How do you know it’s time to sell a knife?

I once met a fellow knifenut
who showed me his "knife collection".
It really was a trunk full.
I had to ask him "but..why?!!".
He said it was part of his prepardness plan.
What he figured out was that
when "the time came",
any sorta field cutlery would
come in handy for barter trades.
I dunno,
but i suppose i would never know
every possible or imagined reasons
for storing up more than a lifetimes
worth of cutlery; somehow i gather
there is always going to be
that one " knife noah" out there some where
building up a grand collection
awaiting for the next great flood :)
Indeed, life on this planet
is already proving itself to be seemingly unpredictable weatherwise;
with just enough signs as forewarnings
for one to not completely rule out the long term effects of climate change
and of what future important roles a knife or two could play then ... ;-)
 
I view knives as a black hole expense that you just pour money into from time to time. I generally do not sell knives, any knives. But I am approaching the time I really should unload some of my older stuff that I don't even care if I own any more. The caring is the test for me..... if I don't care about something, I won't miss it.
 
I have two Mule Team 18s s110v I need to sell since shortly after I got them. But I can't bring myself to because it feels weird to do so and havent felt like doing it yet. Wasn't in a desperate need of the funds yet.

Almost went to this forum to see if anyone wanted to trade the buck 301 2018 forum knife for one but I managed to snag one off the bay so i don't feel the need to now.
I'm looking for an S110V Mule. You can email me at darichard1@yahoo.com if interested.
 
Several years ago I went through a bad breakup. Though that I had to get rid of a lot of stuff.Well, I had maybe 50-60 knifes of different styles, makes..... all to one guy. No big collector's, but one's that had caught my eye for one reason or another. That were not edc's or ones that got used ever now then. I look back now and wish that I still had them.I don't have 3or4 of any knives or ever did. I guess I am just saying not to get rid of any of them even if you dont feel the spark. Let them be part of you!!! Wayne
 
Back when I was getting xm-18's for 375 and they were selling aftermarket for 850.......kept trying to keep em but that would be foolish. Sometimes I like to buy into aftermarket inflation. You know there is no money lost with every ding and scratch this way. You just enjoy
 
Setting a limit on the total number forces me to sell the least favorite after making a new acquisition.
I just don’t like having an ever increasing hoard.
So I buy something new and if I like it and I’m at capacity then something else is sold. Works for me.
 
Sometimes I obsess about one and I get it. The next week will tell if I like it alot or not so much.

There are only Rare occasions where I do sell and most of the time its replacing a knife I settled for when I didn't have money and then bought what I really wanted later. In that case I would sell the one replaced.

When your tastes get higher and they always do. I feel it gets easier to sell. I have had 2 or 3 knives then bought something I really like and I forget all about the other ones, and I turn sold the old 3 to start saving for the new obsessions that I know will come

Here the last fee months I decided that I want one of each of gransfors Burk axes and hatchets. I'm not rich so its gonna take 12 to 24 months.

On the other hand I dont ever plan on selling any of the gransfor burk stuff. But it's like everything else I have ,I have a 1911 I will never sell , rifles ect. As you progress it's nice to get to the nice stuff
 
Going thru this right now w/my knife collection.

Built up a large collection in just 6 months and went thru it recently to decide what I wanted to sell. Out of the 300+ knives (mostly folders) that I currently own, I only targeted about 30 for sale but then I withdrew about 10 of them. Have sold/traded 14 away and still have about 6 left to go. 5 of the 6 are listed below.

Those that I have already sold/traded (or am still planning to sell/trade) away were/are dups and/or just don't seem to fit into my collection as it has developed over time. Didn't/don't "dislike" the knives that I've gotten rid of and didn't/don't need the $ from selling them either; some actually are too cheap to even bother to try to sell.

Just want to clear them out to make the collection more focused AND to make room for other knives that I'd rather own now instead.
 
Last edited:
I just went through this. I don’t have a huge collection, only 15 or so knives. Half a dozen are cheap Kershaws that aren’t really worth shipping, the rest are my users. I had 2 backup knives that have just been sitting in my safe for months. One of them I’ve had for 20 years and only used a handful of times.

I took some pictures and sold them. Dropped them off at the post office yesterday.

I realized that I wasn’t using them or even appreciating them. I’d rather they go to someone to put them to use or where they can be part of a collection that is displayed.
 
Gots knives all over the place. Carry some and forget about the rest. Hobbies ebb and flow. If you’re interested in something else more and need the funds then sell em off. Can always return to the hobby again.
 
I have sold some and gave some as gifts, but I probably really need to purge about 10-15 others. If you think about what you paid and what you can get for it - don't. As someone said, consider it a rental fee or just the cost of collecting.
 
I have about 70 knives, all of them are folders. I only carry 10-15 of them regularly. I just enjoy 'having' the others, and take them out once in a while to look at. I do buy and sell often, but recently it's gotten harder to get rid of knives, even those I don't carry almost ever. I think it's because a lot of my knives aren't exactly replaceable, be they discontinued productions and midtechs or one-off customs.

That said, I've recently been taking a liking to the idea of having a small collection of knives that I love and will carry. Getting rid of the excess and making my choices simpler, while freeing up a couple grand.
 
Most of the time, you're never really sure, you just THINK you are. A lot of times I've found myself rebuying knives I've previously sold. Of course this is years later.
I think if you buy a knife for the 2nd time...it ain't going nowhere.
 
I think if you buy a knife for the 2nd time...it ain't going nowhere.

Funny, my experience has been the opposite. Most often when I re-buy a knife I end up selling it. I remember what I didn't like about it.
 
I've sold a lot, regretted a few.

Generally when I realize I will never carry/use it and I want something else/my bank account is suffering or it falls outside my collection criteria I sell something. My tastes are always changing/refining, so I try to get rid of oddballs that fall outside my criteria. And I try and keep the criteria tight so I don't start acquiring said oddballs. So selling for me is part of dialing in my collection, a process that is continual, although has slowed down.

I do miss a few, but not enough that I think about it a lot or considering trying to get it back.
 
I've enjoyed knives for a long time but only started accumulating them in the last year or so. I have a mix of about 15 folders and fixed blades and 5 axes. My intent, when I decided to have more than one or two knives, was only to buy what I need (one could argue I've gone overboard) and use them. I only have one more knife and one more axe that I'd like to buy and I do not plan to sell any. For better or worse, I'm keeping them.
 
Back
Top