Help!! I'm jaded.

N

nevertoomany

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
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Does this happen to anyone else? I have a number of good, mostly mid-priced, folding knives - Spyderco, Benchmade, SOG, a William Henry, Mcusta, etc. - as well as a bunch of slipjoints and fixed blades, even a couple semi-custom. Lately, when it comes time to choose the daily (or at-home, at-work, out) knife, I'm not thrilled by any of them. Should I start to roll over my "collection" (which I don't really want to do, not liking to let any go), should I start to carry the few NIB ones I've kept back (serial-numbered BMs, M2s, etc.), should I sell everything and buy a couple high-end knives.

What have you done if you've ever lost the thrill?

Bob:confused:
 
I got rid of the whole enchilada.

I used to collect customs and high end knives back in the 60's, 70's and 80's. I had a small collection of Randall's, Hastings, Bone, and such. In the 80's I tried some of the higher end folders and even used a Pacific Cutlery Company balisong. Then in the late 80's I got tired of them, and by 1990 I got rid of them all. Kept a few sak's and assorted traditional pocket knives back for real world use and that was it.

Now I just have a small acumulation of traditional pocket knives like Case and old Hen and Rooster. Haven't looked at a knife magazine in years, nor go to a knife show. I find my interest in knives has shrunk to just the old pocket knives now. I'll check the occasional yard sale and flea markets and estate sales.

I also don't have any "collector" knives anymore. I don't have a knife that I won't drop in my pocket and take fishing or camping. The only knives that I have now are similar to what I had as a kid in the late 40's and 50's.

I did the same thing to my gun collection as well, but thats another forum.
 
nevertoomany said:
Does this happen to anyone else? I have a number of good, mostly mid-priced, folding knives - Spyderco, Benchmade, SOG, a William Henry, Mcusta, etc. - as well as a bunch of slipjoints and fixed blades, even a couple semi-custom. Lately, when it comes time to choose the daily (or at-home, at-work, out) knife, I'm not thrilled by any of them. Should I start to roll over my "collection" (which I don't really want to do, not liking to let any go), should I start to carry the few NIB ones I've kept back (serial-numbered BMs, M2s, etc.), should I sell everything and buy a couple high-end knives.

What have you done if you've ever lost the thrill?

Bob:confused:
Click to expand...

Though I'm not there myself, it sounds like to me that you've ascended to the next step of knife collecting. CUSTOMS ARE YOUR ONLY CHOICE NOW! Take a look at the custom forum. At makers. Does it thrill you? That means one thing... you've been in production things for far too long! Aside from getting a Sebenza if you don't already have one, then there is no other production knives it sounds like will satiate you! Knife collecting can be looked at like romance- when you're young, you want what's available, quick and easy to use. When you get older, you're tired of compromising- great body, no brains, great face but not up for your kinks- and you get married in hopes of making her a custom made partner! (Won't work of course, but the fantasy is what matters). Best of luck, oh bodhisattva of knife collecting. :D
Zero
 
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I was there, started with Spydercos, then went on the hunt for disco'ed Spydies.

Sold them after a while, well most of them. (I now only have about 10 Spydies)

Then went to Sebbies. Kept them, went to customs. (Hinderer, Obenuaf, Lambert, Doucette,......ect) sold most all of them and bought more Sebbies. Now the paypal account cocked and loaded, ready for the new Sebbie (21) and the new CRK folder. :D

I put a CRK in my pocket everyday, the thrill is in using them for me. NO SAFE queens!

So......




Try a Sebbie(small reg. WINK WINK), or maybe try your hand cutting a free hanging hair. Sharpening is a hobby all on its own. Grab you a Case CV peanut ($30) and get that sucker as SHARP as a human can......then try for the next level of sharpness:D

Its a sickness :D







How about sending one of your old knives to Tom Krein for a regrind? There are lots of sides to this hobby.....its not all about buying knives. Try your hand at making a knife from an old file. Well I guess you would need a design to start.......sounds fun huh? :D
 
Buy yourself a very nice slip joint and carry it. See what reaction you get vs the Tech folders. You may find a new love:thumbup:
 
:thumbup:Thanks, guys. Your diversity of opinion is fascinating; I'm beginning to get some inspiration from your suggestions. I'm open to more.
 
Lately, when it comes time to choose the daily (or at-home, at-work, out) knife, I'm not thrilled by any of them. Should I start to roll over my "collection" (which I don't really want to do, not liking to let any go), should I start to carry the few NIB ones I've kept back (serial-numbered BMs, M2s, etc.), should I sell everything and buy a couple high-end knives.
Click to expand...
I know where you're coming from because I've been there myself.

