New to Knives

Screebo said:
Howdy FTR, yeah such a familiar story. It’s the path we walk and the walking of it is called Knife Life. You’ve entered the legendary rabbit hole and its attraction is irresistible! PS I bought a Drop Bear too! I like it a lot. Cheers mate!
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So far, out of all the knives I've purchased that have arrived, I actually think the Drop Bear is my favorite so far. Cheers!
 
kobold said:
Youtube claims another victim 🤣 It is hard, but try to limit yourself to one knife a month maybe? Less is more. And the hunt is more pleasurable, than pulling the trigger. Learning about blade geometry, handle ergonomics, and sharpening methods for different steels for each use case.. Anyways, Welcome to the madness!
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Thanks for the welcome and advice taken!
 
Skar said:
Welcome. I suggest a Spyderco then you will know addiction:p

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My Para 3 is on the way and should be here Monday. I already purchased some Ti scales for it and can't wait to get it!
 
Veldara said:
I'm new to knives too but not collecting, and one of things I learned about collecting is to hone in on just a few brands or even just a one or two. It can help with saving money but also add more consistency to your collection's presentation if that matters for you like it does for me. So for instance I'm slowly pivoting to focusing on Cold Steel and Midgards Messer for my brands.
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I've kind of settled (so far) on Spyderco, Benchmade, and Kizer but I know I'll end up with a lot more than just those.
 
glamisduner said:
Ooof, so how is it? I kinda want one! Shark foot blade and shark lock are interesting to me, S35vn is a good steel. Just bought some decent stuff though, so it might have to wait until I can find one used. There you go, maybe look for some used stuff to slow you down and save some money.

I have the bug right now too (my second post...)

I find this addiction comes in waves. I was super happy when I got my PM2 tanto, but I beleive it was recently stolen by contractors. (I had just gotten back from camping and rolling my vehicle and left it in the bathroom). But once it sunk in that it was never coming back, that was an excuse to find something else, and boom, 5 new knifes....

My favorite new thing is probably my Shaman in 15v, but, testing out a crucata PM2, which is probably a better daily driver. Best value knife is probably a civivi s35vn conspirator knife center exclusive, it's a classy knife for the money for sure, haven't figured out where it fits into my carry yet as I also have the regular version in micarta, and it's a great knife I'm not afraid to use and re-sharpen, but the S35vn version for just over $100 was too good to pass up. Also grabbed Spyderco Mule in 15v too have around the house for opening stuff to save my previous pocket knifes on wear, what a deal $75 for 15V steel.... No wait, pretend I never mentioned the mule. Thats a rabbit hole you might not be ready for.

Maybe try carrying each one for a week to figure out where what you have fits in your collection. Assuming your more of a user than a collector, but want to justify adding more knifes.
Cheap steel is great for starting out, because it gives you more sharpening practice, so you can go to town on that civivi. Most cheaper steel is softer and easier to sharpen, and less expensive to make mistakes on. Invest in a good sharpening system instead of more fancy knives. I'm using a KME and have not mastered it yet, but it can still make a hell of an edge.
At this point I'm looking for the perfect knife for me. The demco looks pretty good, but thumb studs look cheap to me so I am holding off (they remind me off swapmeet knifes from my childhood), but thats just me, it's perfectly fine for a knife to have them, I just prefer the flipper tab, or some other figity way of opening them. Thats the one thing preventing me from buying a demco. I feel like I'm paying a real premium for that lock and only getting basic thumb studs, but I mean, ya a flipper tab might be weird on that one, so I can almost justify it once I pay off the $1000 in knifes I just ordered lol.
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I played with the Demco when I received it for a few hours which was fun. I can see why it's so popular. But I use my knives and when gripping it the way I do, I found that that shark lock tap sits directly where I put my thumb. It was very uncomfortable so I returned it.
 
FTRrider said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I've already forced myself to calm down a little bit, lol.
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Start using the knives you have. Once you do that - other knives become irrelevant. I'm steadily decreasing the number of knives I have.

Currently:
ESEE6
AK47 Fixed Blade in CPM-3V
ESEE Izula
CRKT Minimalist Spear Point
Recon 1 spear point
K390 Delica

Also Ka-Bar Mark1 USN, but that one is just for keeping around, long story behind it.

You can notice I have 2 large fixed blades, 2 small fixed blades and 2 folders. Each with different properties. And I might reduce this number further. Just I love them all so I think it'll stay like this for a while.

