How things change

The biggest change for me is the quality of the build and materials used. There is no better feeling than a high quality, well built blade - no matter what the price point.
I do find it harder and harder to spend a lot ($200+) on a edc/user.
 
sabre cat said:
I've tried smaller stuff but 3" is about as small as I like. I carried a SAK Cadet as an EDC for a month and can tell you that I don't want anything smaller than it's 2 1/2 inch blade. Never ever. Size does matter.
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To clarify, the only 2 that are below 2.75" are a Dragonfly salt and an Alox Cadet. I wouldn't typically carry something below that either, but 3" seems to be a great EDC size. Plenty of blade for the vast majority of tasks.
 
palonej said:
Without the slightest doubt......price!
First 'real' knife was a Spydie Pac Salt, ~ $70, in June of '15. $70???? WOW!!!
This coming from a looney toon that spends $4000 on a pool cue and $1000 for an air rifle!!
Kinda leveled out in the $250 - $350 range.
Joe
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that's exactly what happened to me, but in June of '14

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and I also set the maximum in the $250 range
 
What changed? A book could be written about that, but I went though many of the same price leanings, quality recognition, blade steel, actually noticing fit & finish, fixed blades..... the list goes on. It has been an interesting ride.

The change has occurred gradually even before I knew about Blade Forums (BF) or internet forums in general. Things heated up once I got a DSL internet connection and later a fiber optic connection. Blade Forums changed me, enlightened me, and made me look at knives more carefully, and resulted in my buying way more knives then I would ever need to use. I bought knives just to play with, which is something I would never have done years ago.

Folders: I have tried just about all of the various types of folder knives. Started out with traditional Case type slip joints and went from there. But, the most dramatic shift occurred after I joined BF. I enjoy looking back at my evolution of thought and use. I resisted change and then jumped into it with both feet. Now, I am beginning to move back to more traditional knives in terms of design. I have AO's, flippers, etc.... found I don't really need them and for the most part don't want them anymore. One handed opening is useful, but not a requirement. I am also shifting away from any real sense of need or want to have the latest steel in a knife. Just not important to me anymore, although it was never a dominant reason for buying a knife. Knife size is slowly getting smaller based on my use. But I still lean toward the same sort of size with modern knives. With traditional knives, I have been experimenting with smaller knives to carry. I have just recently came to accept that I LIKE SAKs a lot and they do most of what I want a knife to do for me. That means the latest super steel has little attraction, but I still buy some. Cost has been going up in steps. I'm comfortable with that and have not allowed myself to spend $300+ on a folder. The one exception so far has been a TA Davison slipjoint which I love. That choice reflects my shift back toward traditional knives, but generally the better quality traditionals. However, I have developed a liking of Rough Rider knives which break that trend. So, who knows?

Fixed Blades: Never would have dreamed using a fixed blade to chop with, but then I never considered buying a fixed blade that was big enough for that purpose until after BF. That has changed, but I still seldom chop with a knife unless it is for fun. The Rambo movies definitely influenced my choices. This is when I purchased Randall knives as I saw them as the ultimate survival knife then. I never even owned a fixed blade knife until I was in my 30's and used folding knives for hunting chores for years. I still have very limited need for a fixed blade knife, but BF has enlightened me and I have purchased more than a few since. I have tried to EDC a fixed blade and do from time to time if for nothing else than for the variety and I own the blades that work for me. I feel sure that I will continue buying fixed blade knives if for no other reason than I like knives. But the purchases are made with the knowledge that it is probably for the fun and I likely will not use them much or even a little. At some point, I'll stop buying.
 
For me my focus has shifted to getting my enjoyment from actually using and sharpening my knives as apposed to just accumulating new knives. These days I seldom buy a new knife, maybe one a year. I have been buying a new whetstone or two recently. I have moved away from modern folders and if I do lust after a new knife these days it's a fixed blade. Been enjoying my Moras and using them for bushcraft type of tasks.
 
