Knife Hoarder Thoughts

sadmin

sadmin

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2015
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390
Caution: This is largely a pointless ramble brought on by internal conversations with myself.

I am coming to the realization that I am at a crossroads with this hobby, failing to have a goal or purpose. Im not a collector since none of my knives are very pricey, or unique in design, or created from rare materials; Im basically just a hoarder. Hoarding multiple knives that do the same thing, are fine by a utility standard, and will likely never increase in value for any reason bc they are just mediocre & I use them in daily life. I toyed with seeking high end knives but alas, I just dont think that is my calling.

Do you ever mentally sandbox the notion of scrapping everything for just a couple knives that will fill every task / situation? I always want to be the guy who has 1 thing and knows it intimately well, but instead I buy more and use less & this becomes a quiet frustration in hindsight. I got really into hand sharpening during COVID, watching MChristy videos and NWKnifeguy videos, bought all the good kit, but dont even carry 1 knife often enough to warrant a sharpening. Like I said, Im just shooting the bull, annoyed at myself looking at doubles of knives...why would I buy multiples?

Anyway - maybe Ill reduce my collection and just buy a new folder when 1 wears out, what a novel idea. Anyone else think along these lines? If so, was it liberating to go from 100 knives to 10?
 
sadmin said:
Do you ever mentally sandbox the notion of scrapping everything for just a couple knives that will fill every task / situation?
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Nope.

I've got more than a few knives that I use that can fill every task/situation but they are not in my knife "collection."

sadmin said:
Anyway - maybe Ill reduce my collection and just buy a new folder when 1 wears out, what a novel idea. Anyone else think along these lines?
Click to expand...

Nope.

I've never had any knife "wear out" on me.

I've got kitchen knives that I inherited from my father (who was a sous chef and used them regularly over 50 years ago) that I still use now that are well worn but still have a lot of life in them.

And, BTW, all of these knives that I am speaking of are made with cheap carbon steel blades and wood handles. Imagine how long a knife made with hard/durable/corrosion resistant modern steels and synthetic handle material will last. Centuries, for sure!
 
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I quite often entertain the idea of sending most of my accumulation down the road. Then I remember that my kids are only 9 and 4 and think that I should hold on to them so they can take their pick and send the rest down the road themselves, that way I'm spared the mental anguish of choosing what I want to keep.
 
I, too, accumulate knives. While I have more than I need, I take solace in the knowledge that many here ( cough sgt1372 sgt1372 cough) have far more knives than I can even think about.
I stopped buying folders for about a year and a half... Then made 3 purchases within 6 weeks. I'm back to saying no again, though; so it's okay.
I have plans to start selling some - and I will...I just haven't started yet (it isn't even that I don't want to do it...I just hate the whole selling experience/process)
 
I thought I had a problem til I joined this site. I've got maybe twenty, and I'm trying to work it down to five or so. I really enjoy using knives, and I'm always chasing that one user that works for everything. (That's long since deteriorated into finding a "perfect skinner", "perfect EDC", "perfect kitchen knife", etc. etc.) If you use them in daily life - that's what they're for. If you enjoy using a knife, keep it and use it.
I bought a few in the 400-500 dollar range, and they're just not significantly more useable than a Benchmade or a Spyderco to justify chasing them. (The one exception is the Impinda. It just really fits and feels right in my hand.)

If chasing material accumulation leaves you feeling empty, get rid of them.
 
Jack of all trades, master of none; but often times better than a master of one.

I know Bruce Lee said something rather to the contrary but I don't care.

I like knives. I like a lot of different knives. Many of them do one thing well, or many things decently well. Sometimes I want to cut with a Kukri. Or chop with a tomahawk. Or slice with a skinner. Or poke with a dagger. Sometimes I just want to flick an auto for the fun of it.

Many of my knives could be an end-all, be-all and do all of my daily tasks well enough to need no other. But that would be boring. Do you want to eat the same measure of oats and unsalted butter for breakfast every damned morning? Or would you like to have bacon one day? A scone the next? Migas and frijoles another?

