Long Term knife ownership

[gdwtvb]

I once heard something on a radio show. I think it was Bruce Williams but I'm not 100% sure. It stuck with me. "DON'T LOVE ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T LOVE YOU BACK."

Now back on topic. I've often thought about getting duplicates, even to the point that I have saved up money to get a second copy of a current favorite knife. So far I've never managed to buy number two before a newer knife caught my eye. I also only keep a max of 5-10 knives. I seems to get up to about ten and then drop back down to my four or five favorites. (that would be in the EDC class of pocket knives.) My current favorite is a Sage 2. instead of buying a second one like I planned, I decided to wait for the upcoming Techno. I've got about four that are due to be released this year on my radar. I'll probably buy all four, try them out, realign my favorites and then plan on getting a backup for my possibly different #1 favorite. Then I'll save up for it and repeat the process. That's what has been happening for the last several years anyways.


I'm not terribly attached to the Sage 2. Great knife, and my current favorite, but if it was gone and I had to carry a Manix 2 everyday instead...Let's just say I wouldn't be loosing alot of sleep.

Also I have to say, as much as I loved the knives I used in my younger days. (gerber gator, benchmade AFCK, Gerber Magnum LST.) The ones I carry now are alot better. hold an edge longer, better made, etc. As long as there is a demand newer and better materials will continue to become available and be used in knives. From the advancements I've seen in my life (pocket clips, one hand opening, excellent stainless steels, newer better locks.) I don't think technology is going to stop. I think the knives will continue to improve. Grandpa's case trapper is nice and it still works but when they come out with the pocket lightsaber I will happily trade in my old fashioned shiny metal knives for one.


Grizz

 

[bobusx]

Your knives will be around longer than family or friends?

Immortal because of some inanimate objects?

This is sad. In your last moments on this earth, which would you rather hold in your hand, your wife of 40 or 50 years who you've raised children and grandchildren with, or the cold dead plastic of some knife?

In your last hour on this earth, would you rather see your wife, kids, and grandkids, or some knives laid out on a table?

I think I feel sorry for you.

Carl.

I don't need your pity when I have my steel!!!!!


But yeah Shotgun is right, it was mostly for humor, ala the Conan post (awesome movie btw). I enjoy my knives a lot, and I like material things. I have always tended to value things that will last a long time over transient things (I hate spending money on food, or one time experiences like vacations etc), but yeah, I would trade my steel for a great family any day. Still, it is not hard to balance your life and enjoy the material things you like, along with the immaterial things you enjoy. A nice (cheap) camping trip with friends, where I get to use my fun tools and hang with fun people is a great example.

 

[Tim616]

Sorry to say but there are tons of people in this world not worth loving, and many of them; in those cases it would be much more human to love a favorite item instead of those people which do not deserve love by their own merits. That's neither here nor there.

Love is made up, I know this because humans invented it. By those means it is something that must be earned not freely given to people because they are human; if my pocket knife has shown me more loyalty and true help than someone who treats me in a not so good way just because they wish to; I have NO problem loving my pocket knife instead of them.

But that's neither here nor there.


I have more than 1 alox pioneer because SAK has been known to change models/get rid of some for new ones, and I like the pioneer best.

 

[bobusx]

Oh yeah, to post something on topic finally, I would like to get multiples of knives I am afraid are going to be discontinued, but there are too many cool models to pick from, and an E-5's salary is a little too small to afford it. I would REALLY like to get another BM 13960 though, the price is too good too pass up, and since its disco'd, its only gonna go up .

 

[timberweasel]

Oh yeah, to post something on topic finally (...)

In my haste to offer up the Conan link, I too forgot to comment on the original OP... Anyhoo, I buy very few duplicates for myself. Once a knife is retired and an exact replacement model is not available, I'm fairly certain that the industry will provide alternatives. I guess I'm not overly sentimental that way. It would mean more to me to have a 'legacy' knife that has been passed down from a family member or dear friend--in such a case, there is no replacement.

 

[kat1]

I have duplicates to only 3 knives I own, the rest are tools and are used as such and I figure most of these companies will be around longer than me if I'm in the need for anything more.

 

[Reasoned1]

A lot of very insightful things have been said in this post--I find myself agreeing with all points to some extent. The most important things for most of us are not "things" but, that said, I fail to see any conflict in valuing material things in a properly prioritized way that doesn't sacrifice what's really important. After all, a healthy level of materialism provides us human beings with security, health, utility, comfort, pleasure, and even constructive challenge. There's nothing wrong with material things, you just have to keep the big picture in perspective.

By the way, I like to buy duplicates of certain things (knives are one of them) to ensure I don't run out and people I care about don't run out.

 

[ohenkowski]

i beleive that moderation is the key to living a good Christian life. My total investment in my knife collection is about $600.00. I am retired and I enjoy the time I spend looking to acquire the next knife at the most economical price. I don't by duplicates of any knife.

 

[Gadfly22]

Oddly enough, my attachment to my material possessions (including my knives) has very little effect on other aspects of my life. Whodathunkit?

But I do have a couple of duplicates -- though I think only one knife (the Superleaf) that is an exact and intentional duplicate. In any case, my favorite knife companies could disappear overnight (in theory). If they did, new companies would spring up or competitors would take their place in the market. Every day I see some knife or other that I didn't know about and could see myself wanting. To paraphrase Ecclesiastes 12:12 (for the Biblically inclined): "of making many knives there is no end".

