I think i'm losing the love for knives

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.
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What a great paragraph.
I just stumbled in here...and now...I am leaving a little bit wiser. Thanks.
 
I am 31 years old and have been collecting/lusting after knives since I was 9 years old. I currently only own ten to fifteen knives... I keep things exciting for myself by pursuing only the knives that I am into at present... as soon as I lose interest I either sell, barter or gift them out to family and friends. It feels good that my collection is only ever filled with stuff that I really love. I have my first knife, my first fixed blade and my first Ka-bar after graduating MCRD... all others are not necessarily permanent fixtures for me. if I bought every knife I ever wanted, I would have so many useless knives that I would only have purchased because it was a good deal or neat. I always ask myself if I could actually have a use for it. having other things that interest me equally is also a big plus.
 
I went from khukuris to tomahawk to axes to barongs, bolos and parangs and then a little of folders then back onto machetes, laraw and i think i'm going towards classic folders soon....when will this end?
 
JayGoliath said:
I went from khukuris to tomahawk to axes to barongs, bolos and parangs and then a little of folders then back onto machetes, laraw and i think i'm going towards classic folders soon....when will this end?
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Oh man, it never ends, Jay. The knife nut obsession is like being an alcoholic and trying not to drink. To a very large degree, it is an addiction of sorts. How many times have you impulsively bought a knife, then wondered later what the heck you bought it for, since you already have some at home just like it? I watched my dad and his dad carry one single pocket knife for most of their adult life. They did fine. But... They were not like us. WE're knife nuts, just like a drunk is an alcoholic, or a druggie os an addict. But for us it's the nice shiny blade. The latest and greatest knife of the month that Blade magazine has on the cover. We are the obsessed.

When I did my great downsize and got rid of most of my knife and gun collection, it was like coming clean, like coming out of a state of some kind of temporary insanity. But it's still a struggle. I look at new knives, and I have to tell myself, and ask myself, do I really need this? It gets ridiculous after while. But I do outsmart myself by buying more lower priced knives and making projects out of them. I refinish Opinels by sanding, reshaping the handles, dropping the blade point, and gifting them out to the non knife people I know. Many of them now carry a knife every day, but it's always the same Opinel I gave them. They got used to having a sharp knife around, but they still are not obsessed knife nuts like us, so the Opinel for them is like the little Case pocket knife I saw my dad carry for his whole adult life.

It's okay to have knives, but moderation in all things. One day at a time. It never goes away, you just have to control it.

Carl.
 
Yet here you are, on a blade forum.

Some of us aren't addicts, we just like knives. Our interest comes and goes.

jackknife said:
Oh man, it never ends, Jay. The knife nut obsession is like being an alcoholic and trying not to drink. To a very large degree, it is an addiction of sorts. How many times have you impulsively bought a knife, then wondered later what the heck you bought it for, since you already have some at home just like it? I watched my dad and his dad carry one single pocket knife for most of their adult life. They did fine. But... They were not like us. WE're knife nuts, just like a drunk is an alcoholic, or a druggie os an addict. But for us it's the nice shiny blade. The latest and greatest knife of the month that Blade magazine has on the cover. We are the obsessed.

When I did my great downsize and got rid of most of my knife and gun collection, it was like coming clean, like coming out of a state of some kind of temporary insanity. But it's still a struggle. I look at new knives, and I have to tell myself, and ask myself, do I really need this? It gets ridiculous after while. But I do outsmart myself by buying more lower priced knives and making projects out of them. I refinish Opinels by sanding, reshaping the handles, dropping the blade point, and gifting them out to the non knife people I know. Many of them now carry a knife every day, but it's always the same Opinel I gave them. They got used to having a sharp knife around, but they still are not obsessed knife nuts like us, so the Opinel for them is like the little Case pocket knife I saw my dad carry for his whole adult life.

It's okay to have knives, but moderation in all things. One day at a time. It never goes away, you just have to control it.

Carl.
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I have so many interests, and I, like so many others here have indicated, kind of rotate through them - knife collecting, gun collecting, target shooting, coin collecting, collecting books (and even reading 'em!) on guns, knives and knifemaking. I try not to sell collections. I just put them aside and go to another interest for a while. I just got back into knives recently and joined these forums, having lost interest in coins. Unfortunately for my wallet, I got back into guns at the same time ;)
 
I would just say, carry them all, use them. If they don't do it, sell them or gift them. I used to love big blades and now I'm all into pocket folders... go figure. The blades I keep are used and carried everyday. There is the pleasure. My use changed, my pleasure changed, that's life... but using the "good knife" everyday still is a pristine pleasure.
 
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.
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This is where I'm at. I've had a lot of fun learning more about the hobby. On the one hand, custom bushcraft style knives, I've learned a lot from makers and outdoorsmen. Traditional folders and patterns, I've learned a lot from collectors and books. There is quite a bit of history to the one hand openers even! Immerse yourself in the lore and legendry of some of the makers/manufacturers out there.

Right now, I am in the same boat. It's not a good thing to look at knives you own, and think, hey, those knives will pay for a set of tires for my truck, etc.

My only advice, keep the knives that were gifts. Even if you become disillusioned with knife collecting, those knives will mean something to you later on.

I will admit that I'm a knife addict.
 
You are losing the love for knives because you are collecting them : they are made to be used, not collected - unless you are very rich and have a lot of time to waste.

Define your real needs for real tasks in everyday uses : the blade shapes that will be the most useful for you, and give up on the overhyped items ; CRKs, Hinderers and big uncomfortable ZTs are not the best choices you can make. Anyone who try to use one of these in real work will quickly understand their limits.

But if you want to continue on that way, Bladeshow 2013 will bring lots of new overhyped knives that we will have inflated prices and biased reviews...
 
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