How often are you adding to your collection?

glassjawTX

glassjawTX

Joined
May 10, 2021
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65
Over the years my knife collection has expanded and contracted quite a bit. Going from as low as 5 to as many as 30 and sometimes even fully cycling within the span of a couple of months. During times of particularly poor impulse control (oops) Ill have multiple knives coming in and out per week. I've recently decided to slim the collection down to 9 (8 knife case and 1 in the pocket) and it has me curious about how others approach the hobby.

What sort of collection habits do you guys have? Do you have an itchy trigger finger or do you guys tend to make more calculated purchases for more permanent additions? Do you follow any "one in one out" sort of principles or just sort of wing it?
 
I currently have over 350 knives in my collection.

The collection is pretty well defined and I'm not interested in expanding it much more, except to fill gaps here and there. So, I'm adding far fewer knives now than have before. Only added 6 knives so far in 2022, which is a small # to me.

However, I am planning sell off some knives that think no longer fit in the collection. Sold off around 100 knives a couple of years ago doing this before and am looking for a Net of around 300 knives after I'm done again this time around.

So, looking to sell around 50 knives sometime this year and should be a net "seller" of knives for the year.
 
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sgt1372 said:
I currently have over 350 knives in my collection.

The collection is pretty well defined and I'm not interested in expanding it, except to fill gaps here and there. So, I'm adding far fewer knives now than have before. Only added 6 knifes so far in 2022, which is a small # to me.

However, I am planning sell off some knives that think no longer fit in the collection. Sold off around 100 knives a couple of years ago doing this before and am looking for a Net of around 300 knives after I'm done again this time around.

So, looking to sell around 50 knives sometime this year and should be a net "seller" of knives for the year.
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Oh wow that's wild! How do you store them?
 
old4570 said:
Well , when you get into the hundreds ....
Been collecting for 40 years and the last 20 have been ...................... explosive !
Don't ask how many , I dont count !
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I too have been collecting for almost 40 years. Mostly custom knives but I have a fair collection of Schrade, Spyderco, Busse and other factory knives. Don't ask how many, I ain't saying!;)
 
I have a "toy" fund that I add too every month. The "toy" fund is used to buy knives, firearms, ammo, gear, etc. If I build an AR15 for $1500 and empty the fund, I know I won't be buying a knife (or anything else) for several months.

Given that, I go in cycles. I bought 5 knives in 2021 and 2 so far in 2022. Most of my knives now come off the exchange. I'm totally content with a user knife at a good price which helps me spread my buying dollar further.

As long as I have $ in the fund to cover a purchase, I can buy it. If I do exceed the fund, I have to ask the boss. My wife has a similar fund and that is what we agreed since we started sticking to a strict budget to maximize our retirement savings.
 
Steven65 said:
I too have been collecting for almost 40 years. Mostly custom knives but I have a fair collection of Schrade, Spyderco, Busse and other factory knives. Don't ask how many, I ain't saying!;)
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I never counted , so actually don't know !
I have Remington , Camillus , Schrade , K-Bar , most of the American Classics . A few rare pieces ...
And now I am doing the more modern Chinese knives ...
It's all about performance now , when before it was nostalgia !
Those old knives just can't compete with todays knives with decent steel . ( D2 , M390 etc )
I mean , entire cottage industries were built around re blading more popular knife patterns ( 1306 - 1303 )
I have a Remington Bowen .
 
The short answer is no more than one per year. Really more like two more total and I’m set.

After about 20 years of slowly collecting, I’m in a downsizing but upgrading mode.

I have 11 fixed blades. I’d like to sell five and see no need to buy any more.

I have 16 folders (includes 5 SAKs) and would like to sell five non SAKs, give 3 SAKs away, and pick up two more - likely adding a William Henry and an Olamic or Koenig.

