I think i'm losing the love for knives

M

mantzao

Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
1,526
Hello guys :)

It's been a while since i posted on here.
Well the reason for that is that i think i'm losing the love for knives!
I'm a folder guy and after having most of the production knives out there i feel like there's nothing else that interests me :(
The ZT0566 is probabbly the one that makes me a bit excited but other than that...
I know what you're thinking: " Try a custom".
Well, that could be the thing.
I'm actually waiting forever for a Gareth Bull Shamwari but it's taking so long that the love is fading a bit to be honest.
My collection has been shrinking down the last couple of months because i'm sticking to what i really like.
The collection consists mainly of 4 CRKs and a Hinderer but even those are looking more like money i could use for other things rather than the knives i used to love!
Something similar happened when i stopped collecting a few years ago.
I mean, i used to buy knives from a local shop.
The knives weren't anything like the ones i have now because it was way before i even knew that more knife nuts existed.
The fact that i rarely have a chance to use them is maybe the big factor that is causing this.

Anyway, has any of you ever sold a collection or lost the love for your knives?

Thanks :)
 
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My interests are constantly rotating from Knives to guns to fishing. I go through obsessive spurts with each and constantly rotate every few months or so. It keeps things fresh so i never get sick of each hobby. Once you take a little break you come back and have a few months worth of fresh topics and/or new products to get acuainted with. Save a few knives that you love and sell the rest. Take a small break from knife collecting, if its truely a passion it will be back. If not, try gun collecting/shooting, and fishing. It works for me.
 
Yes, it comes and goes for me.
For several months I might be a one or two knife kind of guy and not buy or carry anything new, then out of nowhere I get bitten buy the bug and resume my obsessive collecting and carrying routine.

I will always be a knife nut though, I feel most content when I am not reading or posting on here or buying new knives I know I don't need.
The knives I already have feel more important to me after a long stretch of carry time, they develop character and memories that no new knife will have without time in the pocket.
 
mantzao said:
Hello guys :)
Anyway, has any of you ever sold a collection or lost the love for your knives?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Some years ago I was exactly where you fare. I had a large collection of Randall's and other customs, and about 50 production knives. One day I had an epiphany, lke a light bulb going on over my head, and I asked myself just what I was doing with all this stuff. I couldn't come up woth an answer, and I had lost my love of the stuff somehow. I sod off all of it. Got rid of 98% of my knives, cut way back on my guns, duplicate tools, and other possessions.

IT FELT GREAT!

I took the money, and the better half and I spent a month on the road camping out, and seeing the U.S.A. again. Yellowstone, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Canyon Lands, Arches. We'll remember that trip for the rest of our lives.

Now I just keep a small handful of knives, and don't bother with anything I can't really use in my day to day life as a retired gentleman of leisure. A few Opinel's, SAK's, and some friction folders to indulge my liking of old time funky designs. All my knives will fit in a cigar box, with a bit of room left over. It's just stuff in the end. I got to a point where the people in my life were more important than things.

Carl.
 
Carl's last paragraph pretty much sum's it up for me, and the way I feel about most of my "things" I have collected over the years. They were important and needed at the time I thought. But as life rolls on, you come to a point in time when "Things" are not what is important any more. You begin to realize that "people" and relationships are much better collectibles and memory makers. Besides, you can't take any of them with you when you are done here on this earth.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Good post Omar.
OP- I feel the same way also now. I just want a few nice knives and knives that are classics, or different, appeal to me the most.
You need to try a Strider folder. Trust me. And get one Dozier knife.
rolf
 
I`m at the same point righ now. I`m at the point where I know what I like and I`ve tried many knives. I`ll probably sell most of them within the next month or 2. There are still knives out there I want to try, and have on order like the 204p Para 2 or a Norseman. But I`d be very content with what I have right now. I have spurts where I want to get rid of it all except 1 or 2 and focus on other hobbies. THe unfortunate thing is due to location it`s hard for me to sell since shipping is very expensive. I always make a loss.
 
