Hitting a Wall

There are some knives that excite me even if I'm not going to buy them. I've stepped away from production knives and pretty much only dabble in customs these days, but seeing some new knives, like the Alliance Designs Slim Pickins brings me a little joy - it's a button lock design I would've loved to have had 2-3 years ago when I still bought production.

There's also the option of looking into other categories of knives. Up till about a month ago, I only bought modern-style locking folding knives. But then I found a couple custom slip joint makers that made stuff with good fit and finish and designs I found appealing, and I can feel myself going down another expensive rabbit hole soon. So maybe look at other types of knives than what you're used to (folders, fixed blades, automatics, balisongs, modern, traditional, art knives, etc). Another thing to consider is that makers in other countries, like France and South Africa, have a significantly different style of knife design and sometimes even build - I myself have been captivated by some of the French custom makers I saw at Coutellia 2019.

There are also other aspects of the hobby to explore. Photography, getting into different steels and 'testing' knives, trying your hand at designing ( and maybe send your own design off to a custom maker to have it built), maybe even making your own knives you have the tools and skills. Of course most of these things won't appeal to the majority of people, but my point is that there's options that most of us haven't fully explored.
 
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Last year or so I bought many and have since entered longer term evaluation phase with some I’ve kept. Learning how to sharpen.
 
Happy New Year,
I stopped buying in 2019, from April to November, but just for Christmas I ordered a couple which were on my list. Buying once a year is okay with me, IMHO giving up the whole hobby and joy of knives might be an overkill, which Im not willing to do, just yet.
Although the thrill of buying new knives no more attracts me, I still enjoy knives a lot, and being here at BF is quiet satisfactory in many ways.
 
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Yeah, I hit that wall a couple years ago. I was slowing down with my purchases, but I was spending more and more on each knife, and not seeing "enough" cost/benefit increase by adding more numbers to the price tag. I guess there's a plateau around the $200-$350 mark, but what stopped me was that I found a price point where I just wasn't comfortable paying more. I don't want a bunch of safe queens, which is what I would end up with.

I'm still interested in talking about knives, and looking for new knives, but I'm not in any hurry to buy more. I have a list, but I don't try to find any rhyme or reason in it. If I see a knife I like, I add it to the list. If it's the one I'm still interested in after a while, I buy it.

That kind of happy-go-lucky approach may not work for everyone, but I know that I over-think things. So I try to make knives a hobby that I can just enjoy, rather than trying to discover some deep inner truth about the knives I buy. Sometimes, I even succeed.
 
I'm similar in the sense that I've hit a wall in my collecting. I know what I want in a knife and seems I can find something "wrong" with most new knives that come out, not to mention I'm also with you on the flashy styling of new offerings... just not for me. I've found my self shifting to buying knives that don't satisfy completely what I think of as a "good knife" but rather knives I just want. For what ever reason that may be. My last two knife purchases were a Microtech UTX85 and a Paragon Phoenix. Both knives I would have never considered before.
 
@ the end of the day I don't think there's any getting around to the fact that sometimes, after being around the block more than a few times, you end up liking what you like and that's it. You just have to accept it.

Having tried or traded for quite a few knives in the $500 range I know that I'm never really going to ever want to edc them. Being turned back around and have had multiple grips and mini grips (will never like that knife I realized) and having had multiple Enduras and Delicas, and Natives which are my favorite around the house work knives bar none. Everytime I try to upsize to a Millitary or something similar it just ends up not being what I want which is really a knife to do yardwork that I could fling clear across my lawn to where my wife is pruning roses and not have to worry about it getting damaged or anything like that.

I'm pretty much content on liking what I like and if something happens to pop up that's interesting then at least I have the choice of getting it or not. The only knife that I actually kinda want right now is a Kizer Feist with the holes even though its entirely redundant in terms of size with most of my entire EDC rotation right now of which I have a half dozen that get rotated.
 
sabre cat said:
In the past, I have stated that I am pretty happy with what I now own. That is true, I am pretty pleased with what I own.

As I said, I think that I have hit a wall. How do you move forward with a hobby when you have pretty much everything you need and can't justify more purchases?

How many of you have hit a wall with the knife hobby and why? What's your story and how did you work it out?
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I see all of my hobbies as going through 2 phases. The first is noisy and wasteful acquisition. I try a lot of things. Some work. Most don't. Buying and selling are common. But at some point, I find out what works for me and my personal uses and preferences.

This forces me to confront and reject our culture's primary gospel, which that we are what be buy and consume. When we define the hobby and our pleasure primarily from buying and acquiring and instead of the actual use of the thing - in my opinion, that's really messed up.

