How much is too much?

Ozmose

Ozmose

Joined
Jul 7, 2022
Messages
276
First off, this is strictly for fun. This doesn't apply to anyone in any way.

What do you think is a healthy amount of knives for someone to buy in a month, year, etc.?
Let's do this under the assumption that the knives said person is buying are appropriate to their income. So say 50k a year, Civivi, Kershaw, etc. 80k knives more like CRK, Hinderer, and so on. They could afford a good number of them without financial hardship. I'm just curious what everyone thinks. There was a little stretch a while back that I could say I was probably going a bit overboard. Mainly because I was outpacing my ability to store everything. I just never thought about it too much until tonight. Let alone try to put a number on it.
 
Man, I am the wrong person to ask what is considered healthy.

I'm looking at three foot lockers stacked against the wall, a drawer system full, my trucks are all stacked, another two storage lockers in my garage, and two more in storage container at my farm.

Plus a traditional in my left pocket next to a tip down folder, and a tip up folder in my right pocket snuggled up to a SAK.



😅
 
It's not just about how much money you make a year. It's more about how many other things you have to spend money on, things like housing, children, cars, vacations, other hobbies, in addition to food and clothing etc. A single person living in a one bedroom rental apt with an annual income of $60k probably has the freedom of spending triple amount of money on knives than a married person with two children and a $500k mortgage loan even if the couple is making $200k a year.
 
I would say 7 to 30 would be a healthy amount for someone who just want's or need enough knives to swap each day of the week 7 should be plenty for the true knife enthusiast thirty or somewhere in between if the need a different knife for each day of the month.

create set amount to spend and hold yourself to it.
buy a mix of cheap beaters and a few of the more lavish knives so you can take what works well for your plans throughout the day,I would not want to use a $300 knife doing roofing or other hard use tasks:just and example
 
Kettleman said:
After adding the 4, carrying the 7 and dividing by 2.2764532…. I am either over knifed or underpaid….depending.
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You are underpaid.

What is "healthy"? If you're asking yourself questions like this, then I would say you've come to some kind of philosophical crossroads. It doesn't have to have anything to do with something tangible, like income.

*Sits back in rocking chair, lights pipe* So, here's my opinion. Part of the reason for carrying a knife is that it's a talisman of protection against not only the frustration of plastic bags, but also "survival" scenarios. A knife represents some measure of control over our environment.

The fact that Ozmose's knife collection has overwhelmed it's storage space *smokes pipe* sounds like, psychologically, the need to have things stored in an orderly fashion is just as important for feeling in control of the world around them. If so, then maintaining the balance of collection size and storage space might be a way forward.

But then the dilemma is, expand the storage, or reduce the collection?
 
I may spend $500-$1500 a year on my knife hobby.

When I jumped in I felt like I needed to get my numbers up to have some volume and a little assortment.
Now I’m buying better quality pieces honing in on what I really like, trying to resist customs.
At some point I’ll get a few custom knives and probably cull some of what I have in some way or another.


Dipping your toes into knife making is NOT an economical way to acquire more knives !
 
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First off, this is strictly for fun not for fun, because I certainly feel like I am a guinea pig trapped in an evil & mad scientists' experiment 🤣🤣...

Of course, this is subjective, and based upon the individual everytime...but healthy amount is to set a financial limit and then number limit based on your storage limitations (perhaps also think about NOT window shopping and then as you buy one or two, think of selling one or two). So the $$ amount isn't so particular as the other considerations.

I started buying quantity, then switched over to quality, which meant my $$ started going faster. Now I'm trying to reduce the amount that I have for the sake of what I truly enjoy...should have started off that way! But it can easily consume you, so be warned ⚠️ (although many here are far beyond that...bc when we see, we buy...impulsively, and then talk ourselves into it being a good purchase). So, set boundaries, limits, and then enjoy the hobby!

Last thing, which probably should be the first...establish the Vision for the hobby (will you be a Collector, User, Abuser, Connoisseur, etc.)

Anyways, enjoyed seeing the responses so far!
 
Ozmos
Let's do this under the assumption that the knives said person is buying are appropriate to their income. So say 50k a year
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with that little income, you probably should stick with just one or two knives total. That's not much money, and it won't leave much wiggle room for toys.
 
Mannlicher said:
Ozmos with that little income, you probably should stick with just one or two knives total. That's not much money, and it won't leave much wiggle room for toys.
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Well I mean, everybody's situation is different...

He could have a sugar mama that pays the bills.. That 50k could all be play money 🤣
 
Develop a budget on how much you want (or can afford) to spend. And develop a list of knives that you want to acquire within your budget. And then search and buy the knives on your list.

I started out a couple of years ago planning to spend up to $150 per knife, and buy one every 1 to 1.5 months. I had a long list of knives to acquire, and now the list is down to some hard to get knives. I may now go a few months before I find a knife I'm looking for. That's ok. It's the thrill of the hunt that makes the hobby fun.
 
Mannlicher said:
Ozmos with that little income, you probably should stick with just one or two knives total. That's not much money, and it won't leave much wiggle room for toys.
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It was more of just an example of a sliding scale so to speak. Really you can afford knives on most budgets. I was buying them left and right with my paper route money as a kid. Granted they were very much of the gas station variety.

Maybe this topic was just a subconscious way of seeking validation for my own reckless spending habits. It's working beautifully.
Love the replies everyone.
 
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