Good thread here Brett, and I believe you have hit home with a lot of folks with an honest and interesting question. I don't think I can add to much to what has already been said here by others. But, only rather from my own experiences. And this thread has made me think about where it all started with me and the root cause of the question for myself on the subject of sharp steel tools for cutting purposes, from then to now. So I will add the following if I may..
As a very young boy I learned to freshwater fish, hunt, go frog gigging, go diving, saltwater fishing, spear fishing, go camping, hiking and have always generally loved the great out doors. With those activities I acquired lots of fishing tackle, firearms, bows and arrows, spear guns, dive gear and knives.. Knives of all kinds, including sheath knives and pocket knives. And I loved all of it because these were the tools of the trade as it were.. But their is something about knives for me. The all around tool that one who loves the outdoors and derives pleasure from all these outdoor activities has to have on his person and be able to use and use well to excel in regard to these outdoor activities. Filleting fish, gutting and skinning game, camp and cooking chores, ect.
Later on, I found myself a collector of gear of all kinds. And especially knives. So, I became a knife collector by definition, or more accurately a knife accumulator. At least at the time though I did not think of myself as a knife collector or even an accumulator. I just simply had a lot of sporting knives like all my other gear. I had several kinds of knives for each of the sporting activities I mentioned above by the time I was in my middle teens, probably totalling 25-30 or perhaps slightly more. It was only in the late 1970's and very early 1980's where I realized I was purchasing knives of different patterns and became interested in custom knives but was still using everything I bought.
Fast forward to the late 1980's and early 1990's and that's when I was actually purchasing custom knives in different patterns and by certain makers for collecting and so called investment purposes. I still purchased new and vintage USA production models as well to use. And at around the same time I became interested in the history of popular and not so popular patterns of all kinds of sheath knives and pocket knives of every type form England, Germany and the USA and the blade smiths who forged these classic pieces.
Today I routinely carry what I would term traditional knives of every kind. Some are pricey, some are not. Some are vintage, some are new, some are custom knives, some are production knives, sheath knives, slipjoints, locking folders.. But I like to carry what works and cuts well. Pricey, or not so pricey, for me they all have to cut well, just like when I started this little love affair with these sharp steel cutting tools. When it comes right down to it, that's pretty much all that matters.
