My knife collection.

Wave goodbye to the spammer.

 

I have a blue/blackwashed one. They are amazing for $45.

 

Welcome to BF.

Buck has some good knives at very good prices and with decent steel. The USA made stuff is all BOS heat treated 420HC or better.

I say save up and get one or two knives you like. Then I'd implore you to switch and save up for a Norton JB8 combination sharpening stone. You can get some mineral oil at the grocery store for it, a marker, and we can walk you through a homemade strop. Learn to sharpen your knives and you will be forever grateful.

 

You have shown wisdom. Stop buying and keep asking questions and reading. You'll be glad you did.

 

Just my few cents and hope you will enjoy the hobby like many of us do:

1) Buy affordable "value" knives.
Some well known names such as Victorinox, Opinel, Mora, Buck all have pretty decent values and qualities, and they will allow you a chance to test out and use various kind of blades without breaking the bank. Even if you 'exit' the hobby one day, these tools will continue to serve you well and you won't regret them.

2) Don't impulse buy and fall for spirit run.
One of the latest trends in the industry is to create 'spirit runs' and to "create" anxiety/demand by suggesting the supply is very limited. Some distributors would even designate time for the 'drop' and to remind buyers not to 'miss out' on the opportunity. Personally, these are just marketing schemes, and the reality is we live in the golden era of knife 'hobby' where choices are limitless. If you miss a 'run', it will not the end of the world.

3) Knives are not investment, unless you are professional reseller.
From time to time, I have seen people getting 'hurt' by 'investing' literally thousands (or even ten of thousands) of dollars in the hobby, pursuing certain 'custom' makers' works but eventually pricing plummeted, and they felt stuck and frustrated.

 

You have enough knives for now. Pick one use it and learn to maintain it. Remember, that cutting should be done with the main edge only. Putting pressure on the point or the back of the blade is dangerous and should be avoided; and it doesn't matter if you have a $10,000 knife from the "best" custom maker - they all fail, that is what fixed blades are for. Also, never cut towards yourself. Make sure that you are always pushing the blade edge in a safe direction; if the blade cuts through or slips off, it should stop on something that you wouldn't mind cutting - for most people that usually excludes your hands, legs and other bodily parts, so be mindful of your back stop. Also, always treat your knife with respect. It is a cutting tool, you don't need to pretend to be a gorilla to use it. If it is not cutting with moderate pressure, sharpen it, or consider using a more appropriate tool. Pushing too hard can break the knife and potentially hurt you...there is no need to go there, that ER money is better put to use buying better knives.

Welcome to the forums.

n2s

 

Welcome to Bladeforums. We all started pretty much the same way. I wish there had been Bladeforums when I started collecting. It would have saved me a ton of cash.

 

If you see a knife you like. First check it out. Look at youtube reviews ( some of them are ok, and they all show it in hand ), check with the people here on the forum. Get an idea of whether its worth it or not, or if it has something about it you know you wont like.

Then, if you still want it, save your money, bit by bit, until you can afford to buy it. You may get an instant fix buying "cool" looking cheap knives, but you will enjoy a better quality knife a lot more . . . . just my thoughts on the subject

Saying that, not all cheap knives are bad. Case in point. Mora, Hultafors and Opinel.

 

Stay away from those round holes, man. They are the heroin of the knife world.

 

Part of the problem you're going to have sharpening your collection is that you have some blade shapes that are quite difficult to sharpen correctly. Re-curves and serrations don't lend themselves to constant sharpening. And when an edge makes a drastic change in angle (such as in your M Tech or tantos) you have to change your position between the blade and the stone while keeping a consistent angle, and that's not simple. Take a look at knives which get heavy use, like professional kitchen knives, and you'll see that the easiest way to maintain a sharp edge is to have just one single line.

As others have pointed out, there's a lot of choice in the market. Don't be worried about trying new things, but doing a little research into this hobby can be very rewarding. Believe me when I say there's no mistake that someone on this board hasn't made (some of us more than one).

 

Lot of great advice so far. I'll echo the quality over quantity. I would also stay away from serrations. My wife and I were having dinner and she mentioned our steaks knives aren't good since they are serrated they can't be sharpened. I took that for permission to buy more knives and picked up a wusthof classic ikon block.

I wouldn't call it hand held but a lot of people love the spyderco sharpmaker. I started here before jumping up to the wicked edge.

 

Welcome to Blade Forums, PheonixKingZ! And thank you for sharing your knife collection with us. I agree with those making the quality-over-quantity recommendation, but don't be afraid to buy a knife now and again just because you like its looks. That's part of what makes the hobby fun!

Your lockback knife actually is not a Parker Cutlery knife, and it may or may not have been made in Japan. It's an inexpensive, mediocre-quality "limited edition" knife advertised for sale by the American International Mint in various magazines (most of them not knife magazines, where the readers would recognize it for what it was) in the early 1980s. It's worth probably about as much as you paid for it.

These aren't my photos, but they show how the knife was packaged originally.






I know about your knife because I have one just like it that I wouldn't sell at any price. It was a gift from dear friends who knew that I liked knives and bought it for me as a surprise. They are long dead now, but I remember them fondly and smile every time I look at it. See how subjective value can be?

Enjoy your knives!

-Steve