Collecting Knives vs. Collecting Firearms

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SanLuisObispo

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I've collected firearms for decades. It has become progressively (no pun) more and more difficult and expensive to purchase guns, irrespective of their purchase price. Most need the assistance of a federally licensed firearms dealer. Background checks are mandatory in many cases. There are waiting periods for some guns/locations. Some even have to choose certain types of firearms from approved rosters. The list goes on.

In comparison, at least here in most parts of the US, it's quite easy to legally purchase (but not necessarily carry) just about any knife. A very refreshing change from the rigamarole encountered when buying firearms.

When I got home the other night I had a number of edged weapon parcels sitting on my porch. It reminded me of finding M1 Garands from the DCM/CMP on my doorstep from decades past. It made me smile.

At first I chuckled at even the notion that controls/limits/other bureaucratic nonsense could be placed on the purchase of knives -- particularly "tactical", "survival" and of course automatic knives. Lately however I've been reading about knife purchase and carry laws in places like NYC, Philly, Boston and most particularly some foreign countries. In France for instance, I don't think any knife that could be used as a weapon can be carried in public. Crazy.

What do you think the future is of buying/owning/carrying knives in the US, most particularly "tactical", "survival" and of course automatic knives? Thanks.
 
I’ve always had and loved a pocket knife but never gave it much more thought than that. Always had a couple of folders with a couple fixed blades around.
I’ve “been into” firearms and starting my accumulation since my teens. I basically had all the practical, and quite a few not so practical, firearms on my to buy list. About 5-6 years ago I took the same funds I’d spend on firearms in a years time and spent it on blades. As we all know a blade addiction is not cheaper.
Now I find myself mostly content with accumulation of blades and I want to tweak the contents of my gun safe.


Anyway, there are small groups of knife rights advocates out there fighting for our cause but I believe we will see further and harsher restrictions mostly in large cities. It’s easier to control what happens in a city than it is a state and even more difficult an entire country. They will take every inch they can.
 
sabre cat said:
I can spend a small fortune getting the firearms I want, only to have them set and collect dust.

I can enjoy nice blades for less cash than guns (much less) and I easily get to use them weekly if not daily.
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What Saber Cat said.

I love guns. I used to play around with building AR's.

The cost has gotten too high for me to build and shoot regularly.

However, a knife under $200 makes me ecstatic.

The happiness to cost ratio is a lot better with knives.
 
With the current events going on in our country at the moment - my best estimate of the future direction of anything that looks like it could scare someone - is that it's sure to be banned.
It's been headed that direction for decades though & everyone chose to ignore it.

Best possible example of how this fear overcomes reality?

Safety - a fixed blade is arguably the safest type of knife, followed by a folding knife with a strong lock.
Three guesses through which two knives the Cub Scouts ban?
The Scouts would rather see kids injured or maimed. Just as long as it didn't look scary.

Another?
The Bali Song/Butterfly knife. Safest folder type ever. There is no way that mechanism can close on the user.
BUT - since you can twirl them around & it looks scary - they are illegal in a whole lot of places.

Switchblades/autos? same story there. As my late mother used to say, "I don't like the way that knife "jumps" out".

Oh well - like I've said all along - I'm glad I'm old and going to die soon. I hate what those people have done to my fine country.
 
Hal said:
With the current events going on in our country at the moment - my best estimate of the future direction of anything that looks like it could scare someone - is that it's sure to be banned.
It's been headed that direction for decades though & everyone chose to ignore it.

Best possible example of how this fear overcomes reality?

Safety - a fixed blade is arguably the safest type of knife, followed by a folding knife with a strong lock.
Three guesses through which two knives the Cub Scouts ban?
The Scouts would rather see kids injured or maimed. Just as long as it didn't look scary.

Another?
The Bali Song/Butterfly knife. Safest folder type ever. There is no way that mechanism can close on the user.
BUT - since you can twirl them around & it looks scary - they are illegal in a whole lot of places.

Switchblades/autos? same story there. As my late mother used to say, "I don't like the way that knife "jumps" out".

