Jordan, I fully intended to respond to your thread much earlier, but work has been crazy since February and I haven't been able to give BF the attention I'd sometimes like to. But I'll warn you that my response is going to be from "the dark side", from out in "5 sigma land", from somebody who has gradually gone off the deep end.
You asked how many knives I carry, and where. Today (and for at least the past couple of months) I have 10 knives and a multitool on me. Here's a photo of how some of them are carried:
In the blue belt pouch, worn on my left hip, are my cell phone, a flashlight, a no-name keychain multitool, and 3 traditional folders. Today the folders are a silver Vic Electrician (when I took the photo, I happened to have a black Pioneer as a change of pace from the Electrician), a chestnut bone CV Sodbuster Jr., and a "sawed-off" Opinel #8. In the leather slip on the right in the photo is an old shell-handled, 2-bladed Imperial toothpick. In the "double slip" on the left I have a Colt teardrop jack and a Schrade USA 34 OT. Unpictured are a Case chestnut bone CV swayback jack in my watch pocket, an old resuscitated Imperial serpentine jack stuck in a whittling thumbguard and a Vic Minichamp in my left front pocket, and a stainless delrin Case peanut in the pocket of my coat.
You also asked
why some of us carried multiple knives. In my case, it's certainly NOT because I NEED them. When I was a kid growing up on a dairy farm, I used my scout knife for chores and for fun multiple times each day for about 10 years. But then I went about 45 years without ever carrying a pocket knife, and I really didn't have any need for one. My life today is no different than it has been since I left the farm; I can easily get through most days without using a pocket knife. One of my big challenges since I recently became re-interested in knives is trying to find uses for the knives I carry; I've taken up whittling as a way to use my knives, and it's quite enjoyable, but certainly doesn't call for carrying 10 knives at a time.
So why DO I tote around all these blades that I rarely use? I certainly have a lot of sympathy for the reasons that jackknife and jc57 gave: I like knives, and it's enjoyable to have a variety to pull out and admire/use at idle moments during the day. But sentimentality is the main reason I have so many knives in my pockets each day. I've always been overly appreciative of the gifts I receive: my keys are on a little WWJD lanyard, my change is in a Mackinac Island coin purse, and my wallet is Spanish leather, all gifts from my daughter over the years. Similarly, when the dermatologist said several years ago that I have to wear a ball cap whenever I go outside, regardless of time of year, I started wearing about 8 caps in rotation, 7 of which are gifts from my wife or daughter. When I joined BladeForums, I was astounded by the kindness, generosity, and thoughtfulness of folks here, and I received an amazing amount of gift knives in the 8 or 9 months I've been a member. I think of carrying these knives as a privilege, and sort of an obligation, and as a reminder of the generous spirit of people I've met here. So among the knives I'm packing today are an Electrician from gregc, a Sodbuster Jr from a BigBiscuit GAW, a toothpick and a serpentine jack and a modified Opinel and a 34 OT from davek14, a swayback jack from Paul Hilborn, and a peanut from Cory Hess.
I admit that 10 knives per day seems over the top, and when I have some time (like walking to the bus stop or before I go to sleep at night) I've been trying to plan out a more rational rotation. For example, I currently have 3 Schrades, 3 Cases, and 3 Imperials, with a small, medium, and large version of each. So I think I'll eventually go into a 3-week rotation where I carry 3 knives each week; each week's carry will include a small, a medium, and a large and a Case, a Schrade, and an Imperial. If I could stop there, that would be pretty good, cutting back from 10 knives to 3. But there are more knives I'd want in my ideal rotation: I'm considering another set of 3 consisting of a different Rough Rider, SAK, and Spanish knife each week (that would probably be a 6 week rotation to get through all my knives in those categories). And then I'd probably carry 2 other knives
every day as my "working" knives: my Electrician and a Vic Classic or Minichamp. So my "rational" carry plan represents a 20% cut, from ten to eight knives each day! Not much hope for me, but I'm having fun!
- GT
:thumbup:
