Individual Threshold for a User vs. Safe Queen

GermanyChris said:
Yet most of us don't bat an eye carrying a $700-$1000 cell phone, or driving a five figure car every day.
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This right here is why I have so few "safe queens". I shoot my high end rifles....I keep my very old or very personal rifles and knives in the safe and bring them out and coddle them but thats it. For 90 percent of my knives they are designated as users. The very rare (maker is dead or a custom peace out of Damascus/Ivory etc) I will not use. If its a production anything or semi-custom why not use it? Some knives might not ever get use because I bought them and they never got into my rotation or on my trips for one reason or another.....but there not queens.
 
SpySmasher said:
I'll mention one thing in the interest of full disclosure (not that anyone cares) -- I own quite a few knives that I don't carry all that much but don't intend to sell or give away. Technically, I suppose these would be considered safe queens but the reasons they don't get carried have nothing to do with their monetary value. Actually, now that I think about it, none of them are among my most expensive knives.
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You have carried them before and put some ultra light wear on them though right?

I too have knives as you describe. Knives I don’t really carry but for some reason I feel a strong compulsion to own that knife.
 
$400 on up are handled and enjoyed but not used. Some say that's a waste. I don't disagree but it's only a waste if someone else can't get one. These are replaceable unlike other things like vintage guitars, watches, guns, etc.
 
Well the most I've ever paid for a knife is my brand new Spydiechef ,and I use it (for EDC so light use). I've also been eyeing a custom maker and his model I want is around $200, it would be a user for me.

I think it also comes down to the warranty the manufacturer/maker offers, I'd be more inclined to use the knife if I knew it was protected by a warranty.
 
Haven't found my threshold yet in the upper hundreds $$$, at least for what I'm willing to carry. I do not enjoy the stress of trying to keep things pristine though so I kind of welcome a little wear. I like to tell myself I would use whatever I have on me for the day, but I've also taken to carrying a traditional "beater" to divert potentially undignified tasks away from the main carry so, eh :rolleyes:

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If I have a knife I deem to be of a usable quality I use it or it goes to someone who will.
 
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I have a process for determining whether or not I use a knife. If I’m going to use it, it has to rate a “yes” on the “do I own it?” test.
 
To me, my safe queens are the knives that were given to me by my family and friends. I would hate so much to lose them because what makes them special is sentimental and so they are all, in a sense, irreplaceable.
 
I'd say your either a collector that's not gonna make his money back (or maybe you are lucky enough to).

Or

Your a user/collector.

Most knives between 150 and 500 are users imho. Above that cost are generally collectors or light users or man jewelry.

Always exceptions. I've got a $1600 microtech... I don't use it cause it's not a useful tool to me. I got a 600 finger guillotine (rubens titanium and tools, Rone) that I don't use cause it's not a user's knife imho. It's one of those things that you don't know what your getting until you get it.

All walks of life here. And while I don't get alot of the folks who don't use a $200 production knife, can I really fault them?

But production knives imho should be used hard. That's what they were made for. Doesn't matter if they are 500 cnc midtech or a 200 spyderco pm2 sprint or whatever.

When it's all said and done the scales and blade can all be fixed if you get scratches. It takes a bit more money to have someone do it but it's not something that can't be fixed unless it gets run over or something and it was all hand made... Might get more expensive.
 
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I carry knives that are nearly as expensive as the ones I keep in the safe. For instance, I carry a Kwaiback, Combat Troodon, custom ZT0560, and an Emerson Iron Dragon at the moment. The most expensive of the three, the Troodon (it's a limited edition Star Wars variant) ran me $600. The most expensive knife I have in my collection ran me I want to say $1100, which is a custom TAD Kwaiback.

Most of my collection is comprised of variants of my favorite model, the Kwaiback, and because I carry one already there isn't a point in me sullying the rest. I think I have around 8-9 of them at this point...I've got problems.

Regardless, because of the cost of my carry pieces, I also carry a SAK on a daily basis to handle all of the grunt work I wouldn't want to use a folding mortgage payment for. I'm not going to use my Kwaiback that ran me $500 to break down boxes, cut zip ties, and hand off to whomever is knife-less and in need that particular moment. That's why I have the $30 SAK.

For this reason, I have kept my carry pieces in pretty pristine condition. The only one that has logged any significant use is the Kwaiback, which I just got back from @razor-edge-knives with a stupid sharp edge on it. This system works for me and allows me to have some peace of mind knowing that if god forbid something disastrous ever happened and I needed to liquidate my collection in order to weather the storm, I can do so and come out the other end more or less whole. As superfluous as my knife collecting has become over the years, I always try incorporate a level of pragmatism in order to stay grounded. If I can't buy something and not lose my ass, I don't buy it.
 
I don't have any safe queens per se. That being said, almost none of my knives have seen much more than light use. I can't carry a knife at work.

I have a Spyderco Pac Salt for working in the yard and a Manix 2 for carrying when working on the endless variety of house projects. The hardest duty any of the rest of them see is breaking down boxes. Also, since I have a bunch of knives to choose from even the "hard use" tactical cardboard cutting only happens to some of them occasionally.
 
Lapedog said:
You have carried them before and put some ultra light wear on them though right?

I too have knives as you describe. Knives I don’t really carry but for some reason I feel a strong compulsion to own that knife.
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Absolutely. Some have lots of wear from once being my EDC until a new shiny thing came along.

Others less so but they still get kept because something about them really appeals to me. The reason for the appeal can be very different from knife to knife.

For example, I have a Solo SO05. This is a terrible knife! But it was such a clever idea (that was badly, badly implemented) that I still somehow admire it. I could probably sell it to a Spyderco completist or someone else like me who just loves knife mechanisms but I'd just be selling them a terrible knife for not all that much money. It's not like it's valuable. So I keep it. Every once in a blue moon I find someone who knows what it is and is impressed that I have one. :)
 
For me price has no bearing on wether I carry/use it or not. It’s more of rarity and availability that play a factor. I do have many knives in my edc rotation that you can only find on the secondary market now but that’s because I have a duplicate in the safe. Yeah I’m one of those:D
 
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When I find myself holding a knife I've purchased and thinking, "This is too nice to use," I sell it.

I own some sentimental knives, and some that don't see use often but which I like for various reasons, but my bottom line is if I won't use it (and it isn't sentimental), I don't want to keep it.

I'd much rather see that knife go to someone else who will use it, or love it in whatever way works for them (including putting it in their safe, of course!), than go unused in my knife chest.
 
No safe queens. Guns, knives, gear. It all gets used or it's no good to me. My two most edc'd knives are the most expensive knives I own.
 
Nice cu
ArchVV said:
Haven't found my threshold yet in the upper hundreds $$$, at least for what I'm willing to carry. I do not enjoy the stress of trying to keep things pristine though so I kind of welcome a little wear. I like to tell myself I would use whatever I have on me for the day, but I've also taken to carrying a traditional "beater" to divert potentially undignified tasks away from the main carry so, eh :rolleyes:

m0TaAKJ.jpg
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Nice cutlery you have there, sir.
 
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