Minimum number of knives?

SOG Switchplier
William Henry Lancet
Microtech LCC MA
Spyderco Lum Chinese
Chris Reeve Mountaineer 1

(Note: these are knives I have, not knives I dream of having.)

Soon, the Microtech will probably be replaced by a Sebenza.

But what would I do with all of the other knives? I can't throw them away, and I won't give them away.
 
Before 1998 the answer would have been One SAK.
Today the answer would be 100, because I think that's the number when you have enough and can start thinking about which ones you like least. Since I only have around 50 knives I'm only about half way there and right now I love them all.

With knives Less is not More.
 
PhilL, when you get to 100 you will probably up the number to 200 before you will have enough. Especially if they can all have stag handles.
 
ok here goes:

sheeple friendly but stout folder - spyderco mouse
sturdy sharp pointed lightweight folder - spyderco delica or calypso jr mmm... vg-10 (probably delica)
something framelock big and recurved - large tnt perhaps? (lefthanded)
approx 3 in fixed - so many nice possabilties probably something wharncliffe - i think it might *have* to be a snody...
bigger fixed blade - something really nice from neil blackwood, with a nice recurve and desert ironwood and mosiac pins.... mmmm... desert ironwood.... :D
and.... a nice study fixed blade in stellite or talonite, something totally stainless.

i don't have a lot of those, but i could imagine that would fit my very basic needs. With what i have now, i think to get a mouse and a nice fixed blade i could be pretty happy though.
 
thanks, i thought it was appropriate. actually i wanted to put one of bart but i didn't really like the animated gifs i found of him. i really like that one of maggie. yeah, the simpsons episode where everyone is using knives is great, i'll have to see if i can figure out which one it is. take care,
pete
 
Originally posted by KWM
PhilL, when you get to 100 you will probably up the number to 200 before you will have enough. Especially if they can all have stag handles.
Click to expand...

I really can't imagine myself owning 200 knives, in fact it may be hard to get to 100. The reason is that I'm a lot more selective and focused right now on my purchases, and with that comes a higher price to pay per knife. We all go through our price barriers on what we'll spend for a knife, and I can see a point where I would spend my yearly knife allowance on one knife for the year. Probably before that happens I would start trading up to better and better knives for my collection. I haven't done any trading so far because all of my knives are too important for me, and I haven't gotten tired of a knife yet.

As far as my passion for stag, the origianl plan was to have a collection of stag handled knives in different knife styles, (Bowie, Fighter, Dagger, Hunter, Skinner, Neck Knife, Liner Lock, Lockback, Slipjoint, etc.) I have most of those bases covered now and some so well that finding a better knife would be hard to find. So there's just a few gaps left to fill in my stag collection. After that again it will be just trading up to the best I can get in that style, and that should take me to the end of my days.
 
I collect not by knife characteristic, but by mission. The missions (not counting kitchen knives) and knives that currently fill them are:

1. Dress folders: Spyderco all-steel Dragonfly (small), Crawford Leopard (large).

2. Travel folder: (pointless now with new airport regs, but was Spyderco Mouse)

3. Utility folders: Sebenza (small and large). Others (as many as 10 maybe) I can get rid of, though many fulfill the "don't mind if it gets destroyed" mission.

4. Small fixed utility: Dozier K-1, and soon-to-arrive new custom. This is an over-collected category with a half dozen more knives (3 of them custom) that I could do without.

5. Larger fixed utility/camp blade: Livesay Mod 131 on the higher end, Mora2000 on the lower. This is another over-done category with perhaps 6 others I can get rid of. None of the extras are customs.

6. Large camp/survival: Busse SH II.

7. Machetes: Livesay RCM (heavy), and Aki SBM (light)

8. Hideable: Spydercard, Utilikey.

9. Multi-tool: SAK Tinkerer, Micra, and Gerber multi-tool.

That's 14-16 knives (depending on how you count them) that I wouldn't want to give up.
 
Back in my younger years I exhisted happily with 4 blades. I got everything done that I needed to do.

1. Swiss Army Tinker (on probably my fourth by now)
2. 3" Lockback Folder (Case then Western then Schrade then Mini AFCK)
3. 4" Western Fixed Blade I bought from the display for $12 with no sheath and made one myself. It looked pretty bad but it worked.
4. An Ontario machette (Still use this one)

These pretty much did the job for a decade or so. I collected misc. others, but these were the ones I used all the time. Now the minimum I would want to live with would be these 8

Spyderco CF Dragonfly
Spyderco Calypso Jr. Micarta
Sm. Sebenza
Rinaldi Enigma Talonite Neck Knife
Cisco D2 3.5" Fixed Blade hunter
The old Ontario machette (looks terrible, but works great)
Swiss Army Tinker
Chicago Cutlery medium sized stockman with walnut scales

In reality (not the "reality" that I live in) I could live fine with a slipjoint SAK or stockman, 3" lockblade folder, a 3.5" to 4" fixed blade and a camping hatchet. To buy one "good/acceptable" quality example of each would probably cost about $225-$300 bucks total. I remember watching a Discovery documentary about this family that moved to the wilderness (I think it was Alaska). The father went out and shot a Caribou and began to dress it with a SAK! It made me realize that alot of the appeal of the knives I buy is what I could do with them and not what I really do with them or need to be able to do with them.
 
