How do you decide to use it or keep it mint?

If I buy a knife I use it simple as that. I dont have the extra income to buy safe queens, but I do not look down at all on people who collect knives. I think we can all safely say we enjoy knives, some like me really get the most enjoyment out of using our tools while others enjoy tracking down and collecting rare knives. I do not think either is right or wrong just different strokes for different folks is all.
 
bld522 said:
Maybe it brings High King pleasure to polish his knives. If that's the case, what harm is there in doing it?
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I was thinking exactly the same thing. I was also thinking of people who open or "flick" open their knives just for the fun of it even when they don't need to use them.

I say- to each their own. I am often amazed at how people on this forum will be so critical of what other people do with THEIR knives. As if what another person does with THEIR knife is some kind of crime against KNIFEDOM. I say, whatever a person wants to do with THEIR money and THEIR knives is THEIR business and no one should consider themselves to be in a position to judge them for it.

Whether it's "using" knives, or "collecting" knives. Or whether its chopping, batonning, prying, or throwing them at trees, why should anyone care what others do with THEIR knives, other than idle curiosity.

Personally, I'm too poor to collect knives. And if all my knives were lost and I had to buy a new one it would definitely be a user. But if I were rich, man-oh-man I'd be buying knives like candy. I'd buy any knife I saw that I thought I might even possibly like. And there's no way I'd ever be able to use them all.
 
bld522 said:
Just to cite one example and assuming you can even find one, how much is a Spyderco Hossom Dayhiker selling for these days?
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Those were pretty high-priced to begin with. What I can't believe, some of the recent sale prices for Spyderco Q knives! Over $200 for some, and I think they were about $40 when new.

Old Timer prices are through the roof, since Schrade went out of business.
 
killgar said:
I am often amazed at how people on this forum will be so critical of what other people do with THEIR knives. As if what another person does with THEIR knife is some kind of crime against KNIFEDOM.
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Yep. And when was the last time you saw a collector criticize someone for having the audacity to use their knives? Seems to me it's usually the other way around.
 
Bob W said:
Those were pretty high-priced to begin with. What I can't believe, some of the recent sale prices for Spyderco Q knives! Over $200 for some, and I think they were about $40 when new.

Old Timer prices are through the roof, since Schrade went out of business.
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So much for the notion that investing in production knives is like chasing fool's gold. You just need to be an astute collector is all. And a little luck doesn't hurt anything either. :)
 
That decision is usually made before I decide on getting the knife. In a trade I can see it a bit different but when paying cash for the knife I definitely plan to use it no matter what. If it turns out its collectable or discontinued with high demand, use it & get your experience with it & later sell it for what you got it for. If it's a knife that will lose value after use, if still at least carry it & use it for tape or mail to keep it mint, when you need to cut rope, cardboard, or wires, use the other knife in your other pocket.
 
No Safe Queens. Ever. I've used every knife, at least once, even if it's for something like cutting tape or opening an envelope.
 
Strigamort said:
I guess my question should be... when trading knives when do you know that you've found the right one to stop with?

At this point I think the only (never say never) knife I'd trade the rift for is a para2. I'd hate to do it and really regret it though. No one would trade a para for a used and abused rift...
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You know you have a knife that's truly for you when everything about it just feels right to you.
The Rift is worth more than the Para 2, so as long as the Rift was used but taken care of(not beat to the point where it doesn't function right or not beat to hell) I'm sure someone would trade a Para 2 for it. Better yet you could trade your well used Rift for a Used Para 2 in good condition and use it. Just because a knife is used, doesn't mean it doesn't have value. And just because it's used, doesn't mean it can't be used for a very long time.

If you really like the Rift and enjoy it, carry it a couple of times, see if you want to carry and use it. If not, put it back in it's box or wherever you store your knives.

The Para 2 is a great knife and I'm sure you'll pick one up eventually. But see if you want to use the Rift, and if you do, you're not really hurting anything by using it. And if you decide you want to trade it for a Para 2, keep in mind the value of knives, and trading for a used knife is not a bad thing. I prefer my knives to be used actually. Just not beat to hell and back. As long as the knife still looks okay and is functionally sound, I'm good to go. =]
 
I used to be someone who kept all of my knives as Safe Queens.
While I enjoyed pulling them out and looking at them, I found myself trading A LOT.
After I started actually carrying and using them, I was trading a lot less.
I knew which ones I loved and which ones I wanted to keep.