For me, it was all about the edge, finally being able to turn out 25,000 grit edges that top hair and pass the HHT with ease, better steel, thinner edges.

I like the communities around knives, sharpening for friends and family. I've always been more inclined to carrying a single knife, like life there are ups and downs for hobbies.
 
Skimo said:
. . . like life there are ups and downs for hobbies . . .
Click to expand...

. . . and what goes around, comes around. Over time, I've learned it's best not to apply words like "never" and "always" to my behavior and my interests.
 
Rotation. I do get that way sometimes, like, why did I get that? I have so many now, do I need another? Then I bring back some of my ones from storage, and I remember the excitement when I got them. I am trying to rotate them now, and I find my tastes vary at times, from old time knives from mountain man era, to tactical, to small to large choppers. There are some I may sell in the future because they just turned out different than I thought they might be, but I am trying to use them to improve and enjoy other aspects of collecting. I am trying to be content and say "nice design or great piece" rather than getting the urge to put some money down, and think how others may enjoy them. Lastly, enjoy your knives, but it is family, friends, and the times spent together that mean most.
 
Try collecting vintage traditional knives, some of the more elusive scale, pattern combos will keep you busy researching and searching for a while but the enjoyment when ya come across that one knife ya been lookin' for our the pattern ya stumble across that's peaks a new interest in that branch of the hobby whether it be that pattern or particular scale material.

Consider this too, there are many acceptable degrees when it comes condition when collecting traditional, just look through some of the threads in the Traditionals subforum and you'll see grown men oohing and ahhing over 100 year old knives with broken blades and cracked scales.

In 40+ years of collecting I can still find bargains for vintage knives, spending anywhere from $3-$20 on average per knife, with a little patience and luck you could build a knice collection for the price of a midrange Spyderco or Benchmade.

So for you guys who think you might be losing you passion for collecting knives, try collecting traditional patterns for a few months.

You'll also find yourself using your knife a lot more, (gets less of a negative look when ya pull out a Case Swayback Jack at the mall vs a ZT or Sebenza), you'll also notice more people are willing to approach you and talk to you about your knife when it's a traditional pattern.

When you pull out a Congress Jack to open the package you're me likely to hear, "...Get my dad/granddad carried a knife like that", where as if ya pulled out Junkyard Dog you'd probably hear,"... what do you need a weapon like that for?"

Sometimes ya just need to take a detour in this hobby instead of canceling the trip completely.

FWIW, this is what I've been doing and I don't think I could ever say I've lost interest in knives, I always come across something new or interesting that I can add to my knife collection.
 
jackknife said:
Some years ago I was exactly where you fare. I had a large collection of Randall's and other customs, and about 50 production knives. One day I had an epiphany, lke a light bulb going on over my head, and I asked myself just what I was doing with all this stuff. I couldn't come up woth an answer, and I had lost my love of the stuff somehow. I sod off all of it. Got rid of 98% of my knives, cut way back on my guns, duplicate tools, and other possessions.

IT FELT GREAT!

I took the money, and the better half and I spent a month on the road camping out, and seeing the U.S.A. again. Yellowstone, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Canyon Lands, Arches. We'll remember that trip for the rest of our lives.

Now I just keep a small handful of knives, and don't bother with anything I can't really use in my day to day life as a retired gentleman of leisure. A few Opinel's, SAK's, and some friction folders to indulge my liking of old time funky designs. All my knives will fit in a cigar box, with a bit of room left over. It's just stuff in the end. I got to a point where the people in my life were more important than things.

Carl.
Click to expand...

OHALLUM said:
Carl's last paragraph pretty much sum's it up for me, and the way I feel about most of my "things" I have collected over the years. They were important and needed at the time I thought. But as life rolls on, you come to a point in time when "Things" are not what is important any more. You begin to realize that "people" and relationships are much better collectibles and memory makers. Besides, you can't take any of them with you when you are done here on this earth.

Blessings,

Omar
Click to expand...

Thanks guys:)
I'm starting to feel the same as you do.
I got married a few months ago so my perspective on life is slowly changing. For the better, i must add :)
I'm currently selling two of the ones i really don't use to buy something for the house.
It seems pointless now having them stored and not having anything to do with them.

