If you can't laugh at yourself...

VermontEdge

VermontEdge

Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
1,144
One of the things I find amusing about this forum is this:
Clearly we're all knife enthusiasts, in one way or another, but there are a ton of tiny little subsets or subcategories of enthusiasts here. I'd love to hear some people's thoughts on what kinds of subsets there are, and what category you fall into.

I've seen a topic before where someone says "do you use your knives, or do you baby them", and clearly there's a right answer there, you know? No one is going to say "no, I don't use my knives". So I don't mean for this to be a thread about judgement. I just see some funny habits or tendencies in myself and want to hear about them in you.

Some categories of enthusiasts I see:
* The crazy sharpeners, ie. those of us who buy knives to put a 13.5 degree primary bevel with a 17.2 degree micro bevel with a slight convex to the grind.
* The high-class appreciators, ie. those of us who buy pricey knives to talk about the more refined, classy aspects of the knife ("do you feel the slight curve machined into the scales? Exquisite!").
* The worriers, ie. those of us who receive a knife and immediately check it for play, centering, lock-up, etc. and then continue to obsess about these issues for the life of the knife.


I certainly fall into these last two categories, the worrier and the high-class appreciator (sort of). I'm trying to work on the worrier tendencies though!

So, what subsets did I miss? And what kind of enthusiast are you?
 
Well I fall into the subset of "hey, lets beat the living sh*t out of SOME (important) of my knives, ram the spine through cinder blocks, don't sharpen them, don't lubricate them, baton them through knots and occasionally get them stuck and have to rescue them with a lot of profanity and a crowbar, throw them on the concrete just to see if they break, hammer the tip into a log and pry on it just to see if it breaks, put it in a vise and pry on it, and then chuck it in a drawer to be forgotten about until the next time I want to abuse them."

Most knives don't stand up to my abuse. But that's okay, that thins the pile. I should be able to beat the living sh*t out of my knives and they should take my abuse with a smile. If they can't, they aren't the knives for me, and they go in the garbage hill in pieces. I trust my life on my Kabar and my Ontarios. They have lived up to all of the abuse I listed above.

But I also fall into the category of the * The worriers, ie. those of us who receive a knife and immediately check it for play, centering, lock-up, etc. and then continue to obsess about these issues for the life of the knife.

There are some knives I beat on, and then there are some knives I don't even take out of the house due to fear they might get lost or stolen. Most of my folding knives I treat as "my precious," and my fixed blades are "you dirty rat go to hell"
 
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bowieknifenick said:
Well I fall into the subset of "hey, lets beat the living sh*t out of SOME (important) of my knives, ram the spine through cinder blocks, don't sharpen them, don't lubricate them, baton them through knots and occasionally get them stuck and have to rescue them with a lot of profanity and a crowbar, throw them on the concrete just to see if they break, hammer the tip into a log and pry on it just to see if it breaks, put it in a vise and pry on it, and then chuck it in a drawer to be forgotten about until the next time I want to abuse them."

Most knives don't stand up to my abuse. But that's okay, that thins the pile. I should be able to beat the living sh*t out of my knives and they should take my abuse with a smile. If they can't, they aren't the knives for me, and they go in the garbage hill in pieces. I trust my life on my Kabar and my Ontarios. They have lived up to all of the abuse I listed above.

But I also fall into the category of the * The worriers, ie. those of us who receive a knife and immediately check it for play, centering, lock-up, etc. and then continue to obsess about these issues for the life of the knife.

There are some knives I beat on, and then there are some knives I don't even take out of the house due to fear they might get lost or stolen. Most of my folding knives I treat as "my precious," and my fixed blades are "you dirty rat go to hell"
Click to expand...

Would that be the schizophrenic classification[emoji6]
 
VermontEdge said:
* The crazy sharpeners, ie. those of us who buy knives to put a 13.5 degree primary bevel with a 17.2 degree micro bevel with a slight convex to the grind.
Click to expand...

That's not crazy. Maybe the specificity, but not the angles themselves. It's not crazy unless it's a less than 10° per side zero grind. :D

I fall under the "value optimization" camp. I like tools that are more fun to use than they are to buy, and like to stretch what I can get in terms of performance per dollar. I'll often be found debating things on the technical/theory end, but it's all in pursuit of making my gear work better out in the field without it costing an arm and a leg. If it's high performance and low cost, I'm there.
 
