How have your knife tastes changed?

I'm an old f*rt and my habits don't change much. In the last few years I have spent an awful lot of money on knives to play with. I have sort of been experimenting with materials and sharpening as much as any focus. I think I have bought maybe 30 knives in the last 5 years, but my primary EDC model (a Victorinox Adventurer SAK) hasn't changed since I discovered them in 1989. I probably wouldn't even have added a micro-multitool on my keychain except my son keeps giving them to me. If I am facing some special challenge I may add or swap a knife, but day-to-day it is me and my Adventurer. I would love it if the blade was BG-42, but I get along with the basic alloy just fine.

One reason I don't change much is that I went through most of my knife preference evolution back in the 1960's. I've broken an awful lot of knives in my day. Back in 1964 my EDC was a 4-inch blade Italian pick-lock pushbutton with a 3/16-inch thick flat ground carbon steel blade. My toys were daggers, dirks, trench knives, throwing knives, bayonets and machetes. I would sharpen, throw, and modify anything. I learned about the low slashing performance of thick blades; then I learned that I could overcome this if I sharpened the blade with a file. I that I didn't need a switchblade once I got good at doing a handle-drop opening. Even on a teenager's budget I worked my way up to 50 knives in my collection (the survivors that is). As time went on I just found that it was a hastle to carry so much metal around. I drifted into a standard of carrying one carefully selected and modified Mercator Cat behind my wallet and a Tinker model SAK in my front pocket. I probably carried that combination as my EDC from 1970 till 1989. At that point I found the Adventurer that had all the tools of my Tinker and the 3.25 inch locking blade of the Mercator. So my EDC has changed once in the last 35 years, and zero times in the last 16.
 
Thanks for bringing this thread back up. It was fun to remember how excited I was after making my first CRK purchase. That was the first of two small Sebbies that I bought. Those Sebbies instilled a great appreciation within me for CRK. They are now gone but I have 5 Mnandis and am trying to get number 6. Thanks BG and roshi for inspiring me to focus on quality and not a quantity driven perspective. ;) ;)
 
I posted a week or so ago in apology to Spyderco and Spyderco fans for not appreciating what great knives they are (although I still greatly dislike serrated blades).
I am pretty new to BF , love it here, taught me a lot and opened my eyes to knives and makers I never knew existed.
I used to love the fixed blade/tactical type knives.
Now I am really appreciating the 'woodsman' style of blade , sturdy , thick , abuseable and handsome and , I have sort of turned my nose to the tactical types.
Used to love Tanto's , now I avoid them like poison... lol
I like slipjoints and own several but only really use them at home , for some reason having them jumble around in the bottom of my pocket bugs me which brings me to my biggest love , pocket clips. Dont know who first came up with that idea but I owe them a beer or three.
I have the deepest appreciation for a nice woodsy feel fixed blade with a hardwood handle and nice simple leather sheath.
Sometimes , simplicity is best.
 
I have recently gotten into the traditional multi-blade slip joint knives. They have some interesting and colorful scale material and are not all that costly. Although on occasion I would open up a favorite one of mine and long for it to lock open.
 
I think I've followed a lot of the same progressions from "tactical" to "practical" that others have. As a small kid pretty much all knives fascinated me, I like stag and carbon steels because that was all I had ever really seen. Once I hit my teens I started getting into combat cutlery beginning with the Marine Ka-bar. Once I got ahold of my first tactical folder I really started buying. Initially I was all about the BT Coated, Chisel Ground, liner locking Tanto collaborations between Emerson and BM. Over time I've come to dislike tantos or any other kind of "hard" geometry on a knife. I don't care for coatings much anymore and I've also found Serrations to be more trouble than they are worth in most cases. Right now I value the practical and durable versus the trendy and "cool looking".
 
I have had a Buck 110 forever it seems, and a Buck 470 Mentor for as long as they first started making them. Needing a couple more good knives for the deer camp, I picked up a couple more each of those. Unfortunately I did it on ebay. Because now the 110's seem to be uncountable, along with a few 112's, and a whole wrath of others.

Lately I have looked more to collectables both in fixed and folders. But doesn't mean that I ignored a good price on a mint Cuda Maxx 5.5.

So, I don't know that I have actuly changed in what I like, or buy. I just know that this knife stuff is addicting. Maybe one of these days my collecting will take on more of a "theme" other than "eclectic".

Very interesting post!

lfh
 
Started off with two pos knives just to f around and thow at a box.. helped relieved stress during finals that quarter. Next order got into crkt with the m16, rollock, and the snaplock and a spyderco cricket. After the cricket I got hooked on spydercos and got a endura off the forum and ordered a solo. Now I'm planing on getting a few opinels to carve up the handels. I think my next knife purchase will be someith ranging from 2-2.5 inches w/ vg10 or s30v. I guess my trend hasnt changed too much I like to carry knives that are quick to deploy and like to pickup some knives with unusual features.
 
