Obsessing over knives, carry remorse

I have no remorse but I definitely have many more knives in my collection than I need, which has actually led me to pass on many knives that I may have purchased before.

The collection really needs to be culled but I'm just too lazy to get into "sell mode" (right now) which requires a lot more effort than when I'm in "buy mode.' I'll get around to it eventually but I'm Just not ready to do that right now.
 
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I actually just finished selling off all of the knives that I thought were “too nice to carry“. It’s taken six months to dispose of them all as they were invariably rather on the expensive side. So now I still have a few “nice knives” (Reeve, Spartan, Medford types) but they are all now daily carriers. Now, no guilt, no anxiety, no whatever else. Sure is nice to just enjoy these suckers without any internal psychological drama….and a lot less expense as well!
 
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I smooth things out by carrying more than one. I always have a small traditional slip joint in my pocket with a modern larger flipper clipped to pocket. Then if I need more blade I add a Buck 110 to my back pocket.

If I’m doing outdoors activities I add to my carry an appropriate fixed blade for the occasion. If that’s not enough I have a variety of knives and cutting tools stashed in my pickup just in case. Lol. Sometimes simplification is simply having more than really needed cause it’s better to have it and not need it than not having it and feeling stupid cause you coulda had it. 😆
 
Another thing is I don’t have a lot of fancy, purty or high end knives. To me $200 is high end so I’ve got only a few in that range but I still put them to work to some extent. Mostly I get the knives with more mundane but tough materials and plain so that I don’t feel bad if it gets a ding or scratch. I’ve reminded myself many times that they are only tools for using. Life is to short not to enjoy what you have worked hard for.
 
chevyrulez1 said:
I have been having an issue lately, my collection has grown to moderately ridiculous levels. I have lots of knives that I love, many for different reasons, and lately am struggling to try to pick one to carry. After I pick one, drop it in my pocket or clip it on, and walk away to carry on with my day I almost immediately start feeling regret over my choice and wondering if I shouldn’t have gotten something else. I know this is ridiculous and so I will just pick one and tell myself I am going to stick with it for a few days, and by the time I get home from work I end up changing it out for something else. I almost wish I could have my entire collection with me so I could use whatever I fancy at that moment for whatever purpose. I’m sure I am not the only one who has experienced this. I absolutely love the idea of having an edc user knife that goes with you every day, but at the same time I am horrified at the thought of only being able to have one because part of the fun for me is experimenting with different things. Anyone else suffer from “carry decision remorse syndrome”?
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I have a set of pretty well established EDC’s, but wearing a vest makes room for a “guest knife/pocket” into which I can insert a knife which I want to take a closer look at or might be handy for a specific job. Even my EDC’s do not get heavy use, but I just like having them around.
 
chevyrulez1 said:
I have been having an issue lately, my collection has grown to moderately ridiculous levels. I have lots of knives that I love, many for different reasons, and lately am struggling to try to pick one to carry. After I pick one, drop it in my pocket or clip it on, and walk away to carry on with my day I almost immediately start feeling regret over my choice and wondering if I shouldn’t have gotten something else. I know this is ridiculous and so I will just pick one and tell myself I am going to stick with it for a few days, and by the time I get home from work I end up changing it out for something else. I almost wish I could have my entire collection with me so I could use whatever I fancy at that moment for whatever purpose. I’m sure I am not the only one who has experienced this. I absolutely love the idea of having an edc user knife that goes with you every day, but at the same time I am horrified at the thought of only being able to have one because part of the fun for me is experimenting with different things. Anyone else suffer from “carry decision remorse syndrome”?
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Jeeeeez, no. One thing I am is decisive. Just pick one and go with it. Don’t second guess yourself.
 
Ya... I don't really stress about it.
Sometimes I carry one knife for weeks, other times I switch my carry out three times a day.

I again don't over think it.
Just kinda pick one I'm feeling and head out or in :p
This thread needs one thing ...
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Lesknife said:
I smooth things out by carrying more than one.

If that’s not enough I have a variety of knives and cutting tools stashed in my pickup just in case.
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This is me as well.

Lesknife said:
Another thing is I don’t have a lot of fancy, purty or high end knives. To me $200 is high end so I’ve got only a few in that range but I still put them to work to some extent. Mostly I get the knives with more mundane but tough materials and plain so that I don’t feel bad if it gets a ding or scratch. I’ve reminded myself many times that they are only tools for using. Life is to short not to enjoy what you have worked hard for.
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This is 100% me as well.
I carry a SAK, fixed blade, and sometimes a folder, daily. I have a Maxpedition “pocket organizer” that has an ESEE Candiru and Spyderco Dragonfly inside it that goes everywhere with me. In my truck, there is a machete, hatchet, folding saw, ESEE 4, and another SAK. I have spares of knives I really like and I rotate my knives on occasion but they are all very similar in design and materials and nothing fancy. Anything that I no longer use, like, or want gets given away, otherwise it would stress me out. As a matter of fact I have some that I’m planning to get rid of soon, so I can thin the herd.
 