I fall into multiple camps.

Camp 1 is the "it has to be practical" camp. Covers my EDC folders, shop/car/camp fixed blades, and daily use kitchen sharps.

Camp 2 is the "gotta try this out to see if it's for me" camp. I had to know if AO was for me (not), flippers were (not bad, but not compelling), different locks, handles, blade shapes, steels, etc.

Camp 3 is the "dark side sharpening" camp. How low of an angle can I put on my EDC? Does mirror polishing suit me? Full convex with zero edge (yes!)

Camp 4 is the "because it's beautiful" camp. 'Nuff said.
 
Don't forget:

- The Minimalist: Probably the most intellectually honest out of all the subgroups, carrying a 2.5" blade - not because of local laws necessarily, but because they know that they don't need a 4" framelock flipper with M390 steel for the 2-3 times a day they need to cut tape or pop a zip tie.

- The Overprepared: Carries at least three knives at all times, ready for anything, but never actually needing more than the utilitarian one.

- The Operator: If the knife isn't designed to totally kill some dudes / perps, why bother? Also see: overly paranoid crackers.

- The Nationalist: USA! USA! USA! He'll argue about supporting US manufacturers all day, and how much you should distrust overseas manufacturers, all through his or her laptop or phone that was absolutely made in China, sitting on a chair that was made in China, wearing clothes made in Bangladesh.

- The Budgeteer: Not necessarily stuck with "cheaper" knives, but researches and patiently waits for a ridiculously good dollars:materials ratio on a knife.

- The "Why Am I On This Forum?": Someone who had one or two knives, and is perfectly satisfied with them and has been for years. No collection, no "rotation", and yet mysteriously hangs around to chat with people who have a borderline obsession with getting new knives all the time.

- The Photographer: You'd swear they only had knives so they could take pictures of them and post them on forums. Funny how these cutting tools are always pristine!

- The Documentor: Like the photographer, but the pictures are of the knives in use... Which means that they consciously stopped what they were doing to take a picture of the knife being used. The necessary self-awareness is generally forgiven because it's refreshing to see something other than carefully staged beauty shots.
 
VermontEdge said:
I've seen a topic before where someone says "do you use your knives, or do you baby them", and clearly there's a right answer there, you know? No one is going to say "no, I don't use my knives".
Click to expand...
No. I wouldn't say there's a "right answer" there.

Some people use some of their knives but not all of their knives. Some people collect certain knives without any intentions of ever using them. Some people buy knives as investments and never use them. Some people buy more knives than they could ever use just because they like them. Some people have heirloom knives or knives of other sentimental value that they choose to never use. And some people buys knives but use them only for light tasks because they don't want to risk damaging them.

As far as I'm concerned, the only "right answer" is- Whatever people want to do with THEIR knives is entirely THEIR business.



And what kind of enthusiast are you?
Click to expand...
I'm a guy who likes knives, and has a need for knives. Beyond that, I'm a guy who doesn't like to pigeon-hole himself into any particular category or definition. I've never spent any time trying to figure out how to define my interest in knives, or myself as a knife enthusiast beyond the fact that I find knives useful, and I like them. :)
 
bowieknifenick said:
Well I fall into the subset of "hey, lets beat the living sh*t out of SOME (important) of my knives, ram the spine through cinder blocks, don't sharpen them, don't lubricate them, baton them through knots and occasionally get them stuck and have to rescue them with a lot of profanity and a crowbar, throw them on the concrete just to see if they break, hammer the tip into a log and pry on it just to see if it breaks, put it in a vise and pry on it, and then chuck it in a drawer to be forgotten about until the next time I want to abuse them."

Most knives don't stand up to my abuse. But that's okay, that thins the pile. I should be able to beat the living sh*t out of my knives and they should take my abuse with a smile. If they can't, they aren't the knives for me, and they go in the garbage hill in pieces. I trust my life on my Kabar and my Ontarios. They have lived up to all of the abuse I listed above.

But I also fall into the category of the * The worriers, ie. those of us who receive a knife and immediately check it for play, centering, lock-up, etc. and then continue to obsess about these issues for the life of the knife.

