Knife Thoughts 💭 Grail Thoughts 💭 ?

[SwissHeritageCo]

Lately I keep coming back to the function of the thing, my collector side has faded with age. I have beautiful customs that I rarely use which are amazing in both design and execution... but I keep coming back to my workhorses with a renewed appreciation because of their utility.

If it's too expensive I just won't use it, but use isn't everything. Sometimes just holding an item and marveling at the craftsmanship can bring me joy.

 

[crk1984]

Lately I keep coming back to the function of the thing, my collector side has faded with age. I have beautiful customs that I rarely use which are amazing in both design and execution... but I keep coming back to my workhorses with a renewed appreciation because of their utility.

If it's too expensive I just won't use it, but use isn't everything. Sometimes just an item and marveling at the craftsmanship can bring me joy.

Im guilty of this. I have several knives that are fairly valuable (well, to me.) And i cant bring myself to carry em, which is silly, thinking of it

 

[XXL]

In the music community we have a term, "GAS" Gear Acquisition Syndrom.

"the musicians' unrelenting urge to buy and own instruments and equipment as an anticipated catalyst of creative energy and bringer of happiness."

NAS.. Knife Acquisition Syndrom.

I personally really want the Kraken SHF, I have for a few years, I wouldn't call it my grail necessarily, more like my NAS.

 

[Richard338]

For me there should not be two of anything being called a grail. One of the famous Warenski daggers? OK, grail. Two buddies set up CNC milling of titanium and send hundreds of pieces of Magnacut to Peters' for heat treatment...not grails.

 

[mitchnola]

Love a good debate! Subjective terms make for the best topics. I think it’s first very important to remember what makes a grail for each individual is completely subjective and there is no right or wrong.

My personal opinion is that a grail is something not easily obtained whether that be supply, rareness or even financial reasons. I have grails that I currently own and I have new grails that I’m currently searching for. I get Quiet point and he’s definitely not a troll but that’s also just his thoughts on the matter, not right or wrong. I do think personal grails develop as you progress through collecting. Simply put they develop with experience. So I hope everyone eventually obtains their grail but even more so I hope they enjoy the journey of finding them.

Oh, and Leo Greer nothing against shiros but I think ya may want to give a LG a try to compare to your shiros!

Sorry fellas, just can’t help myself!

 

[Choctaw Dan]

Love a good debate! Subjective terms make for the best topics. I think it’s first very important to remember what makes a grail for each individual is completely subjective and there is no right or wrong.

Exactly. I use the term the way I saw Frank Trzaska use it to describe a knife that was much like one of my two. His almost-exact words-- "the grail of USMC Mark II collectors". In that sense there can be a category-specific grail, which says there can be more than one. When I acquired my two grails (over the span of several decades), I stopped acquiring more knives in their categories.

 

[ElementalBreakdown]

Grail is an overused term. Grail screwdriver is definitely a Stanley though.
I think the Olamic Wayfarer 247s are the coolest knives because almost anything you can imagine they can do, and the shape and size is capable of any task that a folding knife should be used for.
Use a fixed blade for jobs that folders aren't designed for, and a utility knife or gas station knife for opening boxes and letters

 

[Stringjam7]

(deleted)

 

[Quiet]

Is there an unwritten rule you can’t buy any knives after you obtain your grail?
Or, are you just Trolling?

As others have said, no, I'm not trolling. Others have seen the point I'm making, and that which bears out my statement that grails don't really exist for most people who collect and enjoy knives. To clarify for you, if you bought the best knife you've ever owned....why are you buying more knives?

A couple possible reasons:

- "I can have more than one grail!" Sure thing. But once those are purchased...my point remains. Guess that grail wasn't a "grail" after all, eh?
- "This new knife is different!!" Is it? Is it sufficiently interesting enough to want to own and use when you have your end-all be-all grail at home? Huh, interesting.

People throw this term around a lot when discussing what are essentially limited or even one-off custom goods, when those same people will continue to buy other knives. Being (slightly) facetious, do you think Indiana Jones needed another cup after he found the one he was looking for?

In case anyone asks, my own "grail" was something I'd been after for years. A one-off folder made by Ray Laconico, custom, only one he's done. I love it VERY much. I bought it, enjoyed carrying it....and have purchased over a hundred other knives since, many of which I enjoy carrying while that grail sits at home in one of my knife chests. There isn't a single knife out there that I could buy, or obtain that would have me holding it like "This. This is the final knife. It's all I ever dreamed." Thus, there is no final knife, only the next knife.

That's my point.

 

[Quiet]

For me there are two Grails and yes, I have them both. Neither is the type one can just run out and buy; they had to be found. The search for the first took nearly 20 years. The second took longer.

I was rebutting your categorical statement that there is no grail.

As mentioned before, you have two. Therefore, the first one juuuuuuust didn't quite get it done. Guess it wasn't really the one cup, eh?

And hey, listen. It's completely fine that you have more than one. Hell, some folks here have pelican cases full of knives that someone else would give both kidneys and a lung to own even one of, and for that person, maybe that one knife would be the final one for them. Maaaaaaybe.

But we're all a little skewed here. Best just to have fun with it.

 

[Eliteone2383]

I just bought a CRK inkosi. Many peoples grail but not mine. I actually have 2 grails I'll probably never be able to acquire. 1) Zt 0801 Copperhead. 2) CKF Decepticon. Both no longer made and both pretty much unobtainable.

 

[Choctaw Dan]

I just bought a CRK inkosi. Many peoples grail but not mine. I actually have 2 grails I'll probably never be able to acquire. 1) Zt 0801 Copperhead. 2) CKF Decepticon. Both no longer made and both pretty much unobtainable.

