How do you collect traditionals?

I don't know that I can be called a collector. Mostly, I've bought knives I liked and used for a while and then put away. I've got a whole bunch of accumulated knives that appealed to me at the moment. Right now, I'm more selective. I've been concentrating on Stockman and Congress patterns recently due to their inherent utility.
 
555 said:
I had a collection of traditional knives before I knew I was collecting and it was a collection. Relax and buy what you like and it will happen.
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Remember, it only takes three to make a collection so you can start lots of collections and work on them as time and finances permit, like others have said before, buy what appeals to you and just enjoy, it'll happen.

Then there's my approach, just buy what I like and wait to see what collections evolve, although this can take a long time depending what disposable income you have available. :)

Woodrow F Call said:
I just buy users and sell off the ones I change my mind about. I'm not really a collector.
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I wish I could do that but I'm a knife hoarder and I have a problem. On the plus side, the majority of my collection of traditional patterns are older, gently used, previously owned ones bought at estate sales, yard sales and flea markets.

Some were over a hundred years old and most bought for somewhere between $3-$10, this is one of the reasons I like collecting older traditional patterns, especially considering I live in PA where at the turn of the century most other knives that weren't imported were made within the tri-state area.
 
My collection just grew with no particular direction or plan to it. Basically I was trying out different patterns, steels, and handle materials that interested me. My original focus was on 2-bladed jacks of varying sizes, with the intention of building up a small number (maybe 9-10) users to give me a few options for daily carry.

Then I tried my first stockman pattern, and liked it, and added a number of those in different patterns and from a couple of manufacturers. And somewhere along the way, if I found a pattern I really liked, I'd want to have a spare of the same knife, but maybe in a different steel or handle. Or one to use and one to keep like new (for what purpose, I don't know). Or one to experiment with patinas, and one to keep shiny.

Then at some point I decided to actually spend more than $50 on a single knife, and picked up my first GEC, with the intention of switch over to just having a few "nice" knives without any particular idea what I would do with all of the others I had already accumulated. I created a modest (total of 8 knives) collection of GECs but found that I never wanted to carry my $90 knife when I had a $35 knife that would work just as well.

I think the only reason to worry about the value of a collection is with an eye to the day when you decide to sell them off, either because you are done with the hobby, or will need the cash, and don't want to lose TOO much of your original investment. In other words, if you perceive the day in the future when you will regret your knife spending, and want to make that day less painful, then you want to lose as little as possible in the sales. Hence, the reason for keeping a knife "new in box/tube" rather than just using it.
 
I can only speak for CRK brand. Holds it's value like no other brand. Example is when you list it here or ebay it sells real fast . However unless it's a rare one, expect to take 10%~20% loss on current models unless it's like a sebenza prototype 25(only 25 made) that has increased by 20% in 2 years. Older discontinued models in new condition , have doubled in value in about 7 years. That is almost 11% per year. So focus on what you enjoy and keep an eye on what's most liquid and retains value the most.
 
I don't "collect". I "accumulate".
 
I hunt the best possible examples of all 1800-early 1900 makers. I have no real care concerning brands, patterns, materials etc. I just want the best possible examples of each makers art.
 
I pretty much "accumulate" too. I think of a collection as the knives that you put up and don't use.

These days, the "collection' is only peanuts or peanut analogs, and only precious handle materials. Pearl, ivory, mammoth tooth, that sort of thing. Although I wouldn't say no to a nice celluloid.
 
I am not a collector. Like others that posted before me, I am an accumulator. I tend to buy what strikes my fancy at the moment, but over time, that has resulted in several sub-accumulations. Like my small batch of Gerber Silver Knights and my similarly small batch of Charlie's Barlows and GEC's boy's knives. I am a hoarder too as I have sold only a very few of the ones I've accumulated. Actually have given more away here on BF to BF friends and in various give aways.