During the second phase of the hobby, I focus on the use of the thing. A part of that is to focus on what the thing enables. Another part is to reflect on the design attributes that allow me to do whatever thing allows so well. This is a long term appreciation for the tool.

The Svea 123 white gas stove.
The Trangia alcohol stove.
A 70's vintage Trek 500 sport touring bike.
Shimano 8 speed indexed down tube shifters and Deore RD.
The Panaracer Pasela tire.
The Black Diamond Syncho skis.
The Rottefella Super Telemark binding.
The Garmont Monashee or Tua Excalibur ski.
The Kelty Super Tioga pack.
The Jandd Zoor Alpinist pack.
The Schrade-Walden H-15 knife.
The Leatherman Micra.
The Opinel #9 Inox.
The Buck 110 (aluminum frame).
The Marlin Model 80.
The Winchester Model 94.

I love each and every these bits of equipment. I can go on for hours about why I love each one and all of the different alternatives. I can talk ad nauseum about the design features of why these things work so well for me.

One can't ride without a bike, ski without skis and bindings, hike with packs and stove or cut things without a knife. But, I try to focus on the joy of cycling, the joy of skiing, the joy of hiking and the joy of shaping things in my world instead of the acquisition of things. For me, this is more enduring.
 
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I definitely have. There's not a lot of new stuff that interests me. Ever more than that, I've gotten tired of getting new knives and then realize they weren't as great as I thought. I'm saving for a CRK and a Case Bose collab, then I think I might take a break....
 
Walls are normal. Things get old and we get tired of them. It happens. Its human. My own hobbies have went through all kinds of metamorphosis and sometimes went away totally. My fanatical love of guns has faded, and now I have only a few that I think are really needed. My knife collection has mostly gone away and I found I really don't care at all about the knives that I used to love, and couldn't imaginary life without. I don't even miss most of them. Now I just feel the need for compact little pocket knives that fit in the watch pocket of my jeans.

I think its normal as we age that we re-evaluate our passions. Its okay to even look at it all, and think "what the hell am I doing with all this crap?"

Heck, I woke up one day and did that and sold off most my stuff and never looked back. Haven't misses any of it. It was like I woke up from some form of temporary insanity and was appalled at what I had accumulated. My kids, grandkids, nephews, nieces and old co-workers got a lot of knives. They just didn't mean anything to me anymore. Now if I have a small pocket knife of any kind in my pocket, I'm good to go.

The people in my life are far more important to me now than inanimate things.
 
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sabre cat said:
How do you move forward with a hobby when you have pretty much everything you need and can't justify more purchases?
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Depends on the hobby. If your hobby is USING knives, do more stuff with what you've got until you identify a shortcoming. If your hobby is COLLECTING knives, start trading in your commodity pieces for rarer pieces. If your point is UNDERSTANDING knife design and changes throughout the years start finding and buying knives from different ages. If your hobby is just OWNING knives then buy what you like (and assuming you're run out of things you like stop buying).
 
I just went through this and really focused on getting rid of everything I dont at least occasionally use or carry.
 
My 2 cents for what it's worth :
A knife collection should not be a cause of stress or worry. While it’s essential to do research, have a (monthly) budget and not buy simply on emotion, it’s good to remember why you started collecting knives in the first place. For me, that reason is it’s simply just a lot of fun.

After few years of collecting at a steady clip (typically 16 - 20 knives a year, across all types), I am now trying to be more "choosy". I am currently focusing on patterns that have some historical significance; but even then I occasionally find the urge to add new and "exciting" designs/patterns to my collection (recently picked up Radius from Fox Knives and CEO from CRKT). It's just too much fun.
 
I'm like many others, buy a ton, sell a ton, walk away, come back and buy a ton more then sell a ton more.

I was like this with high end watches and I've learn to curb that hobby and settle down to the 3 watches that I've now had for years and haven't bought any since.

As for knives I'm starting to thin it out and keep 4-5 high end blades and use them regularly and so far its been good but I do find myself loosing interest in all the knife hype.

but I might just tone it down to 2-3 folders and a fixed blade and call it a day.
 