In the end, 10 folders and six fixed blades. It feels like a lot to me. I may do some additional downsizing once I get to that point. We’ll see, I guess.
 
glassjawTX said:
Oh wow that's wild! How do you store them?
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All of my folders and a few fixed blades are in nylon cases (branded and unbranded) in my gun safe. All of the rest of my fixed blades are stored in boxes in a locked closet where I also store ammo and wine.

I know where everything is. Just have to pull them out when I want to look at/take pics of/or fondle them. LOL! ;)
 
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I’m constantly looking, but I try to buy slowly and deliberately and rarely sell knives.

I tend to impulse buy when I’m stressed out in other areas of life, and these are usually the knives I give away or sell.

Have probably spent more on knives in the last 10 years than in the previous 20, because I could afford to, however recently I’ve been able to fill most of the gaps in my collection (99% users), so I’m slowing down.

Would like to settle into 1-2 purchases per year, if that.
 
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gazz98 said:
I have a "toy" fund that I add too every month. The "toy" fund is used to buy knives, firearms, ammo, gear, etc. If I build an AR15 for $1500 and empty the fund, I know I won't be buying a knife (or anything else) for several months.

Given that, I go in cycles. I bought 5 knives in 2021 and 2 so far in 2022. Most of my knives now come off the exchange. I'm totally content with a user knife at a good price which helps me spread my buying dollar further.

As long as I have $ in the fund to cover a purchase, I can buy it. If I do exceed the fund, I have to ask the boss. My wife has a similar fund and that is what we agreed since we started sticking to a strict budget to maximize our retirement savings.
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On par with you, I limit myself to not overdue "unnecessary" spending. Some years I'm spending over $3k in knives and it's something I hate to say but I hide from the wife when I can just because I know she'll b**** and bellyache if she finds out how much I'm spending on a particular knife. I try to limit gun purchases to once a year since there's no hiding those lol.
 
Willy...Nilly

Seriously though, I don't purchase near as much as I did at one point, where I felt like I MUST HAVE every knife that sparked my interest. Now I sometimes go long times in between purchases, only to make multiple purchases in spurts from time to time, or just pick one up on occasion. It's still the same sentiment though, I buy a knife when it gives me that MUST HAVE feeling.

I have absolutely no idea how many knives I have though, and have no desire to gather them all up from the places where they are kept as to be most useful just to make a count.

One thing I'll add-- I enjoy the research process; browsing forums, watching video reviews, etc. This helps me to prolong the excitement of a new purchase (even though sometimes the knife is already in the mail at that point ;)). Also, it's no longer all about ownership for me. I can see a knife that I think is cool and enjoy learning about it, realizing it's not for me, without absolutely having to have one. I have learned to be happy with what I have, so luckily I no longer have the urge to seek new purchases constantly as I once did. If I see something I am compelled to buy, I buy it, typically with little hesitation, but it takes alot more these days to give me that feeling...Or sometimes it takes just a glance ;)
 
Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Really neat to see all the different collection philosophies.

Ive settled into a sweet spot with a couple of sebenzas, an umnumzaan, a shaman and a couple of others. I’m trying to connect with the collection I’ve built up to this point. I’m sure I’ll end up with something else at some point in the future, but I’d like to start making new acquisitions commemorative for something. Promotions, birthdays, etc. Buying and selling so quickly sometimes makes me forget just how special some of the pieces are.
 
I buy something whenever the mood strikes me. My collection is well over 300, I think. However they are just stuffed places. Various levels of quality as my tastes and budget has changed over time.

Currently, my taste is such that $70 retail therapy isn't quite up to what I am looking for lest I grab one of the Cold Steel hawks/spears/whatever. Therefore my dollar doesn't stretch as far, obviously, since I am eyeballing $300-600 these days.

That said, due to the pandemic and the lack of ammo, my shooting hobby has all but dried to nothing. So what I would have dropped on guns/ammo, I just got more high end knives. I just spent the same amount of cash on a Microtech that you could get a Glock 19 for. Honestly, I enjoy my knives way more.
 
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