Lycosa said:
Good post Omar.
OP- I feel the same way also now. I just want a few nice knives and knives that are classics, or different, appeal to me the most.
You need to try a Strider folder. Trust me. And get one Dozier knife.
rolf
Click to expand...

I tried two Striders.
A PT and a PT CC and sold them both:)

Art_Vandeley said:
I`m at the same point righ now. I`m at the point where I know what I like and I`ve tried many knives. I`ll probably sell most of them within the next month or 2. There are still knives out there I want to try, and have on order like the 204p Para 2 or a Norseman. But I`d be very content with what I have right now. I have spurts where I want to get rid of it all except 1 or 2 and focus on other hobbies. THe unfortunate thing is due to location it`s hard for me to sell since shipping is very expensive. I always make a loss.
Click to expand...

sent you an email:)
 
Put your knives away for a while then come back to them. It may re-ignite your passion for them.
 
As we age - and better realize our mortality - 'things' seem to matter less. Having watched too many 'hoarder' shows on TV has given me insight into the birth of my hoarding. My parents decided to leave Brooklyn, where they owned a brownstone and my dad had a great job, to live in Miami - pre-Castro mid-fifties. Their marriage faltered - we moved by train several times, my dad having gone back to NY. We would epitomize abject poverty - I had no physical reminders of my childhood, 'things' were lost in many moves. I persevered, but after the USN and college, I realized how important 'stuff' was - and started 'saving' stuff. My sons grown and long gone, and I was retired, and my ability to buy - and collect - stuff improved. But the seeds of hoarding, including tools, electronics, models, trains, guns, knives, and, yes, even cats (We have seven inside only cats now.), were sown in my 'impoverished childhood' - which, as a child, I was unaware of. While other kids had new toys - I knew where the public library was - and I was happy. Skip ahead to the OP's quandry... the 'problem' of hoarding - let's call it 'advanced collecting syndrome' - has deep seeds. Selling off part of a collection is akin to mowing weeds - they'll be back.

I know I am a pseudo-hoarder. To be a true hoarder, if the TV shows are indicative, you must save delivery pizza boxes - and I have none. I did think my 'hoarding' knives had waned some months back. Then I found a half priced sale of select Spyderco's at a local store. Included was the CF Dodo - $109 inc s/t! Why am I a hoarder? I went back and bought a second one - a spare - I didn't need the first one. Knife gluttony begets hoarding. Accept it for what it is - or dig it up by the roots - it's your decision. At least it doesn't take up a lot of space! Think carefully before selling off rare/custom knives.

Stainz

PS I also 'collect' geiger counters...
 
cbach8tw said:
Rotation. I do get that way sometimes, like, why did I get that? I have so many now, do I need another? Then I bring back some of my ones from storage, and I remember the excitement when I got them. I am trying to rotate them now, and I find my tastes vary at times, from old time knives from mountain man era, to tactical, to small to large choppers. There are some I may sell in the future because they just turned out different than I thought they might be, but I am trying to use them to improve and enjoy other aspects of collecting. I am trying to be content and say "nice design or great piece" rather than getting the urge to put some money down, and think how others may enjoy them. Lastly, enjoy your knives, but it is family, friends, and the times spent together that mean most.
Click to expand...

The problem is that besides food prep or paper cut tests i rarelly have the chance of using my knives.

Guys, we really need to come up with a new knife term for guys like me!
The guy that very rarelly uses his knife for EDC and mainly collects:D
LUC= Light User/Collector? :D

T. Erdelyi said:
Try collecting vintage traditional knives, some of the more elusive scale, pattern combos will keep you busy researching and searching for a while but the enjoyment when ya come across that one knife ya been lookin' for our the pattern ya stumble across that's peaks a new interest in that branch of the hobby whether it be that pattern or particular scale material.

Consider this too, there are many acceptable degrees when it comes condition when collecting traditional, just look through some of the threads in the Traditionals subforum and you'll see grown men oohing and ahhing over 100 year old knives with broken blades and cracked scales.

