Do you ever buy a knife with the sole purpose of it being a safe queen?

In the literal sense of the phrase "safe queen"? No. All my knives will get pocket time. Now, early in my serious knife collecting I bought knives with no intention of use (I collected Seki made SOG knives). After a while I decided that was not what I wanted out of this hobby and liquidated my collection. I decided that I would only buy knives that I would actually use.

Now, as of recent I have been buying automatics, a type of knife I can't carry. It is no coincidence that this coincides with staying at home more because of the current pandemic. If I'm not leaving the house, why not get into knives I can't carry out of the house anyway, right? I do still use these knives around the house and yard, save for this Benchmade Autocrat, as I want to keep the blade clean as I love the look, but I do still carry it and fire it around the house (pics below).

So no, I don't buy knives to only put in the safe but I don't begrudge those that do. I think there are many ways to enjoy this great hobby, collecting safe queens can be one of them.

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Yes. I enjoy looking for new knives that I don't have, and toying with the idea of buying them. This is where the fun starts. The next step is actually making the decision to complete the purchase. I also enjoy tracking the shipment and waiting for the delivery day and the sound of the mail truck pulling up to the mail box. Then comes the long stroll down the driveway to retrieve the package and bringing it into the house. I only use beaters to unbox the new knives to protect the safe queens (which are out of reach in the safe, they don't do well in sunlight). Next to select the inspection room, a critical decision. I spend a long amount of time going over the new member of the team with a fine-tooth comb, looking for the slightest flaw or perceived imperfection. Sometimes I agonize for days deciding if I should keep it or return it due to some minute flaw. When it finally passes muster, I might take it for a walk in the woods. Or other times it lingers on the "fondling table" waiting for a final decision. After a period of soul-searching, it either goes into rotation with the herd or gets remanded to the safe with my stable of queens. Strange but true!
 
johnnywizzo said:
Yes. I enjoy looking for new knives that I don't have, and toying with the idea of buying them. This is where the fun starts. The next step is actually making the decision to complete the purchase. I also enjoy tracking the shipment and waiting for the delivery day and the sound of the mail truck pulling up to the mail box. Then comes the long stroll down the driveway to retrieve the package and bringing it into the house. I only use beaters to unbox the new knives to protect the safe queens (which are out of reach in the safe, they don't do well in sunlight). Next to select the inspection room, a critical decision. I spend a long amount of time going over the new member of the team with a fine-tooth comb, looking for the slightest flaw or perceived imperfection. Sometimes I agonize for days deciding if I should keep it or return it due to some minute flaw. When it finally passes muster, I might take it for a walk in the woods. Or other times it lingers on the "fondling table" waiting for a final decision. After a period of soul-searching, it either goes into rotation with the herd or gets remanded to the safe with my stable of queens. Strange but true!
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Fondling Table made me LOL and I am stealing the term, thank you very much.

My coffee (Fondling) table has 13 knives on it, as I just counted. :thumbsup:
 
JamesAndr said:
If you think before buying a kniew that you aren't going to use it, then why do you buy it? To get covered in dust? Knives are bought to be used. Everytime when I buy a new knife, I can't wait to get back home and use it as much as possible.
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This is like asking why buy a Rembrandt?

Some Knives are elevated to a different level. Either historic sentimental rare or art. These are the ones that don’t get used.

If Knives were art:

some are coloring books meant to be used up modified trashed etc.

Some are macaroni art from preschool.

Some are beautiful mass produced prints for the masses to enjoy.

Some are masterpieces that belong in museums.

Some are cave drawings.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not all art is enjoyed by everyone. But all is special to someone.

Each knife collection is its own museum. With different wings. The fine art wing, the military wing, the sentimental wing, the tool room.
 
JamesAndr said:
If you think before buying a kniew that you aren't going to use it, then why do you buy it? To get covered in dust? Knives are bought to be used. Everytime when I buy a new knife, I can't wait to get back home and use it as much as possible.
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If you're a member of this forum there's about a 99.9% chance you own more knives than you will ever need, so turn that question into, "If you don't need it why do you buy it?" and apply it to your own purchases. If you're honest, you're gonna come back to want as the motivating factor pretty quickly. I get a thrill out of using new knives and seeing how they cut, so I buy mine with the intention of use, but if others enjoy the pride in ownership and acquisition more than use that's no less practical than me owning 35 knives that are entirely redundant.
 
