Must have

S

Seminarian

Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
11
I am a NOOB. I got 20 year award for service at my company and I chose a pair of Bear & Sons pocket knives. I am afraid I might be hooked. (I remember staring at the jack-knife display in the local hardware store as a little kid. I couldn't have a single one of them. Now, though, watch out!)

My question is this: if I am to call myself a collector, which single knife is an absolute must have, assuming there is such a thing?
 
I'd say nothing is a must have.

It all depends on what you like. It may take years to figure that out though.

So buy what you like the looks of, and eventually you'll end up where you want to be, and on the flip side have fun getting there.

:D
 
DaveH said:
I'd say nothing is a must have.

It all depends on what you like. It may take years to figure that out though.

So buy what you like the looks of, and eventually you'll end up where you want to be, and on the flip side have fun getting there.

:D
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. I have been collecting "users" for a long time. I don't buy "safe queens" . However that is just me. Noting is a must... but figuring what you want to use/collect is most of the fun for me. Based off some very good feedback here, and the use of a friends knife, I have been saving for this one:



Wouldn't consider it a must have..... but I sure do want it:D
 
Good luck Seminarian! My taste changes about every other year. Just buy what you like. I not only buy what I like, but also what I think I can actually use. Some knives have turned out to be much better users than others, but I've kept them all so far. :D
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! :)

There are so many types of knives, it's hard to say if one type even is a must-have. For example, do you like traditional knives, the small slipjoints? Or gentleman's knives? Then there are the working knives, like sodbusters and the tacticals. Or even SAKs (Swiss Army Knives) and multitools. And these days, where gentleman's knives meet tacticals -- customs and semi-customs.

Pick one from each. :D
 
I'm a noob here too. My problem is the next one is always the must have one. Don't think I'm alone in that... ;)
 
khimbar said:
I'm a noob here too. My problem is the next one is always the must have one. Don't think I'm alone in that... ;)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the great... errr... "hobby/habit" Better than drugs but probably just as expensive:D
 
I believe you can't answer that until you've bought your 100th knife:D
 
Well...if you want to call yourself a collector...
You need to start with one of each.
After you have one of each then you can decide what you like and specialize.
:D

I'm still working on one of each and only think of myself as an accumulator.
:D

The most important thing to remember is that the hunt is half the fun.
 
I think every company has a couple of signature knives that are kind of must haves for collectors

Benchmade 710 or 4X balisong
Buck 110 or 172
Spyderco Paramil/military
Ka-Bar USMC fighting knife
Kershaw Leek
Stider SnG or SMF
Chris Reeve Sebenza

If I were going to collect slip joints, I'd probably go with Queen, Case, and Bokers and try to get as many of the patterns as I could. There also clasic Schrades and Hen&Roosters to look for.

Thats what comes to mind off the bat. I personally don't have them all...yet.

There is no one single must have knife though.
 
For traditional working knives, go with anything from Queen with D2 blades. I love stockmans, so I have a Queen small stockman, and I'm going to pick up a Cattle King and a large stockman, both with cocobolo scales.

I really like Case knives, but their "surgical sharp" steel is crap, IMO. I would go for their CV steel models. Again, since I like stockmans, I am looking for large and small stockmans from their amber bone line.

Boker has some good slipjoints, for the steel.

Check out our Makers forum for some really nice custom slipjoints.

If you like tacticals, Spyderco, Benchmade, Strider, Chris Reeve and many many more are available.

Fixed blades abound as well. Too numerous to count, even if you have just one area that you are collecting.

I would check out some online retailers, read as much here as you can about all the different types of knives out there, decide if you want to use your knives, or just collect them, and decide if you want to buy customs or productions. Some productions cost more than customs, but usually the customs are more expensive.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Since this post, I have made a purchase of a Henckels folder. I am beginning to get a feel for what I like the looks of. I like the classic folders probably because that is all there was for folding knives back 50 years ago. (I could be wrong on that).

I think I will sit tight for a while (till my wife recovers from this new habit) and then try to get an original Schrade folder.

The fancy locking knives won't go out of production or fashion so I can wait on those. The Leathermans look pretty good there - it seems my Leatherman multi-tool has the sharpest blades of any knives I have at the moment.
 
You should go get a SAK. They are super sharp and super affordable. You won't feel bad using them and they are easy to sharpen. I used to buy lockbacks and now buy mostly framelocks and linerlocks. I think I need to get an axis lock too. See how this works, sorry about your wallet.:)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Pick one from each
Click to expand...
One? ONE?!?

...Esav, are you feeling ok? ;)

Seminarian,
Welcome to bladeforums. I'd suggest that you mosey over to the Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades section for a bit... We're friendly. :)
 
I've been gravitating to Boker knives. Their line of folders and such has an appeal to me. After seeing the Kershaw Leek here in this forum, I decided that I just had to have one. Actually I have two Leeks - the regular 1660 and the Ti model. I also liked Bud Nealy custom knives but just could afford one at the moment - the Aikuchi.

Buy what appeals to you and in your price range. You'll be happy in the end.
 
Seminarian said:
The Leathermans look pretty good there - it seems my Leatherman multi-tool has the sharpest blades of any knives I have at the moment.
Click to expand...

You need to buy just one Spyderco, like Native at Walmart for $40 or Delica 4 at New Graham for $42, than you will have sharp knive (good steel,ergonomics and top quality too).
Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top