My collection is gone, But I am still ok!

J

Justabuyer

Joined
May 7, 2006
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3,338
After years of collecting knives and guns I am free. Free from debt. Free from guilt. Free from obsession. I felt my guns and knives defined me. But that world got to small.

I sold all but a few. At first it was hard. Each knife was special, full of meaning and could not be parted with. I had to have them. Or so I thought.

It turns out the knives have two phases of ownership. First you owned them, then they owned you. Ask yourself are your long term goals for the comfort of your loved ones totally funded? In that context does that 800 dollar Bowie still seem as shiny?

The world is changing and the agile man, light on his feet and deep in resources will succeed while others fail. Having more than you need will work against you.

They are all but gone. Down from well over a hundred knives to less than 20 with more still to go. I but I am ok, happier in fact. I look at my Gun safe the next phase of my simplification experiment and this feeling of lightness and freedom comes over me as I contemplate my plans for selling them. They will be gone but I will still be here.

Everyone knows it true but I did not understand it until recently. The loss of an object can not diminish you. Missing a sale, sitting out a Ganza event, passing on a new model should not leave a hole in your soul.

It’s nice to be in charge of my life again.

Jim
 
Glad you are feeling better! I know I bought two great deals from you. ;)

If fact I am flirting with doing the same thing. Only keeping my large bg Blue stud sebbie and a few spydercos......... And maybe my XM. :eek: How were you able to let your good ones go? I would feel a little sad looking in my knife display and only seeing 10 knives. Then again, the only knife I missed after I sold or traded was a hand ground XM.


Enough about me, I was just wondering if you just forced yourself to let the "good ones" go. Or, if you just truly changed your way of thinking? :eek:
 
Its about changing my way of thinking. I want to strive for just having what I need. I want to find my happiness from something other than objects.

I am taking up photography. But the purpose is going to be adventures, not the camera equipment. Make sense?

So-Lo said:
Glad you are feeling better! I know I bought two great deals from you. ;)

If fact I am flirting with doing the same thing. Only keeping my large bg Blue stud sebbie and a few spydercos......... And maybe my XM. :eek: How were you able to let your good ones go? I would feel a little sad looking in my knife display and only seeing 10 knives. Then again, the only knife I missed after I sold or traded was a hand ground XM.


Enough about me, I was just wondering if you just forced yourself to let the "good ones" go. Or, if you just truly changed your way of thinking? :eek:
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I have some of the same feelings. As I get older I start thinking about simplifying my life. I look in my garage and see all the junk that I have accumulated and wonder where it all came from. Not sure that my kids will appreciate the knives that I have collected. I've been leaving little notes in some of the boxes explaining the significance of some knives and even thought about make a DVD narration for them. But in the end they will hopefully keep a few and probably sell of the rest but at least they will know their dad knew something about fine knives.
 
good post! feeling's are running near same! I have thinned down many of my collections over the past years.

Good for you and Good Luck!:thumbup:

Jules
 
Same here. After most of my collection ended up missing some years ago and then having to sell of most of what was left to survive "hard times" I find myself knifeless at this point. Hubby still has a couple of Natives and a spyderwrench, but other than that, nuthin'. I look on ebay now and then for a pink delica but to date, am still living hand to mouth so purchasing one is not gonna happen for a while.

Coincidentally, I took up photography as well, bought a cheap but decent camera to learn with off ebay. (Fuji A120 - $40) and got pretty good at taking pictures. We joined a motorcycle riding club and after about a year of membership, I was named the club photographer. The club recently presented me with a vastly improved model of camera (Lumix TZ3) and now I'm really having fun.

friendliness2.jpg




My husband and I just moved in March and we purged a HUGE amount of our possessions, in an effort to simplify our lives. It's been WONDERFUL.
 
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Funny, I have been asking myself this same question, When Is Enough, Enough?

I do not have many safe queens and try to make most of what I own as users.
It was just in the last months, I started asking myself this very question as I have been putting together another Knife order.

Nobody is the same. We all live and work different, some live in town as other live in the outback and have to be more independent.
Our lives change as the years go by and no matter what the age, our interests change.
We all have to make choices, thats Life. :)
 
I'm the opposite as far as using knives. I keep 90% of mine it mint condition and only use a select few.
As time goes by and my tastes change I've found this pays off well. I can trade and sell the NIB knives for more than I paid, or at least in most cases get my money back. I am gathering up as many discontinued Spydercos as my budget will allow me at present. I'll keep them NIB for who knows when. I just have found the higher end well liked Spydies are the best production knife as far as increasing in value.
I bought a large Persian for less than 90 dollars a couple of years ago and my Dad gave me a NIB, PE Starmate, that he paid about 100 for 10 years ago. This morning I watched a large Persian bring 213.50 on eBay and PE Starmates are even higher. (Yojimbos are another recent model that has sky rocketed lately)
I sure don't collect them for the money, but the fact that I like them(if I didn't like them I'd never buy them) and feel I'm not gonna get hurt financially makes me feel good about buying them.
 
I'm happy for you, JB. Particularly happy to help. :D

My life has seen a number of ups and downs, and I think I know where you're coming from. I'm certainly sure, absolutely sure, that I really need very little to live, to get along, to smile when the sun comes up.

If I ever feel, for even one second, that these knives own me instead of the other way around ...

Well, then you'll see another sizable sale. ;):cool:
 
Great post, It has me thinking. I keep telling myself one last one, if I have this one I will never want another knife, unfortunately as soon as I get one I want another, and another, I dont know when it will stop for me.
 
