"Lifers" check in here...

I was strictly into automatics when I signed up here and my favorite then was a MT Combat Talon. My favorite now is a Hubertus Stag camper multi blade that I've had since then.

I don't do much on the forums any more so can't comment on the 'better or worse' thing. I will say that some of the back and forth grinding over blade steels, lock mechanisms and blade opening hole designs has always struck me as a bit ridiculous. Somehow I got along for decades, as a knife user, with nothing but carbon steel pocket knives...and they were not called slip joints.

My tastes have changed but the time frame exceeds the life of this forum. I was all Case and Schrade from the late 70's to the mid 80's but the advent of the Edge Company changed that forever to automatics. Those cheap, but fun, switches carried me up to the mid 90's and the increased availability of much higher quality automatics. Then came Benchmade, Microtech and the Internet and here we are all these years later.

I still carry a knife all the time, same as the last 40 plus years. I have every knife I want...except that Case Tested 5171L.

Someday
 
hey I qualify for something .. and I dont have to be in the US to do it !!

still kicking :)

Still got the same taste in knives .
 
1. What were you searching for, and did you find the answer? Probably metallurgy info, knife reviews.

2. What was your favorite knife in your collection when you joined, and what is your favorite knife in your collection now? MADDOG ATAK2 was my favorite (along with a CQC7 and REKAT Hobbit), sold the ATAK2 to someone here, Would love to have it back...really miss it. Fav now is a fixed Ray Laconico.

3. ...We have seen people come and go, get banned, pass away, etc. any thoughts on this? Sold a MADDOG Frequent Flyer to Vampire Gerbil, he has passed I believe. Don't really have time these days to keep track of people here or post regularly. Still like to look at Knifemaker exchange any time I can. Beautiful stuff there always.

4. Has your taste in knives changed? As I get older my knives get smaller. I think some knives are priced way too high and only for collectors (Sebeznas and such) and I have no time for safe queens. No one lives forever.

5. Are there any brands you are truly impressed with? Aside from custom knives, SAK! Some Spyderco stuff, Al Mar and Fallkniven.
 
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I wanted to bump this up, it was a good idea because there used to be so many of us old timers left and our #s are dwindling. The passing of Doug reminds me of how long some of us have been here and when we lose one of our own how sad it makes many of us.

Sometimes I laugh when I see the battles and members with only a few years telling new members how ti's place is run, I've been here since before 98 and ever since and I'm still figurin' it out. ;) Bottom line, it's all about the knives, the hobby/lifestyle they afford us and the friends we make along the way. I like to do searches occasionally to see where I met some of you old fogies and the dynamic that developed.

It's important to acknowledge the lifers here, the members who contribute on a daily basis trying to help, inform and promote the use of and our love of all things sharp. So here's a bump so some of the noobies can see that we are here to stay and many of us have a lot of information to share and pass on. Please take advantage of that wealth of knowledge available here on the forums and the friendships to be made.
 
AntDog said:
By "lifer" I mean 10 years on Bladeforums, or more. If you haven't been on here more than 10 years, kindly don't post. This should be interesting reading... Ok, now that the ONLY ground rule has been established, I'd like to ask the lifers who post here a few questions:

1. We all joined bladeforums in search of something. What were you searching for, and did you find the answer?

2. What was your favorite knife in your collection when you joined, and what is your favorite knife in your collection now?

3. We have seen the number of users on bladeforums grow at a pretty explosive rate. We have seen people come and go, get banned, pass away, etc. any thoughts on this? (Have things got better or worse in your opinion)

4. Has your taste in knives changed? (I'm almost positive they have, by this time) If they have, how have they changed? (What DID you like then, and now what DO you like?)

5. Are there any brands you are truly impressed with? (Yes, "I'm only impressed with customs" counts)

---------------------------

Answer as many or as few questions as you'd like. A simple "hey I'm still kickin', what's up man?" is fine! I just thought it would be interesting to see how things have changed for all of my fellow "lifers" out there.
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1. So back in the mid-late 90's I had got on a few forums that were new. One was rec knives and the format sucked. The the original knife forums came along. We had some really fun times in 97-98 on that forum. Those were the mad dog days, lol. Anyway, That forum split off into two, one with the original name and the other with Spark and Turber called Bladeforums. After about 6 weeks I created my account on BF and here I am. My search was in knife discussions about the latest and greatest. Which is a question with an ever evolving answer. So it can never be fully answered.

2. My favorite knife in my collection was the benchmade AFCK in ATS34. It still is one of my favorite folders. My Busse SHBM's are and will always be my favorites now.

3. People don't change. There are those that join forums to argue and they may eventually get banned. We all argue, but you have to know when to back off and cool off.

4. Nope. Taste has never changed. But then again there are very few styles I don't like. I pretty much like everything and own many, many brands.

5. Busse, Spyderco, Carothers, Survive, ZT, CS along with many customs. I pretty much like makers that push the limits in their own way.
 