There are some knives I beat on, and then there are some knives I don't even take out of the house due to fear they might get lost or stolen. Most of my folding knives I treat as "my precious," and my fixed blades are "you dirty rat go to hell"
Click to expand...

I think this is another category, those who absolutely wreck their knives, for the sole purpose of wrecking their knives. These people refuse to accept that a knife is for cutting things, and insist on chopping concrete and batoning through iron bars. They wear their blatant abuse as a badge of honor.
 
blade man said:
I think this is another category, those who absolutely wreck their knives, for the sole purpose of wrecking their knives. These people refuse to accept that a knife is for cutting things, and insist on chopping concrete and batoning through iron bars. They wear their blatant abuse as a badge of honor.
Click to expand...

I may have misconstrued my point. I only beat on 3 of my knives, because I know they can handle it. I do not recommend anyone do what I do with my knives. But to me, if I knife can't stand up to the type of abuse and hard use that I'm able to throw its way, then it's not a knife for me. Some of the things I mentioned I only did with cheap knives that I was getting rid of anyway (prying with them).

The knives I beat on go in my emergency kits. If they don't hold up during my abuse test, then they don't get to go in my kit. Again, these knives go in my emergency kits (get home bag, truck kit, etc.) I beat on them to test them because in an emergency situation, god knows what you'll ask your knife to do, and if it can withstand chopping (with the spine) through a cinder block and batoning through knots and being able to pry. Being able to trust your knife in a life or death sitaution is what can make all the difference. That's my idea of it anyway.
 
Comeuppance said:
Don't forget:

- The Minimalist: Probably the most intellectually honest out of all the subgroups, carrying a 2.5" blade - not because of local laws necessarily, but because they know that they don't need a 4" framelock flipper with M390 steel for the 2-3 times a day they need to cut tape or pop a zip tie.

- The Overprepared: Carries at least three knives at all times, ready for anything, but never actually needing more than the utilitarian one.

- The Operator: If the knife isn't designed to totally kill some dudes / perps, why bother? Also see: overly paranoid crackers.

- The Nationalist: USA! USA! USA! He'll argue about supporting US manufacturers all day, and how much you should distrust overseas manufacturers, all through his or her laptop or phone that was absolutely made in China, sitting on a chair that was made in China, wearing clothes made in Bangladesh.

- The Budgeteer: Not necessarily stuck with "cheaper" knives, but researches and patiently waits for a ridiculously good dollars:materials ratio on a knife.

- The "Why Am I On This Forum?": Someone who had one or two knives, and is perfectly satisfied with them and has been for years. No collection, no "rotation", and yet mysteriously hangs around to chat with people who have a borderline obsession with getting new knives all the time.

- The Photographer: You'd swear they only had knives so they could take pictures of them and post them on forums. Funny how these cutting tools are always pristine!

- The Documentor: Like the photographer, but the pictures are of the knives in use... Which means that they consciously stopped what they were doing to take a picture of the knife being used. The necessary self-awareness is generally forgiven because it's refreshing to see something other than carefully staged beauty shots.
Click to expand...

Excellent classifications! Very well said. I smiled through reading these.:)
 
I am a searcher, constantly searching for the knife that will stop my obsession and let me sleep at night without worrying if a good deal on a knife I want was just posted in the for sale section. I know any of the knives I've owned or still own would work just fine but I still search for the one, the one that quiets the voices.
 
Comeuppance said:
Don't forget:

- The Minimalist: Probably the most intellectually honest out of all the subgroups, carrying a 2.5" blade - not because of local laws necessarily, but because they know that they don't need a 4" framelock flipper with M390 steel for the 2-3 times a day they need to cut tape or pop a zip tie.

- The Overprepared: Carries at least three knives at all times, ready for anything, but never actually needing more than the utilitarian one.

- The Operator: If the knife isn't designed to totally kill some dudes / perps, why bother? Also see: overly paranoid crackers.

- The Nationalist: USA! USA! USA! He'll argue about supporting US manufacturers all day, and how much you should distrust overseas manufacturers, all through his or her laptop or phone that was absolutely made in China, sitting on a chair that was made in China, wearing clothes made in Bangladesh.

- The Budgeteer: Not necessarily stuck with "cheaper" knives, but researches and patiently waits for a ridiculously good dollars:materials ratio on a knife.