My collecting habits have changed very little over the years. If I like a knife and I see one I don't have that fits my collecting patterns, I buy it IF AND ONLY IF the budget allows for it at the time. Being single allows me to satisfy my knife habit withou repercussions. :D

On the user end, I have carried at least 2 knives since 1965.

The knives carried have changed over the years -

From 1965 to 1977, I carried a pair of folding knives - initially an Imperial pen knife or 2, later one was replaced by a Buck 110. A Western L46-5 was my camping fixed blade.

From 1977 to 1991, I carried a Buck 110 in a belt sheath, a no-name lock back in my RFP and a Kabar Rigger's knife in my LFP.

In 1988 and up until 1995, I added a Kabar 1232 and a Kabar 1207 to my EMS duty belt. Camping fixed blades migrated to some Bucks - (102, 105, 119, 120)

Around 1995 or so, I changed the Kabar on the duty belt to 125x versions of the shorties.

In 2001, when corporate America kicked me to the curb and sent my job to China, I shifted the Kabars to my EDC and retired the Buck 110 to a drawer and I replaced the no-name folder with a Buck 510, later rotating that with Buck 482s, 486s, and 484s.

Since 2005, I have settled down to the daily EDC grouping being a Kabar rigger, a Buck folder (510/482/484/486), a BK11 and 2 Kabar shorties. Around the farm is a different ball game.

My next major change will be September 01, 2017. There will no longer be any "illegal knives" in Texas and my EDC fixed blades will more-or-less stay the same BUT and its a big BUT, if I choose to, I will be occasionally packing some boot daggers, some WW2 combat/utility knives, such as a Cattaraugus 225Q or a Case 337-6Q, or a venerable WW2 era 1219C2, a BK7 or BK9. Hell, I may decide to pack a M4/M5/M6/M7 bayonet every now and then.:eek:

Why - because I have a ton of them that I haven't been able to legally pack around town and after 01 September, watch out, 'cause the barn door will be open.:D:D:D

I'll probably NOT be sporting any Chassepot, Gras, or SMLE sword bayonets or French Brix/Prussian Faschinenmessers. At least not very often.:rolleyes::D:p
 
zzyzzogeton said:
My collecting habits have changed very little over the years. If I like a knife and I see one I don't have that fits my collecting patterns, I buy it IF AND ONLY IF the budget allows for it at the time. Being single allows me to satisfy my knife habit withou repercussions. :D

On the user end, I have carried at least 2 knives since 1965.

The knives carried have changed over the years -

From 1965 to 1977, I carried a pair of folding knives - initially an Imperial pen knife or 2, later one was replaced by a Buck 110. A Western L46-5 was my camping fixed blade.

From 1977 to 1991, I carried a Buck 110 in a belt sheath, a no-name lock back in my RFP and a Kabar Rigger's knife in my LFP.

In 1988 and up until 1995, I added a Kabar 1232 and a Kabar 1207 to my EMS duty belt. Camping fixed blades migrated to some Bucks - (102, 105, 119, 120)

Around 1995 or so, I changed the Kabar on the duty belt to 125x versions of the shorties.

In 2001, when corporate America kicked me to the curb and sent my job to China, I shifted the Kabars to my EDC and retired the Buck 110 to a drawer and I replaced the no-name folder with a Buck 510, later rotating that with Buck 482s, 486s, and 484s.

Since 2005, I have settled down to the daily EDC grouping being a Kabar rigger, a Buck folder (510/482/484/486), a BK11 and 2 Kabar shorties. Around the farm is a different ball game.

My next major change will be September 01, 2017. There will no longer be any "illegal knives" in Texas and my EDC fixed blades will more-or-less stay the same BUT and its a big BUT, if I choose to, I will be occasionally packing some boot daggers, some WW2 combat/utility knives, such as a Cattaraugus 225Q or a Case 337-6Q, or a venerable WW2 era 1219C2, a BK7 or BK9. Hell, I may decide to pack a M4/M5/M6/M7 bayonet every now and then.:eek:

Why - because I have a ton of them that I haven't been able to legally pack around town and after 01 September, watch out, 'cause the barn door will be open.:D:D:D

I'll probably NOT be sporting any Chassepot, Gras, or SMLE sword bayonets or French Brix/Prussian Faschinenmessers. At least not very often.:rolleyes::D:p
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Good read, thanks. I'm with you for September 1. My buddy and I are buying some type of daggers to celebrate the occasion.

