Knife Aquisition Syndrome

In wich category do you place yourself ?

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    106
I went through a phase a few years ago where I was on a quest for the perfect edc knife. Which actually just meant anytime I saw a folder I liked I bought it. That did eventually lead me to find the attributes I liked and find an edc favorite. But it also left me with a drawer full of knives. Before that knives were just a tool for a job. That's what I'm back to now. I really try not to buy anything new unless it fills a gap in my needs.
 
Controlled Impulsive I'd say. If I see a knife I like I'll probably get it, but I'll generally sleep on it and think it over. And I (try) to not branch out into all different kind of companies, a recent example was a Stedemon SHY V, it's a good looking knife and seems like a good bang for your buck but with their so so reputation and ~300$ price tag I decided to skip Stedemon altogether. I'd say my main brands are ZT, Spyderco, CKF and Reate. There are knives from other companies that could be nice for sure, but since there are plenty of knives from those companies I know I like, I skip the others.
 
Not sure where I fit in, I see a knife I won't and it drives me nuts! Usually with in a week I buy it, saying I'm done I'm not buying anymore. Then that night im already looking again for something else! Hinderer's are driving me crazy right now!! Lol
 
I don't know anymore... I used to convince myself not to buy a knife, and with stock increase came the opposite. It takes me now a lot of time, several months, between each purchase, as I'm trying to justify why I will actually like this one compared to a close similar one I own. My aversion for redundancy won I guess. I'm very happy every time I got a new knife, it's just not that often now.
 
I wouldnt call myself a "collector" as there is little rhyme or reason to my acquisitions, even tho I have a wall full of knives on display in my home. To catch my attention, they must be useful as "fighting" knives, or specialised killing tools. I used to go for daggers but found after awhile that they are of little use in the kitchen or camp- and then moved over to bowies after falling under the spell of Bill Bagwell.. The bowie is first and foremost a killing knife altho some designs make good camp knives and hunters. As hunting knives I generally use a drop-point CS MasterHunter (C5, from the Good Old Days) and a Buck 120 General. Much of the gutting and cleaning I do with a stockman-style folder.
 
I love knives because I use them. They are useful tools and I need them everyday more than once a day.
So depending of my usual tasks, I like to purchase better / more efficient knives.

for some time I purchased knives more frequently as I was building my knowledge and my tastes.
Nowaday I am more in a schrink down period.
2/3 main users and 4/5 secondary blades for specific uses (diving, backyard job, etc.)
 
I would like to say I'm "controlled sporadic", but I enjoy being "impulsive" with knives. I'm not particularly impulsive with anything else but knives except maybe gadgets in general.

Added: I may fit better into "controlled impulsive" as mentioned above. Still allows for the impulse driven purchase, but with some thought and control... I do reports and if I have time, I sleep on them and review the next morning before releasing the information. This is a good way to be with knives or any hobby type interest.
 
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I like and desire to try many different knives. I do not have the disposable income to do so so have sold off knives and gear I don't like or use in order to buy new stuff. The problem is that I now finally like the things I own enough that I cannot bear selling any more off so the collecting has basically stopped. I have found knives that realistically tick off all the boxes I need for most tasks so I cannot realy justify needing any others even if I could afford them.
 
Knife Acquisition Syndrome should be Syndrome Acquisition Knife or SAK.

As a chef I worked with knives every day for more than 30 years. From time to time I went through knife buying sprees. Usually to treat myself after a good restaurant review. Often on a trip abroad. The knife shops in Tokyo are out of this world. Often months would go by without me giving them a thought past using what I had. But over the years I managed to accumulate dozens.

Now I’m retired, I recently discovered nice folders with full flat ground blades that can be used as paring or utility knives. They were always my favorite tools to grab. A big Chef's knife is a necessity but a small utility blade is a joy that is extension of one's hand. The prototypical tool. 3.5” to 4.5” seems to be my sweet spot. A RealSteel S571 served as my quick learning curve this year, then I jumped in with both feet. A Shirogorov F3 was next, the Massdrop Laconico Keen is due today and I’ve begun looking at classic fixed blades too. An Enzo Trapper 95 came last week and I have my eyes on a Hackman Wirkala, an ML Kephart and a Fiddlehead Forge Bushfinger.

That will likely quench my thirst for a while. (Though I’m still wondering if a Manly Drugar would have been a better choice than the Trapper. Ha!)

Still, knives are a fairly inexpensive hobby. On a fixed income I can budget $500 a month without going into debt. Knives are a lot easier to procure at their costs than say, watches. That’s another story.

I love this place. I've learned a lot. Thanks.
 
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lex2006 said:
None of the above, Jerry just ships them to me when they are ready .
Click to expand...

Are you talking about Jerry Fisk Knives ??? :D

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I've also gone through the major acquisition phase, but I've moved into a much more controlled phase of the disease. :confused:
I will still sometimes buy one or two blades at a time, but I'm a lot more picky and generally take a longer time to pull the trigger now. :D
 
I've had my eyes set on a top of the line Wicked Edge for months, but every time that I get $300 to $400 I buy another knife! I'll eventually get the WE and then the addiction of sharpening will hit home.
 
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