How was knife collecting as a hobby before the internet?

[beera]

What did people have before the internet and knife forums?

What was their knowledge like?

How did they manage?

Was there knives before the internet?

 

[Hair]

I have thought about this, too.

Without the internet, especially BF, I would still be buying flea-market knives.

While the education has hurt my wallet, it has made knives much more enjoyable for me.

I assume that before the internet, huge knife knuts just had to do more footwork and travel to shows and stores. More "average" knife knuts probably just made due with what they had.

 

[ahgar]

it really sucked. your selection was limited to the local stores and in arkansas that meant a lot of case, schrade, buck, gerber and a smattering of queen,kershaw etc. I still remember seeing my first smokey mountain knife works cataloge I thought i had died and gone to heaven. and of course you had print ads in magazines, that's how I bought 2 cold steel urban shivs for $30 delivered. your knowledge base was limited as well to who you new, what you read, and what you saw at gun shows. it is sssooooo much better now. I'm so glad al gore created the internet. later, ahgar

 

[T.K.C.]

I was a knife collector/ carrier since was 7 or 8 years of age, long before the internet. It was very limited to what could be had in stores. Thyerefore, I had purchased a lot of crap!! Live and learn!!

 

[Hair]

Should have mentioned this in my first post:

I have (or have had) a lot of hobbies. Being only 22, I have had the internet for most of my remembered life. For most of these hobbies, I have used to internet to gain knowledge and seek choices. I have noticed that people in my life with the same hobbies, but no internet, lag way behind me in terms of knowledge.

For example, I used to play a collectable card game called Magic. If you have heard of it, you can scream "nerd" now. If you haven't heard of it, please don't research it. I'm a nerd, and let's just leave it at that. Anyways, I used the internet to learn from players all around the world, and see what decks were doing the best in tournaments. I became very good at playing and at building decks. My friends who did not use the internet could barely tell which cards were good and which were bad.

For guitar the internet gave me guitar tab, online lessions, music theory explainations, gear reviews etc... Even when taking music theory in school, the internet helped me with my assignments more than the books did. It wasn't until I started taking classical guitar lessons from a renowned teacher that I left the internet behind, and that is mostly because there isn't as much online for classical guitar as there is found in books, and classical guitar requires a teacher to see your technique.

In terms of knives, I have a friend that has been into knives for at least a decade longer than I have. But he didn't know what G-10 was until he met me, and when I first started talking to him about knives he thought that having "440" on the blade meant the knife was top-of-the-line badass stuff.

I don't really like computers, and with all of the hassle and problems they have given me over the years I have sometimes been on the verge of just getting rid of my computer and keeping them out of my life as much as possible. What keeps me from doing that is the knowledge I have gained and will continue to gain from forums like this.

I need a computer because I love knives. I'll bet that people didn't say that 10 years ago.

 

[edamhcneb]

Damned internet! Before I found it, my collection included a Schrade LB7 and a couple of cheap Maxam lock backs.

Now I have 5 SOG's, 14 Benchmades, 1 Sebenza, 1 KBar 5 Kershaws, and a bunch of Leatherman tools...... I can't stop.

So many knives; so little dinero

 

[Emanuel]

Before I went online approx. 6 years ago(and I'm 28) almost all of my knife knowledge came from magazines, both gun and dedicated knife mags. The rest came from the occasional show back in my childhood, but barely.

There simply is no reasonable other way of getting this much knowledge so quickly and thoroughly as you can from the net, aside from having a famous knifemaker dad and hanging around every now and then with his knifemaker buddies.

 

[m_calingo]

Before the 'net?

ATS34 was da bomb, unless of course, your knife was made of AUS8, in which case it was even better.

Stabbing a knife through a car door indicated you had a kick-ass knife.

The Americanized tanto was the zenith of knife design.

Most knives, folders or fixed, were carried in sheaths.

Flaming was used in an entirely different context.

There were no Benchmade vs. Spyderco threads. (That was a very good thing.)

Generally, as a hobby, I think it was more boring, but that may just be me.

 

[Halfneck]

I use to look in Knife magazines and call the various makers, whose work I liked, and ask about getting a catalog sent to me. Made sure I got catalogs from A.G. Russell, Cutlery Shoppe, Nordic Knives, and Smoky Mountain Knifeworks.

 

[22-rimfire]

Knifel collecting was limited to what you found at gunshows and at knife shows. For most, that would mean a regional knowledge and regional pricing. The internet has certainly increased accessibility to many custom collectors as well as places to buy production knives competitively. The internet is great for knives. I don't feel that way about guns in general. The thrill of the chase is more limited. Now it is much more a money game. The internet destroyed the collector book market and made it into a nationwide market. Prices are just beginning to recover after 10 or more years of easy internet access. Sorry to digress into other collector medians.

