Extreme downsizing

texasflyfisher

texasflyfisher

Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
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This seems to be a pattern of mine whether fly rods, guns, guitars, bags, lures or whatnot. I start off picking up one of something then several variations, finding I like some more than others, and then either sell off or give away the lot and end up with just one or two left. It looks like that has finally happened with my slipjoint collection. This would probably shock some of y'all so fair warning.

At my peak I probably had almost a couple dozen slipjoints. Later it was half of that and then less and less. I found that my ideal knife was just a medium stockman though I have a Queen canoe I could never part with.

What drives me to get rid of things after spending money to purchase them? I like to use things and I feel that with so many, I am neglecting them. I also feel that something sitting in a drawer or closet that is not used is taking up space and is wasted so better to give it a new home.

So, now I am down to a couple old Case stockman knives and a Queen canoe and frankly it feels good. It feels good that the urge to get that next better knife has gone.

That having been said, I am on the list for one custom slipjoint. Hopefully the day I get that one, it doesn't resurrect the urge for more. In the meantime, I am happy.

Anyone else go through phases like this as well?
 
I go through something similar from time to time.

Just as with most other things...(the accumulation of the objects themselves and) the interest ebbs and flows.

I tend to be reluctant (in general) to sell my knives, so usually when the spirit hits I end up sending 'em through the mail to folks I care about.
 
texasflyfisher said:
Anyone else go through phases like this as well?
Click to expand...


Boy, have I!

At one time I had about 50 pocket knives, a dozen different handguns, and multiples of other stuff. Then came the downsizing.

I have to give a lot of the credit to my better half, Karen. We both had just too much stuff. Our possessions were starting to own us, instead of vise versa. But most of all, I got to thinking of my dad and some uncles that were the perfect example of those old guys with the one pen knife and one rifle that did just fine. As I got older, and the folksy thing started to take hold deeply, I wanted to be more like them, even though they did not have our 'affliction'.

I got to thinking more and more about how they did everything with the minimum of stuff. I watched my dad with his little Case peanut and .22 Colt Woodsman, and a Price Albert pocket size tobacco tin full of odds and ends, and be happy as a clam in the mud. I started to embrace minimalisim.

Now I have maybe a half dozen pocket knives, two handguns and two rifles, and I'm happier now than in a long time. The items I kept have become more valuable to me because I am getting to know how to use them over a wider range of utility. Plus they are more like old friends now because of much more carry time, (less rotation) and more familiar in my hand feeling when I use them.

I don't know if I'll ever again get back to when like I was in the army, and my only folding knives were a sak and a Buck 301 stockman, but I'm going to try to keep it much more simple for the rest of the time I have.

Sometimes simple is good. Like cane pole fishing with a tackle box that fits in your back pocket vs a suitcase and three or four high dollar rod and reel setups.

Also, I found the older I get, the less material things mean to me. They started to actually become a burden. I loved giving away my stuff to people I cared about. The joy of seeing them have the pleasure of getting it was worth it. And how much 'stuff do we really need in our time on this earth?

I understood my dad more as I got older.

I really think I could go the rest of my life with just what I already have. No more purchases.
 
jackknife,

You expressed some of my same feelings about material things meaning less as you get older, keeping things simple, getting the most of the few you have, feeling the joy of giving and so on.

Blues,

Maybe it times for another giveaway, I have a GEC #25 that some lucky folksy folk will enjoy.
 
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You are on a good path.....a path that years ago kept our country strong, back when we saved, and made do with what we had. My grandfather wouldn't start using a new knife that may have been given to him until his other one was worn out....his thought and a good one was "why would he when the one he has is still working fine". Safe queens would make no sense at all to him and he would consider it very wasteful.....not knocking anyone that has them, just stating how he would feel and the older I get the more I agree with him.

Jackknife gets it!
 
I'm starting to get there. I've never been a huge "collector", but the knives I carried were always large, and usually tacticool, instead of practicool. After reading Jackknife's stories, especially about his dad and grand-dad, and Mr. Van, I am giving my tactical, scary looking sharp objects to friends who enjoy that sort of thing, and only carrying traditionals. Now, I look at the potential usefulness of an object before I buy it, and if it is purdy as well, that is just a bonus. But, if it doesn't do a job for me, I don't need it. Doesn't matter how purdy.
 