I certainly have favorites but I enjoy variety, and that makes for a fun hobby. Do what makes you happy and don't stress about having too many knives. As for the multiples, it never hurts to have a spare in case your favorite model get broken, lost, gifted, or discontinued. It's only a problem if you choose to buy knives instead of paying rent
 
sadmin said:
Caution: This is largely a pointless ramble brought on by internal conversations with myself.

I am coming to the realization that I am at a crossroads with this hobby, failing to have a goal or purpose. Im not a collector since none of my knives are very pricey, or unique in design, or created from rare materials; Im basically just a hoarder. Hoarding multiple knives that do the same thing, are fine by a utility standard, and will likely never increase in value for any reason bc they are just mediocre & I use them in daily life. I toyed with seeking high end knives but alas, I just dont think that is my calling.

Do you ever mentally sandbox the notion of scrapping everything for just a couple knives that will fill every task / situation? I always want to be the guy who has 1 thing and knows it intimately well, but instead I buy more and use less & this becomes a quiet frustration in hindsight. I got really into hand sharpening during COVID, watching MChristy videos and NWKnifeguy videos, bought all the good kit, but dont even carry 1 knife often enough to warrant a sharpening. Like I said, Im just shooting the bull, annoyed at myself looking at doubles of knives...why would I buy multiples?

Anyway - maybe Ill reduce my collection and just buy a new folder when 1 wears out, what a novel idea. Anyone else think along these lines? If so, was it liberating to go from 100 knives to 10?
Click to expand...
You don't necessarily have to have a goal beyond liking knives a lot, to collect them. Some people have very focused collections, but most are a bit focused in one way and not at all in others. Early on for me that went from being a purely tool using mammal to collecting the best representatives of different brands, different knife designers, types of knives, and different steels. I can accept that I can't afford to collect every single knife I want right this moment and some are just going to be beyond what I'm willing to spend. I consider some inexpensive knives, like the Opinel No.8 and the Ontario Knives Rat 1, to be essential to my collection because of what they are. There are some expensive knives that I wouldn't buy at half their regular price.

I can't see ditching my collection anytime soon, given that it's an expression of a life-long interest and not just something I started doing to keep me busy during the last couple years. I've gotten better at making more focused purchases. Learning to sharpen knives is a good life skill to put the time and effort into learning.

I don't think it would be liberating to ditch my collection. I could probably find 20 knives I could find new homes for, but with a collection of around 200 I don't think I'd like to go down to just a handful. In the end it all comes down to you do you. If you're not getting anything from collecting knives you shouldn't keep doing it. Of course maybe you just need to get your mitts on something ridiculous, like an Opinel No.13 or Kizer Sheepdog XL, to make you smile when you open them. It doesn't always have to be so serious.
 
sadmin said:
Caution: This is largely a pointless ramble brought on by internal conversations with myself.

I am coming to the realization that I am at a crossroads with this hobby, failing to have a goal or purpose. Im not a collector since none of my knives are very pricey, or unique in design, or created from rare materials; Im basically just a hoarder. Hoarding multiple knives that do the same thing, are fine by a utility standard, and will likely never increase in value for any reason bc they are just mediocre & I use them in daily life. I toyed with seeking high end knives but alas, I just dont think that is my calling.

Do you ever mentally sandbox the notion of scrapping everything for just a couple knives that will fill every task / situation? I always want to be the guy who has 1 thing and knows it intimately well, but instead I buy more and use less & this becomes a quiet frustration in hindsight. I got really into hand sharpening during COVID, watching MChristy videos and NWKnifeguy videos, bought all the good kit, but dont even carry 1 knife often enough to warrant a sharpening. Like I said, Im just shooting the bull, annoyed at myself looking at doubles of knives...why would I buy multiples?

Anyway - maybe Ill reduce my collection and just buy a new folder when 1 wears out, what a novel idea. Anyone else think along these lines? If so, was it liberating to go from 100 knives to 10?
Click to expand...

Does this qualify as hoarding?


And yes, I understand what you are going through. I have matured and no longer seek "tAcTiCaL" blades. I'd get rid of over half the stuff I have and replace it with things that will at least look nice on the wall...
 
I feel ya. I’ve done a couple things to help prevent things getting out of control in my case.

First, I’ve decided to limit my folding knife collection to what can fit in my Gerstner style chest (the fixed blade collection is limited to what fits in a different, smaller case). So if things get too full I basically force myself to sell.

