Collecting vs using (case,gec,queen etc)

Interesting, I guess I may be the only collector to really admit it.....ha. I had an outdoor job. A knife spoke of who you were. I would carry a small folder in my watch pocket and larger lock blade folder in a belt sheath. Carried a large Old Timer lockblade then a Buck 112. Carried a Buck 303 in the watch pocket clear back to high school. Well, I was "forced" to learn to work a computer about the time Ebay started and I used that to fix up myself a locking 2 x 3 wall display for my office. I filled that up with 23 Buck pocketknives over a pretty short time, one day I discovered the Buck Knife Collectors Club and joined up. I guess on that day I became a collector. The early days of Ebay were much more fertile than present days and my collection grew to a point I began organization of a knife show "display". And so it went. I have dozen TL-29s on my wall now. And EDC something out of the cigar box on my dresser every day. Also have half a dozen 'just' game knives of several kinds. I have a good enough collection that it is worth showing without hanging your head but not so big (or fancy) that the whole thing fits on one table and can be carried in the trunk of the car. Seldom find one I get anymore and continue to look for two that either don't really exist or are really rare and one that I am not willing to pay the horrible price to own. I actually may go two or three weeks and never look at Ebay....ha

That's how 300Bucks got going. Did photo stuff from high school paper thru college and on to knives. 300
 
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Like my other obsess...err, 'hobbies' :D, I tend to go overboard and end up realistically with more than I need. Zippos, watches and knives, I really only need one of each, yet I have a nice collection of each. The Zippos have gone into display cases with a couple of exceptions that get used daily. Watches and knives on the other hand are in some kind of rotation, and I use them all. Some knives may not see pocket time for awhile, but they all do get carried and enjoyed as useful tools.


Z
 
Those who state that they are users only, are also collectors, just more active....:D

I regard myself as a 'minder' of knives. None of my family has any interest in knives so when I'm dead they will get dispersed to other users/collectors/minders. Hopefully to those who can get something out of them. I understand the motive for keeping special knives mint, or buying two, using one stowing the other. We can then pass on some knife history to the next generation of connoisseurs. Just look at the Old Knives thread for example, there you find old used knives, remarkable in their beauty and by contrast unused examples which give us a fascinating glimpse of knives as they left the bench more than a century ago. Nobody can say which is 'better', they are just integral aspects of the cutlery picture. So, both use and collect knives as the end result is all good. I can't regard knives as an 'investment' far too poor results there, and who knows what will be in vogue in 30 years time? The old mint knives that today command a pretty penny could lose a lot of value due to whims trends etc. it doesn't interest me either. The knives DO.

I've got a reasonably large number of knives, more than I could possibly use :D but I enjoy the variety and options I am fortunate enough to have. I don't really understand the threads that set out to restrict carry to only one knife for x number of months etc. It's like eating the same food, possible but not actually rewarding. Some knives I get hold of are just not my thing, I can see them as well made and decent examples but I'll put them aside and wait until I can trade them with somebody else or give them away, itself a pleasant experience. Others get used for a while, 'rested' and then returned to, it's almost like meeting an old friend again! For me, these are the fruits of using, keeping, collecting or 'minding' knives. Plus, knowing there are like minded people out there who share my enthusiasm.

Thanks, Will
 
For me I would say, yes. I use, collect, accumulate, and occasionally buy just to flip.

It depends on the knife, I bought a yellow CV peanut, to use. An amber bone Texas jack CV to use.

A near mint XX era red bone barehead jack I bought to collect. To me it would be a pity to get a patina or crack on a knife like that which has stood the test of time. Eventually I may get bored of it and pass it on for either my money back, a small profit, or most likely a trade for either another collectable, or user, or several users.

Yesterday for the first time I bought knives which I pretty much bought solely to flip. I came across two 2008 Northfield #25 barlow's, basically mint, serialized, one in horn, one in tan bone. Antique mall find.

