Hi all, am I the only one that only sees knives as tools?

I thought that immediately upon registration. I get my knife, to it open, the the box away, and cram it into my pocket, usually right next to whatever I was using that day.

However, since being on here (a week?) I've gotten like 10 blades. One was a nice ZT...used already, great shape, box and all. I already lost the edge while cutting through a crap load of boxes today. However, for the first time, I kind of felt bad about beating up a nice knife. So, I think I know where this leads. Me carrying a nice knife, and then a utility knife, and then probably having bunch of nice knives sitting at home.
 
AJPeacock said:
According to those above, I'm Delusional and if I only saw knives as tools, I wouldn't have joined the forum.

Pretty amazing.

I see knives as tools.

I joined the forum because I wanted to improve my sharpening skills.

I'm Not Delusional. And I really do see knives as tools. Some of them are really nice looking, but it's just a nice looking tool for me.

I once had a rifle custom built for a specific purpose that cost between $6k-$7k that wasn't pretty at all.
It got scratched and banged and always (every single time), hit exactly where it was aimed.

Somebody was looking at it at the range one day and mentioned that if I sent the scope back to the manufacturer, they could refinish it and it would look better.
I just about fell down laughing. Why the hell would I take off a PERFECTLY mounted scope just because it had a few scratches!

I need some scotch.

AJ
Click to expand...
Believe it or not, but you are among friends here :).

I don't think anyone sees you as "delusional". There are lots of members here with lots of different opinions. And all opinions are welcome here.

When you start a thread you are inviting others to comment on what you posted, offer their opinions on what you posted, and in some cases express their strong disagreement with what you posted. That's life on an internet forum. Just gotta roll with it.

Like I said earlier, however a person chooses to appreciate a knife, whether they see it as just a cutting tool, a treasure to be preserved and protected from harm, or as a sacred religious icon, none of them are ever wrong. To each their own.
 
AJPeacock said:
New to the forum, thought I'd introduce myself.

Grew up on a farm/ranch in western Colorado, always had a knife with me.

Live in Michigan now and typically have a sub 3" fixed or folder with me and sometimes a simple pocketknife.

A knife is a tool to me 100%, which doesn't mean that I mistreat them or don't appreciate the lines of a well made/designed knife.

But honestly, until I started reading this forum, I never once considered a scratch on a knife to be anything different than a scratch on a shovel, axe, screwdriver or hammer!

I feel the same way about firearms and I've done some serious shooting with rifles that cost more than a lot of cars I've owned!

I don't 'mistreat' firearms either, but never really worried about a scratch here or there (other than making sure they were cleaned up so they wouldn't rust).

So, am I the only one?

AJ

ps: mighty nice forum you have here, so much great information available via the search facility, that there is almost no reason to post anything!
Click to expand...

Kinda like I view cars. As long as my cars are comfortable, reliable, and look fine, I'm cool, because to me they are for transportation. I don't want a scratch or bird dung or the like on my car, but I don't obsess about it, either. And with the drought here in CA, I haven't washed either of my cars in quite a while. However, I have no beef with anyone who obsesses about any little spot of dirt or imperfection on their car. We all have different interests and are wired differently.

There are some knives I tend to baby, and some I absolutely won't worry about whatsoever. However, if I'm using a particularly nice knife and it happens to get its first scratch on it, that's my signal to begin using it as much as I like. It's like with that first little imperfection out of the way, the knife is really mine. Mind you, I don't want somebody else doing that to my knife. I've heard there are some people who are like that about their cars, too; they might purposely put a tiny scratch on it brand new, so they'll feel okay driving it around without the constant worry of marring it.

Oddly enough, a knife's cost isn't necessarily a factor in whether I'll baby it or not. I've used my 2002 large Sebenza for lots of stuff, and it's my second-most expensive knife. It hasn't been babied at all. Plus, I've had to reprofile the edge quite a bit. And I simply haven't gotten around to using my Umnumzaan much, but when I do, it certainly won't be babied. Yet, other knives that have sentimental value may be treated differently.

