Moving on from production knives

As stated above, beauty is in the eye of the collector. Personally, I just collect what I like, within my budget, which is not large enough to focus on customs. Thankfully, I don't really mind some of the production stuff coming out these days, so at least there's still something for me to collect.
 
nhobo said:
I don’t understand why anyone would “collect” modern mass-produced anything. People who do that remind me of Imelda Marcos. 30 Spydercos? That’s not a collection, that’s a fanboy.

Looking at custom knives for sale by individual pretty much all I see are factory knives that someone has messed with. That's not a custom knife. A custom knife is a unique piece made by a craftsman. Many years ago I bought a sweet Mike Wilson folder there, now I’m hard pressed to find anything like that.

Out of production Japanese robot toys, vintage woodworking tools, handmade pottery and the like are all collectible, Beanie Babies and Franklin Mint are not.
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Because they are functional works of art. You can mod the hell out of them, get them in any color you want, any kind of steel you want…shall I go on? How about Buck? Are they worthy of being collectible? Shirogorov? Hinderer? CRK? Where do you draw the line? That’s up to the individual, and to think that people collect knives for the sole reason of making a profit someday, is ridiculous. Most people don’t. There are flippers out there, sure; but obviously enough people collect knives, or this website wouldn’t be very popular.
Collecting production knives, or collecting custom knives, either way it’s up to what the person is able to spend or comfortable spending. Which is different for everyone.
 
I guess people like me stand apart. I have never been in it for the collecting part of it. I value my folders for two things, one being actual usability, which is why I got rid of the few "overbuilt" knives that have obtuse edges and are thick behind the edge. I also have nothing with partial serrations, nor for I have any tantos.

The other important value to me is fidgetability. I suffer from several mental illness issues (from brain damage as a kid) and flicking/flipping a knife calms me down. At work I'll have the phone in my left hand talking to an angry customer and in my right I'll be opening and closing a folder. I do so at night before bed to relax me. This is why I don't buy traditional knives.

Every single knife I own has been used at least a little. I'm sure my grandfather's carbine he brought home from WWII is valuable as a collectors item, but I shoot it anyway. Same with the 1958 S&W 36 I inherited from him.

I have Iron Man and X-men comics from the late 70s to late 80s. I've read them all. Of course they were given to me when I was 14 by my 4 years older cousin. But I'll never sell them. When the nephews are old enough I'll pass them on, same with pretty much everything I own will go to them when I die. My 10 year old nephew has expressed much interest in learning to shoot, and I'm taking him yo an outdoor range once school is out, as I'll have to take him on a weekday (travel baseball on the weekend). If he enjoys it, and wants to keep doing it, I'm going to give him/his family my great-grandfather's bolt-action .22. It's from the late 1800s/early 1900s.

TL;DR

I put little value into the collectibility or resale value of my knives and other stuff. Resale is only important if I end up not liking the knife or if I'm hurting for money, like when I was married.
 
Most of what I like was made before 2010. Not into Chinese knives, so it doesn’t always leave a lot to choose from. Still, I’m not dropping $750 or a grand on a folder, so I don’t look at custom knives often.
 
nhobo said:
I don’t understand why anyone would “collect” modern mass-produced anything. People who do that remind me of Imelda Marcos. 30 Spydercos? That’s not a collection, that’s a fanboy.
...
Out of production Japanese robot toys, vintage woodworking tools, handmade pottery and the like are all collectible, Beanie Babies and Franklin Mint are not.
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You don't have to understand another person's "collection". Nor does a collection suddenly become "not a collection" simply because you disagree with it and say that it isn't. It doesn't matter if it's bottle caps, stamps, or used toilet scrub brushes, by all actual definitions, the "value" of any amassed collection of "things" only has to make sense to the collector collecting them. Be it 30 different iterations of the same model spyderco, 30 different spydercos, or 30 no name knives bought at the local flea markets, even if it seems pointless to you or I.

From Oxford:
Collectable: adj 1. an item worth collecting, of interest to a collector 2. Able to be collected noun an item valued and sought by collectors.

Collector: noun a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby

Collection: noun 1. The action or process of collecting someone or something. 2. A group of things or people.

