I guess I'm just a dusty old fart

D

dogstar

Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
4,399
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
 
I see a lot of what you're talking about, but I also see a lot of thinner stock blade stock and grinds, more comfortable, neutral handles without strange finger grooves and protrusions and blade shapes that favor getting work done over looking cool.

The knife world is just as subject to fade and fashion as any other consumer driven business, so we get more of what's popular. There's a lot of stuff I don't care for, but I've loved the renaissance of blending modern and traditional materials and design elements, small, practical fixed blades and clean, utilitarian designs that I've seen from a lot of companies, especially in the budget knife arena.
 
dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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I've often lamented that its a shame we can't like a post but once/ I'd give this a plus 10.

Yes, I freely admit to being a DOF. I love the old stuff, and all my handguns are revolvers, my rifle is lever action. Aside from my love of SAK's, the only other pocket knives I own are a horn handle Sardinian resolza, number 5 and 8 Opinel's, and a stag handle Old Timer dog leg with carbon steel blade that Glen made for me.

I'd have been okay with being born 50 or 60 years earlier. I would have loved learning to fly on a cot covered biplane instead of an all metal Cessna.
 
I'm somewhat older (mid 50's) and somewhat agree. Although Joe X and Lily aside am falling in love with Fallkniven fixed knives. I've the A1 and now the Tf2 and will buy more. People complain about the price, well they're cheaper than Esse and Becker here in the UK and you're getting a blade made by a world class Smith (Hattori). Why am I saying this well they have a certain feel to them, different (probably due to the convex grind in part) and yes they do have rubberised plastic handles but have a certain "soul" to them that most of my other knives don't.

The Rosellis also and a few others. There are still great knives out there you've just got to do a little research.
 
dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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Sounds like the Trad subforum is your home! Same with me!

Zieg
 
Thanks for your replies, gents!
Dav1 said:
I'm somewhat older (mid 50's) and somewhat agree.
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So am I! I wonder what I will sound like in 20 years 😁
The Zieg said:
Sounds like the Trad subforum is your home!
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Been there. It seems dominated by collectors, which I am not. I'm also cheap, so I don't play with the GEC/Tidioute crowd. I appreciate your enthusiasm, though!
 
Not a DOF, but I tend agree about the relatively underwhelming sea of sameyness, at least in folders. I used to look at the knife stores with oohs and ahs just a couple years ago, but that is mostly passed for me. The death of Cold Steel might have played a big part in that, as well Spyderco releasing their Resilience and Tenacious in S35VN. These have been my go to folders ever since, and my desire to buy more is all but non-existent.
 
I like modern and traditional, if the design speaks to me. The vast majority of both are either boring or too weird. But that's to be expected in such a large market. The issue is always going to be finding exactly what you want, or didn't know you wanted, in a sea of crap.
 
Dav1 said:
I take the "attitude" of who cares Dogstar, I still powerlift, covered in tattoos, drive an armoured vehicle and couldn't care less. Give the younger ones a run for their money and I will until I drop😉
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What armored vehicle(s) do you own? I have a few myself.
 
Could it be that as time has passed, some of us have obtained most (or all) of what once made us go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’, and everything left is just everything else? That’s kinda where I am. Most of the things that excited me the most, that were in my price range, I got (ok, maybe a few were a bit above). As I got those, some of the others that might have been on the list at some point just slipped down or fell off completely, because the ones I got scratched the itch. Now it’s just less and less frequent that I see something more exciting to me than what I have. Plus, the more knives I’ve obtained, the more I know what I do and don’t want, which further culls down the list. There are still a few that I want, but my wish list has shrunk considerably. I don’t blame the makers, though - it’s just the way things go.
 
dogstar said:
The majority of stuff being sold today just doesn't appeal to me. If I go to Knifecenter and scroll through their carousel, none their showcased items really excite me. The current aesthetic of sharp angles, CNC machining, torx screws, and slab construction just seems so dead to me. Pretty soon, they will have AI design this stuff, because it is all looking very similar. Also, I don't need my knife to run on ball bearings, drop shut, or fly open in a millisecond.

I just need my knife to cut well, feel good in the hand, and be easy to maintain. A knife is a tool to me, not an object d'art. The more it looks like a human hands made it, the better. If you are a DOF like me, chime in and commiserate.
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I can commiserate. But I'd also say that not everything being made today is "sharp angles, CNC, torx, etc..."
There are a number of makers providing what you are looking for, if you look in the right places. And one of the best places is right here on BF, in the maker's forums.
 
dogstar said:
Been there. It seems dominated by collectors, which I am not. I'm also cheap, so I don't play with the GEC/Tidioute crowd. I appreciate your enthusiasm, though!
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I think you are mischaracterizing the Trad sub-forum, or you haven't spent much time there. Sure, there are collectors on there, but there are also plenty of regulars who use their knives. And there is also a lot more being shared and talked about than just GECs.
 
While I share your sentiments regarding much of current knife design trends, I still see everything I like in knives on offer.

That is to say, the stuff I don't care for doesn't take anything away from me, it's just more stuff in a large market. Additive, not subtractive.
 
Smithhammer said:
I think you are mischaracterizing the Trad sub-forum, or you haven't spent much time there. Sure, there are collectors on there, but there are also plenty of regulars who use their knives. And there is also a lot more being shared and talked about than just GECs.
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Fair enough. I did spend a significant amount of time there. People seem to get mostly excited about bling bling. Just not my bag.
 
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