Collection and user pieces

I’m with you, raymond454. I have about a half dozen custom folders that will I carry and use. The rest of my collection, about 160 knives, are stored in my safe and looked at from time to time. I display my Barry Wood collection (100+ knives) at Blade Show in Atlanta every year but they don’t get used.
 
barcbsa said:
I’m with you, raymond454. I have about a half dozen custom folders that will I carry and use. The rest of my collection, about 160 knives, are stored in my safe and looked at from time to time. I display my Barry Wood collection (100+ knives) at Blade Show in Atlanta every year but they don’t get used.
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That is pretty cool about the Barry Wood knives. I only knew about him because he made knives for Colt and I collect or have been collecting Colt revolvers for a long time. They are mostly for sale now as I have no serious interest in expanding the collection.
 
I would use any that I really wanted to use, but not use them just to do so. As you said value diminishes considerably with use, and if you already have plenty of users nothing wrong with keeping some unused. A lot has to do with why you bought the knife in the 1st place.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
I know that but unfired means unfired after being purchased ... it used to be they weren't all fired and those that were .. were cleaned unlike todays guns they fire to have a bullet and casing on file for law enforcement ... and they fire and ship them as is ... dirty after test firing.

is just semantics ...
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Symantics? Bullet and case (cartridge CASE - a casing is something sausage is stuffed in) on file for law enforcement is myth.
 
I use them as I need them; and right now, with the little use my knives get, a couples of knives will likely see me though the next 10 lifetimes. o_O

n2s
 
There are the won't own a knife unless I use it group; the buy and may use group which I am part of; and there are the pure collectors. Today, I won't buy a knife that I have no intention of using. But whether or not I actually use it is not a big concern of mine.

On occasion, a knife is mentioned in a thread and somebody asks if I would be willing to sell or trade it. Generally speaking I have zero interest in trading a knife, but if I have no big attachment to a knife and the price is reasonable, I would sell just to make the potential buyer happy he found something for his "collection". To this point in time, I have not listed a knife in the sales forum here.
 
First it is semantics not with a Y ... and this is semantics again ... a case vs cartridge or shell casing ... is two ways to say something ... just as a sausage casing many words have various meanings ... and a myth? ... then why is it that in some states the FFL holders are (or at least were at one time) to send the spent shell casing to law enforcement Maryland and New York I know I don't know what each states laws are ... and why do you feel the need to try to correct something that isn't wrong nor of any importance to the post ...

the post is about whether to use a knife or avoid use to hold it's value ... that was the point of my post ... and just an example ...

but it's kind of silly to argue over a word that doesn't match how you would use it. But it seems some people just want to argue.
 
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raymond454 said:
I never said anything about "investment" value as I have no interest whatsoever in turning a profit. The vast majority of similar and higher value knives that come up for sale on this forum are kept in similar fine condition (handled but not used in a traditional sense). I believe the reason for this is that there is a market for collection knives (those that most people won't use because of their aesthetic appeal). Whether those are made from unobtanium with ferret antler inlays or more traditional materials, they are generally not users. There are better choices IMO. Would one use a $1000+ knife with a mirror finish blade on a construction site? Wouldn't a Cold Steel (or similar) model be a better choice. If you would, then you answered my original question.
No offense meant or taken.
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Thanks for the clarification.
In this case you must mean intrinsic value. I thought you were referring to monetary value.
Doesn't really change anything for me though. I still use all my knives. Yes, I am more likely to carry my 581 Barrage over my custom from Bob Ohlemann when I know I'll be cutting abrasive materials. Though if I'm carrying one of my customs I won't hesitate to use it.
The value of my (high end) knives comes from the experience of working with the makers and building a relationship as well as owning a knife that was made specifically made just for me.
I get much more value out of carrying and using those knives than storing them away and occasionally fondling them.
As always YMMV. Do what you want!
 
I personally find no use in a knife I don’t or won’t carry. If it falls out of the rotation or it’s too rare to carry I get rid of it.

I recently sold my slysz Bowie for this reason and bought a Sebenza.
 
Nothing stays NIB or mint forever, everything gets used, everything comes outta the box or tube eventually.

So I say what I have is basically a collection of users.
 
I'm realizing that this is a sliding scale. I have "collection" knives that I have no intention of using, not because of hopes of the value going up, but merely to keep them in unused condition as a collectible. Which is starting to prove smart in the fact that as I go along, some of my collection knives no longer appeal as they once did, and as many are so well aware, what was once a "one time extravagant purchase" for a $100 knife has become the low end of the scale and higher priced knives becoming if not the norm, at least more easy to convince yourself to buy it. The natural result of this is some knives in the collection get kicked out of the herd for others. If it is in new, unused condition, you stand to take a minimal loss or perhaps break even on the knife in the long run.

And then I have knives that I actually use. There seems to be more and more of those appearing over time as well.... :confused:
 
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