Forgetting Knife Info

chevyrulez1

chevyrulez1

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Oct 2, 2007
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Over my life I have picked up literally hundreds of knives of all sorts. Now I am realizing that when I grab one of my older knives, sometimes I cant remember what steel it was, or sometImes I cant remember where I bought it or how I got it. If the steel isnt written on the blade then sometimes I have to look it up.
I know some of this is probably age related, the old mind like a steel trap is starting to get weaker springs 😏 some of it is because I have so many Now it all starts running together.
Now I am wishing I had made a spreadsheet and recorded date, source, price paid, etc.
Wondering if anyone else has this problem? I am also posting this to maybe encourage younger knife collectors to create a database or log the info on your knives because 30-40 years from now it will be very valuable to you.
 
I keep a rough list, (not complete), of knives by maker or manufacturer, some basic info and price but it's not all inclusive. I just keep it in a document, not a spreadsheet, and edit as needed.
 
I do not keep a spreadsheet but I learned early on that remembering everything would be impossible. So, I just made a folder on my computer. Every time I buy a knife, I keep sale listing, sellers pics, who or where I bought it from, date, specs etc...

Comes in handy if you ever sell or gift any.
 
I keep a spreadsheet on all my collectable knives, and encourage anyone who is collecting to do the same. Not only should you think about the getting old and forgetting things, should you unexpectedly pass on suddenly, it will help your family / estate representative know what you have.
 
I have a spreadsheet for firearms to have the serial #s in case they are stolen or something but never thought to do it with knives. How many knives do you guys have?
 
I have a, recent, spreadsheet but as most of my buying has been online I can trace the model and price from my emails. Then I google the info.
 
I forget a lot of things lately, so I write stuff down. I have book I record info on my knives in and usually when they are sharpened and at what angle.
 
I keep a record of all of the knives in my collection that I've ever purchased, sold &/or traded on a spreadsheet by date, brand, model name & # (if any), type (folder, fixed, auto or bali), box (or pouch or) not & price, including any accessories (like sheaths or scales) purchased for them.

And, I sometimes include info re the blade, grip & frame material if necessary to differentiate it from similar models.

But, I certainly do NOT remember all of the info re these knives & will almost always have to look up up what I've forgotten on the spreadsheet &/or on the Net. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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As luck would have it, I just yesterday started learning Python with one goal of that being to aid me in starting and keeping a database of my collection.

But to answer your question, I have absolutely forgotten plenty of info about my knives, after building a collection for so long (and having poor genetics in the memory department, lol)
 
I don't have enough of a collection (20ish off the top of my head--I'll count later) so it's not a big deal. MOST of my knives are users, so there are only a few I could really ever sell. Many are customized, and several have interesting back stories to which I remember vividly (for better or worse). So, as of current I do not keep a chart. All my knives and guns are going to my nephews when I die, the oldest of which is 19. They have the interwebz, they can figure it out if they really wanna sell.
 
I think I would like to start a list to catalogue my collection, but at this point I have lost the details on so many (date of purchase, original price, etc.)
I guess I could go through and put in what info I have or could look up, but it would have so many holes it would seem pointless to try now. Especially the stuff I got back in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, the details are real muddy on all that stuff.
It would have been better if I had started it years ago and kept it up as I went. Hindsight being 20/20 and all...
 
I didn't used to. I had a firm recollection of the dozen or so collectables and my users, where and when I got them, and an approximate value. When I came back to the hobby the other year, it became apparent that my memory was less reliable than I thought: did I win this knife at the fair or is it the one someone gave me sophomore year? Could've swore I had a marlin spike. Where on earth did this one come from with my name on it?

So, I started saving receipts, at least, and a hand-written list that I aim to expand into a spreadsheet as soon as I remember to do it.
 
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