When I first joined 10 years ago I was still actively making knives, but age and health issues have made me move away from it, and I only do a few for myself and gifts. I was looking for supplies when I came across the site. It was like being in a virtual knife magazine at first being able to speak with other makers and knife collectors, I learned a wealth of knowledge over the years. I see this place for both knife educational purposes and the social content. Many have come, and some have passed on, this place is like an extended family.
 
1) I started out just wanting to learn more about knives. I came to realize that there was a lot I didn't know and so when I created my account, I started with the username "Ignoramus". Kinda miss that username.

2) Didn't have much of a collection when I started. I probably didn't have any favorite knife until I got a BM 551 PE in 154cm. Now I'd probably say that the favorite will be either a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or a ZT 0452 based on how frequently I reach for them everyday over others.

3) I don't spend enough time here these days to have a view on whether things are better or worse. I imagine it follows a trend for most forums over this long of a period - some trolls, some spammers, some cool people, some people who know a lot, and some people who don't know shit and don't know it, and a lot of people going through different phases in their preferences and life circumstances.

4) I initially was into autos and other tacticlol style knives, probably from Hollywood's influence (and a little help from Cold Steel). I learned that autos were mostly illegal in CA, found out about AOs and got into those. Found out about the wave feature and pretty much wanted that on every knife when possible. So I was into ninja shit, learned to appreciate other knives, and since have gone through all styles. One of my most recent folder purchases was a ~$300 slipjoint. I'm into most kinds of modern knives, mostly folders for practical and legal reasons. Most recently, I've kinda been back into combat style (ninja shit) things. Just got a couple of RMJ tomahawks and am looking into daggers. This time 'round, I'm less thinking of turning into a ninja and more of recognizing that these sorts of pieces will be more for fondling while watching Netflix - and that's okay.

5) Over the years, Spyderco, due to their contributions to the industry, their willingness to listen to the knife enthusiast community, their commitment to originality and all the other stuff they do. ZT has been pretty great at getting features in production knives that were once limited to customs - they made these great features more accessible to the average knife enthusiast, even if all of our friends still think they're insanely expensive. Lot of cool looking stuff coming out of China, although I haven't been able to play with any of them yet. Probably the direction I'll look in the near future.
 
1. Although carrying a scout pattern Kamp King pocket knife almost daily since age 12, I had no big interest in knives as such. To me, it was a utility item, useful when needed, but not especially fascinating. At some point I stepped up to a Swiss Army knife, which introduced me to the notion of knife quality. I got to be a SAK fan, although still with only one, a Swisschamp. That persisted until 1996 when I got interested in pliers based multi-tools, got a Super Tool and a Micra and was set for the next 9 years. The whole time I didn't understand why anyone would carry a dedicated knife when for slightly more size and weight, you could have a pocketful of tools as well. But during that time I started sneaking a peek at some newer folders and felt the need for guidance. That's when I found bladeforums, which turned out to be a valuable resource. Almost everything I learned about the fundamentals in those early years I got from this site, starting 2005.

2. A serrated Delica 3. I loved it. Today, there are several: Delica 4 PE, Native, Buck Vantages in Select and Pro, Vic OH Trekker. I have others, but these are the ones I use most.

3. It could be a matter of my relationship to the site, but frankly, whatever upheavals or changes that may have occurred, I haven't noticed or cared.

4. Mine haven't really changed. I started off with relatively cheap knives and have stuck with that. They work just fine for me, and I would rather spend my money on other necessities. Like necessities :) .

5. Spyderco, Buck, Victorinox, Leatherman.
 
1. Researching a Buck 301 with a Winchester shield, and yes.

2. Buck 110, now Sebenza 21

3. About the same.

4. Yes, I've gone from traditional slipjoints and SAK's to almost exclusively modern one hand opening folders.

5. I've found ZT, Steel Will and Chris Reeve Knives to be exceptional.
 
AntDog said:
1. We all joined bladeforums in search of something. What were you searching for, and did you find the answer?

2. What was your favorite knife in your collection when you joined, and what is your favorite knife in your collection now?

3. We have seen the number of users on bladeforums grow at a pretty explosive rate. We have seen people come and go, get banned, pass away, etc. any thoughts on this? (Have things got better or worse in your opinion)

4. Has your taste in knives changed? (I'm almost positive they have, by this time) If they have, how have they changed? (What DID you like then, and now what DO you like?)

5. Are there any brands you are truly impressed with? (Yes, "I'm only impressed with customs" counts)
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1) In 2005 I was looking for a new knife, and a large percentage of the Google searches led here. Think I ended up with a little Benchmade Ascent in ATS-34. Still like that knife. I got interested in the discussion, lurked for a year reading threads as a "guest", then joined up.

2) Don't remember if I had a favorite at the time. My current favorite varies week by week, and sometimes, day by day.

3) I dunno. SSDD, I think. People come. People go. The questions they ask, kind of remain the same.