Such as:

pic024.jpg


Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
I am not a collector. Like others that posted before me, I am an accumulator. I tend to buy what strikes my fancy at the moment, but over time, that has resulted in several sub-accumulations. Like my small batch of Gerber Silver Knights and my similarly small batch of Charlie's Barlows and GEC's boy's knives. I am a hoarder too as I have sold only a very few of the ones I've accumulated. Actually have given more away here on BF to BF friends and in various give aways.

Such as:

pic024.jpg


Ed J
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I used to have pretty much the same Silver Knight collection, all I have left are the small ducks, the small green checkered scale with the shield, a large black lip pearl a tiny non locking all stainless model, and I think I have a small all stainless lockback, these genes are on my top 10 list of production knives.

Do you know if they made the checkered (I think they're g10) scaled knife in the larger frame? If you've never carried one of these you owe it to yourself to try a Silver Knight, you won't be disappointed. I can't speak for the 2nd or 3rd generation of the pattern/model but I've never held a bad one from the first generation made in the 70s.

Just like many here, I too am an accumulator and like you Ed, I have many sub collections in my accumulation. :)
 
It is hard for me to answer this question because I am always changing what I collect and what I use. I will say this though, I have more users then I do NIB wont use knives.
 
I simply buy what I like and I force myself to sell some every now and again to keep the accumulation reasonable and satisy spousal demands.
 
glennbad said:
Like many others, I collect what appeals to me. I've never been naïve enough to think I would ever come remotely close to getting back what I put into them.

However, I hope in some way, that my humble accumulation helps to preserve a little of the history that is slowly slipping away. My collection reminds me of a time when people built things by hand, and not on some computer automated assembly line. The workers took pride in their skill of actually crafting something, not just pushing a button on a big machine to do the same task.

An added benefit of collecting knives are the knife friends I have collected at the same time. That is the true value of my collection :)
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Awesome. Many of the the knives in my collection were gifted or acquired from someone with a neat story. Cool things that connect us to some great people. May our interest in traditional knives cause our 'collection' of friends to grow. Peace Brothers and Sisters.
Fred
 
T. Erdelyi said:
I used to have pretty much the same Silver Knight collection, all I have left are the small ducks, the small green checkered scale with the shield, a large black lip pearl a tiny non locking all stainless model, and I think I have a small all stainless lockback, these genes are on my top 10 list of production knives.

Do you know if they made the checkered (I think they're g10) scaled knife in the larger frame? If you've never carried one of these you owe it to yourself to try a Silver Knight, you won't be disappointed. I can't speak for the 2nd or 3rd generation of the pattern/model but I've never held a bad one from the first generation made in the 70s.

Just like many here, I too am an accumulator and like you Ed, I have many sub collections in my accumulation. :)
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Yes, they did make the 300A in the checkered covers as I still have one; it's the one shown in the photo above. It was my understanding that the material was kraton rubber; I don't know exactly what G10 is (I can only spell it). It does wear pretty quickly in the pocket (the kraton rubber or G10, whichever it actually is). The photo above was part of a "poker hand" thread response back in 2011 I believe. This one was "four aces" and a "deuce". I had another titled "a flush" with black lip pearl covers IIRC. It was a fun thread. Black Mamba (Jeff) and Pertinux (Sarah) have a couple of my SKs now.

I had another poker hand made up of Case Copperlocks as well. I didn't have enough to come up with a "straight flush" but did manage a "flush" with my Bulldog cells.

Ed J
 
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I do both, Collect and Accumulate. :)

My largest Collection is Schrade-USA Old Timers, over a hundred of different models and varieties. It's the one knife category I actively and aggressively seek out to purchase.

Since I consider 25 to be a Collection, I also have smaller collections of vintage Bruckmann knives and Swiss Army Knives.

Then there's the Accumulation... Hundreds of knives purchased for no driven reason. Knives from dozens of brands, any pattern or material that catches my eye, from all over the world.

I also take a passing interest in User knives, lightly used traditional pocketknives from estate sales or wherever that I'm not afraid to stick in my pocket and use as intended. Most of these even though could not be replaced if lost, but since they're already used entering them into the official collection cannot be justified.
 
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