Second, I’ve intentionally cultivated certain personal prejudices, even when they’re based on slightly flimsy pretexts, in an effort to limit the collection growth. For example, I no longer buy any knives made in China (there are some independently good reasons for this decision, but in my case it was mainly to limit the growth of my collection). I’ve also unofficially “blacklisted” certain manufacturers and makers for their various petty crimes and misdemeanors.

But still, it gets harder each month, because I no longer have much if any “fluff” in my collection (at least it seems so to me right now). There are so many knives which if I sell them I can be reasonably sure I’ll never be able to replace.

And yes, some days I think about getting rid of everything and keeping a single knife.
 
Except for my substantial first collection from the 80's and early 90's(mostly Spyderco and Cold Steel ) that was stolen almost entirely , and a few I've gifted or donated , I've just accumulated everything else since then .

If nothing else , my earlier purchases recall to me my history . Even the crappy ones .

Maybe especially those , I wouldn't consider buying today , demonstrate that I've possibly evolved somewhat . :cool::thumbsup:
 
When I purged last, I only kept a few knives that I purchased for myself:
Spyderco Endura 4 FFG VG-10, Buck 202 & 203 (Holiday Set from 2019), a SAK Super Tinker, a SAK 84mm Small Tinker, a SAK Recruit, and 2 1960's traditional knives that I restored and rehandled. I also kept all knives and gear that has been gifted to me which aren't going anywhere. With that I probably have 50+ knives still covering any type of use I could possibly want or need. It's been almost 3 years since I actually bought a knife. I might buy one soon for work just because but it's gonna be a Rough Ryder or something. My boss is scared of modern knives and we gotta keep him happy and not feeling threatened. Who knew bearings were so scary?

But for real if you just consider the real use of something you want, it's pretty easy to talk yourself out of frivolous purchases. If I go somewhere that sells knives, I'll throw my Manix 2 with custom scales in my pocket so that I won't mess around with anything less quality than that. It's obviously working!
 
I feel you. I got only about five knives right now for different purposes. Talking about conflicting thoughts regarding knives here is like trying to get sober on crack smokers forum dot com.
 
Looks like I peaked last year, bought 23 and sold 10 knives. This year I bought four and sold two. My use cases are covered and the knives I still want are too expensive and rare. I have moved on to customize what I have and now I am happy with my collection. I don't think it is a hoard, just a well rounded collection.
 
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It happens. Collections shrink and swell as time goes on. Considering the surge of knife prices lately, it isn't surprising. What you are going thru is normal. Maybe look at a few knives you haven't carried in awhile and sell them.
 
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I've hit the point in my collection "career" where I tend to buy fewer knives that are more expensive than just any ol' cheaper knife that I kinda like at that moment. I just get more enjoyment out of the slightly higher end stuff.

That said, I don't really fuss about it. I still have knives I purchased somewhere in a drawer that hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years. It doesn't bother me much. I buy what I like, use what I will, gift what seems would help someone out in need. I have about 6 or 10 knives that are within easy reach for various tasks. I have, I dunno, 300 in a trunk/boxes. Out of sight, out of mind, but still mine if I want to use them.

I have no grand plan for my collection. Nothing was purchased as an investment. Everything I bought was for ME. So, when the day comes that I shuffle off this mortal coil, I don't really care what happens to my knives. Not my problem anymore. Nothing my wife and/or daughter should really worry about either. Dig through them, take what they want, give a bunch away. At the end of they day, it's a couple hundred pounds of steel with limited value in a very niche market that no one needs to really bother with if I have done my job with life insurance and investments.

In short, I don't think I will ever pair down what I have accumulated beyond giving them away when the moment is right, but my purchasing has slowed and will probably continue to slow. There isn't much hanging on a peg at Walmart or available with Prime shipping that tickles my fancy these days, so when I buy big its at a brick n mortar or maybe a show like Blade (if I ever get to go).
 
Have decided that I need to purge a bit. Have collected on and off for ~30 years, and while some are on display, most are just stored away, and only a handful are carried. And although it was never meant as an investment, many have increased in value, so would be nice to see some of that before I die (the new tax laws will make that a bit painful though).
 
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