Blues said:
I tend to be reluctant (in general) to sell my knives, so usually when the spirit hits I end up sending 'em through the mail to folks I care about.
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That's how I feel also. As a self-avowed knifenut I am very fond of knives and love getting new ones. On the other hand I can admit that I enjoy my users much more than the knives that never see any use. In thinking about the problem I've come up with a simple solution. Whenever I get a new knife I think about who I can later pass on the knife to. This way I still get to enjoy new and different patterns, and the recipient will get a fine tool to remember me by.
 
We live in a peculiar culture that encourages people to externally validate themselves through a never-ending series of more or less conspicuous acquisitions, often to the point that we begin to fixate on the next object in the cue before we've even assimilated the impact of our latest in-hand fix. Once you allow yourself to get sucked into that trap, there simply isn't enough stuff to fill the 'I Want' hole.

Fortunately, my material interests - knives, Japanese swords, visual astronomy, bass guitars, mountain bikes, etc. - tend to be cyclic; I'll dig into one of my hobbies for a few months, pack it in, and move on to something else for a while. Touching these things lightly keeps 'em fresh, and helps stave off the acquisitive tendencies. The only material obsession that I keep constantly alive year after year is my passion for vacuum tube and vinyl LP music reproduction; life just isn't the same without a steady diet of beautiful-sounding, emotionally-connective foreground (never background) music.

texasflyfisher said:
That having been said, I am on the list for one custom slipjoint. Hopefully the day I get that one, it doesn't resurrect the urge for more.
Click to expand...

Heh heh - don't hold your breathe! :D
 
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texasflyfisher said:
This seems to be a pattern of mine whether fly rods, guns, guitars, bags, lures or whatnot. I start off picking up one of something then several variations, finding I like some more than others, and then either sell off or give away the lot and end up with just one or two left. It looks like that has finally happened with my slipjoint collection. This would probably shock some of y'all so fair warning.

At my peak I probably had almost a couple dozen slipjoints. Later it was half of that and then less and less. I found that my ideal knife was just a medium stockman though I have a Queen canoe I could never part with.

What drives me to get rid of things after spending money to purchase them? I like to use things and I feel that with so many, I am neglecting them. I also feel that something sitting in a drawer or closet that is not used is taking up space and is wasted so better to give it a new home.

So, now I am down to a couple old Case stockman knives and a Queen canoe and frankly it feels good. It feels good that the urge to get that next better knife has gone.

That having been said, I am on the list for one custom slipjoint. Hopefully the day I get that one, it doesn't resurrect the urge for more. In the meantime, I am happy.

Anyone else go through phases like this as well?
Click to expand...


Confessions of a minimalist, ya just want what's good and once ya find it the rest becomes furniture.
 
Too much of a good thing?

I am not yet in the stage of downsizing.

I have a lovely collection of knives.
There is no end to what is out there, but yet another knife that is special in its own way.
I am close to saturation and I need to stop buying knives.
To enjoy what I have, as enough.

But don't worry, I will get a yella peanut in CV......
 
was customs 1st
oldies next
tacticals next
guns forever
g.e.c. at present
7 yrs. back sold 130 knives & swords,old razors
also about 26 guns.
trying to stay sane but repo of old patterns is starting to make me crazy again
 
I used to have a lot more collectibles, coins, guns, arrowheads, fly rods, fishing lures, fossils, boy scout stuff, and watches. And lets not forget knives, they are my number #1 love, I,ve sold the coins, most of the guns, some of the fly rods and lures. I,m not buying anymore collectibles except knives and watches, but If I buy a watch one has to go. I,ll probably never stop collecting knives. I have refined my collection a few times.
 
Ive been there. I went on a big downsizing selling off probably 10 knives. For me that is about half my collection. Of course, all were more modern folders. I found that I love my slippies more, though I do really want either an old Manix or a Buck/Mayo TNT. But that is besides the point. I also feel like I had too many and couldn't carry them all or give them the time they deserved. Thus here at college all I have are my slippies...all 6 of em :)
 
I haven realy uppsized at first. I got three rifles that i use a lot, bought two of them a 6.5x55 and a 22 lr when I was eighteen (and inherited one after my brother 12 years ago). This is now 25 year ago.
I have had 4 cars during my life and driven mabye 400.000 km in them. I by a new one when the old one goes to the junkyard.
I own little clothes, bye quality, not fassion and use until they are worn out.
Im into my secound stereo and TV set, first lasted more than 20 years.

I much rather work less and spend time in my cottages and with my family than bye new things.

The only exeption is knifes. I own aprox 20 fixedblades + 10 working moras and 40 folders. I have never lost one but passed on mabye 10 of the ones I owned. It has always been the way that I just use less than ten of them at a time and the rotation just geting less and less. I have realy found out what I like. I have two boys at ages 7 and 4 and can see them helping my accumulation spreed.
I realy like to have that pile of knifes but Im at the same time bothered as its the only exeption from me being as minimalistic as I picture my self to be.

Bosse
 
Yep. Been there done that...
A few months back I sold off most of my collection with the exception of the ones that were given to me, had sentimental value, or I just really liked.

Being one that obsesses over things 24/7 I usually burn out and it becomes not as much fun as it should be.

I have only regretted parting with a couple, the rest I really haven't missed.

I still occasionally pick up a new one, but not very often. When I do it is no longer an impulse buy. I actually spend some time deciding why I need it, or if I buy it, will I regret it a week later.

YMMV
 
I also go through cycles like that. I love acoustic guitars and have had many; Martins, Ovations, Guilds, and a whole slew of Taylors. Down sized to 2; A Koa Taylor that I will never part with and a beater Morris that I bought as a beach guitar. I play this beater 99% of the time as it sounds really sweet. Hunting rifles were the same, custom jobs, specialized game specific calibers, wildcats etc. Now I do all my hunting with my old Remington 700 in plain vanilla 30-06. I haven't downsized my knives yet but I know it will happen one day. This is a great thread and was very reflective for me! Oh and my I was recently thinking of down sizing my fishing gear too:eek:
 
texasflyfisher said:
This seems to be a pattern of mine whether fly rods, guns, guitars, bags, lures or whatnot. I start off picking up one of something then several variations, finding I like some more than others, and then either sell off or give away the lot and end up with just one or two left. It looks like that has finally happened with my slipjoint collection.
Click to expand...

Starting about 10 years ago, I got serious about harmonica playing and simultaneously discovered that - on the internet - you could learn about all kinds of toys and (mostly via a very popular online auction site) could buy them "on the cheap." Pretty soon I had several amps and 10 or 12 vintage harp mics. About the time my wife and I moved to Europe from Florida in 2003, I sold off all my amps, most of my mics, and (here's the knife content) a bunch of my knives.

Since 2003 I've been happy as a clam with just one little tube amp and a couple different mics. On the knife front, despite fighting the affliction as best I can, I've accumulated enough that I again feel like it's a problem, and I too will soon be selling off a bunch. Usually, on one of my trips back to the U.S. I'll post a few on a popular online auction site with the auctions set to end the day I arrive. Then, when I get there, I buy a few padded envelopes and mail 'em off. I'm looking forward to unloading all my Spydercos (might keep one) and all my multi-tools other than my Wave and Micra. I also aim to get rid of most of the slippies that I never carry. I hate the idea of fine working tools just sitting around in my sock drawer.
 
I've been trying to slim down a bit as well. I didn't really have that many knives, maybe a couple dozen total, but most of them just sit in a box never getting used. Like some of you guys have said, it seems kind of pointless for good working tools to just sit around in a box or sock drawer. Now I'm starting to get down to a more reasonable number, and most of them are knives that were given to me, or have some sentimental value.

I've found one way to keep from accumulating too many knives, have someone else buy them for you. I just make up a list of knives that I'm interested in, and give it to my girlfriend, and she'll pick from that for Christmas and birthdays. If it were left to me, I'd probably buy everything on the list.
 
Yes.
No.
Not exactly...

I have a great dislike of having something and not using it, or keeping multiples and creating unneeded redundancy.. Thats what led me to give away, then sell knives that i made, I had no use for them. But pocket knives so far, until recently have not hit that point, since I was using all of them- I rotated.
I compared...
I was still looking.

The problem lately, and it's been getting to me;
I have a couple dozen, and only one or two get used... I found 'the one' so the rest of the pack are not used. But I am attached emotionally to some, and others are unique; its just plain hard to get rid of them.

This happened once before, and I assigned knives to places/tasks, like a knife for each car or truck. But the problem there was that if I used the one in each place then my EDC was never used, and visa versa. Grrr.

And honestly, I have found myself searching for something different again, but the old ones, 'the pack' I rotated before, are still not 'it' and should still be weeded out. No save here.


So I'm at the stage of fighting/figuring it out.
Increasing? trying not to.
Downsizing? Really should be.

So,
Yes, Not exactly. ;)

G.
 
Less clutter give clearer minds and redirects focus to whats really important. That way people can work on their lives instead of work in their lives. I do it too from time to time.

God Bless
 
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