Oh well - like I've said all along - I'm glad I'm old and going to die soon. I hate what those people have done to my fine country.
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Your comments about balisongs and automatics are sobering. Legislation banning them in many locales stemmed from cultural ownership and even Hollywood.

One thing I wonder/worry about, is the wrong politico (or one of their staffers) realizing just how swiftly today's largely legal flippers can be deployed, during a time when it would be politically advantageous to ban them at the federal level, along with automatics once and for all.

Many would be scared to death if they witnessed Sen. Foghorn Leghorn whip open a 6" Cold Steel Ti-Lite on the Senate Floor.
 
I'm the opposite. Knife collector. collecting from my dad to his dad my grandfather.

New firearm owner.

Now I can't even find 9mm ammo to train or get my ccw. Can't find primers. I hear those stories about M1 garands for under 100. Now surplus is gone. What's left is hit or miss. I'm seeing guys drop 1k on a surplus rifle listed in working order then they get it and the barrel is totaled out. I'm skeptical as is with used products.
 
:) Knives generally cheaper and less hassle , require no ammo to play with and cutting yourself is not as bad as shooting ! :cool:
 
This is a conversation my brother and I have all the time. He says it's stupid to spend big bucks on a knife instead of a gun. The gun will appreciate in value, but probably not the knife. I say I can carry the knife and use it more than the gun.
 
needler420 said:
I'm the opposite. Knife collector. collecting from my dad to his dad my grandfather.

New firearm owner.

Now I can't even find 9mm ammo to train or get my ccw. Can't find primers. I hear those stories about M1 garands for under 100. Now surplus is gone. What's left is hit or miss. I'm seeing guys drop 1k on a surplus rifle listed in working order then they get it and the barrel is totaled out. I'm skeptical as is with used products.
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Don't become discouraged. I began collecting firearms as a child -- .22 rifles and shotguns. Had a rack in my bedroom, the whole bit. My biggest source early on were aunts/uncles/cousins/family friends giving me firearms which were just laying around and they wanted them gone. I still get some that way.

All I can say is things go in waves. Hard to say what's going to happen with the huge hoard of M1903/M1 Garands/M1917 Enfields/M1 Carbines sitting in aging boomers' gun safes? They, and a TON of other firearms might provide a reasonably-priced source of firearms for newer gunnies.

In terms of ammo and reloading supplies, we've been on a huge roller coaster ride ever since Obama was first elected. Feast and famine. Be patient and load-up the next time supplies are up and prices are down. Just don't become obsessed! It can drain the pleasure right out of collecting firearms!

Nothing worse than those jackasses proudly showing off their ammo hoards on firearms forums during the first couple of peaks! These jerks contributed greatly to the shortages.

Also, and this is important, try not to ever lose the pleasure of actually shooting guns! I know serious firearms collectors who haven't shot anything in years, for no real reason except they don't seem to like to shoot guns. I find that sad. Good luck.
 
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sabre cat said:
I can spend a small fortune getting the firearms I want, only to have them set and collect dust.

I can enjoy nice blades for less cash than guns (much less) and I easily get to use them weekly if not daily.
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Are you unable to shoot them for the most part?
 
Brules1 said:
This is a conversation my brother and I have all the time. He says it's stupid to spend big bucks on a knife instead of a gun. The gun will appreciate in value, but probably not the knife. I say I can carry the knife and use it more than the gun.
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Ask him about the Bob Loveless knife purchased in 1990 in lieu of say a Remington M700... ;)
 
I have safes full of both. Both make me happy in different ways and their use often intersects. All but one of my main hunting rifles were bought by teenage me in the 80s and have been tweaked since where needed or appropriate. Same with handguns, though I did update my Gen1 G17 to Gen3.
 
I "collected" firearms (mainly handguns) for many years during the 80's and 90's.

Owned around 50 many rare and unusual handguns but it got to the point that I thought it was stupid to own so many guns that I didn't actually shoot. So, I sold off almost the entire collection at wholesale to a dealer but, even so, I still own over 2 dozen firearms -- around 12 handguns, 6 rifles and 6 shotguns. Still have too many firearms at that but they cover the range of firearms that I would shoot and I'm happy where the "collection" stands now.

