Actually, as long as you buy used and stick to the everyman's brands (Case, Old Timer, Hen & Rooster, etc) then traditional knives aren't all that expensive. Relative to guns and car parts anyway!
I'm on a lifelong quest for experiences of all sorts. It's not enough to just pick one knife and stick with it, I need to try them all at least once. That's part of what pushed me to try making them, since I could never afford to BUY everything that I'm curious about. And even if I could, that money could be better spent on things I can't realistically make on my own... like guns and car parts...
Plus I think that collecting is the always lamest area of a hobby/industry! Why passively consume when you could actively contribute? Don't just buy knives, make them too! Don't just watch movies, or listen to music, make your own on the side! Don't simply play video games, learn to program! Don't just fish, try your hand at building rods and tying flies too! You see where I'm going with this... It's like a stroll in a crowded city park versus actually going backpacking, the difference is indescribable to people who don't already know.
Explore your interests to their fullest. Even if you only make one or two crappy knives, at least you tried and learned. If nothing else, you'll learn to appreciate other people's work a lot more. Before I tried making knives, I would see these $$$ customs, think to myself "That's nice I guess" and then be baffled why anyone would pay that much for a knife. Now that I understand what kind of skill and effort goes into them, I really appreciate what I see in the custom/handmade sections of this forum.
Even factory made stuff impresses me at this point. Think about what you get for your $12 when you buy an Old Timer, I mean REALLY think about it! I know that there's no way I could turn out a pocket knife that good, at least not for a good looooooong while! And for the price of a fast food lunch? No way! Even if i was a
good knife maker, it would take me several hours at least to make the knife, and that's not counting the years of practice and thousands of dollars spent on tools and equipment leading up to that point.
Or I could spend the evening on the couch browsing Ebay and pay less than what I make in an hour, what many of you make in a matter of MINUTES at your jobs, and have the thing just show up at your doorstep a few days later. It's amazing!
