Question for my fellow knife nuts...

SHKnives

SHKnives

Joined
May 27, 2013
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So I am just wondering how many of you all out there that have a knife collection actually use all your knives? I have a pretty good collection now and find myself babying some of them which I know is stupid because its a freakin knife so its meant to me used. Say for example you have 5 or 6 knives of one particular brand you really like, do you use them all equally or only have 1 you really use and baby the rest?
 
Some get used more than others (not because of how much they cost, but because some work better for certain tasks) but they all get used. I generally don't buy a knife if I'm not willing to use it.
 
The only one I don't use is my Damascus Skyline. Other than that, I have nearly 30 folders and they're all users
 
I have some knives that will never be carried or used. I have others that I use that are as expensive as the ones that I won't use. It's all about what something means to you, I guess. I definitely have enough users.
 
All my knives get used, some just get used harder than others. Some knives, like my Benchmade Switchback, only get carried on special occasions, but they are still used. If I don't use or carry them, they get cleared out. A knife ain't worth owning if it isn't gonna be used.
 
I use all my knives except my small micarta sebenza because it was an anniversary present from my wife. I plan to get another plain seb for using
 
Well, all of my folders are crap exept for my leek (i really only just got serious about knivez) so i carry that whenever im not in school. When i get my 0200, it will probably replace my leek for primary carry, exept for times where I'll be around people who are a little more sharp object sensitive, and despite my leek being dlc coated, it still looks relatively harmless when opened modestly.
No i don't have any safe queens, but than again i don't do anything u would call hard use, or even mild use for the matter...
 
I try to use all of my knives equally, I have one particular knife that I have 3 2 of, I do find myself babying one, of all the reasons, I like the color of the scales... but for the most part they all get treated equally. One other I haven't really found the heart to use, it's a damascus by BACustoms (I've purchased my whole collection from here). One of the major reasons that I don't use it often is that I lack a proper sheath for every day use. I'm sure once I get something I feel comfortable wearing I'm sure it'll get it's use too...
 
NateReed said:
The only one I don't use is my Damascus Skyline. Other than that, I have nearly 30 folders and they're all users
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Oh you should man! It slices so nice at gets back to a wicked sharpness easily.

If I'm buying it, I'm using it.
 
Since when is there a negative connotation to being a collector? I have many fewer knives then I once had and even then only a handful will ever see actual use. A single knife can last a lifetime and it is pretty wasteful to continue to ding up new knives before you have even had the chance to break in your previous knife. Most of us probably have cheap knives in the kitchen which have continously served our families since grandparents purchased them many decades ago, yet many insist on rotating their pocket knives, although these likely see far less use then our kitchen knives. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you simply like knives, that you find the many locking machanisms intriging, the smooth and elegant lines nothing less than artistic scuplture, and the endless variety of shapes and sizes cuturally and historically interesting.

n2s
 
I don't own any safe queens. Period. Hell, my Alan Davis Elmax Flipper I just got in spent its first day in my possession in my pocket at work. Same for my CRK Umnumzaan. If I'm paying $400+ for a knife, it best be able to handle cutting boxes, tape, tie straps, and shrink wrap at work!
 
All of mine get used but not equally. Just as I use discretion when choosing what clothes to wear each day, the same thought process decides what knives I'll carry any given part of the day/night.
 
I use them all except for my red Persian - because it's kind of awkward feeling and My Delica Damascus Sprint buy it is not because it is too pretty, it is because it doesn't have a clip. I don't carry my small Sebenza too much mostly because it is small, I should have bought at large.
 
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I try to use them all, but I have also been buying and trading non collector knives. All sub $100 users and I love it! In using the knives and freehand sharpening I can feel the difference in the steel composition in addition to appreciating or hating the design and ultimately performance of each knife. I have been trying to look at it all from a pragmatic standpoint of knives as tools and how to build a better mousetrap. Meaning there are so many knife designs out there but that the end of the day its still a tool to be used. At least the cheapie knives are! lol
 
not2sharp said:
Since when is there a negative connotation to being a collector? I have many fewer knives then I once had and even then only a handful will ever see actual use. A single knife can last a lifetime and it is pretty wasteful to continue to ding up new knives before you have even had the chance to break in your previous knife. Most of us probably have cheap knives in the kitchen which have continously served our families since grandparents purchased them many decades ago, yet many insist on rotating their pocket knives, although these likely see far less use then our kitchen knives. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you simply like knives, that you find the many locking machanisms intriging, the smooth and elegant lines nothing less than artistic scuplture, and the endless variety of shapes and sizes cuturally and historically interesting.

n2s
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exactly what ive been lookig for to explain my facination with knives, thanks you... Also, it helps explain why i cant get rid of my cheap bowie, cant cut or anything, just love it...
 
not2sharp said:
Since when is there a negative connotation to being a collector? I have many fewer knives then I once had and even then only a handful will ever see actual use. A single knife can last a lifetime and it is pretty wasteful to continue to ding up new knives before you have even had the chance to break in your previous knife. Most of us probably have cheap knives in the kitchen which have continously served our families since grandparents purchased them many decades ago, yet many insist on rotating their pocket knives, although these likely see far less use then our kitchen knives. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you simply like knives, that you find the many locking machanisms intriging, the smooth and elegant lines nothing less than artistic scuplture, and the endless variety of shapes and sizes cuturally and historically interesting. n2s
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I don't think there is a negative too it all, I also only buy knives that interest me but I do like to carry them as well. Carrying is the other half of the fun of owning them for me. If I ... when I win the lottery I will definitely keep a few that will never see business side of a piece of packing tape. I will oogle them from a far while sipping champagne cocktails at poolside. Till then I will have to be content with splitting pallet straps with the latest sprint run.
 
To me the beauty of a knife is it's function. Which is cutting. For me personally I won't keep a knife if it isn't one I am going to use. In fact I do not really see a point in spending a ton of dough for premium materials just for it to sit on a shelf. I EDC a $300+ Tom Krein fixed blade often. And I am not going to spend $600 on one of his folders for it to sit around either.

That is just where I am coming from. I do not condemn those that choose to have a collection of knives they don't use. To each their own. :)
 
Every knife I own is a user. The only reason some knives don't get carried because I like got an upgrade to them. The only reason that I don't get rid of the ones that I don't carry is because I like fondling them. So either way they get "used".

Honestly though, IMO, if I had to rely on a knife for my job, that job is probably not going to pay enough for me to buy awesome knives to make my job easier.

Luckily I happen to have a job that pays decent enough for me to buy awesome knives, but it does not rely on having an awesome knife so that reduced my knives to cutting mail and packaging for more knives. How ironic.
 
I usually carry a Sebenza. I buy and sell folders because I find them interesting. I seldom carry any of the ANIB knives before they are gone again.
 
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