I have many knives, but I tend to carry the same two a lot. I use them a lot, and I like their familiarity so much that it’s pretty tough for another knife to knock them out of the #1 and #2 spots. Happens occasionally, though.

Here’s my take on the issue you’re describing - let your usage decide.

Do your typical daily uses require certain knife features? For (a goofy) example, is batoning enough kindling to start a campfire a daily task for you? If so, then make sure one of your carries will stand up to that task without damage. If you know that you’re going to cut 100 pieces of rope, or slice 100 loaves of bread, consider something serrated and see which of your collection best suits the work. This could be called the “don’t be caught short” approach, carry the best knife you have for the tasks you foresee.

If your average daily cutting is more general or not as demanding, and it’s likely that almost any knife could perform it, you might benefit from the “give ‘em all a fair chance” approach instead. Line up all your knives by alphabetical order, or color, weight, length of blade or any other criteria you choose. Set your goal to carry each one for a set period of time, maybe one a day if you have 365 entries, maybe a whole week if you’re looking at 52. In any case, don’t carry the same one twice until you’ve carried them all once. This plan will give you a predictable sequence to follow, acquaint you with the desirable and disappointing features of each knife, and hopefully cut your agonizing down to a manageable level. Keep notes.

After one year (or other arbitrary period), THEN do the large scale evaluation, and decide what to keep or move. You’ll have a rational basis for your decisions, and more confidence that you’re doing the right thing.

Like Gilbert implied, this feeling is just a hazard of affluence. Many people in other times and places have had only one knife, and worked it hard continually til they wore it out. Then, if they were lucky, they found a new favorite that worked as well. I have a worn out 6” butcher knife from 1906 on my rack, there’s about 3/8” of it left. Somebody used that one hard over the years, but took good care of it. It reminds me that my ancestors did a lot more with a lot less than I have today, and makes me humble about it.

Parker
 
This thread is like a breath of fresh air to me! For years I really thought I was alone with these feelings / issues! It’s dawned on me in the last year that maybe that wasn’t the case but, wow!

For me the only solution is the EDC knife, a knife that goes in the pocket everyday. I sold / gave away my entire collect ( 120 or so) and chased the perfect ONE knife solution. I even went a year and a half owning / carrying one knife.
Turns out for me the answer was a work knife and a pocket knife. Now the stress is gone and I just enjoy have and using the two in the roll they fit. Well at least that will be the way it is after completing my second 1YC over in the CRK thread…
As for buying and selling well that is a sickness I’ve yet to completely vanquish in full but I’m thinking that as of last night I’m down to just one more!!:p
 
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ktataragasi said:
Maybe try putting your least favorite ones away somewhere out of sight. This way you don't have as many to choose from and if you don't think about them maybe then you could get rid of those.

I never had a huge collection but I had more than I could reasonably carry and I would stress about not using them enough. So I sold a bunch that didn't get used. I replaced some busy most I sold in glad I did.
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I tend to put away my absolute keepers and leave the least favorites at home too, because I'm strange and have an embarrassment of lovely production knives that are all great for a daily driver
 
My OCD is a little different. I’m a newb so I don’t have a ton of knives to pick from. And I’ve always been one of those people that, if I get something I really like, I get another one so when the first one wears out I’ll still have one (Let’s be fair, though, doesn’t it suck when you have something that is just perfect in every way, and when you finally wear it out, you can’t find anything remotely as good to replace it?)

Anyway, my first knife was a Kershaw Leek. I got the all black model and after using it a bit I decided I liked it too much to damage it, so I got another blackwash version for EDC (if I scratch that one who’ll know?). It doesn’t make sense (who needs TWO Kershaw Leeks?), but it also didn’t break the bank, so whatever.

But now I am putting aside pennies for the Factor when it comes out, and guess what? I’m already thinking I’ll need a second one to actually carry around so I can “protect” the first one!

Not only am I a crow that goes for shiny objects, but apparently I need duplicates so I can keep the first ones shiny.
 
I've had expensive knives. I would carry them, but never use them. I would use my SAK instead. Kind of took the fun out of it.
Through necessity, I was forced to sell all of my nicer knives. I have been slowly rebuilding my knife collection.
This time, I am focusing on good quality knives that are inexpensive. I actually carry and use them. My experience is more satisfying. I do miss my nice knives, but I never actually used them. I didn't want to scratch them up. And when I did scratch them, I was mortified.
 
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