My First Year of Knife Collecting

Minirehak212

Minirehak212

Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Messages
368
Hey guys,

Out of sheer boredom I decided to look through my past Amazon orders and made a realization, it's been a year and four months since I've started buying "good" knives. And conveniently I have my SO's knives here for cleaning and sharpening, so I thought I would show my progress over the year.

I want to start by saying I've always been into "knives", but they weren't necessarily knives that were worth a damn. My dad is a big advocate of BudK and relatively cheaper knives. We're talking 5 dollar, assisted, tacticool gas station specials here. But it makes him happy, and they made me happy starting off. Since I turned 18 I always had a "knife" on me. I use the word knife loosely because they were neither sharp or a pleasure to carry and use. I cared enough to have a knife, but not enough to sharpen it or make sure it was safe.

Fast forward to March of 2018. I'm working a warehouse job with my mom. My position was in order picking so I was opening and breaking down boxes all day. I had my trusty Gerber Ripstop 2 that I found at a random store for dirt cheap. One day the boss was running around the warehouse and asked to use my knife to open a package. I let him use it, and when he handed it back he told me "Wow Jordan, this knife is duller than sh**". Instead of looking into a cheap sharpener, for some very strange reason, I had the urge to go out and buy a good knife. And that's where it begins.

Immediately when I got home I took to my trusty online retailer Anazon and started looking at folding knives. One thing lead to another and I ordered this beauty with one day shipping
TTdmFMX.jpg

For some strange reason the looks really attracted me. Even though I now know by looking at it that it's an ergonomic nightmare, it was my first purposeful knife purchase. I loved this thing when it arrived. As awful as it was, it was a HUGE step up from the turds I had in my pocket previously. So I took my Schrade proudly with me everywhere I went and it felt great. So much so that I started looking at other knifes....and ended up here....

April of 2018 hits and I'm full into lurking on this forum. The 2nd month into collecting and I buy 4 knives. Opinel 9, Spyderco Ladybug, Kershaw link and a Ruike P801. What a slippery slope indeed.

I noticed that I was approaching knives the same way that I started my instrument collection. Start cheap and buy a lot, but with variety. Figure out that I like and dislike, buy more expensive with the stuff I like and go until I'm happy. With this process I went from 23 cheap bass guitars, to 2 basses that I love, and it has been this way for the past 3 years.

I tried as many brands as I could, slowly going up the ladder. From Schrade to WE Knives. The PIF thread was a huge help for me because it gave me a chance to try out a lot of stuff without most of the risk of online trading. My first post was a PIF offering and you guys happily let me into this great community.

Within this first year I have learned a lot about this hobby, and what I value in the stuff that I carry. A few weeks ago I purchased my first CRK and I feel like with my Inkosi I finally found my leveling off point, at least for folders. Fixed blades are coming next.

So after a year and 4 months of purchasing and trading here is my current stable
oYdBmQG.jpg

The WE and Dragonfly are the choice of carry for my SO, the rest are on rotation for me. And just for the heck of it, here is the CRK with the bass that killed my bass collection
QPYtGsF.jpg


I'm sorry for the novel but to me it felt like the last year has flown by and kinda caught me off guard. The fact that In such a short period I go from EDCing a $17 Gerber to a CRK, is both cool and scary.

It comforts me to say that I 100% blame this community for keeping this addiction going. And making me into a proper gear nut.

Thanks for the support!
 
Great post and pics, Minirehak212 Minirehak212 ! Thanks for sharing!
Your collection looks solid!

Many folks around here have similar stories, myself included.
My knife collection exploded at the beginning as well, partially fueled by this forum!
My knife acquisitions have tapered off in the last year...but I recently discovered flashlights. :(

Right now I’m hoping some “accounts due” will finally pay off. IF they do, a few nice pieces will be added to my collection. If not...oh well, I’ve got some sweethearts already.

Thanks again for your post!
 
Thanks for sharing your story Jordan. You've come a long way in such a short period of time. Impressive collection and you have a sense of folding knife history as evidenced by your inclusion of the classic Buck Model 110. I collect both fixed blades and folding knifes. Lion Steel and Hinderer make some quality fixed blades and you wont break the bank. I would also suggest looking into Behring Made if you want a beautiful custom knife. They typically start at around $325 and go up to and over $1,000 depending on the style and the handle material. They also make real nice fixed blade pocket knifes with leather sheaths that are wicked sharp. Their website is real fun to surf. My latest purchase was a Behring Made drop point with a stabilized sea shell handle (they offer many different handle materials) that I had them fit with a custom Mudbone Jones leather sheath with a seashell/nautilus theme. They are a great group of guys to deal with. Good luck with your growing collection!
 
In a year, you moved from $10 knives to $400+ knives. That us quite a journey in a year. I hope you have found what you like best. Maybe your Dad will see some of your knives and graduate from BudK. You can buy some darn good knives under $200.
 
Tigerden said:
Thanks for sharing your story Jordan. You've come a long way in such a short period of time. Impressive collection and you have a sense of folding knife history as evidenced by your inclusion of the classic Buck Model 110. I collect both fixed blades and folding knifes. Lion Steel and Hinderer make some quality fixed blades and you wont break the bank. I would also suggest looking into Behring Made if you want a beautiful custom knife. They typically start at around $325 and go up to and over $1,000 depending on the style and the handle material. They also make real nice fixed blade pocket knifes with leather sheaths that are wicked sharp. Their website is real fun to surf. My latest purchase was a Behring Made drop point with a stabilized sea shell handle (they offer many different handle materials) that I had them fit with a custom Mudbone Jones leather sheath with a seashell/nautilus theme. They are a great group of guys to deal with. Good luck with your growing collection!
Click to expand...
I will definitely be looking them up! I have been looking at fixed blades from Hinderer and CRK, as well as taking a peek in the custom classifieds here. I've been seeing some pretty stuff. If I was going custom I'd love a 5 inch sheepsfoot with a Bubinga handle to match my bass. That is a wood I've absolutely fallen in love with.

22-rimfire said:
In a year, you moved from $10 knives to $400+ knives. That us quite a journey in a year. I hope you have found what you like best. Maybe your Dad will see some of your knives and graduate from BudK. You can buy some darn good knives under $200.
Click to expand...
I have showed him my stuff and he loves it. I have upgraded his multitool to a Leatherman OHT and he uses the piss out of it. He's disabled and sadly even 100 is over his knife budget. But his birthday is coming up in September and I'm going shopping.
 
Nice knife collection and nice Warwick! I have/or have had many of the knives in your picture, and to make matters worse (better?), I have now turned my attention to Victorinox knives, especially the Alox versions. I really need to limit my time on this Forum ;)
 
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Dont feel bad man. Within the first two months of being into knives i had already spent 2k. Started with a $20 kershaw late april and had para3, 940-1, ZT, bugout, two hinderers, and multiple chris reeves by the end of june. This hobby is addicting.
 
Minirehak212 said:
Hey guys,

Out of sheer boredom I decided to look through my past Amazon orders and made a realization, it's been a year and four months since I've started buying "good" knives. And conveniently I have my SO's knives here for cleaning and sharpening, so I thought I would show my progress over the year.

I want to start by saying I've always been into "knives", but they weren't necessarily knives that were worth a damn. My dad is a big advocate of BudK and relatively cheaper knives. We're talking 5 dollar, assisted, tacticool gas station specials here. But it makes him happy, and they made me happy starting off. Since I turned 18 I always had a "knife" on me. I use the word knife loosely because they were neither sharp or a pleasure to carry and use. I cared enough to have a knife, but not enough to sharpen it or make sure it was safe.

Fast forward to March of 2018. I'm working a warehouse job with my mom. My position was in order picking so I was opening and breaking down boxes all day. I had my trusty Gerber Ripstop 2 that I found at a random store for dirt cheap. One day the boss was running around the warehouse and asked to use my knife to open a package. I let him use it, and when he handed it back he told me "Wow Jordan, this knife is duller than sh**". Instead of looking into a cheap sharpener, for some very strange reason, I had the urge to go out and buy a good knife. And that's where it begins.

Immediately when I got home I took to my trusty online retailer Anazon and started looking at folding knives. One thing lead to another and I ordered this beauty with one day shipping
TTdmFMX.jpg

For some strange reason the looks really attracted me. Even though I now know by looking at it that it's an ergonomic nightmare, it was my first purposeful knife purchase. I loved this thing when it arrived. As awful as it was, it was a HUGE step up from the turds I had in my pocket previously. So I took my Schrade proudly with me everywhere I went and it felt great. So much so that I started looking at other knifes....and ended up here....

April of 2018 hits and I'm full into lurking on this forum. The 2nd month into collecting and I buy 4 knives. Opinel 9, Spyderco Ladybug, Kershaw link and a Ruike P801. What a slippery slope indeed.

I noticed that I was approaching knives the same way that I started my instrument collection. Start cheap and buy a lot, but with variety. Figure out that I like and dislike, buy more expensive with the stuff I like and go until I'm happy. With this process I went from 23 cheap bass guitars, to 2 basses that I love, and it has been this way for the past 3 years.

I tried as many brands as I could, slowly going up the ladder. From Schrade to WE Knives. The PIF thread was a huge help for me because it gave me a chance to try out a lot of stuff without most of the risk of online trading. My first post was a PIF offering and you guys happily let me into this great community.

Within this first year I have learned a lot about this hobby, and what I value in the stuff that I carry. A few weeks ago I purchased my first CRK and I feel like with my Inkosi I finally found my leveling off point, at least for folders. Fixed blades are coming next.

So after a year and 4 months of purchasing and trading here is my current stable
oYdBmQG.jpg

The WE and Dragonfly are the choice of carry for my SO, the rest are on rotation for me. And just for the heck of it, here is the CRK with the bass that killed my bass collection
QPYtGsF.jpg


I'm sorry for the novel but to me it felt like the last year has flown by and kinda caught me off guard. The fact that In such a short period I go from EDCing a $17 Gerber to a CRK, is both cool and scary.

It comforts me to say that I 100% blame this community for keeping this addiction going. And making me into a proper gear nut.

Thanks for the support!
Click to expand...

CRK in the first year!

That took off quickly. I am impressed!
 
Nice collection, I went a similar route but I went kershaw to zero tolerance before I moved to the $400 price range
 
Similar story here. Just got into knives 3 months ago and went from owning a couple 50$ kershaw to over $1200 and 13 spydies and 1 benchmade. I have yet to spend over $160 on a knife though....
 
stevekolt said:
Nice knife collection and nice Warwick! I have/or have had many of the knives in your picture, and to make matters worse (better?), I have now turned my attention to Victorinox knives, especially the Alox versions. I really need to limit my time on this Forum ;)
Click to expand...
Warwick was my grail manufacturer when I first picked up the bass. I got extremely lucky with both of mine though. My first one I got for free from a hush school friend, and this 5 string came from a pawn shop in Texas for an absolute steal. Them Germans know how to make a good instrument

I've been putting off buying SAK's. Between my Skeletool and the random assortment of crap I keep in my bag I haven't needed one. Knowing me though, I'll end up with about 12 of them

Cowboyfromhell666 said:
Similar story here. Just got into knives 3 months ago and went from owning a couple 50$ kershaw to over $1200 and 13 spydies and 1 benchmade. I have yet to spend over $160 on a knife though....
Click to expand...
Wow that's a jump alright. Prettymuch all of my stuff was below $180 before I got the CRK. Good deals always pop up on the forums here. Curious, what's your one Benchmade?
 
I bought tons of Kershaws and CRKTs in my first year or so, and was pretty determined not to buy anything over $100. Then I broke that limit and set a new one for $200. Then I broke that one, so I set another one at $300... And so on. Haven't got in to CRK yet, but on the other hand I just got a XM-18, with a Half-Track on the way .. :rolleyes:

Nice collection, and nice write up.
 
Rykjeklut said:
I bought tons of Kershaws and CRKTs in my first year or so, and was pretty determined not to buy anything over $100. Then I broke that limit and set a new one for $200. Then I broke that one, so I set another one at $300... And so on. Haven't got in to CRK yet, but on the other hand I just got a XM-18, with a Half-Track on the way .. :rolleyes:

Nice collection, and nice write up.
Click to expand...
There really was no middle ground with me. Went from a tolerable sub $200 to going off the deep end. I do want to try a gen 6 XM-18 sometime in the future though, it seems like I would get along with one.



I think what I find most amusing about this whole thing is people's reactions when they use my knives now. I can tell most people are used to dull knives. If someone asks to cut something I tell them to be careful because its sharp. They always chuckle and say "yeah it's a knife". Then they come back to me like "WOW that cut through like butter, why is it so sharp?". That's the whole point of having a knife!
 
Congrats on your very nice collection!
And thank you for the read...it was enjoyable. CRK makes impressive (addictive?) knives. Keep on enjoying the crazy ride...
and...
Keep ‘em Sharp
 
I enjoyed your novel. :p

I'm more limited in price range but my story is similar. I've been carrying knives as tools for decades. It started with a Swiss Army Knife in the 80s. I carried inexpensive slipjoints, Buck knives, etc. I fell in love with flipper tabs sometime in the late 90s. I started buying Kershaw knives from local retailers right around the turn of the century. I'd buy a new Kershaw every few years and make it my primary EDC. That cycle ended sometime last year when I started digging into the online market and joined up here. Now I have a bunch of knives in rotation for different situations. Civivi and Bestech dominate my carry rotation.
 
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