Do you guys use your most expensive knives?

jill jackson said:
I use only some of my knives, period. Because I've just got too many and a few is all I need to use. Yes, I know no use to have it and not use it. But, I enjoy owning a lot of different models and if I bought everything to use, I simply wouldn't buy over 10 or so.
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This is pretty much the way I feel about buying knives.
I have a couple of dozen knives eligible for my current 6 knife edc rotation. These range in price from 60.00 to 200.00. My limited editions or more expensive knives I m saving for a special occasion!!
Like my William Henry given to me by my wife on a very special occasion. I carried that at my daughter s wedding. I haven t carried it since. I like to look at my high priced or limited edition/discontinued knives, but I don t want to put them to work and risk damaging them. Does this make me a collector? I dont consider myself that. I just like knives.
 
Most of my knives are in the $125-$225 range. My most expensive was a ZT 0560CBCF (~$400) until recently when I bought the last SMF in S110V since I've been wanting one for a couple years, and this would likely be my last chance. I use both, so far no hard use or anything, but the ZT does have some patina from a rather acidic fruit I was cutting in the garden. Personally, I find it hard to spend gun level money on a knife when there are still a few guns on my list to buy near that price range.
 
My most expensive folder is a Les george VECP V3 that I used a bunch and then used to cut my 3rd child's umbilical cord! Its been resting in its case in my knife drawer for a while now. Not because I want to baby it, but because ever since I bought a Spyderco Military, I havent really used any of my other knives. The only knives that are intentionally not used are duplicates of my favorite sprint/exclusives. I keep one that I use the crap out of and then one that remains mint as a backup in the unfortunate case that the user gets broken, lost or stolen.

At one point I had a large collection of folders, fixed blades and tomahawks. One day I looked at my collection and realized that I had many knives that cost as much as guns and that I had a ton of money tied up in them and the vast majority were only ever opened to inspect and then stored safely away. I decided to liquidate my collection and put the money toward some things I would use more. I shrunk the collection down to the knives that I realy liked the best. This forced me to use them more. Suddenly I really appreciated them. After that it was even easier to sell more. I have about 6 models of knives that I EDC and a handful of fixed blades. I do have a bunch of neck knives that dont see much action just because they never were bought when I listed them.
 
My most expensive knife is a one-off fixed blade designed my Dylan Farnham and myself. It is an integral fixed blade with a retention ring. Copper plated 0-1 Tool Steel. Looks like a sculpture. A piece of this quality, he quotes at 1200.00

I use it for everything, from the field to kitchen. It's what it was built for.
 
The most expensive knife I use is a BG-42 Sebenza. I have other more expensive Sebenzas I would never use and just look at.

I also have an old Spyderco Military 440V I don't use and a Microtech OTF I never use. Otherwise knives under $400 get used. Those below $200 get used hard.

I also have a small collection of GEC knives I never use or carry. Just collect. They are not expensive but because they are not stainless I never pocket them.
 
I don't have any really expensive knives. The most expensive one I have is my Spyderco Sage 5 that I got last week and it has been in my pocket ever since. I am not a hard user, in fact I don't understand people that say they abuse their knives. A knife is a cutting tool and that's what I use it for. If I have to cut something that I think is more than my knife is capable of cutting then I either get a bigger knife or another tool that is better suited for the job. Using too much force can damage/break your blade or worst case can cause you to lose control and cut yourself. So, yes, if I have to cut something I use whatever knife I have in my pocket if it's capable to do the job.
 
I have a few that are safe queens so far; an El Diablo fighter by Harvey Dean, a chute knife by Steve Voorhis, and a short working bowie by J. Neilson. The best feeling knife I have is the Seki SOG recon bowie, so I got a Taiwan version and keep the Seki version in the safe, and have not used it yet. I had thought that passing IMG_0967.jpg IMG_1033 (1).jpg down to son and or grandsons would be a fun thing to do with them, yet am thinking that they might enjoy them more one day if I had used them myself. So...., and reading these comments on the thread is making my knife hand mighty twitchy.
 
