Keeping notes on your Khukuri knives...

J

JimmyJimenez

Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
580
As a collector, I feel it's very important to keep notes on whatever it is that I'm collecting. This holds true with my recent start of khukuri collecting. At some point we will all have to leave this world, hopefully ending up in a better place. With that said, at our point of departure we leave behind our belongings for our families to "hopefully" respect and enjoy.
In the past there have been those that have left their possessions, but have left nothing as far as documentation is concerned. Sometimes the surviving family members are very familiar with what was left to them, but oftentimes not. Also, if a person was involved in many collections, (as I am), it may be almost impossible for the family to have kept up with all the important information about them.

For these reasons and more, I keep as much important information as possible on my collections stored in a three drawer filing cabinet. The folders it contains have such things as photos that I have taken of the items, company catalogs, company website information, and in general anything that I feel may be relevent at some point in the future. I oftentimes take notes of the specific item(s) that I own, especially if in some way the item(s) may be unique, or if there are things about it that need special mention.

With my HI WW2 knife that I received from a DOTD purchase on this forum, these things mentioned above have been done.
Not only does this knife's file contain all sorts of information that I printed off of the HI company website, but it also contains such things as how much was paid for the knife, the date the purchase was made, the overall length, the type of wood used for making it's handle, the Kami responsible for it's manufacture, among many other things.


Those that remember when I posted receiving this knife, may remember that my specimen was received with an odd Kami symbol:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3610940&postcount=17

Not exactly knowing why this symbol was done differently, I attempted to do some research here on this forum to indentify whether it was caused by a simple mistake, or if it was done intentionally. Though I may never know exactly why, I made sure that my notes pointed the descrepency out, and even offered a theory based on the information I was able to gather on these boards. Here are my two pages of notes that cover the markings of this knife:

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/2742/dscn07470le.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/8540/dscn07481bt.jpg

This is just a sampling of the information found in this knife's folder, and is similar to what I do with all my collection item's :)

When the time comes for me to go on to the next world, there will be no reason why my belongings should end up in a "I don't know what it is" or "I don't know much about it" pile :)

PS.
Sorry that the links did not work, they should definitely work now ;)
 
Jimmy, I love this type of documentation and applaude your efforts.

I hope these notes can be preserved. I know my grandmother did some of this for the stuff she had, though not in this much detail. Mostly something like, "Plated dish, Venice - 1967" or something like that. Was that the date bought, made, what. What dish does this refer to?. Bought in Venice, made in Venice? Some of the handwriting is indecipherable.

Unfortunately it did not help much, as upon her death the notes were stuffed into boxes, the items were dispursed randomly or given away, because the house is sold and needs to be cleaned out. Everything is separated. The notes are all on notebook paper, hard to read, and almost impossible to match up with the items. Also, unfortunately, no one seems to care for the stuff she collected.

This said, the photos are a good reference.

I just hope that when the time comes, someone knows what is in those file cabinets, cares to delve into it, and keeps the documentation with the collectible. This all has to be done before anyone just starts to take stuff, randomly gives it away and all the old brown moldy papers in grandad's file cabinet are tossed.

Maybe keep it in electronic form? On a small disk or thumbdrive that is easy to store and keep. Doesn't take up much room. Can be printed out again later if needed. That way someone will not say "I have no room to store those file cabinets, just get rid of them."

I hope to do something like this for my collection, someday.

Eric.
 
Bravo Jimmy, I take a similar approach. I have some collections that did not start out as such. Just an item here and there which, before you know it, turns into an accumulation. Accumulations can become more directed at some point and evolve into a full fledged collection. As soon as I see the signs of a budding collection I begin documenting. I want my sons to know what's there, what has personal value and what has monetary value. For example, in my gun collection I have a Remington Mountain Rifle in 30-06. This is one of the most versatile rifles that can be had for mountain hunting, but its true value lies in the fact that it was given to me by my father not long before he moved on to a better world. It was clear he was leaving me something to remember him by, and the gesture was greatly appreciated. I would want my sons to know this and keep the gun in the family.:thumbup:
 
I appreciate your comments guys :)

I also want to thank you both for sharing your own experiences on this subject :)

My wife and kids not only know what is kept in the filing cabinet, but they often get the privledge of being bored by me telling them what the latest addition has been.

There is a plan to these discussions with them. I remember when my mom or dad would tell me things when I was a kid, and me kinda thinking to myself......... "Ok, do we really have to go through these discussions!". Later, as I grew up, a lot of those conversations came into play in my life in one way or another, and yes, a lot of those discussions had stuck in my head (a lot more than I thought they would have).
I'm hoping that my collection information will later also stick with them ;)

In the end one can only "hope" that these things will be looked at as family treasures & heirlooms. I feel I have done my part, (all any of us can really do), and can only hope that my surviving family will do their part when that moment comes ;)
 
I've recently been jotting down the specs on my HI collection. After reading this thread I'm also going to record the dates of purchase and any interesting/sentimental tidbits. Thanks for the inspiration JJ.

Bob
 
Big Bob said:
I've recently been jotting down the specs on my HI collection. After reading this thread I'm also going to record the dates of purchase and any interesting/sentimental tidbits. Thanks for the inspiration JJ.

Bob
Click to expand...


:thumbup: Good luck in your new project, and hope you have fun doing it :)
 
I have gotten as far as a paper tag on each Safe Queen that records the model and Kami.

Price records would create evidence of my guilt :o
 
Gun guys?

you might consider making a small note with the history of the gun, when you owned it, what it meant, where you were when you had it, and some small specifics about who you are, then unscrewing the butt-plate and slipping the note inside.

The guns will probably survive you, and someday someone may discover this little treasure you left for them.





(Heck, you can even exaggerate about the 877 yard shot you made, off-hand, at a running antelope during the thunderstorm which preceded the earth-quake which destroyed the dam which obliterated the house of the beautiful school-teacher who'd never met a man like you.)
 
**making note to stash inside golf club grip that I'd made an eagle on a par 5 in 3 shots** :D

Thanks for the idea Kismet :D
 
Kismet said:
Gun guys?

you might consider making a small note with the history of the gun, when you owned it, what it meant, where you were when you had it, and some small specifics about who you are, then unscrewing the butt-plate and slipping the note inside.

The guns will probably survive you, and someday someone may discover this little treasure you left for them.





(Heck, you can even exaggerate about the 877 yard shot you made, off-hand, at a running antelope during the thunderstorm which preceded the earth-quake which destroyed the dam which obliterated the house of the beautiful school-teacher who'd never met a man like you.)
Click to expand...

:D Gun guy here :thumbup:

I have not done what you mentioned, but just like my other collectibles, I do keep records of my guns in my filing cabinet.

This includes folders that not only keep specific info on each individual gun (like serial #'s, model, make, caliber, etc), but also general information and history on each model.

Having this type of documentation is real good not only for us collectors, but could more importantly serve to help anyone in reporting any firearms that may end up being stolen (which I hope I never have the displeasure of having to do) :(
 
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