I Haven't decided on anything yet. Cold Steel Tai Pan caught my eye but the original has been discontinued. Blacked out only version now.
The Lon Humphrey Gunfighter Bowie also peeks my interest. Don't know much about it yet.
 
Prices for sure. I remember about five years ago when I got my first mini grip and my wife couldn't believe I spent $68 on a knife. Now I don't bat an eye at folders costing over $150. In the words of my wife buy quality not quantity.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
...My next major change will be September 01, 2017. There will no longer be any "illegal knives" in Texas and my EDC fixed blades will more-or-less stay the same BUT and its a big BUT, if I choose to, I will be occasionally packing some boot daggers, some WW2 combat/utility knives, such as a Cattaraugus 225Q or a Case 337-6Q, or a venerable WW2 era 1219C2, a BK7 or BK9. Hell, I may decide to pack a M4/M5/M6/M7 bayonet every now and then.:eek:

Why - because I have a ton of them that I haven't been able to legally pack around town and after 01 September, watch out, 'cause the barn door will be open.:D:D:D
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I know the feeling. The law changed to anything goes with intent or use being the deciding factor with law enforcement here in Tennessee. But the funny thing is that NOTHING CHANGED at all for me other than I don't even think about legal length and so forth. I only think about what I might like to carry or use. My normal carry knives are and were legal before the law change. So, you'll get the legal anything goes out of your system pretty quick.
 
Oh, the "legal anything goes" is already out of my system. My normal EDC will most likely not change much, if at all, other than to add the occasional boot dagger for shits and giggles.

What I have is "OMG, I can now carry some of my 5.7", 5.75", 6", etc... knives on a daily basis around the farm and not have to worry about taking them off to go to town to buy more supplies". My farm EDC fixed blades of Kabar 1217s, BK 7s and /9s.

I have no intention of carrying swords, short swords, D-Guard Bowies or the like to town. First, they have no real utility including self-defense. Second, they get in the way, and third, they would look kinda funny while I'm in jeans, boots and cowboy hat.

I prefer very small knives for that self-defense, such as the GLK-9, the SW357, and the SA45.
 
Huge changes. Great changes.

Knives today with modern technologies, modern materials, precision machining, amazing designs, and this is just considering production knives, and things are changing even more rapidly today than in the past. Cerakote titanium flipper, carbon fiber inlay, sealed cage bearing pivot, high end alloy steel, built to exacting tolerances. What’s not to like? The prices maybe? Taking everything into consideration, maybe, maybe not.

As a young man with my first job, minimum wage of course, a Buck 110 took most of an entire day’s wages. I had to save for a stag handled Case Mako, I had to save for a while and a few odd jobs to get my hands on a Puma Prince. Yet back then a new Mustang cost less than a year’s salary, even on minimum wage. I got myself a 1 year old Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme while having that minimum wage job.

Today I can get an Ontario Rat with just a part of the cash I carry in my pocket. A Benchmade Griptilian cost a lot less than a day’s wages. Of course a Shirogorov does need to be saved for, but ridiculously priced, out of reach? Consider what the price of a new Mustang is today compared to a year’s salary at minimum wage. Try to touch a 1 year old Buick LaCrosse today with an average laborer’s wage, forget about a minimum wage job. A sprint run Spyderco PM2 is a smaller part of the average paycheck today than that Case Mako was so many years ago. A $500 Chris Reeve knife is not so ridiculously priced to me, a $250 a month cell phone bill, that is.

Thus, the biggest change for me is that all knives, not just high end or customs, have made some incredible advances and are more readily available and more accessible than in the past. The materials, quality and build of today’s knives, unimaginable many years ago, is just so easily obtainable today. I for one am anxiously anticipating the advances and possibilities of what knives will be available 10 years from now.
 
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