How many knives does a person really need?

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pahl

pahl

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I carry a leatherman wave and a small blade in my right front pocket.
I have a spyderco ayoob coming in the mail that I plan on adding to my EDC knives. I plan on clipping that one to my front left pocket.

Even though I will soon have three blades on me I still feel a need to look at knives online, in the stores, etc...

Do I really need any more knives? :)

I got to thinking how many knives does a person really need?
You can only carry so many around right?


How many EDC do you have on you and most of all why?


BTW: going to the store to look at knives, be back later :)
 
Do I really need any more knives?
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You are asking in the right place... the answer is yes you do need more knives! One can never have enough knives. However I do suggest you stop carrying your entire collection. Rotation is the key ;).

My wife collects quilts. I often wonder how many quilts two people need. And these things don't hide away in a drawer!

P.S.: I am sitting here foldling my latest 'knife' purchase, an ATC Roders' Rangers spike tomahawk.

[Edited for an incredibly dumb typo.]
 
Everyone need a minimum of 347 knives. Of course, most of us do not carry all of them at once.

Each morning I get great satisfaction from opening the "knife drawer" and deciding on the EDC for the day.

Weekdays, Camillus Talonite EDC, or Benchmade XXX, or .......

Weekends, jeans or short, AFCK or, or, or, or, .......

For most of us daily carry and the related choices is a hobby, but, it is nice to know that in an emergency I can do a real number on that days mail!!!!!!!

Life is soooooooo good when you have choices!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Ah, Grasshopper. That is a good question. One which has no correct answer. A man's search for the ideal knife often leads to quite a collection of fine blades. There is a very fine line between needs and wants when you are referring to knife collectors. Do I need the knife for actual cutting purposes, or do I need the knife to satisfy my unsatiable desire for fine cutlery?
 
Originally posted by Rev. Pete
... the answer is yes you do need more knives! One can never have enough knives. ...Rotation is the key ;).
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Your preachin' to the choir Rev, I agree rotation is the key. As far as how many knives can you carry? Do a search on,"What are you carrying today?" , you'll be amazed what people will carry, myself at any one time I might have an average of between 5-7 knives, stashed through out my person. One of the most asked questions at work is "Ted, how many knives ya got today?" At which point I start pullin' em' out and sometimes even amaze myself.
:D
 
As a collector, you will never have enough.

As a user, non collector, maybe a dozen or so. You need the right tool for the right job. Chopper, skinner, hunter, camp, caper, filet, utility, folder, fixed, leatherman/sak, etc.

He who dies with the most toys wins. :p
 
I can't remember who said it and it actually was about money, not knives, but went something like this: "You can have too little, a lot, a heap and a mountain of them, but there is no such things as enough!"

Cheers
Bo
 
This many:

knifelot2a.jpg
 
Over the past few months I've asked myself the same question. I think it speaks volumes about the knut, not the hobby. For example, my dad owned one pocketknife his whole life, and that one he won as a prize.

I look at it much as I look at the people at my gym. I switch my schedule around quite a bit and the same cars are always in the lot. We call these people "gym rats." However, we should really lift to live, not live to lift.

Collecting stuff is great, but I've hit my limit and many of the drawer queens are just gathering dust. Recently I bought a good stout folder and it's going to be the final EDC. Most of my collection is up for grabs and my friends are circling. If I need or want something else the money comes from the sale of something I already have.

Being a knut is fun, the learning has been great and the fellowship has gotten me through some very hard times. But I can still be a knut without burning up the credit card.
 
Just about the time you think you might have enough, one of several things usually happens.

1. Someone comes out with something new or unique that you just can't live without.

2. You run across a situation where your current knives just don't quite do the job.

3. Some one gives you a storage cabinet or display case and just to make them feel good about their gift you feel obligated to buy new knives in order to fill it up.

4. Your favorite knife company's stock starts falling and you feel obligated to buy knives from them in order to help the economy.

5. Your wife comes home from the grocery store and starts bragging how she saved so much money. Idle money is the devil's workshop.

6. Its Thursday

7. Its cloudy outside

8. Its not cloudy outside
 
I always seem to be caught between the contradictory impulses of the collector and the user.

On the one hand, I love knives for their own sakes. There are designs that I look at and want simply because they are beautiful or clever or both.

On the other hand, I am a practical sort and I feel strange about owning blades that I know I will never carry or use. At the same time, I have been driven by the search for the "perfect" knife, the one knife that will do everything better than all the others. ...okay, in my more rational moments I know that what I'm looking for is my optimum compromise of capabilities. :D

For me, the user side has generally won out. I have picked up a few knives that I knew were not practical for me, but I have ended up selling most of them. Most of the knives I bought because they just might turn out to be "the one" have also been sold or, more often, given away to close friends.

The small collection I keep is made up of knives I can justify as possibly being useful to me for one occasion or another. Some of those justifications are more forced than others, but everyone needs a few cherished delusions. ;)

I no longer rotate my EDCs. I carry my Darrel Ralph Mini-Maxx all the time. I also carry my Camillus CUDA Maxx unless I am at work. The rest of my knives are all for "special occasions" of one sort or another.

What the heck, it keeps me happy. :)

--Bob Q
 
i'm not sure of the exact amount but as far as i'm learned it's as many as you can get.i love slipjoints and no matter how many i get or how nice they are their is always another one that i just can't live without.you have to remember we all have a illness and the only thing that makes it feel better is that next knife and the next and the next
dam just thinking about it makes me feel good-lol
 
T. Erdelyi, Man that's a lot of iron!!:eek: Hope you centerbraced that
table!

Can you have to many knives?? Sure you can, but only if you try to carry
them in some fashion. I collect now to satisfy my hobby simply because
I like what I buy. I can think of lots of otherways to spend my money
that are really bad for me:eek: So knife collecting is fun and easy enough
to keep my interest cooking. :D :D
 
Look, it depends on what you're in for.

If you're into knives solely for the utility, then you only need 1 to 3. If you're into it for the utility, and you just happen to enjoy collecting knives, sky's the limit.
I own 12 knives, I wake up in the morning and decide which one(s) to carry each day. I still feel as though i'm just beginning my collection, and I look forward to the acquiring of yet more knives (next 2 on my list being a BM 43A Bali-Song and Becker BK9 Combat Bowie).
If you've been bitten by the bug as it appears you have, then I suggest you forgot the concept of need, you've most likely exceeded it already. Just remember, it's ok to want.
 
T. Erdelyi: Wow, love the photo

Great reply everyone,

I was in wal mart today shopping with the wife :( and seen they had a old timer 340T clearanced for $11.
Well guess what? I have one more knife now. :)
I know it's far from a custom or any high dollar knife, but for the price I just had to try it.
It does seem to be preaty well made, blades are tight,etc...
Anyway getting of the subject here.


SharpBits: one more, yes!

This is what I'm going to tell the wife when she ask me how many knives do you think you need?

Just one more....lol :)
 
When I was in my teens, I only needed 2 knives - a slipjoint for my pocket & a fixed blade on my belt. The fixed blade was only really needed once when I was trapping muskrat. I came across 7 wild dogs fighting over a dead muskrat. I pulled the fixed blade & yelled at the dogs. After some mean sounding snarling, 3 of the dogs seemed to feel I'd make a better meal. I never climbed a tree as fast as I did then!
Now that I'm lots older, I have lots more knives. Always looking for something different & unique. Two knives are definitely not enough! My original slipjoint is still my EDC and the fixed blade is part of my collection.
 
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