How do you group your knives?

K

knife_daddy

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Feb 13, 2025
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As a lifelong knife enthusiast, I've grown my cherished hoard to close to 300 knives. I formally group knives into three categories based on how they need to be loved. Users, Handlers, and Collectors.

Users are not based on cost or brand and have no restrictions in usage. For personal reasons, I am ok using and abusing the blade in whatever manner I want. Handlers are treated gently to enjoy but preserve their value. Amazon packages, mail, and light cutting duty around the house is followed by a cleaning and returning to a protected enclosure to avoid wearing the finishes. Collectors are either sentimental or of historic value and are for looking and not touching. I keep these available in a drawer to visit when the moment presents itself, but they will remain immaculate. This may be odd to many, but this is how I enjoy knives.

Anyone else have a similar case of OCD?
 
The knives I might carry on my person from time to time: I have a large-ish Spyderco, a slim Hen and Rooster that looks like a Cross Pen, and a Leatherman Wave (my EDC). They live in an old pouch originally made to hold a pair of compact Bushnell binoculars. This collection stays in a shoe box beside my recliner. The show box also holds my wallet and keys along with several remotes and Oreo cookies I am hiding from my wife.

Other knives I own: An ACID brand cigar box on the closet shelf holds two Buck folders that have never been out of their belt pouch and my old Boy Scout pocket knife. There are a few sub-optimal (not desirable to collectors) WW-II era engineer's knives (AKA "Demo") tossed in there too. A small, lower end, William Henry is foo to the maker to be refurbished. I am waiting on an estimate of the possible cost.

That is how I "organize " my knives.
 
Mine go through a rotation. They start as drawer queens, progress to light use, then progress to heavy use. Every time a queen becomes a light user, I need a new knife to replace it.
 
pvicenzi said:
Mine go through a rotation. They start as drawer queens, progress to light use, then progress to heavy use. Every time a queen becomes a light user, I need a new knife to replace it.
Click to expand...
I love this strategy! Satisfies my OCD but in a different way!
 
Not for myself.
I know you are looking for similar experiences.
I keep my knives together in a few areas and all are prone to be used or carried.

Maybe 3 are sentimental, but not overly valuable.
 
All of mine are handlers/users. The only ones that don’t really get used are the ones that for one reason or another are just not practical (to me) for EDC, but they are still “handlers”.
 
It usually goes something like this: I buy an expensive knife made of premium steel, handle material, fit and finish flawless. I say to myself, "I'm going to force myself to actually use this one. I'm going to carry it and scratch it up and do whatever god awful thing i wanna do with it...yeah." Then I run into something mildly abrasive and begin to fret, stuff the expensive one in the drawer, and grab a $50 Cold Steel or Mora to actually do the job.

I love my knives. I buy them and keep on buying them. I find that I get a lot of ownership enjoyment of all of them, especially OTF autos because I really don't ever find myself in a situation where I would NEED to bang on those. So I have come to the conclusion that I will keep buying nice things to appreciate, then sheltering them while I use hard use cheaper knives. All of these unused knives will probably end up in a yard sale for $5 a piece when Im gone, and I'm ok with that. I like what I like. I just hardly ever use them how they COULD be used.
 
Well, they're not so much in groups, more like piles...

For years, there have been a scattering of potential users throughout the house and in the cars, plus the oddballs that lived in the attic and like 2 display pieces. Coming back around to the hobby, I got them all together (most, still can't find a couple), ditched the cardboard boxes, and separated into tubs labeled "fixed" and "folding". The labels were pretty promptly scratched out, one tub is half full of fantasy knives all in their original packages, the other contains an assortment of knives in consideration to go back to the cars, empty packages and stickers, receipts, scraps of paracord, and the two bearded axes the wife bought me for some reason. A new cardboard box has joined the mix to house loose knives that I'm thinking about parting with (but probably won't), while the dresser is now strewn with nearly every pocket knife I own as I "test" and "evaluate" to find my favorites among the more modern types.

It's more than a little embarrassing.
 
I throw them all in a big box and poke around every morning to figure out which one gets used (they all do, except the Spyderco Positron - I hate that thing. I won't even sell it because I don't want to burden anyone else with it). I also have numerous folders scattered across various points in the garage so that I don't ever have to walk too far to cut something up.
 
I was down from 300+ to about 150.. now back up to about 200.

I have 3 double stack copy paper boxes.
Most knives are in the original box on end so I can read the label.
Customs are in Bill's cases.

I was actually thinking of getting a temu 5 draw rollaway
 
I put two knives in a cage and make them fight for the right to be carried. THUNDERDOME- Two knives enter! One knife leaves!


But seriously-

As I sit here and think about it I have 5 categories-

1. Prized possession. I have one knife that is my most prized knife and one of my top five prized possessions out of everything I own. It doesn't get used for anything other than personal enjoyment (stiletto switchblade). Although it's shaving sharp, and it's designed to be "used", I can't imagine any scenario where I would actually "use" it.

2. Treasures. Knives not intended for use, I own them because I just really like them. Their value transcends utilitarian practicality. And although they could be used, I have no reason to use them and likely never will. Again, these knives are folding stilettos, some being switchblades.

3. Valued users. These are users that I have used hard or extensively, but would prefer not to ruin due to cost or sentimental value.

4. Expendable users. These are users I wouldn't care if I ruined, broke, lost, etc.

5. Regrets. Knives I bought that I quickly regretted because either I didn't like them when I received them, or they were crap, or I just didn't have any use for them and I regret the money I spent, or a combination of all three.
 
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