Collecting: preset participle of collect
collect: bring or gather together (things typically when scattered or widespread)

So any person who commits to the act of gathering together widespread or scattered things of a specified type that has interest and/or value to them, does in fact have a "collection", no matter how dumb or rediculous it may seem to others.
 
ferider said:
Mostly. Occasionally a knife comes along that I just have to have, like the Manix XL in Cruwear recently, or a rare Gen 5 Sheepsfoot XM18 that suddenly popped up out of nowhere at a good price.
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Same. Most of what I bother to spend money on these days are one-offs, to semi-custom to occasionally full custom.

ferider said:
Then again, these days I'm mostly interested in fixed blades.
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Again, same. For whatever reason, I just don't get all that excited about any folding knives anymore. They are mostly just a utilitarian compromise for when I can't/don't want to carry a fixed blade, no matter how fancy they are. Good fixed blades are what hold my attention.
 
I've kind of been within the gamut of most forms of my knife passion throughout the years. I went from buying cheap knives, to lots of awesome production knives, to buying a few awesome customs. Then in about 2014 I got out of the knife game for many years and came back a year ago or so. Now days I don't really have a main type. I buy everything used and have slowed my buying down hugely this year. I think I've only bought one or two knives so far this year. I'm just at a point where I don't need anymore and my brain starts to feel trapped if I amass too many "things". I mainly buy production knives lately, however I do have some really nice more expensive mid-techs and customs, however I only get one of those when I win a raffle. That's my main knife addiction honestly, is buying raffle spots often. I've received some really incredible knives that I would never pay for if I hadn't won them, so that's pretty sweet.
 
No customs for me. I'm more into user knives. I've sold off most of my CRKs but still have three Hinderers which I've modified. Beyond that I'm all about a knife that I can really use which these days are Spyderco, Benchmade, WE, and Kunwu. I look at and use my Kunwu X-Tao and compare it to my CRK 21 Insingo and I'm still stunned at the quality and construction of the Kunwu. If there is a custom folder that anyone could recommend as an epic user folder please let us know. Now...... when it comes to fixed blades custom is the way to go.
 
tony281sc2 said:
Because they are functional works of art. You can mod the hell out of them, get them in any color you want, any kind of steel you want…shall I go on? How about Buck? Are they worthy of being collectible? Shirogorov? Hinderer? CRK? Where do you draw the line? That’s up to the individual, and to think that people collect knives for the sole reason of making a profit someday, is ridiculous. Most people don’t. There are flippers out there, sure; but obviously enough people collect knives, or this website wouldn’t be very popular.
Collecting production knives, or collecting custom knives, either way it’s up to what the person is able to spend or comfortable spending. Which is different for everyone.
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Pimping out your car doesn't make it art, neither does pimping out your knife.

Knives are functional. Art is not functional. Craftsmen don't make art.

If you lower the bar enough a good plumber is an artist.

This is not to say that a truly superior piece of work by a craftsman cannot become art. A good example is architecture: architects are not artists, they are designers. Buildings are functional, and the more architects try to make them into art the less functional they become, which defeats their very purpose. That being said there are a number of buildings that are recognized as art because they have transcended the confines of architecture while maintaining their practical use (eg. the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House).
 
strategy9 said:
You don't have to understand another person's "collection". Nor does a collection suddenly become "not a collection" simply because you disagree with it and say that it isn't. It doesn't matter if it's bottle caps, stamps, or used toilet scrub brushes, by all actual definitions, the "value" of any amassed collection of "things" only has to make sense to the collector collecting them. Be it 30 different iterations of the same model spyderco, 30 different spydercos, or 30 no name knives bought at the local flea markets, even if it seems pointless to you or I.
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One man's treasure is another man's trash.

Which I suppose makes some people trash collectors.
 
nhobo said:
Pimping out your car doesn't make it art, neither does pimping out your knife.

Knives are functional. Art is not functional. Craftsmen don't make art.

If you lower the bar enough a good plumber is an artist.

This is not to say that a truly superior piece of work by a craftsman cannot become art. A good example is architecture: architects are not artists, they are designers. Buildings are functional, and the more architects try to make them into art the less functional they become, which defeats their very purpose. That being said there are a number of buildings that are recognized as art because they have transcended the confines of architecture while maintaining their practical use (eg. the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House).
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I've been in manufacturing almost 20 years in what can be called a "cottage" industry that's directly related to art. I'm also a big fan of industrial design and the automotive industry past and present. "Art" permeates many aspects of everyday life that people don't recognizes or even consider, and should not be elevated to a pedestal that's unattainable.