I use every knife I have including the real expensive ones, I do however only use them for what they are intended for, I don'the abuse any of them even the real cheap ones.... if you need to pry something, use a pry bar, if you need a screwdriver use a screwdriver, if you need to cut something be mindful of what you are cutting on. Most importantly when done clean your knife...... but if we are being totally honest my tactical knivessels don'the see much "high speed low drag" use.. actually to be even more truthful my knifes live quite a boring life...... when hunting I use a dedicated hunting knife.. my etc chores mainly consist of opening boxes and cutting the occasional zip tie... if doing construction I mostly use a utility razorblade instead of my edc zt knife...
 
Funny the way things happen, my most expensive knife a custom Nealy Aikuchi has been edc'd for 30+ years but sittin' on the shelf is a cheap hardware store Forest Master by Colonial that new probably cost $5 and even today bein' nearly 60 years old is worth no more than maybe 5 or 6 times the original price.

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I buy knives to carry and use them. I'm more gentle on some than others, though. I recently got my first Sebenza and expected to baby it, but once it was in my hand it just begged to be worked hard.

The one real exception is flying. If I break a nice knife using it hard, I can deal with it, but I'd be pretty mad if one were lost to an airline mistake or stolen out of my luggage.
 
I use some more than others but they all get pocket time. The "expensive" ones only get light use, but I still use them. Most of the time I carry 2 knives- 1 hard user and 1 nicer folder.

My current EDC has been my Sharknivco M11 and I beat it up pretty good but I love it.

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Due to interesting circumstances I had to put my custom Farnham-made (as mentioned earlier) through car windows. Auto glass is harrrd. Edge got dinged up pretty good and a millimeter of the tip broke off. I'm lucky that I don't mind using my tools. Hesitation could've screwed things up bad.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
I use all of mine, but I don't think there's anything wrong with collecting for the sake of collecting. It's not the way my tastes run, but there are many here that seem to look down on it and I honestly don't know why.
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I am a collector. Being retired, not particularly handy, or an outdoorsman, I don't really have many occasions in my daily life where I need to use my knives. I carry my less expensive knives. They get whatever small tasks I have done and I don't have to be concerned about messing up or losing my higher end pieces.
Insipid Moniker said:
I use all of mine, but I don't think there's anything wrong with collecting for the sake of collecting. It's not the way my tastes run, but there are many here that seem to look down on it and I honestly don't know why.
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I don't really "use" many of my knives at all. I work in an office, so weeks will go by where I am carrying a knife and it doesn't leave my pocket all day, so I DO carry some of my expensive knives without any hesitation. About the only "hard use" I have for a knife is when camping, and when I go camping, I carry a Cold Steel Recon 1 in XHP that I picked up for $65, and all of my expensive knives stay home.

Plenty of my most expensive knives do absolutely nothing better than knives costing much less, but I don't care, not even a little bit. Owning them makes me happy, and that's worth it for me.
 
My sub 1k knives, I use without thought. My >1k knives, I tend to baby and not really carry or use too much. As I get older, I think this is evolving as I care less about the money.
 
In general, yes. If a knife is so expensive that I would be reluctant to carry it, I just don't buy it to start with. This is part of why I don't have any knives in the Shiro/Grimsmo price range. My limit seems to be around $500 (nice Sebenza territory).

Caveat: I tend not to use my knives, especially my nicer knives, very hard: I am an office worker, and, also, I have a Leatherman and some Cold Steels that I consider "disposable", for cutting things I think would wreck a nice knife. I generally don't use knives as prybars, axes, chisels, or screwdrivers.

Second caveat: there are some knives I don't use not because they're too expensive but because they don't work for me in some way, or because they're duplicates. I have an Allen Elishewitz Phantom -- beautiful knife, incredibly smooth action -- but it doesn't have a pocket clip and so I don't carry it. I have a Spyderco Meerkat that's never been in my pocket -- I ended up with two and the other one was already scuffed, so I keep one pristine -- but if I lose my "user" Meerkat then the other one will go into rotation.
 
Here is one that I have not used and probably won't. Just took this snap shot. It's a Northwoods Madison Barlow with elephant ivory scales.
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I carry one of my 4 XM-18s everyday only modern folders I have besides a ZT 0561. I use them at any opportunity and love doing it. I do have a couple tradionals that I carry but I’m cautious with them or hardly use them bc they’re not easily replaced
 
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