At the last show I went to there were no GEC's, Gec's are generally out of the range of what I pay, but I know I can use these to get me something else, or at worst get my money back or possibly hopefully make a small profit. In truth these weren't really affordable to me, which is part of why I know they won't be with me long.

I figure in a way it's not that different than something else I've done before, bought flea market knives that I sorta liked, or though I would like more than I did, cheap, cleaned them up and then traded them off at knife shows for something better. That's how I was able to get the XX Era knife, something I wouldn't have paid cash for, partly because I know I wouldn't use it. ;)
 
Well.....I'm like Griff. I got into razors and had ten or fifteen straights in various states of repair, and a whole bunch single and double edge razors. I sold off pretty much everything and have one of each now.

I love going to the watch forum that Griff moderates, but I post very rarely. If you guys think that knives are expensive! Even the affordable watch section over there is full of watches worth a custom knife. Different world. I enjoy looking, but don't partake, for obviously economic reasons. Lol.

When I got into knives I accumulated for quite a while. Then I started giving them all away. The only knives I have now are those with sentimental value. Several were gifts from members here, and I cherish them. I don't usually carry them everyday, but the Opinel from Carl is in my medic bag. Father Andi gifted me a otter and an OTA Werk knife from East Germany. I never carry the OTA outside of the house, as it is too valuable to me. The others are sentimental knives too. All except the pony jack I bought and now don't carry. Long story, it's all in the forum if anyone wants to search.

I carry a GEC tcb exclusively. So, I don't know what you call me. I love knives, but because the connection to people I care about. Other than that, well I don't know.
 
I have many more knives than I use these days, but they all started out as users. Some are set aside for the grandchildren, some wore out and others, well sometimes you buy a knife that you thought you would like and just didn't end up using it much.
 
All my knives are users, that being said I have 5 or 6 that end up in the "rotation" and get used more than the others, but sooner or later they all get used.
 
I tend to collect a few different patterns while I have chosen to designate a pattern or two as users. Right now the GEC boys knife is my go to EDC and there are two in my rotation, while Barlows and whittlers stay in my collection new or old.
 
oldmanrunning said:
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 an
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d once i figure out how to post pictures (nearly there) i wil post pictures...
Click to expand...
 
I only have a few that I bought with the intention of "collecting" but the rest I bought to join my rotation. The problem is I'm getting enough to where sometimes they might sit for a couple weeks before they get to spend a day in my pocket. I'm starting to get my favorites figured out and once I find the patterns that just really aren't appealing to me anymore they will end up on the exchange I'm sure or in a friends pocket.
 
I like these Collecting vs Using threads.
I have yet to see the tipping point talked about, where so knives are a workable EDC rotation and where X number of knives are too many to carry, becoming a collection. The unintended consequences of the knife hobby if you will.

IMHO 10 to 30 knives is easy to manage as a EDC rotation, beyond that becomes a collection.
 
We all like knives,but collectors see knives for historical (delving a little deeper,researching)and investment reasons.

It's kinda like music,I like a little of all and listen to it all the time,but I can't hardly chord a guitar,don't know the history of Bach and really not interested. I'm a music user,but I collect knives,and appreciate both.
 
Other than my grandfather's old hunting knife, I don't have any of my knives set aside from use.

This said, I have a lot that I have no intention of using but I'm still holding onto. I would guess that number is well under 10 knives. They interest me in some way, weren't too expensive and they make me happy to behold. I still think of myself as sub collector. They were more like failed user experiments. But, I'm not getting rid of them so I can't say all my knives are users. Not really.
 
I usually buy new knives. When I buy a new knife, it's almost always because I just want it, not because I need it for any particular purpose. Once I have a new knife, I start using it. I cannot resist using a fine tool...it feels almost unreasonable to not use something designed for a purpose. So I don't think of myself as a collector although I have collected a few over the years. There are knives I own that I no longer use simply because they have increased in value/price so much over the years I could not replace it if I broke it or lost it. I pretty much keep knives forever unless I lose one or decide to give one away. I never consider knives for their resale value or as an investment.
 
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