Art is functional, and I also consider any good mechanic, carpenter, plumber, any crafts person really to be an artists in their own right.
 
nhobo said:
Pimping out your car doesn't make it art, neither does pimping out your knife.

Knives are functional. Art is not functional. Craftsmen don't make art.

If you lower the bar enough a good plumber is an artist.

This is not to say that a truly superior piece of work by a craftsman cannot become art. A good example is architecture: architects are not artists, they are designers. Buildings are functional, and the more architects try to make them into art the less functional they become, which defeats their very purpose. That being said there are a number of buildings that are recognized as art because they have transcended the confines of architecture while maintaining their practical use (eg. the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House).
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Pray tell what value do you and your pompous attitude bring to the table to be so freaking judgmental? I’ll take the work of a skilled tradesmen any day over an “artist” that makes nothing of actual value, But relies on another’s feels to perceive importance.
 
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tomsch said:
If there is a custom folder that anyone could recommend as an epic user folder please let us know. Now...... when it comes to fixed blades custom is the way to go.
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Might want to check with Joe Diesel.

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KVT said:
I have a large collection of users and a large collection of non-users. Is that allowed?
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Only if they are full customs. It would be stupid and ridiculous to collect any other type of knife. 🙄
nhobo said:
Pimping out your car doesn't make it art, neither does pimping out your knife.
).
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most people (especially to folks who carry $25 Walmart knives) would consider a Shirogorov (or Olamic, Herman, etc) a work of art.
And since you brought cars into this..
… Yes, there are TONS of cars that are collectible (just talking GM & Ford products), and most would consider a STOCK 1950s Cadillac a “work of art”… at least I do.. not for it’s functionality compared to new cars, (though it will get you from A-B) but because of what it is. How about a new Corvette? That is definitely functional art.
 
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P.C.E. said:
I've been in manufacturing almost 20 years in what can be called a "cottage" industry that's directly related to art. I'm also a big fan of industrial design and the automotive industry past and present. "Art" permeates many aspects of everyday life that people don't recognizes or even consider, and should not be elevated to a pedestal that's unattainable.

Art is functional, and I also consider any good mechanic, carpenter, plumber, any crafts person really to be an artists in their own right.
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The difference here is between art as a noun (an object of art) and art as a verb (denoting skill in a particualr endeavor).

I went to art school where I studied industrial design, worked in architecture (family business), and later had my own design/build company before I became an artist. As an architect and woodworker I was a craftsman, everything I made was functional. That was design, not art.

As an artist my work does not have any practical function. Art may incorporate elements of craft or be 'well crafted' but it is not design. The practice of a craft is often considered an art - the art of architecture, for example, although buildings are not art. A building that is considered ‘a work of art’ is still a building; what is being recognized is the talent of the architect - one who is highly skilled in his craft but is not an artist (one who makes art).

I wholly agree that 'art' should not be elevated to be unobtainable. Typically the people who collect things that are unobtainable for most of us - be they cars or art or whatever - have no appreciation for their intrinsic nature and only value them as investments.

The Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi recognizes and values the wear and tear of age and use. Think of a knife with a cracked handle that has been sharpened so many times that the blade has acquired a completely different shape; that is wabi sabi. Collecting worn out knives could be interesting, each one completely unique and with a different story to tell.
 
tomsch said:
No customs for me. I'm more into user knives. I've sold off most of my CRKs but still have three Hinderers which I've modified. Beyond that I'm all about a knife that I can really use which these days are Spyderco, Benchmade, WE, and Kunwu. I look at and use my Kunwu X-Tao and compare it to my CRK 21 Insingo and I'm still stunned at the quality and construction of the Kunwu. If there is a custom folder that anyone could recommend as an epic user folder please let us know. Now...... when it comes to fixed blades custom is the way to go.
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Not sure what your thing against using a custom is, I carry and use mine everyday. I can understand if you can't afford customs, but knives were meant to be used and the guys who make them (at least those who are not making weird "Art" thingys) expect them to be used. If you doubt that take a look at Jerry Fisk. He make glorious knives complete with engraving and costing upwards of $4-5000 or more, he also expects them to be used and tests them on real life subjects. Do I worry that my use will reduce the "value " of the knife, not really. I have only sold a couple and endeavor to not do it again. Do I abuse my knives, no, but they do show patina and some scratches, the "value" to me is the joy in using them, monetary value will be left to my kids after I am gone.
 
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