I've come to realize I'm "That Guy"

[cbrstar]

Way back in 2015, I'm not sure if it was a bout of insecurity but suddenly I needed the most tacticool knife I could get my hands on!

I had never spent more then $20 on a knife and had owned the same Swiss army knife all my life. I didn't really know what I wanted and ended up buying a whole bunch of knives within a 1 month span... I bought a CKRT M21, CKRT Ignitor, SOG flash II, and a SOG Fielder.

They are decent knives but they aren't great knives. I was too cheap to spend the money on a high end knife like a Benchmade, or better. Yet ironically I spent more on mid quality knives.

After all this time I realize I would like to pick up a better knife like a Spiderco etc... There's just one problem, which is that deep down I can't justify owning a higher quality knife. All of the above knives are still like new!

Every time I go to cut something like plastic wrapping etc. I actually reach for the $10 Chinese special my friend gave me, because I don't want to scuff up my semi expensive knives. So even though they're better steel and 10x sharper it means nothing because I don't use them. And if I do cut something I'm sharpening them right away, because heaven forbid my expensive knife is slightly dull!

It's like I'm waiting to impress some stranger with my sharp "it cost more then $10 knife"

At the same time I've come to appreciate the quality of a better made knife, as I now can see the difference which I couldn't before.

How can I overcome this? Is this normal?

 

[Lord_Balkan]

Half of the joy of a more expensive knife is when you get to use it. If you have an expensive knife you are afraid to use it isn't worth having. This is all subjective. I use my Sebenza regularly but I know I wouldn't use a knife that costs $1000 so I decided I do not want to own one.

 

[Lapedog]

Alot of people get this. I didn't want to use my Sebenza for anything for the longest time other than cutting threads. But trust me use your knives, you will be happy you did.

Just think of it this way, imagine you have a kid. You want to give him your knife as a memento. Do you think he will be happier with a knife that looks like it just came out the box or a knife with a bunch of marks on it that came from his dad? Obviously the knife that looks like his dad used it will be more special to him, because it was your knife. So make your knives yours, use them. There is nothing wrong with keeping some special knives as safe queens, and essentially art pieces. However you should use your knives you will enjoy it. That is why you bought them after all. I often end up feeling more attatched to the knife I am using.

 

[cbrstar]

Thanks guys that does make me feel a little better. I think I should throw away or lock up the cheap knives. Which will force me to use the better ones more often.

 

[loftisray]

This happened to me ( the not wanting to mess up my nice knife phase) until I bought the manix 2 it cost around $140.00 and I finally decided this was now my edc beater. I carry a fixed blade and smaller knife but the spyderco does the Lions share of the work now. If I break it , we'll let just say it's done everything I've punished it with. Don't worry brother this feeling will pass.
Time for you to buy A little nicer knife to establish the new balance in your life.. peace....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stabman]

Thanks guys that does make me feel a little better. I think I should throw away or lock up the cheap knives. Which will force me to use the better ones more often.

Or just carry your nice knives till they get a scratch somehow.
At some point, they will get scratched, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, if you carry them.
Then, after a bit of screaming and swearing, you'll be free to use them all you like.

 

[Wowbagger]

Is this normal?

HaHaHa
Nothing we do here is normal.
But it feels normal to most of us.
or
If you have to ask . . . Is this normal . . . it's too late . . .

Solution ?
Oh that's easy . . . you're going to like this : Just carry two (or three) GREAT knives that you really like and use one or two and keep one all sharp and showy for that "Oh yah . . . you can see it . . . oh sure . . . ALL my knives are that sharp" . . . moment(s).

don't want to scuff up my semi expensive knives

and
you can polish out scuffs similar to sharpening the knife. Not saying it is quick or easy . . . you could send it to one of the many fine pros here and have them fix it to.

 

[spykez]

There's shelf queens and there's beater blades, agreed!

I like tacticool stuff too but I like to believe I'm realistic. Buying something and using it within an acceptable price point is the key.

Ok, yes, I'm a cheapskate, really.

 

[spykez]

Or just carry your nice knives till they get a scratch somehow.
At some point, they will get scratched, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, if you carry them.
Then, after a bit of screaming and swearing, you'll be free to use them all you like.

The whole point is to be giving the black coating a used look, lol!

 

[Sonnydaze]

I feel good about using a sharp knife with a good steel that was made with good production techniques. Sometimes, that's a RAT1 or RAT2 or a SurviveKnife fixed or a Bradford Guardian3 fixed, a Sebenza, a nice ZT or Spyderco.
I have already given my kids quite a few knives...to the point where they say..."No more, please."
Just recently, I bought a well-made folder with an top-flight blade-steel and a relatively thin blade of about 1/8". That is so rare in our world of expensive pry-bars. It was costly, but boy, does it cut! That's the whole point: use one that cuts.

 

[stabman]

The whole point is to be giving the black coating a used look, lol!

Indeed.

I do find that a coating with wear tends to look better than a brand new one in many ways.

Heck, I remember with Doc Martens in the 90s, your Docs had to look worn in to prove you weren't a poseur; people ran around kicking into snow banks and gravel to get that worn-in look right away, lest they be shunned.

