Problem

Agree with the "wait" and "patience" crowd. You have a lot of years of collecting yet to go. No need to chance a major escalation with your parents over it at this stage of the game. Respect their perspective now and soon you'll be in a position to make these decisions for yourself without the stress associated with defying them or trying so hard to persuade them that they lose some measure of confidence in your judgement.

I have a Cryo, as my EDC, by the way. It's a great little knife for short $.
 
dutchknifeguy said:
Thank you all for the replies!
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NP, it's what BF does. Since you're new I'll tell you that the quality of conversation here is dependent on the humility of the poster and willingness to read and search the forums. Nobody will put you down for being new; Off too a good start, :thumbup:
 
You guys aren't considering that in Europe he is likely to live with his parents for several more years. But your parents probably just don't want you to get in trouble which happens easily with a knife in Europe. In Greece I had the same problems years ago. There really aren't many who carry knives over there and they are looked as ruffians or soccer hooligans.

It's a bit more complicated than everyone here thinks. That's all I'm saying. And everyone here says "listen to your parents" because they are now parents. They forget all the things they hid from their parents at your age. If you're only wanting to collect traditional slip joints I'd say just do it and hope for the best. You should probably stay away from locking tactical knives though. Those are weapons and it's hard to argue otherwise. Very risky to carry in Europe for anyone.
 
Lots of good ideas here. Listen to them :). And I'd personally stay away from the tactical folders for now, as that likely would reinforce your parents thoughts on the matter.

Another idea is to take a different route. I would invest in some quality kitchen knives for you and your parents to use in the kitchen. You can teach about proper use, can show skill in sharpening, and responsibility. And importantly, you'll show them that they are just useful tools.

Just a thought.

Good luck :).
 
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Demon613 said:
I was in a similar situation when I was your age but with firearms.

I found it was easier to acquire the weapons without their consent or knowledge and then move out of their house as soon as possible and live your life the way you want.

It took a number of years but I was able to whittle down their reluctance towards the "need" or even usefulness of owning weapons. Now they see that they're "necessary" for a variety of reasons. Of course, I've been in the military and police for over a decade so I've used every single terrorist event or violent crime as an in-your-face-see-I-told-you-so example as to why individuals cannot, and should not, outsource their self-defense to a disinterested third party. (police or military)

As long as you live in their home you are their "child" and will never be their equal in terms of dialogue or decision. Be secretive and deceptive. Or give up your hoplophile nature. Or leave.
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That's about the worst advice I've seen on blade forums....

Be deceptive and secretive? That sounds like a great way to live life, especially for a 17 year old who's still living with his parents and presumably being at least partially supported by them.
OP, as everybody else said, patience is probably a good thing now. Give it some time and you'll be supporting yourself and probably much more financially able to fund knife purchases anyways. I see the root issue being your parents thinking a little differently about tools and self reliance than you do. I think most of us here view knives and all the other tools/gear we collect as not only cool, but also a vital part of taking care of yourself, and being able to handle problems and situations yourself, without relying on someone else's expertise or tools.

That's a good thing. Focus on showing your parents the practical skills that come along with responsible knife ownership, and help them appreciate how your scout skills (especially a do it yourself mentality) can help you in life. THAT may actually help your current situation way more than insisting on buying more tactical knives that scare them further. They're still your parents, you will have to deal with your relationship with them for a very long time. You will be better off working to maintain that through respect and understanding.

I'm pretty sure Demon's suggestions might help you increase your collection size but it definitely won't help your happiness in your home life. Just my .02
 
An alternative I did not see mentioned:
Your parents seem to have an issue with the quantity of your collection.
Perhaps you could sit down and get real pragmatic with yourself and figure out 2 or 3 knives you don't really need. Sell them. Then you can tell your parents "Look, I know you have a problem with how many knives I own, I sold these 3 can I buy this 1 knife?"

It is a bit of a gamble as they may still say no and then you're just short a couple knives.

Just an idea.

I don't know what your storage options are but you said your going to college soon. You may consider getting a nice lockbox to secure your collection. Roommates are snoopy.
 
I don't really think selling some of the knives would be a good option for me. Most of the knives I currently own have some sort of sentimental value (first knife, gift, certain story, etc.)

As for storage, I currently keep my knives neatly organized in my desk drawer. Roommates won't really be a problem when I go to college because here in The Netherlands you usually rent a tiny room for yourself. I could definetely improve my knife storage though.

Thank you for your reply by the way!
 
Hahaha. I wish it was that easy!

Although I think there are a lot of things wrong here in The Netherlands, I still love this country and I don't see myself moving to another country anytime soon.
 
I've been buying knives since 15 and I bought menu first 400 dollar folder when I was 18. I had to buy these my self since it was my hobby. Try working making some money and then u can do what u want. At that point it's not up to them if u want a folder to carry.
 
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