 

[harm]

i remember knife collecting long before the internet.there are 2 annual knife shows in s africa,1 of which is held in the city of durban,where i live.i've been attending the local show with my father for quite a few years,that's where we gained knowledge of custom knives.prior to that it was from the knives annuals,knives illustrated,blade,tactical knives and the local hunting/outdoors mag.and before that it was from guns & ammo.the internet has made things much easier

 

[Gringogunsmith]

I use to look in Knife magazines and call the various makers, whose work I liked, and ask about getting a catalog sent to me. Made sure I got catalogs from A.G. Russell, Cutlery Shoppe, Nordic Knives, and Smoky Mountain Knifeworks.

Pre internet I also had every catalogue and ragazine subscription know to man.

Randall was the Rolex.. ummm still is !
Custom knives were gunshow items and I bought a many of them, which I still have.

The internet opened up the world to being able to buy from many of the GREAT custom builders..
.. some still buy 12 leatherman, 5 SOG's and 8 Ka-bars.. Each to their own.. I reckon

 

[edamhcneb]

Pre internet I also had every catalogue and ragazine subscription know to man.

Randall was the Rolex.. ummm still is !
Custom knives were gunshow items and I bought a many of them, which I still have.

The internet opened up the world to being able to buy from many of the GREAT custom builders..
.. some still buy 12 leatherman, 5 SOG's and 8 Ka-bars.. Each to their own.. I reckon

Ouch, that kind of hurt.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Before the internet for me was books, magazines and knife shows. I managed.

 

[Cougar Allen]

My main resource was the Atlanta Cutlery catalog. Of course that was before Windlass bought them out, but even so ...

 

[Monocrom]

I've been collecting knives without the benefit of the internet, until a few months ago. Years ago, I started out buying knives at an Army & Navy surplus store. After awhile, I noticed most of them were junk. I decided to learn more about knives. Learned by reading articles in Tactical Knives and Fighting Knives magazines. (I still miss FK).

Then I found books at the bookstore about quality-made knives. Eventually, I stumbled upon Paladin Press and their collection of books about knives. When I started collecting knives, there were more good knife shops in NYC than there are now. (Still haven't bought any knives on-line). The only knives I didn't buy from a physical store, I ordered directly from Benchmade. I'm used to collecting knives without the aid of the internet.

 

[Doug C]

I've only been online one year,it's like the first time I dived in the ocean. :thumbup:

 

[ArchAngel]

As many have said before me. I read all of the knife mags, ie; Blade, Knives Illusatrated ( great how to articles), Tactical Knives and Fighting knives mags. I got catalogs from, The Cutlery Shoppe, Atlanta Cutlery, to mention a few.
The main differance is I did not buy as much or as often. The knowlege comes easier and faster on the net, and the span between reading about a knife and being able to get it is much closer.
The Cutlery Shoppe catalog was my connection to buying most of the new knives as they came out. I bought one of the very first Spyderco Police models when they came out and carried it daily EDC until I bought one of the BM AFCK models when they came out. It got carried daily EDC until the next new thing came along. I did not have a rotating EDC selection like I do now.
I usually have a harder time deciding what knife to carry weekly than I do what clothes to put on daily.

 

[gordonk]

If it wasn't for the internet where I "accidently" bumped into this hobby, plus knifemaking, plus leatherwork, plus...........my life would have been, well, just another day Definitely has moved me in a couple of different directions

- gord

 

[Gryffin]

While the Internet has made it a lot easier to get info on knives, and to buy them cheaply, it hasn't all been rosy...

When I was a wee lad, most knives were bought at hardware stores and sporting goods stores. The selection wasn't exactly what you'd expect at knifecenter.com, but most carried Case, Schhrade, Buck, Gerber, Marble's, Victorinox, and if you were lucky, a smattering of German and Japanese brands, too.

Today, though, competition from Internet stores has made it impossible for retail outlets to compete. Most hardware stores carry a few el cheapo utility knives by the likes of Sheffield, and a SAK or two if you're lucky, and sporting goods stores might carry a few hunting knives, if that.

Case in point: one of my favorite local outdoors stores, recently got rid of most of their (already modest) knife displays. (Mostly Buck, Kershaw, some CRK&T, and a handful of Benchmade models.) I asked one of the salemen why, and he told me straight out, that the Internet was killing them. Most folks, it seems, would come in and "play" with the knives they had in the display, but never buy one, probably going home instead to check out prices on Froogle.

(Gotta admit, I've done the same thing; like many retail outlets, they sold knives at full retail price!)

So, while we can buy knives more cheaply now thanks to the 'net, actually checking one out in person has gotten much harder for most people.

The Internet giveth, the Internet taketh away...