In 40+ years of collecting I can still find bargains for vintage knives, spending anywhere from $3-$20 on average per knife, with a little patience and luck you could build a knice collection for the price of a midrange Spyderco or Benchmade.

So for you guys who think you might be losing you passion for collecting knives, try collecting traditional patterns for a few months.

You'll also find yourself using your knife a lot more, (gets less of a negative look when ya pull out a Case Swayback Jack at the mall vs a ZT or Sebenza), you'll also notice more people are willing to approach you and talk to you about your knife when it's a traditional pattern.

When you pull out a Congress Jack to open the package you're me likely to hear, "...Get my dad/granddad carried a knife like that", where as if ya pulled out Junkyard Dog you'd probably hear,"... what do you need a weapon like that for?"

Sometimes ya just need to take a detour in this hobby instead of canceling the trip completely.

FWIW, this is what I've been doing and I don't think I could ever say I've lost interest in knives, I always come across something new or interesting that I can add to my knife collection.
Click to expand...

I never bought a traditional knife before so i like the way you approach it by going through a different route within the hobbie without killing it:thumbup:
The main reason why i never bought one is because i don't think i would appreciate a slipjoint that much.
I know there are some backlocks but the carbon steel is also something i think i wouldn't appreciate.
I use my knife mostly for food so i don't know how much the patina would interfere with the taste. Don't even know if that's healthy! Is it?
 
Hey, bud, glad you posted. You fell off the map for a while. Yes, I am experiencing similar feelings. I went nuts for a while; learned a lot and had a ton of fun. I have tried some less-expensive customs and I do enjoy some of those. Gifting gives me more pleasure than collecting. I am keeping the basic stuff and the rest is pretty much gone. Running on high for so long is bound to burn you out after a while. Slow down; enjoy some basic folders that you really like; read the Exchange on the weekend.
You're just cooling down after a long run...completely normal.
 
Apparently for me it depends if I am single or not. I buy and look more at knives when I am single, but when I am in a relationship my interest tones down. Probably because I can only find girls here that have no interest in knives whatsoever.


Art_Vandeley said:
I`m at the same point righ now. I`m at the point where I know what I like and I`ve tried many knives. I`ll probably sell most of them within the next month or 2. There are still knives out there I want to try, and have on order like the 204p Para 2 or a Norseman. But I`d be very content with what I have right now. I have spurts where I want to get rid of it all except 1 or 2 and focus on other hobbies. THe unfortunate thing is due to location it`s hard for me to sell since shipping is very expensive. I always make a loss.
Click to expand...

You could always try to sell some to your fellow countrymen :D
Jeg er i alle fall interessert ;)
 
I've never lost the love, but priorities have taken precedent from time to time. I've had to sell Loveless pieces over the years to finance other things, some fun, some not. I think that's life.

I have stopped the seemingly incessant buying and selling over the past two years, however, having settled on pieces I love and enjoy. I've put focus on using them instead, and I've put the funds into other things, like soccer fees and equipment for my Son, horse-related stuff for my Daughter, and much-needed siding on my house. :)

Enjoy what you have and I think you'll find that the love will always be there, regardless of activity here.
 
Sonnydaze said:
Hey, bud, glad you posted. You fell off the map for a while. Yes, I am experiencing similar feelings. I went nuts for a while; learned a lot and had a ton of fun. I have tried some less-expensive customs and I do enjoy some of those. Gifting gives me more pleasure than collecting. I am keeping the basic stuff and the rest is pretty much gone. Running on high for so long is bound to burn you out after a while. Slow down; enjoy some basic folders that you really like; read the Exchange on the weekend.
You're just cooling down after a long run...completely normal.
Click to expand...

Hi buddie.
I guess you're right but unfortunately i'm not in the position you are when it comes to gifting knives:D
Times are hard here in Portugal so the extra money of a knife sale wouldn't hurt :)
Still on the fence on what am i going to do but i thank you and everyone else for sharing your thoughts on the matter:)
 
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