Ever fell out of love with "expensive" knives and sold them all?

U

uofaengr

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Jan 9, 2014
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I went from "I'll never pay that much for a knife" to owning all of those knives, and after experiencing them after a couple years, now realizing lesser expensive knives just do it better in most aspects, particularly cutting and often ergonomics.

Whenever I carry my Benchmades and especially Spydercos, I frequently think I could sell off my expensive ($300+) knives and be very happy. I mean the Delica, for example, does everything I want an EDC knife to do: Cuts like a laser, carries flat, and very ergonomic. I also don't think twice about carrying it down in the pocket with keys and stuff. Over the weekend I picked up another Delica and my first Stretch, both in HAP40, and the Stretch just melts in my hand and cuts amazingly. Also a big fan of the Military and PM2 and know I'll be all over the smaller PM3. I honestly could just be a sub-$150 Spydie guy and be content.

I've got 3 CRKs, a 3" XM-18, and an SnG CC. I really only carry one CRK, and it's the one my wife gave me for my last birthday (obviously a no sell). The others just kind of get played with a little, and when I think about carrying one, with at least a couple of them, it hits me that they don't cut very well or I'm subconsciously thinking about stuff banging into them in my pocket or something. It was like pushing me off a cliff to sell my Umnumzaan and 3.5" XM-18 but felt so much better afterwards. So I'm considering selling the Hinderer and Strider and making a decision on the other CRKs, which aren't really that special to be honest, later.

This isn't really a thread to ask what I should do because I'm not really looking for advice, but was wondering if others out there have went from the "expensive" knife kick back down to the less costly stuff (<$150). Share your experiences. Note everyone's definition of expensive may vary.
 
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Knives for me are a hobby. I like practical, well made affordable knives like Cold Steel, Benchmade, etc, but I also like higher end stuff like CRK. There is room in my world for all of them.
 
Not really. I learned early on that I could cut stuff just fine for my needs with inexpensive knives. I only have 3 knives that I can think of that cost over $100, and of those the most expensive was $130. My delayed buyer's remorse is from having too many pocket knives, not from having overly expensive ones.
 
I'm the same way uofaengr.
I had (expensive to me) a BM 940-1, 484-1, PM2 CF s90v and sold them all. They were nice just never used them. So in place of those I got more "expensive" knives, CKF T90, Sukhoi 2.0, a Southard, a XM18 and moderately expensive BM Ritter m390. Oh and two ZT0562CF's which is my favorite knife.
Out of all these my PM2 black s30v and BM 550 are my most carried (and least expensive) the others I just flick for fun.
 
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Ive been thinking about selling my collection off myself. Just keep a few of my all time favorite fixed and folders. Build a small gun collection with the funds. I kind of gotton out of the 'complete collection' frame of mind and have become much more content with just a couple right now. Im just waiting to see them so i can be sure i wont want to buy them again.
 
Personally, I enjoy carrying and using my plain jane CRK Insingo, as I did my old regular Senenza. I'm not really afraid of scratches, dings or whatnot. It will probably be around longer than me, so IMO I might as well enjoy it while I can. I could worry about scratching it and dinging it, but after I'm gone, who will care if I kept it pristine? Besides, my Insingo cuts great, actually with much better blade geometry than my older Sebenza, and better than many less-expensive knives.

OTOH, I also enjoy my $25 SAKs and EDC them ever day as well. So I enjoy my knives, irrespective of how much they cost.

Jim
 
I carry inexpensive knives (mostly SAKs!) and wonder why I'd carry anything else. Then I get bored after a bit.

Then I carry my inlaid Sebenza and wonder why I'd carry anything else. Then I get bored after a bit.

Cycle through 4 other types of knife. Repeat.

Novelty is a value.
 
Great points, guys. Knives are a hobby of mine too, probably my main hobby right now. However, it's getting harder for me to justify having a $400+ piece sitting around if it's not gonna get carried and especially if it doesn't do its job well. And if the expensive knife gets banged up isn't really my point either, because I won't buy anything I won't use or carry. It's turning out though that I enjoy carrying and using my less expensive stuff because they just work better in all facets.

I hate the feeling of that nice titanium piece that feels great in the hand and looks cool but when it comes time to break down a box, I end up having to tear the box because the knife can't cut. If I were a collector, I'd no doubt have no problem keeping a knife just because it looks cool. There's no wrong way in this hobby. [emoji106]

Enjoying hearing others' experiences, keep em coming.
 
Well, I haven't sold any.... what can I say. The only "expensive" knives I own are fixed blades if you quantify expensive as being over about $200- $250. But my price has been moving upward year by year. Honestly the current crop of $200ish knives are about as expensive as I want to go with folders. I have felt the Sebenza urge, but keeping that under control as I really don't know if I would carry a $400 folder on a regular basis and I am not looking at owning one just to say I own one.
 
