Choosing what to carry

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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Feb 11, 2016
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How do you choose and how often do you have trouble choosing ?
I have a handful of favorites that I go to a lot and it would be very easy to just grab one on those for the week whenever it's time to choose, but then there are the other knives.
I have and like them for various reasons, but for other reasons they aren't among my favorites and don't get carried as frequently.
I could let them go but would miss them eventually and have to get another, so I keep them around.

Yesterday evening I was making my pocket knife & maybe belt knife choice for this week and was having trouble because I wanted to carry one of those " Other knives " but kept going back to my more carried favorites.
I ended up compromising and choosing one of my Other pocket knives and a favorite belt knife.
 
My biggest "problem" is deciding which knife to pair with my "set" three. (Sak Huntsman, Mini Champ, and a folding hunter).
It is usually a stockman I choose, tho some days it may be a Barlow, moose, or other 2 blade jack knife.
Usually only when I feel like changing the stockman. Could be after a day, or a month.
 
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Since I always carry fixed + folder, I try to match the size, one stainless, one not, two Bucks because I want to post in the Buck forum, or similar. The prettiest knives are carried on Sun, when I go to the range I need a SAK, etc.

Otherwise it's mostly random, trying to carry knives that I haven't used in a while. But the favorites certainly get carried more often.
 
I carry both a belt knife and a pocket knife normally. I never change both at the same time.

My normal belt knife is a Cas 6265 Folding hunter, that I exchange for a Buck 192 occasionally.

My normal pocket knife is a Case Jumbo Stockman, that I occasionally exchange for another Jumbo in a different color. I will occasionally add a small pocket knife to my watch pocket. I almost never try another pocket knife though. Once in a very rare while I'll carry a Case Trapper.
 
I have a daily rotation of folders I just pick what feels right that day. Then I pair it with one out of my daily rotation of fixed blades. I’ve really whittled it down to users recently, so I’ve been doing my best to carry and use the knives I own. The rest are getting sold (eventually).
 
I have 4 or 5 Users that I keep out on a chest in my closet which I choose from , based upon what I will be doing that day , unless , like this morning , I will be going to meet other people . This morning I chose the 2019 Charlie's Lamb . Then if I want a smaller dress up type of knife , I will just open up a drawer for a smaller knife . I am lucky enough to have many knives that will almost never be carried . I basically do not have a rotation of knives .

Harry
 
You guys are lucky with the mindsets you have that make choosing easy.

I just task myself with staring at over 50 knives and trying choose what I'll carry for the week.
If I limited myself to only my favorites the number would be half that if not less, but I don't really like to hide away and forget about any non favorites that might call to me once in awhile so I keep them in the mix.
 
I carry a SAK (out of 35) and usually a single blade slip joint (50-ish) Most of the time I am interested in changing it up daily, and I have a specific task in mind, or it is micarta day, or I see one that hasn't been in the pocket in a while that should get out.

Sometimes I stare at the open drawers and realize I dont have enough brain going yet, so I carry a SAK compact and RRR one arm razor as a default.
 
I definitely have trouble choosing everyday. Try to pick based on what I’m doing (almost always office work) but usually whatever I think looks the best that day, and it changes often!

I don’t have as many as some folks here but my collection has definitely grown to a point where there’s always a hesitation in my pick!

IMG_2984.jpeg
 
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Nope. Don't have that problem. For the last couple years I've carried a Buck 112 just about every day. I'll usually carry the same one for a week, or maybe a month. Then there's the SAK Pioneer that I've been carrying every day for three years.
 
I admit it, I'm a knife ho. I'm blessed to have about 300 pocket knives and whatever pops into my head to carry at any time, any where is good enough for me . . . in the pocket it goes.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen a knife posted here on BFC and said, "Man that looks good, I think I got something like that!" . . . and in the pocket it goes.
Of course I've got favorites, but they make up about 200 of the 300, so that's no help. I just go with the flow.
 
I usually keep 3 knives in my rotation but that rotation changes often. I really only need a sharp blade. More often than not I don’t even need that so it doesn’t really matter which knife I carry on any given day.

I choose the knife that I’m most in the mood for each day and I choose the 3 knife rotation on that same principle.
 
It's actually rare that I'll feel the need to let the day ahead dictate the knife I'm carrying., but I suppose that's partly because I'm not swapping daily.
Sometimes if I'm carrying a belt knife I may feel the need to leave it behind depending on where I'm going, but that's not often.

The only other situation I can think of is if I'm just lounging around that day and may carry one of my go-to knives for this, and that's typically a little Gerber ultralight LST.
 
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