For the reasons mentioned by the OP and my own, I switched to collecting knives and now stand in the same position with them as I did w/guns. I have too many of them, having collected over 330 knives in just 2 short years. As with guns, I'm also in the same position of considering selling off the bulk of the collection -- mostly cheaper Kershaws and CRKTs that I acquired when I 1st started. I really don't care how much I get for them, I just don't need them and would prefer that they be gone. Will probably act on that shortly.

Now that I have more knives that I could possibly need/use, my attention has now switched to building a collection of scotch and bourbon whiskeys and have increased my collection of those from just a few select bottles (around 6 scotch and 4 bourbon) to a premium collection of 32 bottles of scotch and 20 bottles of bourbon in just a few months and I'm not done yet (at least as far as the scotch -- my preferred hard liquor -- is concerned).

Being an inveterate collector of "things" (I also own a large collection of artwork and art objects, high end audio equipment - I have 3 setups, 1600 jazz LPs and my 4 sports cars -- other then my SUV and truck -- plus all of the weight lifting gear in my garage and Cross fit equipment in my backyard and the spin bike and rower in my house) once I'm done w/collecting booze, I'll find something else to spend my $ on.

BTW, that's not to mention the baseball card and memorabilia collection that I accumulated in the 80's that I valued at about $50k but sold to a dealer in a single lot for $25k not too long ago.

The "fun" to a collector like me is in "hunt" in trying to find things to add to your collection.

The further along you get, the more difficult it is to find the things you want/need to fill out the collection. The $ actually doesn't matter as much. At least not to me.

LOL! ;)
 
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I’d love to get a few more guns. However, the price and availability of ammo is preventing that.
 
I don't have much to contribute to this conversation, but here are 2 recent purchases

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sgt1372 said:
I "collected" firearms (mainly handguns) for many years during the 80's and 90's.

Owned around 50 many rare and unusual handguns but it got to the point that I thought it was stupid to own so many guns that I didn't actually shoot. So, I sold off almost the entire collection at wholesale to a dealer but, even so, I still own over 2 dozen firearms -- around 12 handguns, 6 rifles and 6 shotguns. Still have too many firearms at that but they cover the range of firearms that I would shoot and I'm happy where the "collection" stands now.

For the reasons mentioned by the OP and my own, I switched to collecting knives and now stand in the same position with them as I did w/guns. I have too many of them, having collected over 330 knives in just 2 short years. As with guns, I'm also in the same position of considering selling off the bulk of the collection -- mostly cheaper Kershaws and CRKTs that I acquired when I 1st started. I really don't care how much I get for them, I just don't need them and would prefer that they be gone. Will probably act on that shortly.

Now that I have more knives that I could possibly need/use, my attention has now switched to building a collection of scotch and bourbon whiskeys and have increased my collection of those from just a few select bottles (around 6 scotch and 4 bourbon) to a premium collection of 32 bottles of scotch and 20 bottles of bourbon in just a few months and I'm not done yet (at least as far as the scotch -- my preferred hard liquor -- is concerned).

Being an inveterate collector of "things" (I also own a large collection of artwork and art objects, high end audio equipment - I have 3 setups, 1600 jazz LPs and my 4 sports cars -- other then my SUV and truck -- plus all of the weight lifting gear in my garage and Cross fit equipment in my backyard and the spin bike and rower in my house) once I'm done w/collecting booze, I'll find something else to spend my $ on.

BTW, that's not to mention the baseball card and memorabilia collection that I accumulated in the 80's that I valued at about $50k but sold to a dealer in a single lot for $25k not too long ago.

The "fun" to a collector like me is in "hunt" in trying to find things to add to your collection.

The further along you get, the more difficult it is to find the things you want/need to fill out the collection. The $ actually doesn't matter as much. At least not to me.

LOL! ;)
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Your like me. The hunt is more fun than the having.

If you decide to part with your Kershaw knives, please let me know. Maybe some of your CRKT also.
 
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