"Collector Crazy"

I

intelranger

Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
6
My first post in 3-4 years of bladeforums. I love knives and I love money, so I have the same delima ya'll all got. But I never resale my knives. When I receive a new knife:
Step I: Remove from package
Step II: Un-sheath and OHHHH and AHHHH
Step III: Stab a coke can and make all that pretty **** go away, sharpen the blade correctly and modify if needed.

So the question is, are we to respect the knife for it's monetary value or it's value as a tool?

I'm losing perspective???
 
I can only speak for me, but part of the pleasurre of owning a knife is using it. The mostt expensive knife I own is an Ed Fowler "Pronghorn". It took me three years to get it, and I told Ed before I got it that I wasn't the outdoor type and would never give it the real work it was designed for. Ed said that was "Okay." Still as soon as I got it home I had to give it a workout on a nice aged maple branch, it cut like a dream. I will never sell this knife, and I wanted to get the "New" off it as soon as possible. Of course I know I could have Ed clean it up if the need ever arose, but that's not the plan.
 
PhilL, it just tickled me that your Fowler knife had
'character marks' on it.
That's what it is all about :D
 
When I first started, I was of the mind that I wanted to keep my knives pristine for if/when I wanted to sell them later. I'm now of the mind that the knife isn't doing me any good if all I do is baby it. Granted I'm not going to throw around my MOP handled knife since cracked/broken scales are a lot different than a scratched blade, but I'm also not going to wear kid gloves when I use it either. If I need to cut something then I cut it, it's as simple as that. Don't get me wrong, I still have knives that I like to keep in mint condition, but my users are exactly that--users. I just needed to mature a little before I learned that.
 
I have a custom Nealy Aikuchi, I bought from him when he first started making full time, I paid $300 + for it back in the 80's,(when $300 was a lot of money to me,(still is))

This knife has been a self defence/back up knife, and it has tons of character, mods made by me, scratches from hard use.

Bottom line is the value comes from the use, and that's where the respect for a quality knife is shown.

Here's a pic of my new, and old Nealy custom:

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What have we here?

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It's just a bowl. You could serve stew from it for dinner tonight, eh?

Yes, it's a bowl alright, a $50,000 Steuben orgasm of glass blowing, crystal cutting, and copperwheel engraving. Most people who one these do not serve stew or anything else from them.

Yes, it's a bowl. It would hold stew just fine. But there is a place where bowls stop being bowls and turn into works of art no longer intended to serve dinner but to beautify the space they occupy and to enhance our lives.


What have we here?

arthur01_dramatic1.jpg


It's just a knife. You could skin your next deer with it, maybe clear those weeds that are taking over the back yard.

Yes, it's a knife alright, a $50,000 Rick Eaton custom orgasm of damascus steel, engraving, and inlay work. Most people who own one don't skin deer or clear weeds with them.

Yes, it's a knife. It's sharp and it will cut just fine. But there's a place where knives stops being knives and turns into art no longer intended for skinning deer or clearing weeds but to beautify the space they occupy and to enhance our lives.
 
Great answer with the bowl. Makes alot of sense, but nobody has mistaken a Battle Mistress for a work of art despite it's beauty and people are keepin' em as collectors and traders.
I have no problem with that it just makes me feel like I'm throwing away money when I use it.
 
Gollnick took away my post! Well, not my post, but the spirit of my post, and he did it much more succinctly and elegantly than I ever could have managed. While I certainly appreciate the beauty of art knives, I doubt I will ever buy one. I prefer functional beauty any day of the week. My Himalayan Imports khukuris were absolutely gorgeous when new, with bright, shiny blades and unmarred handles. Now they all have scratches up and down the blades and I've modified the handles for comfort. They aren't so shiny anymore, but they're sharp and all the more beautiful to me for the work that I know they are capable of performing. The 'collectible' issue is also why I avoid buying numbered knives. I wonder if I am paying for it's value as a functional tool or for the number on the blade. Chances are if I buy it that number will be scraped off while I'm cutting stuff with it, so I look for it's un-numbered cousin and buy it instead.
 
Gollnick,
You're always so damn right!
Makes me sick!;)
Wish I could reason and write like you.
Keep up the good work.
Lenny
 
O.K. Gollnick, you are brillant. And with the utmost respect and curiosity I'm going back to the original question.

Respect the knife for it's monetary value or it's value as a tool?
Fact: Some knives are a work of art.
Fact: All knives have monetary value.
Assumption: All knives are tools.

Wait, that's wrong;
Opinion: Some knives are a work of art.
Opinion: All knives have monetary value.
Fact: All knives are tools.
 
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