My two are [1] an early Gerber Mark 2 with wasp-waisted, canted blade with appropriate sharpening steel and sheath, all in pristine condition, and [2] a WWII Robeson Shuredge USMC-marked Mark II "Ka-Bar." Both fit your description, but determination, perserverance and patience paid off.

 

[Stringjam7]

I just bought a CRK inkosi. Many peoples grail but not mine. I actually have 2 grails I'll probably never be able to acquire. 1) Zt 0801 Copperhead. 2) CKF Decepticon. Both no longer made and both pretty much unobtainable.

I would love to find the 801 Copperhead, or any of the special run 801s for that matter at a decent price. The Todd Rexford collabs are some of my favorites from ZT.

 

[TheManInBlack]

I think there may be a slight but fundamental cultural misunderstanding about the meaning of “grail” deriving from the legendary Arthurian quest for The Holy Grail. It’s not just about the object itself but the quest and how causes a person to change, become ‘better’. A person could search their whole life for The Grail and never find it and it would not be a wasted life because the quest and the will to pursue it is itself noble. Not to equate knife collecting to seeking out the ultimate truth or something but you get the idea…

So I have a list of ‘grail’ knives. I find one, it gets scratched off, and possibly by simply experiencing that knife or because of other knives I discovered while trying to get that particular ‘grail’ or through research, more grail knives may get added to the list. A Grail Knife is not a knife-to-end-all-knives. Such a knife doesn’t exist, period. But maybe it’s an expectation you have in your heart and/or mind that a particular knife is the peak example of knives in a particular category, design, or function. A Grail Knife might be a downright disappointment when you get it in hand! That doesn’t mean you mislabeled the knife or the knife was a ‘false grail’ because, again, it comes down to the journey—the quest—itself. You learned something very valuable about yourself and grew as a knife user/collector.

There will be many ‘grails’ for knife collectors and I don’t think it’s a misuse of the word. I think most reasonable people here know well that they will never find the Grail of knives for themselves because those personal goalposts are always moving, anyway, but I think the never-ending quest—or compulsion or sickness, what have you —will help one to not only become a more discerning collector but a more appreciative one, as some in this thread have already pointed out. And I don’t believe they would have arrived at that state spontaneously. You have to put in the work, and you do that by setting lofty goals for legendary artifacts.

That being said, my current grail is still a Large Sebenza Morning Sun.

 

[cbach8tw]

I have my grails, and will hesitate to use them, but I think, how much more joy I will get when I use them!! That is the goal anyway.

 

[Choctaw Dan]

I think there may be a slight but fundamental cultural misunderstanding about the meaning of “grail” deriving from the legendary Arthurian quest for The Holy Grail. It’s not just about the object itself but the quest and how causes a person to change, become ‘better’. A person could search their whole life for The Grail and never find it and it would not be a wasted life because the quest and the will to pursue it is itself noble. Not to equate knife collecting to seeking out the ultimate truth or something but you get the idea…

Amen to that. The quest for a knife grail might not be noble. Nor might it qualify as "seeking the ultimate truth", but it may certainly provide an outstanding learning experience....!

 

[tacos3]

Koenig Arius - good choice
As others have said, CRK Sebenza is a really good knife.
My favorite is a Shirogorov F95. Its got the best action of anything in my collection and I EDC one of them. It gets used and still has the best lock up of any frame lock flipper I own.

 

[eveled]

My only advice is to buy the real deal. Never buy a knife because it looks like another but is cheaper. Buy the real one.

 

[kobold]

Don't buy expensive knives if you are just starting out. Buy all kinds of cheap ones, use them and learn what your actual needs are.
Learn about your preferences in weight, size, pocket clip placement, blade geometry, the steels and its properties, ergonomics, handle materials, types of bearing, types of locks. Do you want a flipper or an opening hole. Plain edge or serrations? Who knows maybe you will end up with a fixed blade as your EDC.

 

[Velitrius]

In my opinion, knife collecting is about enjoyment, not seeking the approval of others by acquiring a list of knives that a bunch of strangers on the internet say you should buy.

Taste in knives is a very personal thing. Buy what YOU like. I don't know about Facebook, or Instagram, or any other part of the internet, but there is no knife or list of knives that you need to buy to be accepted here at Bladeforums. The members here have wide ranging tastes, and no one is shunned, or excluded, or ridiculed for not having the latest and greatest trending knife.

There is no list of knives that one must own to be considered an official, genuine knife collector.

Again, in my opinion, if you're buying knives just because other people are telling you to buy them, then I'd say you're doing knife collecting wrong.

The internet is a fickle place. Todays hottest must-haves could very easily become tomorrows has-beens. And then people will be telling you to buy a whole other batch of the new hottest knives.

Buy what YOU like. And if you don't know yet what you like, be patient, you will over time. Finding out what YOU like is part of the fun.

This is huge.

I wonder how many folks join some form of community, and in a subconscious effort to fit in, aquire something they don't like or need as their badge of entry.

How many members of a watch/car/motorcycle/etc forum have literally wasted money on something that somebody else said they would like or need?

I think it takes a lot of developing personal tastes, personal preferences and personal growth just to come up with what your grail is in the first place.

And BFC is the perfect place to do that. You like the Kershaw Leek? Well then welcome to the club, there's thousands of your kind here. Think you need a custom piece to be happy? Well then step right up and meet some of the finer craftsmen in the business, and they can't wait to get with you and help you out with that. Don't know what the hell it is you need? Well there's a whole bunch of like-minded folk who WANT you to complete your quest, and are genuinely interested in your success.

Perhaps that list of knives in your first post has exactly what you want and need within it. But I'd bet there's something out there, brand new or old and used, that would blow that stuff out of the water and really strike you as something special.

Let part of the quest for your grail be growing and learning and exploring enough to find out just what your grail truly is.