The biggest change that has happened to me is that I have backed away from really high end knives. I went overboard for while and I realized that it was just foolish to want a new $200+ folder every month or so. It's also crazy to buy four $50 folders a month also. I have learned to look at a new knife and say "that's nice" and not need to buy it.

I still love expensive knives, I'll probably get another Sebenza or Mnandi but an expensive knife is like a Brooks Brothers suit: it's solid investment that should last a long time before it is replaced.
 
No my taste hasn't changed.I still can't afford a Sebenza.I love all types of knives but the closer to death I get the less I worry about "life-time guarantees" if you know what I mean.tom. :)
 
Very good post. Deputy Tom's post sure got me to thinking... "you can't take it with you, so enjoy it now" is the thought that's currently running through my mind. As for how my tastes have changed, I've followed the same basic pattern of tactical-traditional/cheap-expensive. I started out with a CS medium tanto Voyager, fully serrated. Now, I just don't like serrations. I used to like black blades, now I prefer the looks of a nice hand-rubbed finish. I used to hate the feel of Micarta, now it's my all-around favorite. Let's see... I initially had no interest whatsoever in folders, now I EDC a Griptillian. I used to want every other cool knife I saw, now I focus more on day-dto-day practicality (I simply can't carry that many knives on any given day! ;) )
My first interest was medium-sized, partly serrated fixed-blades for wilderness use. Now, I like EDC knives, both fixed and folding and also large, fixed blade wilderness knives. One thing that hasn't (yet) changed is a preference for carbon steel.
The biggest change of all? I've went from zero knowledge to aspiring knife-maker! :eek: :D
 
Kind of interesting that this old thread got brought back up. I checked, and my response to it was a little over two years ago.

I am not quite as driven about trying new knives as I used to be. I still appreciate fine blades, but my tastes have evolved to the point that I care only about the really nice stuff, and I can't afford to indulge very often.

I have a few tried and true that have proven themselves and that I trust.

My stockmen and trappers, my Spydie Calypso Jr. and my Marbles Fieldcraft in 52100...these are dependable.

I am really wanting to pick up a few more forged hunters and someday a nice forged Bowie.
 
334dave said:
I know this is an old thread but it really gave me pause to see that Runs With Scissors is able to put to gather a well thought out question and an intelligent observation of his own maturing taste in edged sharp things!!!! I am so used to seeing some of his postings in Wine&Chease that I tend to forget that there are real people behind the ‘nick’s’…
Click to expand...



Gawdern...didn't think it should come as THAT much of a surprise that I'm actually capable of reflection and profundity every now and then. (only for very short periods of time though) :D Been floatin' 'round here for five years and then I become known for the drivel I've occassionally spewed in that corner of the forums...sheesh!! :D

Anyhoo, I think it's pretty neat that 334dave decided to resuscitate it.

Much to my complete and utter amazement, very little has changed for me since I started this thread. the very few things that have:

I've made peace with tanto blades and serrations- still don't think them to be a worthwhile option for a boondockin' knife, but fantastic when working around machinery and such, chisel grinds are great for the scraping, the serrations are nice for cutting plastics and hose, and it's nice to have just a little bit more room to horse the tanto blade itself without damaging it.

I've had a little more time to experiment with a few different knives, and have definitely come to believe that price DOES NOT necessarily reflect quality, or especially usability. The most expensive folder I own now cost me $175 or so. It's a Lonewolf T-2 Harsey with Cocobolo handles. my hunting knife is a Bark River Highlander that I wound up paying $25 or so for. My big choppers are all HI Khuks that are all in the $50-$100 range. I'd still like to get a decent Bowie knife, but most of them are way too expensive for me. (although I am definitely hoping for an HI Cherokee Rose or a MMHW Bowie in the next month or two)

as for the rest of it:

I still like autos, but don't own one right now. Still think they're fun,still want a couple, but not thrilled with the illegality of carrying one.

Still love thin carbon steel blades with convex edges or a flat grind.

Still not real partial to recurve blades, or double edged ones.

still don't go out of my way to p!ss on anyones parade, but don't lose sleep over it if I do.

Still like Balisongs, but don't own one. A Spyderfly is pretty high on my want list right now. Still little more than a basically competent user with one. Learned to do an aerial opening on my wifes BM 31 :rolleyes:

Still think we're spoiled rotten as knife consumers. the choices are infinite, the materials are fantastic, and there's alot of bang for the buck to be gotten when purchasing a knife, whether it be custom, or a "low end" production user.

My tastes still change every now and then, but it's much more gradual and to lesser extreme- alot less frenetic gear shifting than before. Fewer mad dashes to the trading forums, and when I do go there, I'm not as hellbent on trading a knife come hell or high water.