 

[McFeeli]

Hey Sonnydaze.. Would you want to adopt me? I'll never turn down a free knife!

Back on point, though.. I definitely did the same thing with my better knives. It took the purchase of a PM2 to realize what I was missing. And now it seems I don't really even consider cheaper knife unless it really impresses me. The knives I really care about I'll fondle and preform some light cutting, but for the most part I use my blades. I only use them the way they're made to be used, though. I won't use my Ritter grip as a wedge or screwdriver, but I'll cut anything that needs to be cut with it.

Funny enough though, one object that I still seem to cringe when cutting with one of my better folders is tape. Getting that gunk all over the blade still strikes a nerve.

 

[loftisray]

This happened to me ( the not wanting to mess up my nice knife phase) until I bought the manix 2 it cost around $140.00 and I finally decided this was now my edc beater. I carry a fixed blade and smaller knife but the spyderco does the Lions share of the work now. If I break it , we'll let just say it's done everything I've punished it with. Don't worry brother this feeling will pass.
Time for you to buy A little nicer knife to establish the new balance in your life.. peace....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[evilgreg]

I do find that a coating with wear tends to look better than a brand new one in many ways.

I think the problem for some people is that the first scratch on a coated blade, that one lone scratch, looks terrible. After it's all scratched up to the point that it looks like it's seen some sh . . . stuff it looks cool and weathered, it's the first couple of steps down that path that make the people who whig out about scratches go nuts.

Then again, I question the wisdom of anyone with OCD issues ever getting a coated blade in the first place.

 

[jbarsquat]

I had an avoidance to REALLY using nicer knives for a while. It made me worry that I'd screw it up. Once I started using those nicer knives I realized that they are built to take it! They can do heavy work, get touched up and be like new over and over again. You're allowed to have different knives for different occasions too. You don't want to carry a banged up, scratched and abused SOG when you're dressed up and feeling fancy. Maybe get yourself a fancy dress knife that you can keep that mirror edge on all the time and just use it for opening mail and trimming threads.

 

[TheChunk91]

Way back in 2015, I'm not sure if it was a bout of insecurity but suddenly I needed the most tacticool knife I could get my hands on!

I had never spent more then $20 on a knife and had owned the same Swiss army knife all my life. I didn't really know what I wanted and ended up buying a whole bunch of knives within a 1 month span... I bought a CKRT M21, CKRT Ignitor, SOG flash II, and a SOG Fielder.

They are decent knives but they aren't great knives. I was too cheap to spend the money on a high end knife like a Benchmade, or better. Yet ironically I spent more on mid quality knives.

After all this time I realize I would like to pick up a better knife like a Spiderco etc... There's just one problem, which is that deep down I can't justify owning a higher quality knife. All of the above knives are still like new!

Every time I go to cut something like plastic wrapping etc. I actually reach for the $10 Chinese special my friend gave me, because I don't want to scuff up my semi expensive knives. So even though they're better steel and 10x sharper it means nothing because I don't use them. And if I do cut something I'm sharpening them right away, because heaven forbid my expensive knife is slightly dull!

It's like I'm waiting to impress some stranger with my sharp "it cost more then $10 knife"

At the same time I've come to appreciate the quality of a better made knife, as I now can see the difference which I couldn't before.

How can I overcome this? Is this normal?

It's normal, just try to make yourself use them and you will eventually grow past it. I constantly use my favorite most treasured knives. Scratches and scuffs aren't going to make me like them less but using them makes me like them more.

 

[Emre]

Start buying used knives from the exchange. You pay less up front and they come pre-scratched.

I used to be like that with guitars/basses. I was paranoid about scuffing up a brand-new expensive guitar. And you can't enjoy it if you're so precious about it. But once the guitar already has its fair share of wear-and-tear, you stop thinking about it. Gets you over the mental hump.

 

[Velitrius]

This is easy.

Go buy yourself a $4000 Phil Boguszewski folder and put it in a safe deposit box.

You are now free to beat on all of your $350 folders.

Also, now you are THAT guy! And that's the guy you wanna be, trust me.

 

[XDJ]

I am similar in buying but not similar to you in using. I use a knife if I own it.

But, I will avoid buying a $100 knife but then buy 3 crappy $40 knives. Then wonder why I did that. But then do it again.

 

[PNWJimbo]

I'm moving into the first house I ever bought last weekend and I got myself a CRK Sebenza as a congrats gift to myself for finally getting it done. While moving I was laying on the floor in the garage and I rolled over and heard the clip scrape against the concrete floor. My stomach knotted up so hard. Then I pulled it out and looked at it... really not so bad. Kinda embarrassing to have a 500 dollar knife that never looks like it's been touched lol. These 2 performed all weekend and each time I pulled them out I got much more than just a good tool, the sense of satisfaction and love makes it so much better. I don't have safe queens... not using your knife cause you want to keep it in good condition for trade value is like not fucking your girlfriend so her pussy stays tight for her next guy. So buy the one you love and use it, cause you could die tomorrow and have spent your whole life using $10 Chinese knives.

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