Ever Feel Guilty? ...I do

bleev3

bleev3

Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
241
I'm 40 years old, my living grandfather is 90. He cane from meager beginnings, the depression and WWII. He bought a knife stuck it in his pocket and there it served him for decades.

Me...I buy one knife carry it for a few months and move on to the next. Always wanting more and more...the last knife is never enough. That embarrasses me sometimes when I think about it. I buy the fixation of my desires, drooling all the while...and when tracking it on UPS.com to my door I am already lusting over the next knife. I almost forget about the one on it's way.

Do I need to change my thinking?
 
Bladeforums didnt exist back then...so there was no way to see the lasted and greatest and no way of being tempted by the exchange section:D:D

Dont feel too bad, i cant carry the same knife for more then a month:D
 
I get the same feeling and I often wonder if this is a hobby or obsession type illness. Even now I have two knives enroute but I'm still spending a lit of time looking for other knives to buy. I enjoy it and I don't spend beyond my means but I often wonder if I should be putting more money towards my future than I am now rather than buying knives. It's a tough call. In all reality I could easily get by with one or two knives but I just keep going.
 
bleev3, Don't feel guilty as long as you don't make your family do without because of your love for knives. I am reaching retirement age and I don't know how your grandfather feels about things but it makes me proud when I see my sons and grandsons be able to do something they love. It is a great feeling when you see that your kids have it better than you and you hope that your grand kids will do better than their parents.
 
bleev3 said:
I'm 40 years old, my living grandfather is 90. He cane from meager beginnings, the depression and WWII. He bought a knife stuck it in his pocket and there it served him for decades.

Me...I buy one knife carry it for a few months and move on to the next. Always wanting more and more...the last knife is never enough. That embarrasses me sometimes when I think about it. I buy the fixation of my desires, drooling all the while...and when tracking it on UPS.com to my door I am already lusting over the next knife. I almost forget about the one on it's way.

Do I need to change my thinking?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, an interesting question.
I do think that our society and media urges us to consume more and more - for many people shopping is a goal in itself, and yes, meanwhile I also have a pile of knives. And cds. And books. And more books. And wine. And did I mention books?
More and more I am wondering myself if living with essentials (of really good quality), thus uncluttering your life isn't a way to a more balanced, less materialistic lifestyle. I could see myself reducing my collection (that has only a handful of disappointments; most have character and are nice) to a varied selection of around 15 knives which could last me in essence for ever.
 
Suddenly I feel at home here...

I also research and buy knives and multitools for my husband and 2 teen sons. Its as much fun buying for them as it is for me.
 
bleev3, I sometimes feel the way you describe. Our lives are blessed with so many riches that we often take for granted. I think the important thing is to appreciate the blessings we have, but to never allow our desire for them to supersede our awareness of the importance of caring for one another. (See Sermon on the Mount, Mt. 6:19-24.)

Anyhow, yeah, sometimes I try to keep it down to a dull roar when I feel like I'm getting too into wanting more "stuff" of any kind. But I also feel that enjoyment of the stuff that we have is something that God wants for us. So, since I'm blessed to have enough dough for it, I will often go ahead and buy that new knife, and maybe pass one that I've had for a while on down the road to a young friend or relative - he'll get the same excitement out of the hand-me-down that I once did, the knife maker gets a sale and gets to put bread on his table, and I get something fun to play with. :)

Hope this wasn't too sappy, but your original post seemed to warrant a serious reply - I've felt the same way for a while. I applaud your consideration of such issues.

cheers, erich

PS - welcome, Deb. :)
 
Our economy depends on constant purchasing of things we do not need.
You're doing your patriotic duty! Don't feel guilty.:)
 
Just out of curiousity, have you ever watched movies made in the '40-'50's, where the main characters arrive in a town and live with literally one suitcase of clothing and personal belongings?

People actually did live this way. Three pairs of pants, four shirts, 5 pairs of socks, etc.

One can get by on minimal goods. It is a choice.
 
bleev3 said:
I'm 40 years old, my living grandfather is 90. He cane from meager beginnings, the depression and WWII. He bought a knife stuck it in his pocket and there it served him for decades.

Me...I buy one knife carry it for a few months and move on to the next. Always wanting more and more...the last knife is never enough. That embarrasses me sometimes when I think about it. I buy the fixation of my desires, drooling all the while...and when tracking it on UPS.com to my door I am already lusting over the next knife. I almost forget about the one on it's way.

Do I need to change my thinking?
Click to expand...

I know how you feel and wonder the same about my own habits. The generations before us had hard lives and would probably consider us frivolous children compared to how they had to live. This site does promote excess with many members posting pictures of their collections that are composed of numerous variations of the same model knife. I think this makes our own compulsion seem normal and leads us to buy more of what we probably don't need. If you have gobs of disposable income you can buy whatever you want but if you're like most people this hobby can have an unhealthy effect on your finances. I recently have stopped buying expensive knives and have started collecting more affordable models but I'm even questioning this practice. I'm never really satisfied because there is always the next one to fixate on.
 
Think about this, back then pretty much all pocket knives were the same, there wasn't
much incentive to buy a lot of different ones, knives are much more exciting now.

I know what you're saying though, we have a lot more superfluous stuff then any previous
generation, that's a consumer society for you.
 
I think that you should feel just a teeny bit guilty. I like to keep things in perspective; instead of buying so many more knives, I like to use $ to help people who need it more and deserve it.
 
RussB said:
Think about this, back then pretty much all pocket knives were the same, there wasn't
much incentive to buy a lot of different ones, knives are much more exciting now.
Click to expand...

I think there was less selection because there was less discretionary income to spend.
 
Hi Bleev,

Make sure to appreciate your grandfather's efforts that have given us the opportunity to have this "guilty" lifestyle.

Hi DebofAmber,

Welcome to the Blade forums.

sal
 
To keep from feeling guilty I trade... A LOT. This has allowed me to enjoy knives that I don't have the cash for, but do have the trading stock.
 
bleev3 said:
I'm 40 years old, my living grandfather is 90. He cane from meager beginnings, the depression and WWII. He bought a knife stuck it in his pocket and there it served him for decades.
Click to expand...

So maybe he just wasn't a knife hobbyist. If he was a knife hobbyist, he probably would have done what you (we) do.
 
Before I started looking over BF, I got by with china made knives on my farm and a cheap Philippine made balisong. Now I have the sickness. I have 3 knives and a guided sharpening kit coming and I'm already planning for my next one. Oh and I'm trying to negotiate for another in the knife exchange. I have little patience now with my shooting friends whom I used to spend all my spare time with because they don't talk about knives. I am only happy when a new knife comes.
 
bleev3 said:
I'm 40 years old, my living grandfather is 90. He cane from meager beginnings, the depression and WWII. He bought a knife stuck it in his pocket and there it served him for decades.

Me...I buy one knife carry it for a few months and move on to the next. Always wanting more and more...the last knife is never enough. That embarrasses me sometimes when I think about it. I buy the fixation of my desires, drooling all the while...and when tracking it on UPS.com to my door I am already lusting over the next knife. I almost forget about the one on it's way.

Do I need to change my thinking?
Click to expand...
your pretty much the same as me. We are men, we like toys. The older you get the cooler and more expensive the toys get:D
 
Working like a dog your entire life, then dying, seems like a complete waste. We were put on this Earth to live and love... love and protect your family, be kind to your fellow man, contribute to the betterment of society. And, have a hobby that you enjoy that doesn't conflict with why we are here. So many people bleed away their time and money on behaviors that harm themselves and those around them. I think folks on this forum understand these basic guidelines.
 
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