Even new designs and Magnacut didn't get me to "upgrade", mainly because the stuff I have just works.

Steel is steel. All is same to touch and looks (unless you have patina). You can't taste it or anything, and they all make same cuts.

You can totally buy Ontario Rat or Cold Steel Mini Recon1 or Voyager, or Buck 110 and be fully covered for EDC, then get some fixed blade too and that's it.

Only when you use "old" steels, you realize that those new super steels aren't that "super" or even needed in your daily life. You just don't need something like Magnacut unless you cut hundreds of meters of cardboard while drenched in satly water and then baton seasoned oak afterwards...

Sure, it's cool to have a knife that can do all that. And if you have one such fixed blade and one such folder that you keep using, it's perfection.

But if you accumulate 20 of them what did you accomplish? Such amazing pieces of cutlery are just collecting dust in a drawer or a safe. And steel industry keeps going forwards and soon it won't be newest and greatest. And you'll want that new thing even more

Stop chasing the dragon and just take a break to enjoy what you have.
 
LostCause said:
Start using the knives you have. Once you do that - other knives become irrelevant. I'm steadily decreasing the number of knives I have.

Currently:
ESEE6
AK47 Fixed Blade in CPM-3V
ESEE Izula
CRKT Minimalist Spear Point
Recon 1 spear point
K390 Delica

Also Ka-Bar Mark1 USN, but that one is just for keeping around, long story behind it.

You can notice I have 2 large fixed blades, 2 small fixed blades and 2 folders. Each with different properties. And I might reduce this number further. Just I love them all so I think it'll stay like this for a while.

Even new designs and Magnacut didn't get me to "upgrade", mainly because the stuff I have just works.

Steel is steel. All is same to touch and looks (unless you have patina). You can't taste it or anything, and they all make same cuts.

You can totally buy Ontario Rat or Cold Steel Mini Recon1 or Voyager, or Buck 110 and be fully covered for EDC, then get some fixed blade too and that's it.

Only when you use "old" steels, you realize that those new super steels aren't that "super" or even needed in your daily life. You just don't need something like Magnacut unless you cut hundreds of meters of cardboard while drenched in satly water and then baton seasoned oak afterwards...

Sure, it's cool to have a knife that can do all that. And if you have one such fixed blade and one such folder that you keep using, it's perfection.

But if you accumulate 20 of them what did you accomplish? Such amazing pieces of cutlery are just collecting dust in a drawer or a safe. And steel industry keeps going forwards and soon it won't be newest and greatest. And you'll want that new thing even more

Stop chasing the dragon and just take a break to enjoy what you have.
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Thanks for the advice. I'm already starting to think I have too many.
 
LostCause said:
Start using the knives you have. Once you do that - other knives become irrelevant. I'm steadily decreasing the number of knives I have.

Currently:
ESEE6
AK47 Fixed Blade in CPM-3V
ESEE Izula
CRKT Minimalist Spear Point
Recon 1 spear point
K390 Delica

Also Ka-Bar Mark1 USN, but that one is just for keeping around, long story behind it.

You can notice I have 2 large fixed blades, 2 small fixed blades and 2 folders. Each with different properties. And I might reduce this number further. Just I love them all so I think it'll stay like this for a while.

Even new designs and Magnacut didn't get me to "upgrade", mainly because the stuff I have just works.

Steel is steel. All is same to touch and looks (unless you have patina). You can't taste it or anything, and they all make same cuts.

You can totally buy Ontario Rat or Cold Steel Mini Recon1 or Voyager, or Buck 110 and be fully covered for EDC, then get some fixed blade too and that's it.

Only when you use "old" steels, you realize that those new super steels aren't that "super" or even needed in your daily life. You just don't need something like Magnacut unless you cut hundreds of meters of cardboard while drenched in satly water and then baton seasoned oak afterwards...

Sure, it's cool to have a knife that can do all that. And if you have one such fixed blade and one such folder that you keep using, it's perfection.

But if you accumulate 20 of them what did you accomplish? Such amazing pieces of cutlery are just collecting dust in a drawer or a safe. And steel industry keeps going forwards and soon it won't be newest and greatest. And you'll want that new thing even more

Stop chasing the dragon and just take a break to enjoy what you have.
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I am with Pete's take in this recent video. A steel that costs half as much as a supersteel, but provides only 10 or 20% of the performance is not a good value.
"Buy once, cry once."