Jim
 
Last edited:
AJPeacock said:
Hi all, am I the only one that only sees knives as tools?
Click to expand...
No, but they are often very cool tools.

But honestly, until I started reading this forum, I never once considered a scratch on a knife to be anything different than a scratch on a shovel, axe, screwdriver or hammer!
Click to expand...
I still don't consider scratch on a knife to be anything different than a scratch on a shovel, axe, screwdriver or hammer. Perhaps that's why I buy most of my knives used (that and the fact most that I buy are no longer made) and always will if I can find what I want used at a price fair to the buyer and seller.

I won't own a knife or gun I won't or wouldn't use.
 
Last edited:
I have just started to collect knives, Have a long way to go.
But I can never think of using my knives.
I only use a cheap Swiss folder Chinese knock off, and sometimes carry a Mtech folder.
I am very protective about my firearms even though I hunt I am very conscious and alert not to scratch my gun.
 
killgar said:
But would you join a shovel forum, or a screwdriver forum, or a hammer forum. The fact that you chose to join a knife forum leads me to believe that you regard a knife as more than just a simple tool. :D
Click to expand...

There are plenty who regard shovels as more than just simple tools. Name an item and there are those who collect it and can tell you all about it, its history, its uses, and the location of museums preserving it.

http://www.farmcollector.com/farm-life/ames-shovel-works-zmlz14novzkel.aspx

http://www.antiquefarmtools.info/page10.htm

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/923016-The-Shovel-Discussion-Thread!/page2

http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/history/a-shovel-for-every-purpose.aspx
 
brancron said:
A lot of people in the knife community seem to have some sort of embarrassment about being labeled "collectors," as if that isn't something that people have been doing with respect to thousands of different types of things for thousands of years.
Click to expand...
At the club last Saturday, a buddy and I were talking about knives. When another noticed I had two on me (my edc Vic Farmer and Craftsman/Ulster peanut) and asked "how many knives do you carry?". My buddy simply responded, "he collects them". No embarrassment at all. Just a statement of fact (though I'm more an accumulator of what I like than a collector with a purpose driven collections).

I don't understand why any one would consider being a collector as embarrassing. I collect/accumulate firearms, early American pressed glass, Irish Waterford, yo-yos, wood calabashes and boxes, art glass, hiking sticks, and watches and clocks. I have used and will use all of them. I don't collect stuff I won't use.
 
Last edited:
leghog said:
At the club last Saturday, a buddy and I were talking about knives. When another noticed I had two on me (my edc Vic Farmer and Craftsman/Ulster peanut) and asked "how many knives do you carry?". My buddy simply responded, "he collects them". No embarrassment at all. Just a statement of fact (though I'm more an accumulator of what I like than a collector with a purpose driven collections).

I don't understand why any one would consider being a collector as embarrassing. I collect/accumulate firearms, early American pressed glass, Irish Waterford, yo-yos, wood calabashes and boxes, art glass, hiking sticks, and watches and clocks. I have used and will use all of them. I don't collect stuff I won't use.
Click to expand...

I've been a book collector for a while now, especially rare books. I don't find it embarrassing, but there are many criticisms of the collector psychology, often coming from collectors themselves. The perception is that collectors are using 'things', and the practice of acquiring these things, to give their lives more purpose -- even if it's apparently frivolous. Collecting supposedly exposes an empty life... and in some cases, that's certainly true. It's still a hell of a lot less destructive than the insulators some use to close up those hollow spots in the human soul -- heroin, joining ISIS, philanthropy. ;)
 
So many interesting posts and opinions here. I like this thread.

I am both a knife user and knife collector. I carry and use certain knives daily and I love them for the tried and true work horses that they are. Dependable and tough. Often times I buy 2 or 3 of the same knife so that I may have a pristine example in the "safe" while I keep the other one on me for use. Win-win.