What I did was to re-evaluate my collection....
I "re-evaluated" every knife that I own with this in mind:
1) Forget the price.
2) Forget the reputation of the knife on the forums.
3) Determine if the knife actually felt good in my hands.
4) Determine if it was a knife that I would actually use for any given task.

And lastly....
Determine if it was better than what I was already carrying.
 
buy a emerson and beat it to death :D
 
I'm with Solomon on this...eventually you come to see that it's all vanity and vexation of spirit. "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
grinning-smiley-021.gif


Sometimes it seems the more stuff one accumulates it the more miserable one becomes. There is certainly a lot to be said for the bliss of simplicity...
 
I've got tons of knives...

For 7 years I carried a BM ARES folder... Then I opened the new BM LUM 745 DejaVoo and have been carrying it ever since (Sooooooooo Smooth...) just love to open it, absolutely NO resistence!!

So, I guess what I am saying is that although I have hundreds of beauties that I have collected over the years, there is only one that just feels perfect in my hand, and thats what I carry.
 
my dada taught me always carry a knife, so i did, from barlows to slipjoints to buck 110 to gerber FS11, i carried a bunch of 'em, and they worked ok for what i needed, must say i prefer the newer style tac knives, just lots lighter and easier to carry vs a buck 110, & i never did like slipjoints too much, but though i have ~50 knives today i really only carry 4 or maybe 5 of them, i edc usually either a emerson CQC13 custom, a EKI CQC12 or a spyderco Ti ATR, and though i have tried a few others thru the yrs (ie strider SnG, SmF, AR &GB, about any BM ya care to name, dozens of spydies, microtech SOCOM & SOCOM elite, scarab and makoras, several crawford customs, several ralph customs, etc, etc etc, and really all were top notch knives) i seem to always go back to these 3 & occasionally either my crawford perfigo or something i just got to see how it carries, i suppose for how i carry and what i carry for these 3 are hard to beat, and of the three whats my favorite? probably for ease of carry and just the general feel the spydie ti ATR, i really like the design and it fits my hand well, top notch material, slim, light, carries well, i have 3 the one i edc, & another LNIB PE and a LNIB SE & wouldnt sell any of 'em.

that said the last few months i have been mostly packing my custom emerson '13, a little larger than the ATR, thicker, heavier, still fits my hand well though & its waved, but been carrying it mostly since its new and hey not everybody packs a +$1K folder lol,
 
you have to be happy with what you are carrying.

if you find your current collection leaves you feeling wanting, i say get what you really want.

if that means selling some or all of what you now have, so be it.
 
allenC said:
I "re-evaluated" every knife that I own with this in mind:
1) Forget the price.
2) Forget the reputation of the knife on the forums.
3) Determine if the knife actually felt good in my hands.
4) Determine if it was a knife that I would actually use for any given task.
Click to expand...

This is a great thread.. Spring cleaning is always healthy.
Enjoy reading what everyone settled on and think, yeah,
I can see why they like that knife..

It's an evolving process. I just went through the same thing.
Didn't want to part with a lot of them but wasn't using them.. Kept
the high-end collectors for a rainy day, and the ones I truly use.

For me, the turning point was a BM 806 D2 .
Made 3/4 of my collection irrelevant instantly.
 
I went through this a couple of months ago. I sold most of mine right here on the forums. I bought Blade-Techs to replace them. I learned that since I am a user that there is no reason for me to have as many knives as I did. I still buy new ones, but if they are not something I will put into rotation, they get sold or traded.
 
headroom said:
Sometimes it seems the more stuff one accumulates it the more miserable one becomes. There is certainly a lot to be said for the bliss of simplicity...
Click to expand...

Very true. Once I've owned a knife for awhile, and no longer feel much of an attachment to it, well, I've started trading & giving them away. I still have 80-90, various types, that I'm slowly allowing to go to other owners.

I decided I won't have a knife that I won't carry & use.

I've made journal notes on each knife that I've owned, where it came from, what I liked/didn't like, etc., so I can remember good-bad-ugly traits. With that, I don't feel the need to hold onto every knife I get (unless it's an heirloom). Plus, it's nice to read through & reminisce about the camping trips, fishing, hikes, etc.

thx - cpr

ps - let us know where you end up with this.
 
Two suggestions: Try going without ANY knife for a few days,that'll shock you back into respecting your collection! OR go to the post-office and send them into my life I'm jade-proof...
 
jackknife said:
I got rid of the whole enchilada.

I used to collect customs and high end knives ....
Click to expand...
Same here, though I got more into "users" once I offloaded the safe queens. There's some about having stuff around that's too valuable to be used that just doesn't make sense to me anymore. As it turned out the cash I raised selling the collector's pieces has turned into a nice retirement nestegg.

As far as getting the thrill back, for me Kershaw is "the cure for the common knife." Solid tools, many with very innovative design, at very reasonable prices.
 
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