 
The problem with our knife addiction is that it is legal in most states so you, and the rest of us knife nuts can get just about any knife we come across. I EDC a Spyderco Gayle Bradley #1 for use around the shop, yard, etc. That said, the most used knives in our house are the ones in a kitchen knife set I bought for the Dragon Lady to use in the kitchen when she's cooking. She is a wiz with them, and I would not want to get her mad when she is in the middle of one of her creations holding an 8" Chef knife. We bought a set of Victorinox Fibrox Kitchen knives. These are commercial grade kitchen knives. The price was very reasonable.


As mentioned previously on this thread if you have a knife you must get a good, easy to use sharpening system. I have used the Spyderco Tri-angle Sharpener forever with no problems. It is amazingly versatile and the price is reasonable.


 
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kobold said:
A steel that costs half as much as a supersteel, but provides only 10 or 20% of the performance is not a good value.
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This statement, standing alone, is as close to being so narrow as to be meaningless as I’ve seen in a long time.

I commend the dude for his empirical testing, it can provide a useful data point in a person’s overall analysis, and eventual choice of purchase. Additionally, for a person who likes Maxamet and/or Magnacut and wishes to persuade others, it can act as a “see, this proves it” argument.

However, believe it or not, edge retention demonstrated as cutting durability in one particular material is not the only aspect of knife ownership.

Suppose I worked in a marine chandlery where it was my job to cut rope to length, but only an average of ten times a shift. Suppose further that I was sufficiently skilled with freehand sharpening, or stropping or burnishing, to refresh my knife edge to paperslicing condition in a matter of seconds (but I frequently slowed it down to half a minute because I enjoyed the task).

Many knives are available to me at a number of price points. The ones that are a good value are selected by fitness for the task, not by claimed performance properties beyond (and arguably irrelevant to) the task.

Suppose that electric cars were sold on the basis of making 17 million left turns before the massively over designed Magnacut Pittman arm wore out. Suppose an old Chevy C10 with 200k on it had a tool steel Pittman arm that had reached the midpoint of its service life, and had only 2 million turns left in it before failure. One might state that the $70,000 electric car is a great value on that basis, and the $2000 work truck is a poor value. It’d be particularly ironic if the work truck hauled around the owner’s tools day after day for years, while the electric car sat in the owner’s garage because he rode his bicycle to his air conditioned office. Great value, indeed.

Kobold, I’m not mad at you. But if you had qualified the statement with “in my opinion” or “not a good value for me”, you sure coulda saved me a heap of typing.

TL,DR: the statement can only be true if the demonstrated property is relevant to usage and/or conditions.

Parker
 
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So my Para 3 arrived and out of all the knives I've purchased, it's by far my favorite. The second would be the Griptilian followed by the Drop Bear. I sent back the Viper Turn because although I loved that knife, I knew it was never really going to be used. To me, it's more of a showpiece. I like the Bugout but since I used it, it can't be returned so I'm gonna give it to my brother.
 
FTRrider said:
So my Para 3 arrived and out of all the knives I've purchased, it's by far my favorite. The second would be the Griptilian followed by the Drop Bear. I sent back the Viper Turn because although I loved that knife, I knew it was never really going to be used. To me, it's more of a showpiece. I like the Bugout but since I used it, it can't be returned so I'm gonna give it to my brother.
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Well now you need to get a Shaman lol.

I think my Para 2 crucarta is best overall right now I guess, just replaced my tanto version that was stolen with a crucata version, but the shaman is amazing too, it would be perfect if it didn't smack your finger on closing the lock! I have been drawn to bigger knives as crime keeps increasing. I like the shaman more, but for slicy tasks the full flat grind is better, and the knife is significantly lighter so I guess overall the crewear para 2 is great. Going to force myself to carry my civivi though I guess, I thought it would replace my old para 2 well, and it kinda does, but I just like the spydie holes so I ended up buying another anyways. Plus now I have 2 civivi conspirators, cause who wouldn't want an S35vn version? The spyderco just works so well without bearings (particular version is the best of my spydercos so far). THe downside to bearings is getting sand / dirt in them (IMO).

Wish we could conceal fixed blades here, feels too awckward walking around with one on my hip exposed.
Military 2 knife is also on my short list, but I want it in a new steel like Spy27 or something.

Quick picture.. waiting on clips.
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