I don't have a lot of money, so when I buy a knife I want to carry it and learn what it's all about. =]
 
I have a fairly substantial collection of knives now, somewhere just on the north side of 180. I rotate daily through the entire collection, and the fact that I have so many now means that none of them really get all that much wear. For the most part I don't have a job and lifestyle that leads to heavy use, and on the days that I DO know that I'll be doing heavier work I'll choose a knife specifically for that. BUT......... All my knives are users, I don't have, and doubt that I'll EVER have a safe queen. I didn't start collecting knives to build a museum. I don't have any REALLY expensive knives. The highest retail value of any of mine is maybe $400. But I'm certain that if I ever DO get a really high dollar knife, it will still be carried, and used carefully. Personally I think to do less is an insult to the designer/maker.
 
The only knives I buy I don't intend to personally use are stored in my safe with the intention of giving to my sons when they are older. I have quite a few semi valuable blades in that category and if my boys decide to keep them mint and pass them to their kids or use them at a Boy Scout Camp I'll be happy either way. Good point made earlier about guns and flashlight (I'd add optics to the mix). How many of us buy a new production firearm and never intend to fire it? I have several that have never been fired but that is do to lack of time, not lack of desire to use them.
 
I have a different perspective on this, so if i may nerd this up a little. Knives to me are like comics, (which i do still enjoy). See i love Superman, anything to do with superman, i'm all about it, others too but this is a knife forum. See with my comics, i buy them because SM is in them. I may buy it read it and hate it, but i keep it because my favorite character is in it. If it's really good, i will occasionally re-read it. That is how i treat my knives. I love kershaw knives, but there are some of them i dont like. So i buy the knife, dont care for it, so i dont use it, but i keep it simply because i love kershaw and that simple fact means i will enjoy it more than i would the money from selling it, if any of that makes sense. I do however have some i love but still dont use, those are the ones (leeks) i will buy several of just because i enjoy looking at them and flipping them.
 
I only keep knives that I see myself using. All the rest get sold. Because of me, a lot of people I work with no longer carry 5 dollar crap knives.
 
BladeChick777 said:
You know you have a knife that's truly for you when everything about it just feels right to you.
The Rift is worth more than the Para 2, so as long as the Rift was used but taken care of(not beat to the point where it doesn't function right or not beat to hell) I'm sure someone would trade a Para 2 for it. Better yet you could trade your well used Rift for a Used Para 2 in good condition and use it. Just because a knife is used, doesn't mean it doesn't have value. And just because it's used, doesn't mean it can't be used for a very long time.

If you really like the Rift and enjoy it, carry it a couple of times, see if you want to carry and use it. If not, put it back in it's box or wherever you store your knives.

The Para 2 is a great knife and I'm sure you'll pick one up eventually. But see if you want to use the Rift, and if you do, you're not really hurting anything by using it. And if you decide you want to trade it for a Para 2, keep in mind the value of knives, and trading for a used knife is not a bad thing. I prefer my knives to be used actually. Just not beat to hell and back. As long as the knife still looks okay and is functionally sound, I'm good to go. =]
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Thanks for this^^

That's exactly what I needed to hear. It's funny, I'd feel downright silly mentioning this "problem" to anyone besides other knuts or my wife, although my wife already thinks I'm a bit crazy so that's no big worry. :)

Okay it's decided. I'm going to carry the rift. It's a stunning knife and fits me pretty much perfectly. It probably won't see much use anyway since my sog multi is right there beside it.

The only thing that I'd really like to do, but will refrain from, is dying the g10. :)
 
FW JSB said:
Why is it necessary to polish a knife that does nothing more than sit in a safe?
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Because he can. Why does it matter if someones polishing THEIR knives? Maybe that's how they like THEIR knives. That's the kind of enjoyment that his knives provide him.
 
I use all of my cutting tools. The last flip flopping I did was with a large original Spyderco Manix that I never wanted to use, because of its collectability. I traded it off for a dandy user fixed blade, I'm happy.
 
Strigamort said:
I just got a BM 950 Rift in a trade and I'm almost positive that I want to edc it, but there's that little nag in the back of my mind that tells me to keep it almost new.

I'm sure those with para2s and other highly sought after blades struggle with this.

So what puts you over the edge?
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That's easy. If I bought it, it's going to get used.
 
I've had a few sprints/exclusives and have traded or sold all but 2. I simply can't see any value in letting a tool sit like a mushroom. A gold coin yes, but a knife that people say has great performance - gotta see for myself. It's only an investment when times are good.
 
bld522 said:
Maybe it brings High King pleasure to polish his knives. If that's the case, what harm is there in doing it?
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Well, since the knife is, as the poster said, never used and since polishing removes metal, doesn't the excessive and unnecessary polishing defeat the point of collecting in the first place?
 
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