My First Koenig, and Thoughts on the Collection Journey

[Ron Texas]

The most expensive knife I own cost $240. I haven't used it. Nearly all of what I buy is in the budget to midrange ($150 OTD) category. The one I enjoy, carry and use the most is a $41 Petrified Fish Beluga. I can easily afford a CRK, but have no plans to buy one. If I feel inhibited about carrying a $240 knife the CRK would be a draw queen for sure. fortunately, automatic knives are legal for carry in Texas. I have 5 Kershaw Launch OTS. I'm surprised how little love they get here. The automatic knife forum is dominated by Microtech OTF's.

 

[donnord]

I guess I have about 25 knives not counting Kitchen knives. I own a few expensive knives a William Henry that was bought right, A CRK UG, an Arno Bernard I mamba, the rest of my collection generally less than 200. I sold all my Randalls cause I lost interest in them. Now my daily carry most of the time has been a $30 Kershaw Collateral and a Brous Silent Soldier flipper. However I just picked up a Buck 110 auto, That has been my primary carry this week in a pancake sheath. I like heavy knives and the 110 fits that need. If I carry a fixed blade its probably a Mule Team or one that I made. It bugs me when I scratch my nice knives so I try not to beat on the high end ones much. But I do use most of my knives. Those Koenigs seem real nice, however I would like to handle one before I put down that kind of money.

 

[Tensaw]

"Journey" is a good word to describe it. I usually refer to it as an addiction. Anyway, this is mine:

Chinese made production knives: I used budget knives to figure out the basics of what I liked (size, blade shape, lock, etc.). I also destroyed a couple learning how to sharpen them. The cheaper ones came from Kizer, Sencut, Miguron, Vosteed and more. Kunwus cost more, but are actually pretty nice.

US designed/produced overseas: My favorites here are Chaves, Quiet Carry, BergBlades, Vero among others. Depending on how recent the model was introduced, these can run $350 to $400. Knives that stand out in this level usually have Reate as the oem, in my opinion. I find Quiet Carry knive to be well made and I think they use an oem in Taiwan.

US made premium: I made a conscious effort to focus here a couple of years ago and I have at least one from CRK, RH, LG, Tactile, Spartan, Koenig, Demko, McNees, MachineWise, Spyderco and Protech. This has probably been the best part of my journey. Most of the iconic US companies have a vibe or personality or something that I can't describe, but I love that about them. On the list?: Oz, SPK, NCC

Others: I enjoy owning a few CKFs and a Rob Johnson Cedar. I've been looking at R&H's Morvan and some South African makers like Arno Bernard, Trevor Burger, 3LegDog.

I started my journey about four or five years ago when I was in my late sixties. Most of my adult life, I always put the financial needs of my family and creditors before my own. Most of that is taken care of now. The nice thing about being old is now I don't have to inch my way down a rabbit hole. The worst thing is the thought that when I die, the wife will sell my knives based on what I told her I paid for them.