JamesAndr said:
If you think before buying a kniew that you aren't going to use it, then why do you buy it? To get covered in dust? Knives are bought to be used. Everytime when I buy a new knife, I can't wait to get back home and use it as much as possible.
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Why? Why not? Knives can be bought for any number of reasons. Expand your mind.
 
Yes, I have one - Halo V. I don’t need it, it’s not aloud to carry in my area, I don’t have any idea what to use it for... But it’s so fun knife that I had to own one
 
Never have, and probably never will. I do have a few that pretty much never leave the house, but that's because they are unsuitable for the things I need a knife for at work and such...

But if I won the lottery, or a long lost uncle suddenly decided to make me the sole heir of his vast fortune, I might pick up some absolute grails that would never be seen by other eyes than my own.
 
JamesAndr said:
If you think before buying a kniew that you aren't going to use it, then why do you buy it? To get covered in dust? Knives are bought to be used. Everytime when I buy a new knife, I can't wait to get back home and use it as much as possible.
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Why does anyone collect the things they do? Believe me, I wish I had more need to use my knives, but just doesn't come up much living in a suburb.
 
I don't do it on purpose, but it happens. I carry everything I get but the usage might vary. The knives I keep nice are kinda weird because there's nothing all that special about them. For instance, I have a Case trapper in rosewood that was sent back to Case for their normal issues. It had bad centering, blade play, bad grinds, etc.. Anyway, when it came back it was redone so well it blows some of my GEC's out of the water, so it gets carried, but not used too hard. That's a $45 dollar knife and my one and only Sebenza has been carried everyday and used for everything. So I reckon I think differently about that stuff...
 
Blackf77t said:
You really like fixed blades. Which one out of the hundred do you use?
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Yep...about 90% fixed. I have a CS Trail Master that's designated as a "user" if/when I ever need one, but I EDC a CS Grik folder.
 
BloodyDonnie said:
Do you ever buy a knife with the sole purpose of it being a safe queen?
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Unless you are a lightweight, you should have dozens and dozens of knives, multitools, and SAKs in your special reserve collection. Who knows when the next knife shortage might hit. And you don't even want to know about my ammo and Maxpedition bag hoard.

These are all unopened shelf queens.

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And I have 400 rolls of toilet paper, but I guess that's for another thread.
 
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No, but I do have one particular knife that for sentimental reasons I’m having trouble bringing myself to carry. My wife ordered a Mini CR from the custom shop, blacked out, S90V steel, with our initials on the blade, so it sits in the box in my top dresser drawer. She put a lot of time researching the knife and steel choices before ordering, and with our initials on it I’m afraid I’d booger them up thru daily use.
 
I only recently found this in the safe, forgot I even had it. I believe something came up right after it came in the mail and when I got home it went forgotten.
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One reason I don't sell knives is that many buyers expect LNIB to the norm.
 
powernoodle said:
Unless you are a lightweight, you should have dozens and dozens of knives, multitools, and SAKs in your special reserve collection. Who knows when the next knife shortage might hit. And you don't even want to know about my ammo and Maxpedition bag hoard.

These are all unopened shelf queens.

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cXKvVzk.jpg

BwshmzH.jpg

JIqYQlt.jpg

gMhMlGL.jpg


And I have 400 rolls of toilet paper, but I guess that's for another thread.
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So I guess trading you toilet paper for knives it out of the question?
 
Just counted 108 folders.....20 years of buying, trading, etc. and still ongoing. Some are more expensive than I like to admit or recall. But to the point: there's not a safe queen in the bunch. Might as well use/carry them - you can't take 'em with you.
 
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Frailer said:
I collect knives, and I buy what I like. How am I supposed to use *all* of them?
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This sums it up perfectly for me :thumbsup: Even the customs I own all have modest materials, so I'm not hesitant to carry or use them. Was just carrying a ZT 0777 yesterday and chipped the blade :eek:
 
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