New Knife Existential Dread

Locutus D'Borg said:
Everyone says "just use 'em" but so many of the knives for sale in the Exchange and elsewhere are either BNIB or LNIB. Hmmm. I guess this is one of those mysteries, like what happened before the Big Bang or why do we drive on a parkway but park on a driveway.
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I appreciate your statement but....I have never and don't anticipate selling my knives. Would rather give it to someone. On the rare occasion one might get sold...it will be listed as used with pics.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
Everyone says "just use 'em" but so many of the knives for sale in the Exchange and elsewhere are either BNIB or LNIB. Hmmm. I guess this is one of those mysteries, like what happened before the Big Bang or why do we drive on a parkway but park on a driveway.
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I think it makes good sense to decide if a new purchase is a keeper before beating it up .

Return or sell it in original BN condition .
 
shane45-1911 said:
If you want art, buy a painting. Knives are for using!!! :)
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Man, I completely agree. I don't buy a fixie unless I know I can beat the absolute crap out of it.


However, a few years ago, I bought an Ontario RD-6 that was a hot mess. The blade grind was WAYYY off, and there wasn't a 90* angle to be found anywhere on the thing. I camped/overnighted several times with that disaster (*and beat the ever-livin' crap out of it) for a several months.

I enjoyed that knife so much that, after awhile, the fact that it wasn't "right" started to bother me. So, I contacted the "Ranger Knives" man himself (*Justin Gingrich) and asked if he would make the blade "right" for me. He was the nicest guy in the World and (*much to my surprise) agreed to take the knife in and get it squared-away. Before sending it in, I bought a set of TKC G-10 scales, and asked him to powder-coat it dark grey, to match my much-beloved RD-9 "DG". He charged me so little to do the work that I felt like I was stealing from him, and almost called the Police on myself.

When I got it back, I just couldn't bring myself to use it. Justin fixed the grind and smoothed everything up. He did such a great job that I just wanted to display the former much-beaten knife on my book shelf... (*It's a damned shame too, as it's 6.5" of 5160 just beggin' to be beaten)







At the end of the day, I blame Justin Gingrich. He should do shoddier work.
 
I got few knives - beaters, that I “retired” as @Alone…My loved so much Grip is perfect example…
‘It became from this beat up handle and broken tip 154cm blade:
tOQcvq.jpg


…this beautiful DeadGrip scales, s30v blade specimen, I’m sure you’re all sick of me, posting pictures of it… 😂

tdlJlx.jpg


I usually buy knives to try how good of a users they are, or if they worth something for SD… Rarely I buy knifes that are grails, but because often I cannot afford pristine specimens, I don’t mind buying users, even they carry some other value to me. So most of my $3-400+ knives are used and I don’t mind take it out once in a while.
 
Alone said:
Man, I completely agree. I don't buy a fixie unless I know I can beat the absolute crap out of it.


However, a few years ago, I bought an Ontario RD-6 that was a hot mess. The blade grind was WAYYY off, and there wasn't a 90* angle to be found anywhere on the thing. I camped/overnighted several times with that disaster (*and beat the ever-livin' crap out of it) for a several months.

I enjoyed that knife so much that, after awhile, the fact that it wasn't "right" started to bother me. So, I contacted the "Ranger Knives" man himself (*Justin Gingrich) and asked if he would make the blade "right" for me. He was the nicest guy in the World and (*much to my surprise) agreed to take the knife in and get it squared-away. Before sending it in, I bought a set of TKC G-10 scales, and asked him to powder-coat it dark grey, to match my much-beloved RD-9 "DG". He charged me so little to do the work that I felt like I was stealing from him, and almost called the Police on myself.

When I got it back, I just couldn't bring myself to use it. Justin fixed the grind and smoothed everything up. He did such a great job that I just wanted to display the former much-beaten knife on my book shelf... (*It's a damned shame too, as it's 6.5" of 5160 just beggin' to be beaten)







At the end of the day, I blame Justin Gingrich. He should do shoddier work.
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I have a Greco Companion that’s like your Ranger was. Completely uneven primary grinds, plunge line botched and uneven on both sides, swedge uneven on both sides, the list goes on and on.

The handle is paper micarta and was too slick so I filed some lines in both sides with a needle file. It wasn’t as thick as I wanted either, so I made some orange liners for it out of a Gojo soap jug. I sanded the spine all the way around, sanded the grinds, and left the flats black powder coat. This accentuates the uneven grinds even more.

All that said, it’s truly lived up to its name. It’s been a damned fine Companion. It’s been beat to hell and back, is chock full of patina and character, and holds a nasty edge. It just grins at me like a four toothed cage fighter begging for more.

IIRC, I bought it from Bob Quinlan 1999-2000 ish. He had just gotten home from Blade show that year and had spent too much. Took it off his hands for the princely sum of $50. It’s one of my favorite knives I’ve ever owned and I’d never part with it.

“Wabi sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, the antithesis of our classical Western notion of beauty as something perfect, enduring, and monumental.” - Leonard Koen
 
shane45-1911 said:
If you want art, buy a painting. Knives are for using!!! :)
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Opinions will differ.

Personally, the knives that I "collect" I do not use because I don't NEED or WANT to use them. I have more than enough other "cheaper" knives to use instead, rather than diminish the value of my more expensive collectibles by using them. So, there's no "dread" about whether to use a knife that I "collect" or not.

So, the questions I'd ask you are:

1) Why did you buy the GEC -- for use or collection."
2) Are you willing to diminish its value due to use?
3) Do you have any other knives that you can use that would function as well?

The answers for the knives in my "collection" are:

1) For collection
2) No
3) Yes

So, this is why I don't use any of the knives in my collection. The knives that I purchase for USE are another matter.
 
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