Do you obsess over scratches, dents, knicks etc on your knives?

[Folderguy]

Do you obsess over scratches, little dents, knicks, etc. on your knives? Or do you consider those rather inevitable marks to give character to them?

As for me, I like the character stuff. And like to personalise/customize those I really like. Most of the time, that'll do in their resale value, but unless it's an expensive blade to start with, I'll go for it. At that point, the knife is "mine..." especially if it bites me.

How do you view these things?

 

[ThePharce]

They're tools. They're supposed to be used.

 

[Kyui Su Kim]

Do you obsess over scratches, little dents, knicks, etc. on your knives? Or do you consider those rather inevitable marks to give character to them?

As for me, I like the character stuff. And like to personalize/customize those I really like. Most of the time, that'll do in their resale value, but unless it's an expensive blade to start with, I'll go for it. At that point, the knife is "mine..." especially if it bites me.

How do you view these things?

I would go with the "it gives them character" bit. If there was something that I cant stand though, its rust. Don't know why, maybe its the "decaying" feeling I get when I see it on a blade or what not. Also it does depend on the knife. Such as, my user sebenza has nicks and dings all over, but my customized one is dang near flawless.

 

[Dorito Monk]

I don't care about scratches, dents, nicks, scrapes, etc. on my knives, except on the edges. Some of my knives are so scratched and scraped the blades look like they have some kind of unholy stone-wash finish on them

 

[texas gun person]

As long as the edge is nice... I really don't care how beat up the rest is. However, I enjoy taking care of my knives just as much as I do using them. Some wear is inevitable though.

 

[Easyrider]

I'm not too worried about scratches on a user knife.

 

[Gnarly]

Yeah...but only the first five seconds or so.

~Gnarly

 

[Reeek]

Only until the first love mark

 

[KennyB]

I like knives for their craftsmanship, but at the same time how can you truly appreciate it if you don't just use it?

I think the most sacrilegious example of this is how I use the thumbstuds on my Kulgera as a kind of "guide" for my benchstone--comes in real handy for making sure I'm on the same angle for every stroke.

 

[CarterAZ]

with me it depends on the knife, i have some that i like to keep in good condition and there are some that i bought to be work knives or hard use knives. For the work knives though almost the more scratched and worn the better i like it lol

 

[oxbld]

Nope. I like the looks of a well used knife. I can tell which ones are my favorites to carry by how worn they are. I just wish I had more reasons to use my knives so that they wouldn't stay new looking so long.

 

[THG]

I would go with the "it gives them character" bit.

Same here. The more I beat up my knives, the more I love them.

 

[Kenon Rain]

I like knives for their craftsmanship, but at the same time how can you truly appreciate it if you don't just use it?

I think the most sacrilegious example of this is how I use the thumbstuds on my Kulgera as a kind of "guide" for my benchstone--comes in real handy for making sure I'm on the same angle for every stroke.

ya know.. you could just wrap that thumbstud in electrical tape before you hone that way.. no damage, and you get to use your guide

 

[Slidetechnik]

I used to care, but I realized that if I used my knives it was bound to happen. Now I try to embrace it.

 

[xmtgx]

As long as my edge is good and the knife opens and closes properly IDC what the blade look likes.

 

[Raining]

Not really. And patina is character, too.

 

[RafaelHerschel]

No. I don't like rust, but small stains and scratches don't bother me.

The exceptions: a few knives that I consider perfect designs. I keep them as collectibles. They are not very expensive, so I don’t consider not using them as a waste of money.


Rafael

 

[Jason B.]

Only way to find out if it works is by using it.

Nothing says happy knife like beauty marks

 

[Kaizen1]

I used my XM-18 to slice up a bunch of sandpaper for some kind of school project for my niece. I only hate it when the edge gets messed up. After doing something like cutting up a bunch of sandpaper, I can't wait to get a hair-splitting edge back on it. It irks the hell out of me to know that the knife I have on me isn't sharp.

 

[Knife Outlet]

I have knives that I use and others that I collect. The ones I collect never get used so they don't get scratched. The users are tools - not works of art for me. About the only concession I make is to avoid coated blades because the coatings make the scratches really stand out.