People who don't get it

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Knifenewbie3

Joined
Feb 18, 2014
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As I get more into knives and continue to start a collection, my family understands less. Being 18 I do buy everything myself, but I still get the disapproving lecture whenever anything knife related comes up. Typical "why are you buying another you already have enough." (I'm just glad they dont know the REAL number that I have so far;) ) Or the common "You spent WHAT on a knife??"

I know that being a younger forum member most of you probably don"t get lectured, but I know that everyone has family or people close to them that just don't get your love for knives. Obviously I simply ignore them and move on, but how do you guys typically deal with the people who don't get it?
 
I have a more understanding crowd in my circle, but here's the thing - it's better than buying too much booze (or other vices) and, outside of a computer, a knife has to be a contender for one of the most versatile objects on the planet. I imagine that anyone that judges you probably spends their money on something that doesn't quite make sense. Besides, knives do a great job of retaining, if not appreciating, in value, so there's little loss to be had (unless you pay way too much and you're reselling at a price that isn't reasonable)
 
Same thing with guns. However, I'm old enough that I can honestly say I don't give a rat's hiney what anyone else thinks. My money; my decision.
 
Don't Worry Bud,

I'm sure we have all gone through a similar situation before. I know that I have.

I found that over time, friends and family became more accepting of my hobby as they saw a pattern of acceptable discretionary spending. At the end of the day, they don't have to approve of your hobby. Just enjoy yourself!
 
Monofletch said:
I have a wife...at times it is worse than my Mother!!!!!! :o
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BINGO!!
Just wait until you start buying sharpening equipment too. My family gave me a hard time for a while too. Now they are amazed that my ability to sharpen.
At least it isn't drugs or porn. There are plenty of more dangerous things you could spend your money on
 
Do you still live at home? Do you pay rent? Maybe they wonder how much and how fast you dispose of your income in light of the needs that might be shared in the household. Are bills tight for the family? As much as I thought I was self funded at your age I look back now and realize where the subsidies came in. Honor and respect your tribe if they are decent people or break away if those aren't options and take care of your own costs.
 
Honestly, although I wouldn't encourage being actively dishonest with anyone in your family, especially as they probably do support you a lot unless you moved out, you don't necessarily have to tell them the real price of the bigger budget blades. You already don't tell them the real number in your collection right?

fortunately my family understands, but I bet a lot of the older guys here DO indeed get lectured to this day. By their wives. ;)
 
I must be one of the lucky ones as my wife never questions anything that I buy. Granted, my kids are on their own and I have had the same job for 14 years so there is stability. Still, I am glad that I don't have to explain every purchase.
 
RedLynx said:
I bet a lot of the older guys here DO indeed get lectured to this day. By their wives. ;)
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Hey, man, you talkin' to ME? Yeah, she has one basic concern. She wants me to NOT buy 'em on credit. She's afraid I'll die and leave her with the c-c bill and some knives she knows nothing about. Well, I am a bit guilty of that, but not planning on dying quite yet...however...
 
This is just my personal life opinion on the matter but, spending copious amounts of money on a hobby after you are established (long term job, home, etc.) is very different than spending money before you have those things.

Knives are useful and you should have a few for different situations you find yourself in. But I also think that you should set a budget and be saving your money.

Do you have a nest egg put away in case you need to spend money on a vehicle? Or move out? Or medical expenses? As long as you have your bases covered and have a financial plan you are working towards no one can say anything about what you do with money you have budgeted as "disposable". But if you are spending several grand a year on knives alone without having any kind of savings or plan than I think your parents have a valid reason for being concerned. 2k for 3 years is 6k dollars. Assuming you just saved that you'd potentially be looking at a down payment on a condo or something depending on where you live.

How old do you want to be before you are in a house?
 
