my knife passion is diminishing.

[RevDevil]

if the next knife i buy is a midtech or custom at the rate things have been going for me i wont even be carrying a knife by the time i got that saved up.

Then it was not really a true passion to begin with, but more of a passing fad that needed investigating. I guess you will find something else to become a real hobby at some point where your true passion will flourish.

 

[Cereal_killer]

It sounds to me like your buying knives other people like/suggest. How do you buy knives? In store or order online? My advice- find a knife you actually like, doesn't matter if its a ~$100+ spyderco/benchmade/Emerson/whatever or a $10 Enlan. You bought those three based on suggestions you received here (or other places) right? What you need to do is go out and handle a bunch of knives all at once, at a B&M store or a knife/gun show, find one knife you actually love and carry it.

Another suggestion would be to add a small knife to your keys, I rotate a manbug or one of a few different ladybugs (recently it's been my ladybug salt hawkbill) and my wife rotates a ladybug or a kershaw Chive. That way you always have a knife but don't have to fill your pocket with something you don't care for.

One other suggestion, get a small, lightweight ~3" folder as slim as possible, a delica or dragonfly or a rat-2 or a kabar dozier, something that takes up no room clipped to your pocket, you'll find yourself carrying it more and the more you carry it the more you'll use it and begin to rely on it and rekindle your like for knives.

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

Some good advice here below by cereal.. Also, find a small knife that you can tuck into the coin pocket of your Levis and carry every day. Make it pretty, so you will enjoy fondling and playing with it. A lot of makers do these less than 3" blade knives. Here is a very expensive one my wife gave me, I have worn the bolsters out by rubbing it.

It sounds to me like your buying knives other people like/suggest. How do you buy knives? In store or order online? My advice- find a knife you actually like, doesn't matter if its a ~$100+ spyderco/benchmade/Emerson/whatever or a $10 Enlan. You bought those three based on suggestions you received here (or other places) right? What you need to do is go out and handle a bunch of knives all at once, at a B&M store or a knife/gun show, find one knife you actually love and carry it.

Another suggestion would be to add a small knife to your keys, I rotate a manbug or one of a few different ladybugs (recently it's been my ladybug salt hawkbill) and my wife rotates a ladybug or a kershaw Chive. That way you always have a knife but don't have to fill your pocket with something you don't care for.

One other suggestion, get a small, lightweight ~3" folder as slim as possible, a delica or dragonfly or a rat-2 or a kabar dozier, something that takes up no room clipped to your pocket, you'll find yourself carrying it more and the more you carry it the more you'll use it and begin to rely on it and rekindle your like for knives.

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

double tap

 

[HwangJino]

Dangerous had a very good suggestion, knife sharpening skills and kitchen skills can always be improved.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

40 years of collecting and my passion of anything is stronger, the desire to find old patterns in his condition e still drives me, there are still a lot of fixed blades of like to try.

Traditional folding knives alone will keep me busy just looking up the history for days. Family history between the early manufacturers is another great thing to research, the American knife dynasty is fascinating and full of drama.

Maybe it's not that your passion is waning but you need to broaden your interest in the knives other than modern tactical knives ilk. There are so many different directions to go I can't see how it's possible to get bored. JMHO.

 

[davek14]

I have other hobbies and I find my knife hobby ebbs and flows and morphs. At one time I was always thinking of the next one to buy. That can get expensive and is a fools quest anyway (one I wish I could afford ).

Then I decided to make my buying habits looking for old knives to rescue and was hot and heavy into that for a while. Now that is an ongoing part of my life but I don't go out of my way to look as often.

I'll get into tinkering and modding, then haunt the forum a lot for a while, then whatever. Knives are always there if I can't do anything else to keep occupied.

I used to look for things to cut and used my knife many times a day. Now, I use my knife a couple times a day (maybe). Still, it's a part of my life and if I don't have it I'm sure to need it and miss it.

Still my hobby, maybe not the obsession it was. Learned a lot and added to my skillset, and toolset. There's always a new aspect to explore. Chances are I'll get into it heavy for periods of time again.

It's probably good you're not spending a lot of money on it anymore.

