How do you rotate your collection

T

The Dude Abides

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Jan 31, 2020
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The more and more knives I acquire the more I find myself torn as to which knife to carry. I used to just pick one up and carry it until it needed honing and would then sharpen it and put it away and go for another.
Lately I have been picking up a different one every day. If I have a specific task I will pick up whatever suits that need obviously.
I’m just curious as to how others rotate their collection.
 
I've got an 18 slot Spydiepak that I keep full, all others get put back in the boxes and stored in containers.
I keep a wide variety within that 18 knife folder selection so I'll have something suitable for any occasion.
Every few months I'll swap out half the knives.
A little tedious but ensures a good rotation with some that I've forgotten about.
Almost like getting new knives!
 
Unfortunately, I rotate them out the door. I can't keep a knife (EDC) for more than a few years. Some I use and others I keep NIB.
I think I have a sickness. :)
 
Much to the chagrin of Mrs. Velitrius, there's a knife on just about every flat surface in the house.

When I decide I need to roll out into the world, I'll grab whichever knife is closest to me at the time.

Sometimes I need a smaller one or a larger one and look around for another choice. But it's always random.

BTW, the Dude indeed abides. As an ordained priest from the Church of the Latter Day Dude, I know.
 
I normally purchase in two or threes:

Small Dress/EDC folder

Large EDC folder

Fixed blade

I carry the same way. Slacks- I reach for the small knife.

Khakis/jeans- Large EDC.

Camping/hunting/field- fixed blade.
 
I coordinate my knife to my watch. Or my belt buckle. Or vice versa. Some days, I dress around the knife. Or what's clean.
 
At work and no court I carry a small gentleman knife like the buck 055, gerber silver knight, stockman etc. when not at work it is a CS code 4 or buck 110. When working in th yard it is the Kershaw select fire with the 1/4 bits needed to work on the yard equipment.
 
At present I am not rotating-been carrying the same for months, while everyone else sits.
When I did rotate, it was event specific-certain one for day, certain one for night, and certain ones for different events out, weather and so on, with occasional mix it up.
 
I just pick one when I get ready for the day only adding in thought about what the day may hold and what the weather is like. Weather is mostly just something to factor when considering carrying carbon steels or knifes with materials that can be easier to damage in certain conditions.
 
It's fairly simple for me. First and foremost, I just carry whichever knife I think will best suit my planned activities for the day. Some days I need my hiking knife, some days I need a work knife, some days I need an all around knife, and some days I just want a knife of a certain color to match a pop of color in my attire (and yes my watch). I try to avoid too much overlap in my collection in this regard, unsuccessfully of course, in which case I default to whim. Many days I just carry whatever knife calls to me, and if I find myself not carrying a certain knife enough I move it along and use the funds to experience another knife.
 
I have about a 60 day rotation and carry the next knife in line every morning. Unless that days activities requires a specific kind of knife. I also have a handful of dressier knives that only get carried when I go out for special occasions.
 
The short answer is: I don’t, much.

I tend to carry something I like until I wear it out or decide to carry something else for differing reasons. Here lately it has been a relatively long period of time between changing knives.

Back in the day I “had a knife”. I didn’t have a “rotation” of “users”. I’m kinda getting back to that, even though I have a few to choose from in many different aspects now.

I like knives with “character”. Knives that look like they were carried, used, enjoyed. I’m just trying to own more of those.
 
Velitrius said:
Much to the chagrin of Mrs. Velitrius, there's a knife on just about every flat surface in the house.

When I decide I need to roll out into the world, I'll grab whichever knife is closest to me at the time.

Sometimes I need a smaller one or a larger one and look around for another choice. But it's always random.

BTW, the Dude indeed abides. As an ordained priest from the Church of the Latter Day Dude, I know.
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lol I hear that. My wife is starting to get really annoyed.
We were at the Army Surplus not long ago and she saw the price tag on a model Benchmade I own.
I lied and told her all of mine are fakes.
 
For many months I kept to a strict rotation regimen.

Every Sunday I would look through my collection and choose 5 knives for the week. They would go into my top dresser drawer and everything else would stay locked up. Every morning (and sometimes more than once a day) I would look into the drawer and grab whatever spoke to me.

The following Sunday I would rotate out at least three of them.

More recently I’ve been on a multi month fixation kick with my tanto Umnumzan, Spyderco Southard, and Spyderco Rhino. In a way, I kinda forgot about the other cool knives I have. Two weeks ago I decided it was time to break up the ménage à trois; the Southard & Zaan are strictly off limits for a while. (The Rhino is such a handy little utility blade that I think it’s out to stay!).

I don’t have a system right now, other than whatever comes out of the safe stays in my pocket for at least a few days.


alliuse said:
I have about a 60 day rotation and carry the next knife in line every morning.
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Ahhh-haaa! That explains why every now and again I seed a different 0801 daily in the EDC thread! I always love seeing those 0801’s, by-the-way.
 
Weekly. This applies to both my carry knives (really just two Cold Steels in XHP at the moment) and my home-use knives which are the rest of my collection. Saturday, usually. Or maybe Friday. Sunday I rotate my flashlights. A lot of work, measuring battery voltages, recharging if necessary, and etc. Because like with knives, I have a carry light and a home-use light. It's the only way to really ensure that all my knives and lights get some usage...
 
My knives are users and I got them with a purpose in mind
Some may be redundant for sure, but as I try to keep my collection at a reasonable size +/-20 it makes possible to carry all of them
Actually if I end not carrying a knife I sell it so it makes addressing the problem easier :)
 
I have some that I kind of save for every now and again as a special treat
My Chris Reeves, some Spyderco sprints, Busse& kin
I organize my EDC like this:
I love all my knives.
I need a small knife for small stuff, medium - large folder for most stuff, fixed blade for big stuff
Then I need ones I can abuse, I've got ones I care about enough not to abuse but if it gets messed up, oh well whatever.
I haven't been able to find an organized schedule or method of rotation. Honestly, it becomes an annoying OCD where I can NOT decide what to carry the next day.
After a few hours of cleaning, stropping, and test cutting on paper I usually settle on 3-small, medium, large (HVAC tech with a tool bag I carry, not all in my pockets)

Every now and again my girlfriend catches me staring off into space looking deep in thought. For a while, she thought something was wrong between us.
I explained to her my knife nerd OCD and now when she sees me like this she says: "Baby just carry one of the Delicas, you love it and its the most practical, and how about your new Tendick?
or ooooh I know...the Inkosi!"

I've gotten as far as keeping my Nick Chuprin kiridashi and Boye boat knife permanent in the pocket and rotating a medium-large folder as much as possible
to make sure everything gets carried and variety is more fun. I find that having the kiridashi and boat knife cover 99% of my cutting needs and the consistency
of them being permanent EDCs makes it easier to choose a normal 3-4" folder to carry for the day. Or if I can't decide I'm pretty much covered by the dashi and boat knife.
 
I only have 1 EDC knife and 1 heawy duty knife. I only rotate them according to needed use. Because I won't carry 7inch blade with me unless I have to go somewhere and do some serious work. I do carry it to forrest tho.
 
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