"ooh!! Spyderco good! must collect all 90,000 of them! wait! never mind! now customs good! eleminate all Spydies, nuthin' but custom from now on! changed my mind! customs overpriced!! want traditional factory knives now...."

So, anyhoo, that's a brief look into my perceptions these days. Thanks again for bringing this up, and to all who have responded, it's kinda neat to see how things can change, even in just a couple years.
 
Finding this forum really hasn't had an effect on my choice of knives... it was a wonderful discovery though and I'm glad I found this place (this is the only internet forum I post on with any regularity).

That said...

I grew up around knives. My grandfather is an avid hunter and fisherman and uses a lot of knives, he gave me my first knife. My father is an outdoors kind of person, he was an eagle scout and he's now a county search and rescue coordinator. So there have always been knives around.

I like simplicity. I like a knife I can trust; one that won't bite me unless I deserve to be bitten.

I've always loved the traditional look, but I like knives with wooden scales as opposed to bone or other materials. I've been a bit fascinated by the whole tactical craze and there are some beautiful knives that fall into that category. But as far as I'm concerned, any knife can be tactical. What I love the most about these kinds of knives though is the one hand open aspect. But I get tired of too much black steel and black handles.

I went through a little phase where I really liked automatics, but I rarely carry one anymore. I just don't see the point when I can open my usual EDC as quickly as any auto. Add to that, all legal autos fall into a size that just doesn't feel right in my hand.

Right now though, I'm really liking the old Buck knives and have started amassing a bit of a collection (I've got three 110s and five 112, but I'm looking into getting some more older versions of other models).

I've always liked sinple fixed blades too. The Extrema Ratio knives are really nice, and well balanced from the few I've handled; but I love the simplicity and classic design of my Ka-Bar. Even though it has nay-sayers, I also love the little Camillus pilot survival knife, even if it does have the worst sheath design ever. And for loads of outdoor hacking fun, I'd never use something other than my RTAK.

My tastes really haven't changed much over the years. I still look for knives that have some usable application that I can take advantage of. A friend was surprised how much I paid for my RTAK and seemed shocked to see scratches all over it. I told her there's no point in having it if it wasn't going to get used.

Ben
 
My taste has mainly come full-circle to once again favor the lockback over all other mechanisms. Also, I used to poo-pooh Spyderco because they looked so odd, before I owned any. Now I think they're the best production folders for the money - by far.
 
I'm still new to this forum, but not new to having knives. I'm learning a lot thanks to everyone here. I have a big collection...all production run, and many needing some repair, which I use as a starting point to one day making a complete knife of my own. My entire collection is maybe worth the price of 1 1/2 custom knives.
I was starting to feel the need to upgrade and maybe seek a custom or two...but I've calmed down. I have just what I want and need already. I will make more "personal custom improvements" to some of my EDC...but thats it. This forum has been educational, and very grounding for me. I'm learning much from others advice and experiance. My personal collection will get reduced to I would say a dozen knives. Half are EDC, and the other half keepsakes.
I use a Schrade 171UH, with my Olsen skinner when Bow hunting.
I use my Camillus rigger, and a Schrade 167UH when fishing.
My EDC is a Schrade LB8 or a Kershaw 1050...the LB8 I use with a quick release sheath.
I also keep a USMC short Kabar attached to my firefighter turnouts. I have it fastened to my right boot. It came in real handy once as a foothold on a snowy roof.
Oh.yeah..I also keep a Schrade LB1 (that little 2" jobbie) attached to my keychain. It opens letters, boxes, bags, etc. Probably my most used knife of all come to think of it.
These custom knives are awesome, and I wouldn't mind one...but lets not go into all the things I wouldn't mind having. The knives I favor..I have used for many years, and I take good care of them and don't see why they won't out last me as well. I'm good.
The members of this forum are equally as awesome as the custom knives. Thanks. :)
 
I used to think that these forums had twisted my idea of normal, seducing me into buying and trying way more knives than I need. But on reflection, in the last 3-4 years my disposable income and time have increased substantially and I have always stopped by knife stores to look and play - so I probably would have spent the money anyway.

I'm a 95% user. I've been searching for the perfect blade in each category;

EDC Folder
Chopper
Small FB
SAK
Multitool

Now that I've arrived at the knife (or rotation) in each of these my purchasing has slowed down. I think my knife nuttiness is entering the twilight phase - I just come here for the craic nowadays.
 
1996: I started out with Zytel handled Spydercos and Cold Steels.

2000: Later I transitioned to g-10 and liner locks ala Benchmade AFCK and AlMar SERE 2000.

2004: Autos here I come. Benchmade AFO, 5000, and Microtech UMS.

2005-: Still patiently waiting for the pocket sized "Light Sabre" folders to come out! :D
 
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