 

[Akcir]

There is nothing wrong with giving it a rest. If you want to come back to it after a while, you could approach it from a different angle. For example, every knife I own is one I intend to keep, so they have all been modified to exactly what I like (with the exception of heirlooms). Some have minor mods, while others have some extensive work put into them. This has become a hobby that is enjoyable to me. Like others have stated, I'm content with what I have for now, and I use the hell out of them. Take a break for now and see if the bug bites you again.

 

[AddictedToGear]

My interests come and go. Find another hobby for a while and then come back to knives.

I agree with this. I am able to stay with my knife and firearm passion fairly steadily but firearms passion is one that will never die. Knife passion I have but it comes and goes on phases more. I keep increasing in price range to get my urge on knives and then half the time I buy something else though like a gun for the money. It is good to have many hobbies to keep you occupied and feed your passion.

 

[WRGreen]

If you feel like letting it go, let it go. Change in all things is a constant aspect of existence.

 

[A.P.F.]

When I find myself feeling the exact same way, it has nothing to do with the knives, hobby, or anything else externally. But has more to do with what's going on inside of me. There's always something else going on personally that is distracting me from feeling the joy of the outside things that once brought that excitement, passion, pleasure.

This^^

 

[Myal]

Wild guess .... but it may be time to get out and use the knife - knives you have . Go hunting , fishing , go camping maybe . Be WILD and do it all in one trip
If buying your knives is your passion , or having to say you got it to others its gunna flame out pretty quick .
If buying knives to fill a role or reach a performance ideal is your thing , then its a never ending search really .
My opinion , worth ever cent paid for it .

 

[dmattaponi]

Sometimes it helps to shift focus. I've found that it's often expensive and empty if your hobby is *buying* something.

Instead, maybe shift the hobby to *using* a knife.

Some good comments here, but this one is the best IMO. From experience, I can admit there is a lot of truth in this comment.

 

[davek14]

Finding old knives at yard sales, antique shops, pawn shops, etc., etc. for not a lot of money and then cleaning them up, fixing them, modding them, and researching their value if so desired can give you fantastic users and more.

This can fill the need for acquisition cheaply and be lottsa fun.

 

[stabman]

Then it was not really a true passion to begin with, but more of a passing fad that needed investigating. I guess you will find something else to become a real hobby at some point where your true passion will flourish.

Indeed.
He doesn't appear to be a very motivated knife person.

 

[k1ssthecook]

I was always at least slightly interested in folding knives. I had a strong passion for target shooting, when that dwindled I got into camping and then hunting...which made it necessary to look into fixed blade knives.

Cooking is a useful passion. I can now hunt for my dinner steak while employing my firearms, camping, and knife skillset.

You should figure out what you like, if you buy a knife make sure that you find it interesting. Take reviews into consideration so that you make intelligent purchases. You could also dive deeper into your hobby by customizing existing knives, or even creating one of your own.

 

[Joshua J.]

It is i find myself carrying my knife less and less lately and my urge to look and buy new things is dying. I also find my self becoming increasingly unsatisfied with things and being unsatisfied with what most people consider great knives. The knives i have had in the past 2 months and sold off due to unsatisfication are emerson cqc 8 (actually traded it for a 32 inch television). A spyderco superleaf and a waved spyderco endura.

Do i just let it pass and let it go? I always feel like my knife is really important and i dont feel right without it but i find myself forgetting to even put it in my pocket half of the time latly. It upsets me because this was really the only hobby i had. I always was looking for not the perfect knife but just the right knife for me for comfort and carry-ability. Deep carry clip 9 inch over all solid lock up no blade play and easy to disengage lock and i just seem to be incapable of finding it.

What do you guys think?

http://www.olfa.com/featureddetail.aspx?c=77&id=551

After owning more than $8,000 worth of knives (and then selling most), this is my favourite EDC and I don't really see that changing. Practicality took hold eventually (I actually consider that OLFA to be objectively better than any other pocket knife I've owned).
I keep the ZT0560CFCB as a good baseline high end model (I do consider it nearly perfect for my taste), and I still greatly enjoy detailing a high quality item and trying new things, but knives are now an ordinary pleasure rather than an object of pursuit. Handling a finely crafted knife and drinking a hot cup of tea are similar activities, not something you go out of your way for but definitely something you wouldn't want to live without.