- The "Why Am I On This Forum?": Someone who had one or two knives, and is perfectly satisfied with them and has been for years. No collection, no "rotation", and yet mysteriously hangs around to chat with people who have a borderline obsession with getting new knives all the time.

- The Photographer: You'd swear they only had knives so they could take pictures of them and post them on forums. Funny how these cutting tools are always pristine!

- The Documentor: Like the photographer, but the pictures are of the knives in use... Which means that they consciously stopped what they were doing to take a picture of the knife being used. The necessary self-awareness is generally forgiven because it's refreshing to see something other than carefully staged beauty shots.
Click to expand...

Nice work on this post :thumbup:.

Of these groups, I guess I'm...

- Minimalist: 2.5-2.75in blades as there are cities nearby with < 3in limits, so I'm just planning in case I end up there for lunch at work, etc... plus, I work in an office. Less than 2.5in doesn't work for me, because of handle sizes, and how it makes cutting my apples harder :/.

-Budgeteer: I have a real job, but knives are not my only interest by a long shot. Value is super important to me.

-"why am I on this forum": See above. I think I've purchased one knife in the last year and a half.

Other suggested groups:

-The binge-er: They find a new brand/type/style of knife, and go nuts on it. They buy all of them, in all variations. Approximately 3 weeks later they're selling most, if not all of them on the exchange. *note, I have nothing against this. It means lots of opinions on them when I ask questions about them, and everyone enjoys good deals on the exchange :).

-The ultra-specific consumer: Only interested in very specific dimensions/traits/features/materials. "I'm looking for a 3.16in recurve reverse tanto with jimping, made of ZDP189, with a fuller and a choil. The handle scales need to be Ti, G10, AND Micarta, or I'm not interested". *Some people know what they want :).

-The steel snob: These are somewhat different than the above, although they are not mutually exclusive. They say things like "ugh, I can't stand <insert moderately priced typical steel here>, I end up having to resharpen once more a week". *note that again, not saying that some of this is not justified. Just that its a different user group/classification.

EDIT: Just want to be clear, I've got nothing against the above other "classifications" I listed above, they are just the best names I could come up with for groups of users I've run across here is all.
 
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Nothing is worse as the Brand Loyalist. There are so many great companies, live a little.
 
Comeuppance said:
- The Photographer: You'd swear they only had knives so they could take pictures of them and post them on forums. Funny how these cutting tools are always pristine!
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that. I appreciate the great shots that are posted in the different forums, both the pristine and the well-loved. :)
 
We of the photographer subset photograph the knives when they are new, hence the pristine photos.
:D

Another subset is "The Second Guesser"

"I have a __________ on the way. Can you tell me if it is a good knife?"

Never could figure out why they ask after the cash has left the hand...
 
Rambo Category. Really a sub-group that falls within the obsessive-compulsive category. Worries the model they just purchased might not be not long enough, black enough, or have the right contours on the G10 scales to fend off any attackers who might jump them in a back alley. Refuses to carry any folding blade because they are no match for human flesh.

Steel aficionados. Also a sub-class in the obsessive compulsive group. Ignores most other characteristics of a blade. Obsessed with charts and statistics. Ruminates over the molecular compositions of steel alloys in order to decide on the next purchase.Will sell a few current blades to be able to afford the newest high tech steel with .02% more molybdenum and .001% less Carbon.
 
korn_2956 said:
I am a searcher, constantly searching for the knife that will stop my obsession and let me sleep at night without worrying if a good deal on a knife I want was just posted in the for sale section. I know any of the knives I've owned or still own would work just fine but I still search for the one, the one that quiets the voices.
Click to expand...

Boom. Nice one. That's definitely me. Those voices are pretty non-stop, huh?
 
BubbaGump said:
Rambo Category. Really a sub-group that falls within the obsessive-compulsive category. Worries the model they just purchased might not be not long enough, black enough, or have the right contours on the G10 scales to fend off any attackers who might jump them in a back alley. Refuses to carry any folding blade because they are no match for human flesh.

Steel aficionados. Also a sub-class in the obsessive compulsive group. Ignores most other characteristics of a blade. Obsessed with charts and statistics. Ruminates over the molecular compositions of steel alloys in order to decide on the next purchase.Will sell a few current blades to be able to afford the newest high tech steel with .02% more molybdenum and .001% less Carbon.
Click to expand...