 

[cutter17]

I highlighted the word "love" because it appears twice and reminds me of something relevant to this discussion. I've been trying to retrain myself to have this mindset: I want to only love people, and not objects. I'm totally not telling anybody else what they should do, but here are some reasons why I find this mindset of loving only people--not objects--to be helpful for myself.

* It keeps my focus on stuff that's more important and long-lasting. Spending more time with loved ones and friends, etc.
* It keeps me from getting so "attached" to favorite items of gear (car, guns, knives, shoes, tools, watches, whatever) that I fall into the following kinds of silly or even self-destructive patterns:
- Hoarding more stuff than I really need or can use.
- Spending too much money on toys for myself, and as a result, short-changing other important financial needs, like saving for retirement, taking vacations with the family, etc.
- Getting so obsessed with my favorite gear, that I spend all my time and energy thinking about it, or working on it, and they as a result I ignore people who are important to me (like my family).
- Getting so attached to my favorite gear, I'm afraid to USE it and get a scratch on it.


Of course, I'm still working on this area, and sometimes even in these theads, I still post that I "love" this or that item. Maybe none of this stuff is a problem for anybody else, but for ME, in all seriousness, it would be really easy to go over the top and get so obsessed with gear, that I fall into all of the above types of patterns. And I know it affects at least some other guys. I have a good friend who has an almost unbelievable amount of reloading gear and firearms. He has 4 safes to house all the firearms, and an entire basement filled with reloading equipment, 90% of which has never been used. He has multiple brand-new guns, each one for which he gets custom triggers and fancy accessories, and which he has never fired! And I have done some of this type of stuff too, though not quite as extreme as this example.

Bottom line, and back to the subject of the thread: I don't buy multiple knives of the same type unless I actually plan to USE them, currently. In the last year, I sold off all guns (6 of them) that I owned and did not use consistently, nor did I think I'd ever have a realistic use for them within the next 3 to 5 years. Now I'm doing the same with knives. The mindset is this: I'll get a knife when I think I actually have a use for it (EDC, camping/backpacking, utility around the house, or as a survival blade). For me, if a knife doesn't fit one of those scenarios, I'm going to sell it. And if a knife I like and use now becomes no longer available next year, oh well, I'm sure there'll always be other great knives calling out for me to spend my money! I just want to view my knives as tools to be used--and of course, enjoyed--but not something to get emotionally attached to. Someone will ask, what about collecting? I'm not against collecting as a hobby, although I'm not really into it. But I do think collecting can be dangerous for some of the same reasons listed above: easy to get overly attached to "stuff" and then end up with all this junk sitting around that you don't need and never use.

Just me, sorry for the rant.

But that's all the stuff I do for fun!!


Something I struggle with daily. I sometimes look at my collection and think how much money I have there and how that money could have helped others. As a Christian we are taught to look at other's needs before I own, but in real life I'm afraid I fail at this. But your post is a good reminder of that which God would have us do. We/I need reminders every time I place an order!

Great thread.:thumbup:

 

[bobusx]

Interesting that Christianity seems to be the common thread for those that are really worried about get materialistic. Woulda figured it be a more buddhist thing.

 

[nickortizzle1035]

serious alert!

Your knives will be around longer than family or friends?

Immortal because of some inanimate objects?

This is sad. In your last moments on this earth, which would you rather hold in your hand, your wife of 40 or 50 years who you've raised children and grandchildren with, or the cold dead plastic of some knife?

In your last hour on this earth, would you rather see your wife, kids, and grandkids, or some knives laid out on a table?

I think I feel sorry for you.

Carl.

 

[powernoodle]

I think I feel sorry for you.

When someone asserts that they can attain immortality through knife hoarding, I think we may reasonably conclude that they are joking. I too have attained immortality, though through other means.

Getting so obsessed with my favorite gear, that I spend all my time and energy thinking about it, or working on it, and they as a result I ignore people who are important to me (like my family).

I respectfully reject the notion that the average knife collector/hoarder/obsessor ignores his family. The innocuous hobby of knife collecting, even when taken to the extreme as I may have done , does not necessarily - or even occasionally in my view - result in ignoring one's wife and kids. To the contrary, we see all aspects of family life at BF, from kids in the woods with dad to pics of vacations at Disneyworld. And these guys have their pockets loaded with Spydies, fixed blades and MTs.

I guess my view is that owning only a few knives, or engaging in minimalist EDC, are laudable goals for those who choose them. But just because some of us "own more than we can use", or carry a multitool on our belts that never gets used, it does not follow that we are ignoring our families or bringing about other adverse consequences. From what I see at BF, knife guys are a notch above the rest as it relates to the things that matter in life.

Want to find someone whose family is whack? Look for the guy who would like to criminalize knife ownership, not the guy who owns 200 knives.

Just sticking up for the hoarder.

[youtube]vJNqep77vBw[/youtube]

 

[cutter17]

Good post Powernoodle.

Like a couple others I did not answer the original post. Far as duplicates go, I have only two knives that I have bought dups for; the BM275BK Limited Edition X 2; and John W. Smith SD-3 X 2, though they do have different handle material and steel.

 

[ThriftyJoe]

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