 

[ChapmanPreferred]

If you are spending money that should not be spent then it sounds like you need a change. Get caught up on your bills and create an emergency fund in a savings account that should be a minimum of $1,000.00. Once you hit that mark then you can build on top of your emergency fund with "fun money" to what ever amount you choose to save (another $100 to $500 to $1,000 if you can). Consider yourself "monetarily broke" until you reach this financial goal. While you are doing this, carry one knife that is the most satisfactory to you today so you have more time to decide if it truly meets your EDCx2 (everyday carry and everyday cutting) needs. If you have spent at least a month with your satisfactory knife and it remains satisfactory, then you could put that knife in the keeper section of your knife storage or if you sold everything else, keep going with that knife to the 6 month mark and re-evaluate.

Hopefully, in 6 months you will have caught up on bills and you may have made a substantial dent in building your emergency fund (by the way selling unsatisfactory knives and reinvesting that money into your bills or emergency fund will help you get to the fun money sooner). In the time it takes for you to fix your financial issue(s) I think you will have had time to decide if you want to continue with knife collecting or if you need to move on.

I hope you will be able to find happiness in your life regardless of what your hobby is at the moment. You add significant stress by adding financial instability to your life but it is possible to correct it with discipline. Depending on your stage of life, this may not seem significant to you. You may rekindle your passion for knives in the time required to correct your situation but that does not have to be your goal. You may find that focusing on knives has blinded you to something that you will find more important to your life. Since I am a knife user/owner/collector/sharpener/maker/seller I hope that you will continue to have a sharp edge in your life as a utility tool, but priorities must be right in my opinion to enjoy any hobby.

Best wishes on your journey.

 

[jbmonkey]

Sounds like a good thing. De-cluttering is a good thing. Get you one knife you can live with and save the rest of that money we all waste and you'll be able to retire before you are dead....or drive a better truck/car...or take better vacations. ....or shoot more.....or whatever it is that ya like. Embrace the gift you have been given. Can still have fun in a hobby without buying stuff. I do it all the time. Read posts on expensive customs I would never spend money on and the owners enjoyment and enjoy their pictures, etc.......can be as good if not better than if you owned it yourself. That's my take on it........

 

[evanPGH]

If you are spending money that should not be spent then it sounds like you need a change. Get caught up on your bills and create an emergency fund in a savings account that should be a minimum of $1,000.00. Once you hit that mark then you can build on top of your emergency fund with "fun money" to what ever amount you choose to save (another $100 to $500 to $1,000 if you can). Consider yourself "monetarily broke" until you reach this financial goal. While you are doing this, carry one knife that is the most satisfactory to you today so you have more time to decide if it truly meets your EDCx2 (everyday carry and everyday cutting) needs. If you have spent at least a month with your satisfactory knife and it remains satisfactory, then you could put that knife in the keeper section of your knife storage or if you sold everything else, keep going with that knife to the 6 month mark and re-evaluate.

Hopefully, in 6 months you will have caught up on bills and you may have made a substantial dent in building your emergency fund (by the way selling unsatisfactory knives and reinvesting that money into your bills or emergency fund will help you get to the fun money sooner). In the time it takes for you to fix your financial issue(s) I think you will have had time to decide if you want to continue with knife collecting or if you need to move on.

I hope you will be able to find happiness in your life regardless of what your hobby is at the moment. You add significant stress by adding financial instability to your life but it is possible to correct it with discipline. Depending on your stage of life, this may not seem significant to you. You may rekindle your passion for knives in the time required to correct your situation but that does not have to be your goal. You may find that focusing on knives has blinded you to something that you will find more important to your life. Since I am a knife user/owner/collector/sharpener/maker/seller I hope that you will continue to have a sharp edge in your life as a utility tool, but priorities must be right in my opinion to enjoy any hobby.

Best wishes on your journey.

Fantastic post. Thank you for taking the time. :thumbup: