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Blade_Crazy

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May 26, 2011
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So if I'm breaking a rule or out of line with this let me know, But (as i have said in many of my posts) I am new to the High quality knife buying game. But as i look over the prices around these knives i fear that my collection will be slow growing indeed.

So more to the point what are some of my fellow knife collectors doing to be able to better afford these wonderful tools. Jobs, saving, bargain shopping, ect. just wanting to know some better ways to expedite the grows of my collection.
 
Jobs. A lot of brands like CRK and such there are no sales, discounts etc. It's pay retail or buy second hand.
 
i figured as much, i guess ill have to wait till i take off a little more in my career before i go to deep into this hobby. oh well slow growing till then i still love researching and (when i can) buying new knives.
 
Job plus not really having any other hobbies, lifestyle choices, etc. that take a significant chunk out of my discretionary income. For example, I only rarely buy food/drink from restaurants, coffee shops, etc. -- something that's a major drain on a lot of people's income, often without them realizing it -- and when I do it's almost always for a social occasion.

Also, not to sound like an advertisement for BladeForums or anything, but another thing I've found very useful is getting a paying membership here, which among other benefits allows selling on the Exchange. That's proven invaluable as a way of selling off knives that I don't use, have multiples of, no longer fit my tastes/uses, etc., and allowing me to reinvest that money in other knives that suit my preferences better.
 
If you want much high end stuff, lots of cash is the only answer. Most people can't resist the urge to buy "affordable" (whatever that means to you) knives on a regular basis for a quick fix. However, if you can, almost anyone should be able to buy at least one nice custom or unaffordable knife a year.

You also need to be realistic about what you want to do with each purchase. For example, I bought a custom a few years back and decided not to carry it because it is so expensive. That has kept me away from the higher end product ever since. But if you want to carry and use them, or can be satisfied that they will be safe queens, then do your research as carefully as possible and purchase when able.

It's a fun hobby. Only you can decide what provides the most satisfaction per dollar spent.
 
Here's my advice:

1. Set a monthly knife-buying budget for yourself. Any money not spent in one month rolls over to the next, so in effect you have a segregated knife-buying account. And no credit card debt that can creep up on you.

2. Buy only knives you really really want. I did a lot of impulse buying for a while. Now I find a knife I think I want, bookmark the web page as a "Possible Future Knife" and wait. I can almost always go back to those bookmarks and weed out the knives I thought I wanted but don't really. And I can always put them back in later if I change my mind.

3. Set some kind of criteria for the knives you want to buy. I'm (for now) ruling out assisted-openers, heavy recurves, metal handles, knives too big to actually carry (e.g., blades at 4 or more inches), tanto points, karambits, etc. Those knives are just not candidates for purchase. (If you like every single kind of knife in existence, you're screwed.)

4. Spend time with the knives you have. Clean them up, keep them sharp and handle them. Knife hunger can sometimes be satisfied by just appreciating the knives you have.
 
It boils down to your income, and how much you can set aside for fun, and where your knife collecting falls into that range. I have my first wedding anniversary coming up, so for me that meant no high end knives or customs for a couple of months to save up for something special for my wife, but I still buy some mid range stuff like Spydercos and Benchmades, everyone is different, and think if you spend more than you can afford on your knives you will eventually come to hate them, and regret your purchases
 
I try only to buy a new knife once every six months. In the mean time, I use and carry the ones that I have. Eventually I settle in on the ones that I really like, and I trade off the rest. As long as you buy high-quality knives, you can sell/trade them for significant portions of what they were worth brand new.

neuron said:
Job plus not really having any other hobbies, lifestyle choices, etc. that take a significant chunk out of my discretionary income. For example, I only rarely buy food/drink from restaurants, coffee shops, etc. -- something that's a major drain on a lot of people's income, often without them realizing it -- and when I do it's almost always for a social occasion.
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Also, a huge +1 to this. I make almost everything I eat from scratch, and I save a lot of money this way. Generally I spend about $50-60 a week on groceries ($70-90 if I'm eating seafood/steaks everyday and treating myself). Even as a full time student, it only took three months to save up for a Sebenza, on top of paying for rent/gas/insurance/food.
 
Be satisfied with the knives that you can for as long as you can. Try to not be an impulse buyer. A lot of BF members read a thread/see pics about a new knife and buy it

because it looks cool. For me this is one of the worst things about BF. Being influenced by all the different types of cool knives you see here.

Try to be satisfied with one CRK instead of 5 like I have and don't carry/use much anymore. The same is true about the less expensive brands...you don't have to buy every

other new model that comes out.

The more time you spend on BF the more you'll be tempted to buy. It's hard to come here often and not want to buy a knife you don't Need.
 
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Nothing wrong with a slow growing collection, just make every purchase counts. Get blades you like and upgrade slowly. The Exchange here at BF is a good way to get some knives that might otherwise be out of your price range. If you become a skilled trader you can improve your collection rather quickly. But beware, the longer you are around here the more "exotic" your tastes will become. I never thought I would spend more than about $100 on a knife...got my pimped CRK Large Sebenza in my pocket today :)
 
clockman said:
Be satisfied with the knives that you can for as long as you can. Try to not be an impulse buyer. A lot of BF members read a thread/see pics about a new knife and buy it

because it looks cool. For me this is one of the worst things about BF. Being influenced by all the different types of cool knives you see here.

Try to be satisfied with one CRK instead of 5 like I have and don't carry/use much anymore. The same is true about the less expensive brands...you don't have to buy every

other new model that comes out.

The more time you spend on BF the more you'll be tempted to buy. It's hard to come here often and not want to buy a knife you don't Need.
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i understand that sentiment i often spend time surfing either hear or retailer knife stores and drool. so often i say to myself "if i were independently wealthy i would buy (insert knife i want here).

And thanks guys for the ideas, i plan to mostly save for what i want, im not quite to the sebenza level yet but i have my eye on a few spydercos. so i think i will start there.

How much is a higher membership here?
 
I agree with what most people have said here: If you see a knife that you really want, wait a week or two, think it over and see if you still really want it. Also, pace yourself in between purchases. Really get to know each knife; use it, sharpen it, maybe modify it to your needs before you start thinking about which knife you're going to buy next. I think that taking it slow really helps you enjoy your collection, rather than always wanting more.
 
A gold membership is 25 dollars a year. occasionally they do a deal where people can get a knife for whipping if they go to gold or above. the latest one was a becker remora for 5 dollars of shipping.
 
I never buy knives that I don't intend to really use. If I find myself not using it, it gets sold or traded, or sometimes given away. I like trading because it is an inexpensive, fun way to try different knives. As a result, my "collection" (accumulation?) stays rather small, but I get to try a bunch of different stuff. At the moment I think I have eleven knives; the nicest being a custom Nessmuk from SDS that was about $150. That one was my lifetime knife, and I thought long and hard about what I wanted before I pulled the trigger and had it made. Knives are not my primary hobby or main discretionary income drain (that would be motorcycles).

Also, remember that quality knives don't always have to be uber-expensive. You can collect decent production knives for awhile or even modestly priced customs before getting into the high priced stuff.
 
probably going to go with the more moderate to high productions for a while, i (again) love the idea of custom knives but a lacking in wallet and i honestly don't know if I'm up for buying a 3-5 hundred dollar knife.


thegeek574 are there any deals for joining now? and how do payments work just one time 25 till the next year type thing?
 
As I am a recent joiner of knife forums I found the comments extremely accurate and helpful. I don't have a lot of extra money floating around so I found the advice very helpful as i have a fairly large collection from when my situation was diffrent and I also have a number of users. My collection is mostly pocket knives and my users are either tactical folders, fixed blades or hunting type knives. I especially like Gadfly 22 comments.
 
Blade_Crazy said:
i (again) love the idea of custom knives but a lacking in wallet and i honestly don't know if I'm up for buying a 3-5 hundred dollar knife.
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Custom fixed blades, such as those available from makers here on the forum, can be surprisingly affordable - if you are interested in fixed blades.
 
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