If it wasn't for Blade Forums, how many knives would you own?

I had SAKs and blister package moderns before finding forums. Once I started using the internet to explore reviews and forums, things accelerated quickly.

Bladeforums hasn’t been uniquely pivotal in that way. If anything, BF has helped me slow down. I find a lot of things here to begin looking at in depth, then I check out reviews, track down places to handle them if possible, look up specs, etc. This board has helped me identify my particular tastes, and that has helped me quickly rule out a lot of knives that I may have otherwise purchased. That may sound strange, because you’d think I could walk up to a knife case and say, “I like/don’t like this one”, and that is generally true. What I mean is, I now look at many knives and say, “that’s cool, but I’d be happier with something like _____.” I spend a lot more time researching, and far less time and money buying.

Another interesting development has been hitting a point where I don’t want a larger number of knives, because I enjoy being connected to mine. To really bond with a knife, I have to use it. Not carry. Use. That usually means pocket time on work days, where they get to shine. Even at 10 knives, I have too many to use each of them often. I tend to pocket my 0609 or 0562 most days, so everything else is mostly getting rotated in on days off right now.

I suppose it’s fair to say that BF discussions have helped me understand my relationship with knives.
 
I'd probably have my SAK tinker from a birthday 25 years ago, a broken crkt m16, a cold steel tanto knife, and maybe one or two others , based on the frequency of my pre Knut knife buying. One every five years or so, instead of 100 or more in the past decade.
 
As far as usable knives goes I might only have the 10 I had, and I'd probably still be carrying my Buck 482 every day.
I'm so glad I found this place and the porch, it feels so freeing on those days when the only cutting tool I'm using is a little slipjoint that before I'd never have even dreamed could be anything more than a backup at the very most.

Counting everything I'd have about 125 knives, but after a while here and starting to carry other knives I owned I decided I'd rather have more users than dust collectors so I sold My " just for fun " flea market knives collection in a yardsale.
 
I certainly wouldn't own 20 GEC slip joints if it weren't for BF. I don't collect or want to collect knives. I probably wouldn't even know about GEC in general as they aren't carried in local stores.

I knew about the custom makers before I joined BF. I knew about Randall's. I would see these things at Gun or Knife shows prior to joining here. I knew most of the old school knife brands. I have liked knives since I was a kid. But generally speaking, if I had a couple usable knives, I would only replace them if I lost or broke one because I'm cheap before BF. SAKs became a regular carry in the mid-80's. That changed pretty much everything for me.
 
If blade forums never existed, I would have never owned any Busse or Beckers or expensive traditionals and others forgetting. The cult following made me buy/try. Probably would never have bought any custom knives either.

The Benchmade Adamas is what kicked off the obsession for me. I can't remember why I joined here. I do know that guns are a lot more hassle to buy sell trade than knives, so that's a big reason have owned way more knives than guns.

So I own at least 10 more knives than I would have because of bf, and have owned and tried MANY others wouldn't have without bf. I basically only buy off the exchange here anymore too.
 
Probably the same amount but no where near the quality. Its great to have the collective knowledge here to sort through whats good and bad, from the good inexpensive knives and up.
 
ScooterG ScooterG wins the thread!

I’d probably have about half a dozen, maxing out at around $150.

The Exchange is what really killed me, as it whetted my appetite for things pricier than a PM2.
 
22-rimfire said:
I know that being a member here keeps my interest up with knives. The same thing happened with Colt firearms and guns in general. I do like to share information, but at some point you say enough is enough and I have pretty much done that with guns. Selling now mostly....

So, how many knives do you think you'd own if it wasn't for Blade Forums? I suspect I would own about a dozen knives that I mostly use and a few that just lie around.

Would you even know about all these steels used in knives? The 440A thread made me consider my hobby.
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I've been on YouTube and Twitter for far far far longer than Blade Forums, and those sites are where I started following knife, firearm, martial arts and prepper related accounts. I probably ended up on Blade Forums because I was looking for knife, firearm, martial arts and prepper related websites via Google. Always looking to be better informed.
 
I can't blame BF or the internet for my collecting , because I was much worse before we ever got a home computer .

Knife magazines and catalogs got me started in the 80's . The Mathews wholesale catalog was the worst .

Whenever I got $1000 free and clear , I'd put in another order . That was their minimum wholesale with free shipping . Spyderco , Cold Steel , SOG , Gerber , Al Mar, Benchmade etc . I was knife crazy !

Now , with the internet and BF etc . , I can spend more time researching ,bargain hunting and just reading and watching related videos . Plus my knife budget is much reduced .
 
Probably the same. I think more than anything, BF has helped me refine my small group of knives.
It’s helped me do what I would have done anyway, more efficiently.
 
Ignorance is bliss, before I was dragged kicking and screaming to the internet (job requirement) I owned maybe seven knives.

Since I found BladeForums.com, I'd venture to guess approximately seventy more knives have been purchased.
 
Maybe 20% less. What really boosted my collecting was Ebay and the internet in general. Now things that you might not see in years, you'll see multiples of in a week. Also I remember ordering from dealers both antique and otherwise, and if you were late ordering you probably wouldn't get another shot at what you wanted.

It was awful if you were dealing with another dealer across the country, because sometimes when you got the catalog, all the deals were gone it people in closer states. Also no tight delivery times, you could be sitting around for 2-3 weeks wondering when something would show up.
 
Some less but the main difference would be the quality of them.
Before BF I knew what quality was and what it cost, this forum pushed me into actually purchasing higher end (to me anyway) blades since prior to joining, a $100 knife was an absolute top end knife for me personally.
 
I certainly can't put any blame on BladeForums, as I easily get obsessed with some "new" thing (for me) at the drop of a hat. Before '94 (when I got my first computer), magazines were my draw and I voraciously read all about whatever I was obsessed with.

When we got our first computer and fired up our 9600 bps modem, it was like crack to an addict. I joined dozens of unmoderated BBS's and usenet groups and drank all the info in as I could. Then came newsgroups and web forums, yippee.

Knives? Just another in a long line of forgotten hobbies. However it always seems to stay on the stove, moving from the back burner to the front. Now if I can only remember my CB handle.....
 
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colin.p said:
I certainly can't put any blame on Blade Forums.....
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I actually salute BF for the information and folks that post here about knives and things they enjoy. Before BF, I pretty much judged a knife based on price. That's important, but there is quite a lot of variance.
 
I don't think BF has caused me to buy many more than I would have anyway ... with exception of CPKs ... I am sooooo glad I joined blade forums or would never have gotten to experience these incredible knives.

But I can say that the internet has definately increased the number of knives ... guns ... and other outdoor gear that I have ...

because I have always lived in small towns or in the middle of nowhere with only small towns near ... so I wouldn't have been exposed to near as much and I wouldn't have been able to just click some buttoms and have things show up at my door ...

so in that I can say the internet has played a role in that.

JJ
 
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