And some (mostly sprint runs or limited editions) I choose not to carry or use at all. I like knowing that they are safe and sound (and mine) locked up in the safe. But even with those "special" ones I've been known to but a couple so I can use one while the other remains untouched.

That's my system anyway.
 
Last edited:
leghog said:
At the club last Saturday, a buddy and I were talking about knives. When another noticed I had two on me (my edc Vic Farmer and Craftsman/Ulster peanut) and asked "how many knives do you carry?". My buddy simply responded, "he collects them". No embarrassment at all. Just a statement of fact (though I'm more an accumulator of what I like than a collector with a purpose driven collections).

I don't understand why any one would consider being a collector as embarrassing. I collect/accumulate firearms, early American pressed glass, Irish Waterford, yo-yos, wood calabashes and boxes, art glass, hiking sticks, and watches and clocks. I have used and will use all of them. I don't collect stuff I won't use.
Click to expand...
Lmao! I might be jaded and cross, but when I read what your buddy said Bout you, I've had my wife say the same thing to people. Except they gave me a look on their face the same way someone would if their buddy said that we collected human skulls or wayward strangers in our basement turned dungeon!
 
Some of my knives I see as tools and I use and treat them that way. Others are part of my "someday I might need this" stash which I'll take out admire from time to time. A few knives I thought were just interesting have turned into rare and sought-after ones. Lucky me.

My fascination with them has come and gone and returned again thru the years starting with my Dad teaching me to sharpen them when I was about 8 years old. Now with the internet, I can learn more about sharpening and steel and blade design than I could have imagined at age 8.

Stuff we touch can capture us. My wife collects old Singer sewing machines - so she sort of understands about collecting. And there was that period where we had a domestic (African) violets problem in the basement......
 
I got a new small sebenza yesterday and the first thing I did with it was open 2 beers with it. (Pry method) with the handle - not the blade! Yes - it scratched it up and I didn't care one bit as it is a tool. I got the knife to use - not to cherish and fondle.
 
jasonbroni said:
I got a new small sebenza yesterday and the first thing I did with it was open 2 beers with it. (Pry method) with the handle - not the blade! Yes - it scratched it up and I didn't care one bit as it is a tool. I got the knife to use - not to cherish and fondle.
Click to expand...

That's kind of like buying new jeans then beating the hell out of them to make them look old. But the hell with it, it's your knife, have fun. I've seen people use the tip of their Strider, stabbing down into the cap then prying, even though there's presumably a bottle opener nearby, or a few dozen tools and random objects that could have done the job better.
 
When I got my new Corvette the first thing I did was go muddin' in it. I ain't gonna baby it!
 
Sikael - my goal is NOT to purposely beat it up - it's just that I always use the handle of my knives to open non- twist-off bottles as I don't carry an opener.
Stealth - I'll take that as sarcasm... Corny sarcasm at that.
 
042812_1.jpg
 
AJPeacock said:
I once had a rifle custom built for a specific purpose that cost between $6k-$7k that wasn't pretty at all.
It got scratched and banged and always (every single time), hit exactly where it was aimed.

Somebody was looking at it at the range one day and mentioned that if I sent the scope back to the manufacturer, they could refinish it and it would look better.
I just about fell down laughing. Why the hell would I take off a PERFECTLY mounted scope just because it had a few scratches!

AJ
Click to expand...
I especially don't get that. A well used gun is like a patina'd knife. I find they actually look better with use.

I bought a car recently and when my wife told her friend it was black he said "why do you always get cars that show dirt?"(she has a white one) The answer really is because we don't give a rat's patute about the outside of our cars and what people think of them. My wife side swiped a red parking garage pillar and now she has huge red scratches on the side of her white car. When she did it she was all apologetic and sorry and said she'd get it fixed. I asked her if she thought she would sell it by the time it became junker status. She said "no" so I said..."why would you waste the time and money to fix it?" Different strokes I guess. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top