Collecting vs using (case,gec,queen etc)

I use em all, apart from a few old ones that were passed down to me. If I haven't used one in a year, I send it to someone who I think will use it. :)
 
Do any of you use the knives you "collect" or do you collect for monetary reasons?(flipping)

I've been wrestling with myself for a bit on wether to collect the knives for keeping/heirlooms or collect and use them in an EDC rotation.

What say you oh great blade forum collectors and users?
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If I 'need' a knife to use, I buy one specifically for that purpose and keep it separate from the collection; I do not save, Accumulate, or Collect used knives. :thumbup:

I have five User knives, which is more than enough to last a lifetime if properly cared for.
There are over 500 knives in my Accumulation/Collection, and there is always room for a few more. :)
 
I own a lot of knives, nearly all have been selected based on their suitability for using, but many will probably never be used. I buy both new and used (used ones only in excellent condition). I have a couple of dozen that get carried in a (sort of) regular rotation, another dozen or so that get used occasionally - whatever strikes my fancy at a given time. I give away a fair number of the new ones, occasionally a used one. I might or might not ever use all the new ones. It really doesn't matter to me, I enjoy owning them all. OH
 
All of my knives get used and are bought to be used. I imagine that I could get a descent return on many of them if I decided to sell; a good return, not profit. I have neither the knowledge nor the money to invest in "collector" pieces that I could potentially make profit in selling them. You bring up heirlooms. My "collection" will likely be passed down to family. I think they would appreciate heirloom gifts that they had some memory of me using instead of finding a spotless, unused knife in a dresser drawer.
 
I'm not a collector by definition. I'll buy a knife that I think I'll like and see where it goes. Some make it into my EDC rotation, some get sold off and some I keep because they're just cool.
Example....I traded another forum member for a Queen Mountain Man. I'll probably never carry it but it's one I'll keep because I like the design. Same with the Canal Street Cutlery Half Moon Trapper (reclaimed chestnut). Love the knife but I'll never carry it.
I bought a GEC 57 Half Whittler that I carry almost every day. Other EDC's are Case Sway Back Gent, GEC 55 Wharncliffe, GEC Pemberton, Case Mini Trapper.
I had about 4 or 5 GEC 25 Little Jacks. I sold all but one to finance other buys.
To me, a collector is one who specializes in a particular brand or pattern or color or era....etc...etc.
 
Wow, I wasn't exactly expecting the "user" crowd to come out in droves.

However, it does show me as a newer person to knives that buying knives that I like for one specific reason or another and then actually using them because I enjoy them, makes a whole lot more sense rather than buying to "collect"

I can appreciate the using of the knives,just as much as the view of accumulating rather than "collecting"

My issue is that I have been looking at gec and their northfield line...and I like a lot of those styles. A touch more expensive than case but we'll worth it I'm sure.

It's said that the Great Eastern cutlery is today what case was in the 60s and 70s....
How much is that hype and how much is that truth?
From tidoute to northfield?
 
I buy a lot of knives to keep mint - that's my choice - and I believe it helps keeping the Traditionals alive in the long run, I enjoy getting them out, looking at them, collecting their other models if possible, I also buy very nice knives and use them.

I just will not buy a 1 out of 1 or 1 out of 2 knife and use it!

In saying this I find it frustrating - but I am still looking at purchasing a lot more with the view of collecting, meanwhile ..... I am getting braver and using some very precious knives very carefully!
I usually have 5 0r 6 knives in my EDC rotation at a time, after a month to 6 weeks, I get out my knives and go through and peruse through them picking out certain knives for certain days/jobs in my next rotation of EDC's.
 
Awesome Duncan.....I remember not too long ago,i was giving you a hard time because you DIDNT edc....How times have changed.............FES
 
I consider myself an accumulator. I buy all kinds of knives new and old. I can't carry and use them all but I would. I carry a few of my favorites that work best for EDC. The rest are around if I decide to carry them eventually. Only a few are safe queens. Not necessarily for future profit but as future knives to pass down or be inherited after I am gone. If they bring a profit to my son/grandson so be it.
 
I don't use knives I own just for the sake of using them. I have NEVER bought a knife to sell later. I have NEVER bought a knife I didn't think I would actually use. What happens is either I get one and its way too nice that I don't want to muck It up (seeing as how I have easily over 30 user knives) I don't really NEED to use that pretty new knife. Sometimes I can't resist a knife and then I CAN resist using it.

Most times I buy a knife I go, "oh yeah this is the one..."

Kevin

Btw, I have nothing against collectors. I would have a museum of knives in glass displays if I could afford to rationally do it.
 
Whereas a painting, by nature, is created to be viewed...a knife, by nature, is created to cut things (beyond paper). To me, paying a lot of money for a knife that sits in a safe or in a display case (unless it is done solely for monetary gain in time) is akin to shelling out for a really nice vacation home, then never visiting the place. "Yup...Vern sho did have himself a lot of cool knives when he died...it's just too durned bad he never used a one of 'em!"
 
I read through this thread with interest and it seems to me we are all much the same ie we have more knives than we actually need but we tend to rotate them,i know i do but then i got to thinking,i have a few coffee cans with a bunch of knives that for one reason or another i wll probably never use but i can not bring myself to throw them out , i guess a lot of us have a "collection" like this and once i figure out how to post pictures (nearly there) i wil post pictures...
 
I would never question another person for their buying a knife (or any other tool) as a collectible or as a user item. In my eyes, the material things you buy are to satisfy your needs or wants. If it makes you happy, and nobody is being hurt by your choice, then all is good. I have read comments, here and elsewhere, where folks try to validate their own choices, while trying to invalidate others choices on collecting or using... I won't be one to do that. As for my own ownership of Traditional Pocket Knives, they are a hobby in collecting for me, and I use this collection as display items in my home (I love the extra flair it adds to my interior decor).
 
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My name is a GronK and I suffer from GAS, Gear Acquisition Syndrome. When I obsessed on guitars I bought many pawn shop prizes to rebuild. When I obsessed on watches I bought many on the used market, getting up to the Tag/Omega level before having to stop. When I obsessed on knives I bought dozens, watching for sales on line. In all cases I wanted to own varieties to determine what I liked best. When my situation demanded I sell all my toys, watches resold for about 75% of what I paid, guitars were mostly sold cheap to talented relatives at 1/2 of what I paid for them but my knives sold for right at what I had in them. Sooo I'm an accumulator who flips when necessary.
 
User here as well. I can stand back and look at a well worn in knife and enjoy it just as much if not more than a brand new show piece. If they aren't getting used, they are getting moved on to someone else.
 
I once heard the phrase " you are a man of many knives "!
Too many to use them all on a regular basis truth be told ...All of my knives except for a very few are subject to the possibility of being carried and used. But, there is a few that see regular rotation, and fewer still that I would call constant companions.
Most were gotten because something about them struck my fancy for whatever reason, resale never ever came into the equation. When I do downsize my collection, the ones that wound up being daily users will never leave, and the ones that get sold vs gifted will not be for profit, but to pass them on into the future, whatever that may be for them. I enjoy checking out the different patterns, materials, and craftsmanship inherent to each knife.
 
There is no way I could use all the jackknives that I have right now! :eek:
And I certainly don't intend to stop accumulating. ;)


Dave
 
I don't mean to collect and I never really have. But I do end up with a collection of knives because I like knives. They're all meant to be users but many don't really get carried because at times I've gone a little purchase crazy and bought things I liked. I still like them so I don't sell them. They're all potential carry knives. It's just getting around to it.
 
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