I suppose its what your into at that point in time. Who knows maybe you will say "screw it" and just start using more expensive knives for everyday tasks. Life is short right? But cost aside there are may attractive things about the spydercos and benchmades even zt's to me that make me use them more so than a custom piece. Light, good steel, easy returns and fast turn around if theres an issue. Whats the point of carrying something if you wont use it to its full potential? and if it take you carrying a $50 spyderco over a $400 hinderer then carry the spyderco.
 
Nope, I carry and use all my knives unless they are irreplaceable or super limited and the users include several $1000+ knives. Carrying them is my favorite part because you get enjoyment throughout the day with them basically carrying functional artwork. If cutting performance is all you care about a $130 Para 2 is the king but its much more than that for me.
 
uofaengr said:
I went from "I'll never pay that much for a knife" to owning all of those knives, and after experiencing them after a couple years, now realizing lesser expensive knives just do it better in most aspects, particularly cutting and often ergonomics.

Whenever I carry my Benchmades and especially Spydercos, I frequently think I could sell off my expensive ($300+) knives and be very happy. I mean the Delica, for example, does everything I want an EDC knife to do: Cuts like a laser, carries flat, and very ergonomic. I also don't think twice about carrying it down in the pocket with keys and stuff. Over the weekend I picked up another Delica and my first Stretch, both in HAP40, and the Stretch just melts in my hand and cuts amazingly. Also a big fan of the Military and PM2 and know I'll be all over the smaller PM3. I honestly could just be a sub-$150 Spydie guy and be content.

I've got 3 CRKs, a 3" XM-18, and an SnG CC. I really only carry one CRK, and it's the one my wife gave me for my last birthday (obviously a no sell). The others just kind of get played with a little, and when I think about carrying one, with at least a couple of them, it hits me that they don't cut very well or I'm subconsciously thinking about stuff banging into them in my pocket or something. It was like pushing me off a cliff to sell my Umnumzaan and 3.5" XM-18 but felt so much better afterwards. So I'm considering selling the Hinderer and Strider and making a decision on the other CRKs, which aren't really that special to be honest, later.

This isn't really a thread to ask what I should do because I'm not really looking for advice, but was wondering if others out there have went from the "expensive" knife kick back down to the less costly stuff (<$150). Share your experiences. Note everyone's definition of expensive may vary.
Click to expand...

I'm going through the exact same thing. My HAP40 Delica hasn't left my pocket since I got it and now I look at the rest of my expensive collection and wonder why I need any of them. I have no problem getting my new Delica covered in sticky orange juice, but if I tried that with my small Sebenza I'd be giving it a spa treatment shortly after. I guess I'm just crazy.

 
Dangerously said:
I carry inexpensive knives (mostly SAKs!) and wonder why I'd carry anything else. Then I get bored after a bit.

Then I carry my inlaid Sebenza and wonder why I'd carry anything else. Then I get bored after a bit.

Cycle through 4 other types of knife. Repeat.


Novelty is a value.
Click to expand...

This is me. It doesn't matter what type of knife or how expensive, eventually I wind up selling it to fund the purchase of the next new knife. I go through cycles of want, and am not independently wealthy (or any kind of wealthy for that matter), so each new sale must be preceded by the sale of old stock. I often say I have knife ADHD, because I go through them so fast and cant make up my mind on what I really want or need. I have discovered one thing about me though, and that is if I don't use it, it must move on. I have also discovered that me not using a knife is directly related to the cost. The more expensive the less likely I will use it. So I have told myself no more expensive knives. Probably wont last though, because I often don't believe myself ;)
 
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Yep... been there, and done that. Several years ago I sold off a dozen CRK's (7 Sebenzas, 4 Mnandi's, 1 Umnumzaan) in favor of a fleet of Spydies (Delicas, Enduras, PM2's, and several Manix models). I did keep three Sebenzas, though, and I'm good with that (... for now).
 
Sigsog226 said:
Ive been thinking about selling my collection off myself. Just keep a few of my all time favorite fixed and folders. Build a small gun collection with the funds. I kind of gotton out of the 'complete collection' frame of mind and have become much more content with just a couple right now. Im just waiting to see them so i can be sure i wont want to buy them again.
Click to expand...

WARNING, BEWARE, AND CAUTION.
Firearm addiction can be more severe than knife addiction, and much more expensive.
Don't say you were not forewarned. Especially if your user name contains "Sig" in it. And that it addiction requires frequent fixes of expensive ammunition.
Ask me how I know.
 
^

Agreed. One of the reasons I started collecting knives is that my firearms habits had nearly put me in the poor house.
 
I'm kind of going through the same thing- only different : ) Nothing has managed to knock my MiniGrip out of my pocket for over 10 years. Before that, it was my Delica for even longer. None of the expensive knives felt better or seemed to work better. Now I'm going to down-size the non-users to go totally crazy and spend $700 on a Rockstead that I plan on making an EDC.

I figure I've been a knife guy my whole life and now I'm over 60, why not carry the best? So far, the Rockstead Hizen strikes me as the most functional and impressive piece of working pocket jewelry I've been able to find. Tried a William Henry years back, and the lack of a clip just didn't cut it for me.
 
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