It's hard to thinking about cutting back on blades, but here's my minimum...

For carry near civilization:

Utility and Dress:
sebenza_tn.jpg
CRK Large Sebenza with Trailing Moon graphic

Defense:
sifu_green_tn.jpg
REKAT Sifu

For carry in the wilderness:

Utility and Defense:
dozier_tn.jpg
Bob Dozier Texas #6

Chopping and Defense:
patrol_tn.jpg
BK&T Patrol Machete

In any environment:

Tools:
swisstool_x_tn.jpg
Victorinox SwissTool X and
crossgrip_tn.jpg
SOG CrossGrip

Sure am glad I don't have to cut back that far! :)

--Bob Q
 
I think I could "survive" with three knives. Small, medium, and large fixed blades-wouldn't waste time with folders if I was limiting it to the bare necessities. Choosing those would be tough, but I can see something along the lines of Trace Rinaldi's Gambit, TTKK, and Armageddon, just to give an example, pretty much filling every role.
As it is, I am not allowing myself to go over 25 total, and that number includes five or six that are still in the "yet to order" stage.
 
I could do everything that my skills allow with four knives: Large fixed blade, medium fixed blade and small fixed balde/folder and another small knife but with wharncliffe blade. I'd pic knives that I'm most familiar with: 8 inch carbonsteel leuku, 4-4.5 inch carbonsteel puukko and 2.5 inch puukko and SAK.

That is however not the number of knives that is my personal minimum. Three years ago I told my brother that I'll have 50 knives before I'm 50. I had somewhere between 10 and 15 knives at that time. He laughed. I assured that I'll buy two knives every year(I thought that four knives per year is the absolyte maximum). He told me that I don't have enough self control to buy only two per year. Now I have over 50 folders...


Based on what knives I use most I'd able manage with about 20.
 
If I had to, I could get by with just my small Sebenza. It is capable of doing anythng I would ask a KNIFE to do.
But why stop at just one?
EDC- small Sebenza
Hunting- Schrade Sharpfinger
Fishing- Leatherman SideClip & Normark fillet
Dress- Umfaan (wish list)
Camping- V-nox Rucksack & CRK Mountaineer I (wish list)
Chopping- Norlund Voyageur & Ontario machete
Politically correct- V-nox Pocket Pal

Paul
 
Oh, the minimum number of knives that you need. I get it now.

I think the number was four from the last time this thread came up.

A 3" lite utility like my Kit Carson Large F4 neck knife or a Darrel Ralph Arc Lite.
A heavy duty utility hunter - 4.5" Darrel Ralph ALB .
A 9" to 10" camp knife - Mad Dog Bayou Hunter.
And 15" to 20" bush knife like the Jerry Hossom American Jungle Knife in 3V.

Say. No. More.
 
I guess if you really want to cut to the bone, you could cover the bases with two. An Opinel and a Mora will handle most cutting chores.

Paul
 
I would need to have at least:

a large fixed blade for tough jobs
a large folder for tough jobs
a large self defense folder
a small backup self defense folder
a small utility and basic needs folder
a small dress folder

and folders i think are just plain old cool to make it 15.:rolleyes:
 
This is too hard...I think I could get by with my Old Timer large stockman, Buck 110, Buck 119, Leatherman PST-II, SAK Explorer, and SAK rambler. There, thats five knives and one multi-tool! Most of my bases covered. Oh yeah, my Marrtinnii filet knife! May have to clean fish again, someday!
Hope the wife never sees this post! :eek:

Steve
 
I used to have 30+ knives, mostly bought on a whim and many of them expensive (Chris Reeve, Busse etc...). Did not need or use most of them so I sold, traded, or gave them away.

I currently own 5, with a couple of customs on order. One more gents knife and I will be set.....

yea right

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
I was thinking today- what if I lost all of my knives. Would I replace them? Yes, of course. I'd start accumuating knives all over again, but different models for sure. At first I'd try to limit myself, to diversify, but after ten or so purchases I'd see some overlap. That seems inevitable now.
I think one knife would be the absolute minumum if I were cured of this sickness.
 
Minimum overlap, but enough to get "lifes" jobs done:

Penknife (two bladed sliplock),
Multifunction (SAK Huntsman or Wave),
3 inch folder (Al Mar or Sebenza),
5-7 inch fixed utility,
Machete,
Forest axe.
Kitchen set.

Its that easy ;)

I probably don't have more than 20 knives in all. Of those I have a few that basically do the same job, and a few that collect dust. Quality, what works for you and personal taste is all that matters.
 
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