You said you were being lazy about selling, that's where I am at.
I think that maybe if you overcome the initial inertia of setting up a "proper" setup to photograph and subsequently sell you might have something interesting to focus on and then maybe if you do well have some money to justify a purchase.
What about sharpening? A TSPROF and starting a stone collection will consume you for months.
My kids have been bugging me to set up a space to make quality videos to post to YouTube, that's another thing that will take months to accomplish.
You can share your collection and experiences and maybe knowledge or maybe just end up with a bunch of videos that will be interesting to look back on in a decade.
If you REALLY want to go off the deep end start looking at anvils and forges, bar stock is easier than ever to obtain. You can even get timascus relatively easy now.
For even less money you can get into some anodizing equipment and try your hand at anodizing the titanium on some of your knives. There are all sorts of ready made patterns you can apply like stickers and make complex anodized finishes.
Paracord and beads to make lanyards and learn decorative knots is another option to add to your skillset.
Leather working for sheaths doesn't have a high bar to entry either. In fact, Horween sent me a box of leather scraps for free - I asked about shell cordovan but they sent regular scraps and I told them I would share so I would send pieces if anyone wants to pay shipping BTW. I haven't mentioned it because what they sent probably wouldn't justify the cost to ship and we all have old boots and coats to make strops and sheaths etc. but I am offering.
One of the things above must be at least a little interesting, no?
I would suggest sharpening if you don't do that yet, the TSPROF is idiot proof and I can assure you I am an idiot. Hopelessly moronic troglodyte. Sometimes I miss my mouth with a fork when I try to eat.
Good luck!
 
Gee, now I won't be embarrassed to post here! I have about two dozen individual automatic folders. The problem I have is that when I see a pristine copy of one that I have I buy up as many as I can!

For example, I have three Boker Kalashnikovs with Bowie style blades in what appear to be pastel handles.

"Hello, my name is The Tourist, and I'm a knifaholic…"
 
I’m at the wall with knife purchases, at least for folders.

I have way more folders than I need or can realistically carry.

Except for one or two duds, I like what I have way too much to consider unloading them.

If I get something new, will it displace the current knife out of my pocket? If so, that means I’ll have yet another knife I really like but don’t carry. If something new isn’t in my pocket, what’s the point?

I agree that flashy new stuff has been over done the last few years. It doesn’t interest me either. There are several other current manufacturing ideologies/trends that really tick me off. That’s another rant!

I may pick up a fixed blade or two, as I don’t have many. But I have even less opportunity to use and carry a fixed blade.
 
Wall? Maybe, but I don't look at it that way. It's a hobby and I don't need to use every knife or cutting tool I own or buy. I like impulse buys, but I limit the impulses to less than $200. Most are less than $150. I think I would love to buy a CRK folder, but you know.... the dominant knives I use now are small fixed blades and SAKs. So, it is a" why spend the money" on something that I suspect I would use very little?

So, I bump along with the hobby and keep telling myself to reduce the number of knives I buy. I don't think in terms of what I really need any more but in terms of acquisitions I vary from one year to the next as to the kind of knife that dominates the year. One year it's slip joints, the next year it's moderns, the next it's fixed blades.... It' fun for me. Right now I have been carrying a small fixed blade daily along with my little SAK and I love the combination. It is very practical and the small fixed blade does many of the tasks that previously I would have used a folder. Still can, but my SAK is one of the smaller ones, but it does about what I want it to but I just don't grab it first as often now.

Selling keeps popping up in my mind, but I'm too lazy about selling. So, I don't make the effort. I sometimes think that I would rather throw them in the trash than give somebody a supremely good deal.

Part of the reason I feel this way is I view knives as expenses and once the money is spent, it's gone. I don't look at my accumulation and say to myself.... that's a $500 knife..... They're just knives and I don't worry about it. I do take into account the cost in choosing to use a particular knife for a task. But, in general the money is spent and I move to the next thing that tickles my fancy.
 
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sabre cat said:
As I said, I think that I have hit a wall. How do you move forward with a hobby when you have pretty much everything you need and can't justify more purchases?
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You haven't hit a wall - you've come to your senses. There is no need to continually dump money into a hobby in order to enjoy it... and what's the point in continuous accumulation of items that don't really bring you joy? (Hint, if you call it an investment, you're deluding yourself.)

Pare down the collection. You'll hit a wall in that effort - finding yourself still with more than you want, but not wanting to let anything else go. That's fine... stop there. Enjoy the knives you have - whether by using, carrying, fondling, or just having. Consider the idea of maintaining a set number of knives - meaning that if another comes in, one must go. You'll probably find that, in many cases, the new acquisition will be the one that doesn't stay. (I don't like selling before a new arrival, because there have been too many times that the new arrival left me flat.)

I haven't sworn off purchasing knives, but I have become extremely selective & avoid purchasing on a whim. When something catches my eye, I find a reason to wait. Often, the knife is sold before I look back; but, if it isn't, I take some time to think about whether I really want it.

(*edited because my paragraphs didn't look like paragraphs)
 
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