Sonnydaze said:
Hey, man, you talkin' to ME? Yeah, she has one basic concern. She wants me to NOT buy 'em on credit. She's afraid I'll die and leave her with the c-c bill and some knives she knows nothing about. Well, I am a bit guilty of that, but not planning on dying quite yet...however...
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I think this is universal for "knife guys" with wives that don't understand our hobby. I ended up selling off my other hobby when we had children (because of my wife). Every spring I miss my motorcycle like I lost a child. With 2 kids and a third on the way money is pretty tight around here and I get that look every time I even look at buying another knife. Hell... I have one on the way from the exchange and in order to get the thumbs up from the wife on this purchase I had to agree this is the last knife I would personally buy for myself this year. It was hard... but I still have a birthday and Christmas to which others can still buy for me ;)
 
Styg said:
This is just my personal life opinion on the matter but, spending copious amounts of money on a hobby after you are established (long term job, home, etc.) is very different than spending money before you have those things.

Knives are useful and you should have a few for different situations you find yourself in. But I also think that you should set a budget and be saving your money.

Do you have a nest egg put away in case you need to spend money on a vehicle? Or move out? Or medical expenses? As long as you have your bases covered and have a financial plan you are working towards no one can say anything about what you do with money you have budgeted as "disposable". But if you are spending several grand a year on knives alone without having any kind of savings or plan than I think your parents have a valid reason for being concerned. 2k for 3 years is 6k dollars. Assuming you just saved that you'd potentially be looking at a down payment on a condo or something depending on where you live.

How old do you want to be before you are in a house?
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Depending on your age, it may be that in your parents view you are spending too much on knives. Do you have money enough for a car if someone runs a stop sign and totals yours? Do you have enough put by to pay rent plus security deposit on an apartment? Money for health care?

Life is about a lot more than our hobbies. The real world has a nasty habit of intruding when we least expect it. Hobbies ar entice, but leave money aside for emergencies.
 
I'm 17 and I have the same problem. When my bk17 came my grandpa about had a heart attack because unpaid 70 bucks for a knife. But hey. I have a great job and make good money. And it's somthing that will get used everyday. I just had more good reasons to have it than he had bad. I'm also in the same boat. I have the bk16 17 and kabar bull dozier.
 
I'm going to echo the practical guys here. At 18, unless you're fully funded by your family, you need to learn to live thin until you get some education, experience, and savings under your belt. I owned and carried two Spyderco knives from age 18 to 30. During that period I spent as little as possible, got a great education, worked hard and saved hard, and put 20% down on a house at the end. After that I loosened up the wallet a bit, bought more guns, knives, guitars, and tools than I really need.

There's too many cool things to buy. Especially knives. The variety of knives available lately blows me away. But most of that will be on eBay when you're out of college. So maybe it's best to make do with a couple decent knives and a cheap shotgun until you're done bootstrapping.
 
Tell them that spending money is patriotic, and you're just standing up for your rights--as a consumer.

USA-Bald-Eagle-Chrome-Theme.jpg
 
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I feel I should probably describe my personal situation a little bit more.. I live at home, I do have a job, and get paid an average amount for my age. I own a jeep and understand that I need a fund in case something happens, because something did just happened actually lol. I'm about to do an engine swap as mines trashed, certainly not cheap! I only buy when I can afford, as I have a small fund that I add to as I can afford. I am not self sustained, they pay for rent an most of my food, everything else I pay.
If I paid 2k a year I would have a heart attack myself! Definitely can't afford that haha :D I'm more a 500 a year IF I can afford it said year kinda guy.

I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, as I'm not saying this is a serious issue. I love my family dearly, though I'm definitely not going to give up my hobby simply because someone doesn't like it. I was simply bringing it up beacuse I know I'm not the only one out there that faces scrutiny from family or wives.

Maybe this should be moved to the Whine and Cheese section as I guess this was a post just to Whine and see how many other people are like me haha. Although I have a feeling they would rip me to shreds ;)
 
I'm 26, and I have various knives from Benchmade, Spyderco, ZT, Kershaw and others which I paid for. My family's reactions range from fascination (little brothers), to eye rolling (mom), to "why do you need so many knives" (dad). However, my mom was singing a very different song when I sharpened her dull kitchen knives to a razor edge. I took my grandparent's kitchen knives from ruler-dull to singing-sharp. My family knows that I'm the knife guy, and they respect me for it because I show them firsthand that I am able to use them safely and in the family's common benefit.
 
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