Man...I do this all the time regarding corrosion resistance. A typical inner monologue follows something like this: "5% chromium!? Seriously? I mean if we were talking 6 or even 7% percent I'd pull the trigger..."
 
I have free time today, here's the list so far plus my 2 cents

VermontEdge
* The crazy sharpeners, ie. those of us who buy knives to put a 13.5 degree primary bevel with a 17.2 degree micro bevel with a slight convex to the grind.
* The high-class appreciators, ie. those of us who buy pricey knives to talk about the more refined, classy aspects of the knife ("do you feel the slight curve machined into the scales? Exquisite!").
* The worriers/The Second Guesser, ie. those of us who receive a knife and immediately check it for play, centering, lock-up, etc. and then continue to obsess about these issues for the life of the knife. They also research the same information before during and after a purchase. Ebbtide

Comeuppance
- The Minimalist: Probably the most intellectually honest out of all the subgroups, carrying a 2.5" blade - not because of local laws necessarily, but because they know that they don't need a 4" framelock flipper with M390 steel for the 2-3 times a day they need to cut tape or pop a zip tie.

- The Overprepared: Carries at least three knives at all times, ready for anything, but never actually needing more than the utilitarian one.

- The Operator: If the knife isn't designed to totally kill some dudes / perps, why bother? Also see: overly paranoid crackers. Will talk about self defense all day if you let them

- The Nationalist: USA! USA! USA! He'll argue about supporting US manufacturers all day, and how much you should distrust overseas manufacturers, all through his or her laptop or phone that was absolutely made in China, sitting on a chair that was made in China, wearing clothes made in Bangladesh.

- The Budgeteer/value optimization: Not necessarily stuck with "cheaper" knives, but researches and patiently waits for a ridiculously good dollars:materials ratio on a knife. Tools are more fun to use than they are to buy, and they like to stretch what I can get in terms of performance per dollar. <--FortyTwoBlades *Raises hand*

- The "Why Am I On This Forum?": Someone who had one or two knives, and is perfectly satisfied with them and has been for years. No collection, no "rotation", and yet mysteriously hangs around to chat with people who have a borderline obsession with getting new knives all the time.

- The Photographer: You'd swear they only had knives so they could take pictures of them and post them on forums. Funny how these cutting tools are always pristine!

- The Documentor: Like the photographer, but the pictures are of the knives in use... Which means that they consciously stopped what they were doing to take a picture of the knife being used. The necessary self-awareness is generally forgiven because it's refreshing to see something other than carefully staged beauty shots.


ocnLogan
-The binge-er: They find a new brand/type/style of knife, and go nuts on it. They buy all of them, in all variations. Approximately 3 weeks later they're selling most, if not all of them on the exchange. *note, I have nothing against this. It means lots of opinions on them when I ask questions about them, and everyone enjoys good deals on the exchange .

-The ultra-specific consumer: Only interested in very specific dimensions/traits/features/materials. "I'm looking for a 3.16in recurve reverse tanto with jimping, made of ZDP189, with a fuller and a choil. The handle scales need to be Ti, G10, AND Micarta, or I'm not interested". Sometimes they are also brand specific *Some people know what they want .

-The steel snob: These are somewhat different than the above, although they are not mutually exclusive. They say things like "ugh, I can't stand <insert moderately priced typical steel here>, I end up having to resharpen once more a week". *note that again, not saying that some of this is not justified. Just that its a different user group/classification.


bowieknifenick
-The Force of Nature/Rambo: No matter what the task, nor how sturdy the knife.. they will break it one way or another. Whether it's an actual job or just messing around.. be sure to hand this person a beater if they need a knife. BubbaGump

korn_2956
-The Searcher:constantly searching for the knife that will stop the obsession and let them sleep at night without worrying if a good deal on a knife was passed up. Any of the other knives they own would work just fine but I still search for the one, the one that quiets the voices.

n7titan
-The Traditionalist: Strongly prefers classics to modern. Most likely has a fixed in their pockets, If it's a folder it's probably a slipjoint. Pukko's, Mora's, Case etc

-The Phantom: *specific to forums* Creates a thread asking for advice, posts once and is never seen again..
 
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