lost interest for the things that I was into when I was younger. I have a place in my heart for all of those things. I just dont freak out like I did when I was 12 when I see a switchblade. :p
 
Size wise my focus is still the hunter sized knives or slightly smaller. What's changed is more of an aesthetics thing, going from primarily stock removal drop points to more of the ABS look. Since shifting focus over to forged blades more, I've also branched out to the bigger camp knives.
 
I'm opportunistic. Most of my purchases are forged blades, but there are exceptions. As my means have increased, my tastes have moved away from the simple knives and more towards the refined. I even have a gent folder!
 
My tastes have changed and grown!! I recently got into fixed blades myself, I happen to very much like chute knives!! As a matter of fact, I very badly want a Bark River Sandstorm A!!
 
Keith Montgomery said:
Do you guys manage to stay focused on one area of collecting, or are your tastes spread over a few different styles? If you are focused on one style, has that style stayed the same over the years, or has it changed?
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My tastes are, and have been, spread over many different styles.

I always collected folders AND fixed blades, forged AND stock removal.

I decided to focus my "main" collection on 100 handmade pieces total, 2 from 50 makers, around 1995, after 9 years of collecting.

Some are a matched set, some are totally different, some are a fixed blade AND a folder (Matt Diskin, Jot Khalsa, Bob Lum, R.J. Martin). The only way that I will bump a maker from the "main" collection is if they have been an ass to me, or if, in only one case, I find a letter of the alphabet that I have to have. I know, it's wierd. It only makes sense to me.

Other than that, I collect "orphans", and that has been a lot of fun, because the pressure of having to get two knives out of each maker can be stressful. "Orphans" can be one knife or 5 from the same maker.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
My interest in knives has always been with Bowies & Fighters,but I own a few Tactical folders too (my current EDC is a Crawford Perfigo).But I really Love Bowies and Fighters,the only change interest wise has been in size.Right now I seem to be into 7.5-8 inch blade lengths.:cool:
 
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