4) Taste in knives? I have taste? Cool! Can I quote you on that?

5) Not really. I think most outfits have come up with at least one knife pattern that I like. Most have come up with at least one pattern that I don't like. I look at the knife pattern before I look at who made it.
 
I lurked for a couple years before joining, not in search of anything in particular besides fellow knife knuts who understand. I finally registered to be able to post and purchase a Sebenza Classic MM with the same birthday as mine.

At the time that Sebenza was my favorite for sure, it was the nicest knife I owned by a long shot. A couple years later my wife sent it off to Butch Vallotton to have it converted to an D/A auto for my birthday, and it's still my favorite knife. It's in my pocket today even ;)



Things have changed around here, but I think it's still the best place on the web to talk knives.

I don't think my tastes have changed that much. I'm still a very wide ranging collector, I have slowed down on the tactical side (but I just scored a Bedlam, so I definitely still have a weakness there).

I'll get flamed for sure, but I still think Cold Steel makes amazing beater/user/abuser knives for the price. Kershaw/ZT also put out a lot of great value knives.

~Chip
 
1. I was just looking for a group of people with similar interests. After spending a few years on rec.knives, I finally found this forum.

2. At that time my favorite was probably my Puma "magic lock" locking folder. It would be hard to say which is my favorite now, it changes daily.

3. I see a lot broader set of opinions now with so many members. As always, I am disappointed when a little vitriol is spouted in a thread (the one I was looking at prior to this one had an example of that), but at least it isn't a dominant theme. I miss some of the members who had a lot of interesting things to say (who could top Vampiregerbil?).

4. My taste has not changed significantly, a mix of traditional and modern.

5. For customs, I really like Ray Laconico's work. For production knives, some of the ones that I really thing have things going right are Spyderco, Chris Reeve, Great Eastern, Moki, etc.
 
I joined here in 2002.
Can't remember if I was looking for anything specific.
My favorite knife at the time was my Benchmade 705.
Have my interest in knives changed? Not a whole lot. I've always leaned toward 3 - 3.5 inch modern production knives. I have developed an interest in traditional folders. I visited the Case factory in Bradford PA a couple of years ago.
Glad I joined and have hung around.
 
Joined back when I first got a hold of the internet, strange world back then, when I got an email I thought everyone had to have some 'on line' name for their email, so I chose my favourite blade grind of Chiseledge for my email moniker but if I had taken more time, it would just be my plain ole name, too late by now to really be changing it after all these years, and while I did/do like the chiseledge blade grind, I find I don't carry one like that any more.

Reason to join was to find those with similar or kindred spirits about knives, guess I wanted to make sure I wasn't alone in this, found out I'm not ;)

Knife back at that time I remember was a Spyderco Delica that I bought direct from Mr Sal at an Ashokan seminar when he was invited to come out one year, amazingly sharp small folder! Thanks again Sal !

Knife now, while things are fluid, I am still searching for one, my next in view is the Spyderco Native in S110v with G10 scales, but, not sure on that just yet.

One thing I'll never forget, I woke up one morning and thought "WHOA what if I could only have ONE blade? what would it be?" I couldn't wait to post a thread about that idea, not knowing that about every knifeknut comes to this idea at one time or another in their life time ;) what a goof eh?

Friends, met quite a few in real life, a lot more via the forums too, some have passed on, which does leave a somber note to this trip back through the years, lot of good guys that help to influence a lot of folks on this forum...

now, where did I leave that cup of coffee...;)
G2
 
I still chuckle when I see members who have been here since 2013 and they tell the members who have just joined they don't know what BFC is about and proceed to explain what it was like in the old days. Old days, that's only 3 years ago. We have members like (Matt) Charlie Mike who were kids when they joined and now are grown men. Than again we have grown members who still act like kids.

I think in the 18 years I've been here I've interacted with all the members who have posted in this thread at least once and most many more times than that. I like to go back to the early 2000s and reread the posts I've made and the the members I've made them with. For the most part if you've been here 10 years or more and you haven't been banned you probably get what BFC is all about.

I look forward to chatting knives and whatever with all you folks into the foreseeable future and beyond if the gods are willing. :)
 
When I joined I was mostly a Spyderco fan. Since then, I've been all over the place. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I've tried/collected all sorts of knives. I've slowed down on acquiring new pieces, and I really need to start selling off the collection...I'll never use them all. Now, I'm content with what I have (but I've recently gotten to like Moras, and carry a small fixed blade EDC).

I think the level of discourse has split widely: It doesn't take anything to provoke a "piling on," which ends up devolving/hijacking what would - otherwise - have been a great discussion. However, I note that the level of informed discussion has risen.
 
This place is still here? WOW uhhh no not WOW I mean BFC?
I may have to come back here in October and remember the good ole days. October 2 we started this. October 1st is the anniversary of the Las Vegas shooting so I will be busy with that.
Don't Google my name and Las Vegas unless you want to go for a wild ride.
 
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