When my Grandpa and Grandmother passed away the same year they had so much, to get rid of it sure gave us pause about collecting items just to be obtaining them.
That's all that's left I thought looking over years of items, some valuable some not so much so. I wish I'd kept more than I did, because at the time I was really stressed out (they died close together) and was thinking all this stuff isn't worth nothing much, they are gone and they are what mattered. But now a few years later I look back and see that even though they'd left their possessions, they still held meaning. And, there's things of theirs I'd love to have today that are gone forever.
Your possessions are just inanimate objects, but unfortunately that's all that survives our deaths.(on this earth anyway) I have many things of theirs that hold special meaning to me and it's not because of monetary worth at all. If you have somebody to leave it to that will treasure it and remember you when they see and hold it, well that's not so bad.
 
jill jackson said:
I'm the opposite as far as using knives. I keep 90% of mine it mint condition and only use a select few.
As time goes by and my tastes change I've found this pays off well. I can trade and sell the NIB knives for more than I paid, or at least in most cases get my money back. I am gathering up as many discontinued Spydercos as my budget will allow me at present. I'll keep them NIB for who knows when. I just have found the higher end well liked Spydies are the best production knife as far as increasing in value.
I bought a large Persian for less than 90 dollars a couple of years ago and my Dad gave me a NIB, PE Starmate, that he paid about 100 for 10 years ago. This morning I watched a large Persian bring 213.50 on eBay and PE Starmates are even higher. (Yojimbos are another recent model that has sky rocketed lately)
I sure don't collect them for the money, but the fact that I like them(if I didn't like them I'd never buy them) and feel I'm not gonna get hurt financially makes me feel good about buying them.
Click to expand...

I think this sounds SMART!!

I've always thought that if a person is smart enough to buy something they like, can afford and that appreciates where's the harm?

Personally, I don't buy extra stuff because I don't like selling things. I tend to buy what I need to use and not for the sake of ownership or investment. The knives I've bought are all work-related and it is fair game to test a new knife:) and to write off its purchase.:D

Good luck Justabuyer...does this mean you are soon to be Justaseller?:eek:
 
jill jackson said:
When my Grandpa and Grandmother passed away the same year they had so much, to get rid of it sure gave us pause about collecting items just to be obtaining them.
That's all that's left I thought looking over years of items, some valuable some not so much so. I wish I'd kept more than I did, because at the time I was really stressed out (they died close together) and was thinking all this stuff isn't worth nothing much, they are gone and they are what mattered. But now a few years later I look back and see that even though they'd left their possessions, they still held meaning. And, there's things of theirs I'd love to have today that are gone forever.
Your possessions are just inanimate objects, but unfortunately that's all that survives our deaths.(on this earth anyway) I have many things of theirs that hold special meaning to me and it's not because of monetary worth at all. If you have somebody to leave it to that will treasure it and remember you when they see and hold it, well that's not so bad.
Click to expand...

I agree,
Things can have a lot of memories attached to them.
And best of all can be passed down for Generations.
To some this means something and to others it does not.
From what I've seen, some get rid of things that remind them of the loss, the pain and want to bury the past.
I have some of the above in my family like that and when I show them things that I have saved from those who passed on they light up with enjoy and talk about the great memories that these things bring back.
People may want to get on with life, but as time heals the pain, these things can Honor the Memory of those who passed on.
:)
 
BTW If So-Lo is thinking of making more room by parting with some Knives, You do know they still ship to PA from your State. :D:D:D
 
Justabuyer said:
After years of collecting knives and guns I am free. Free from debt. Free from guilt. Free from obsession. I felt my guns and knives defined me. But that world got to small.

I sold all but a few. At first it was hard. Each knife was special, full of meaning and could not be parted with. I had to have them. Or so I thought.

It turns out the knives have two phases of ownership. First you owned them, then they owned you. Ask yourself are your long term goals for the comfort of your loved ones totally funded? In that context does that 800 dollar Bowie still seem as shiny?

The world is changing and the agile man, light on his feet and deep in resources will succeed while others fail. Having more than you need will work against you.

They are all but gone. Down from well over a hundred knives to less than 20 with more still to go. I but I am ok, happier in fact. I look at my Gun safe the next phase of my simplification experiment and this feeling of lightness and freedom comes over me as I contemplate my plans for selling them. They will be gone but I will still be here.

Everyone knows it true but I did not understand it until recently. The loss of an object can not diminish you. Missing a sale, sitting out a Ganza event, passing on a new model should not leave a hole in your soul.

It’s nice to be in charge of my life again.

Jim
Click to expand...

Congradulations Jim. :thumbup:

I did the same thing a few years back, and it was great. I gave away most of my knife collection to family, some friends, and sold off the ones that were not wanted. Did the same with my gun collection and some other stuff I had.

I reveled in the feeling of liberating lightness.

There's an old Proverd "The more possesions you own, the more the possesions own you. "

I never will be owned like that again!:D
 
I did the same thing...I had well over a thousand knives...sold all of them except a few. ..now I collect again but I have a few simple rules.

1. Never buy on impulse.
2. Use only cash
3. If you have to have a specific knife sell another to finance it or save for it.


Now that I am starting a business I have had to again sell off a big part of my collection to infuse cash into the business periodically. Its been no big deal.

Its only stuff...but the friendships I have made are the things that are priceless..
 
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