Safe Queens and Users: And How does Joe Hillbilly decide?

2knife

2knife

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Mar 13, 2002
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Safe Queens and Users: What are the differences?

Interested to know, what criteria do you consider, buying, deciding what to do with the merchandise.

Do you ever decide, after years of owning a particular knife, to start using it for the first time? ..thoughts/stories welcomed.
David
 
I have a theory, it is usually a case of the money.

How do we get around this?

People use production knives more often because they are not one-of-a-kind, are affordable. I think the fear of ruining a good knife, scratching it up, decreasing value, or losing a pristine example of the makers work- these are things i think about.

Am i on track about this?

If you use your custom knives, how do you pick the Users? what unique/desirable qualities make these far too important to go un-used?

Mine, if the knife is a perfect utility size, around 3-4" blade, not too expensive, has a dream fit, comfortable, and not too pretty I'll use it, if it doesn't cost too much, I'll sharpen it, if its around $100 I won't mind some abuse.

I can't use even a $300 knife, going through everything from yardwork to general chores where i need to sharpen it regularly. I'm a bit frugal. My collection of Ed Fowler knives is like its own museum, except 2- which i handle often, cut stuff occasionally, but mostly keep as "friends".
David
 
My cutoff for a knife I will use is $500 - with the majority of my custom users falling closer to $200. I really enjoy using a custom knife, but have a hard time putting anything more costly than that into play. I have inteded to on occasion, but can't quite make myself do it. I picked up a black powder coated micarta-gaurded Dan Farr camp knife at Blade that I may actually use - remains to be seen.

Roger
 
If it's mine I'll use it sooner or later. When I'm not using a knife I made, I like to use this Randall I have because it's real old and the brown snap blends well with my camo.:D
 
I've got more knives than I could possibly justify using... So normally (at this point) I buy with the intent to safe queen. However, every now and then a new one comes home that begs to be used (and possibly replace a current user.)

Of course, when you sell users, you take a beating generally speaking. I might be in the minority, but I'd rather lose 100 dollars after having a year or two of fun with a great knife than maintain that 100 dollars in the safe. I call it "cheap" entertainment ( i have friends that play golf or ride harleys, so knives aren't that expensive!)

Now, losing 500 dollars on a used $2k knife, that's a little different story. I wouldn't break in a plus 1k knife unless I was REALLY convinced it was a "keeper." There are only a very few of those that I would use, but I have many 500 dollar users. (kind of funny when you go deer hunting with a knife that's just as or even more expensive than your bow or rifle!)
 
Besides the $ issue is the fact that many of us live lives where anything else than a small folder is less-than-useful and / or illegal.
 
I don't have any REALLY expensive knives, ($650 max at this point) and at this point in my life, I can't really own stuff just because I want to. Financially, I'm not really there, and in general, economy is my mantra.

When I come across a custom knife I want I always have to justify the purchase by using it. I'm not like a lot of collectors I guess, but I can't afford to buy knives that I will not use. Expensive ones anyway;) I do have a few, (well lots) that I don't have a use for, but relatively speaking have very little money tied up into.

You can't count on a production knife in the way you can count on a handmade knife from a guy who knows what he's doing. My custom knives are FOR utility, not decoration. Not that there's anything wrong with that...:)
 
Nearly all of what I collect are hunters with blades less than 5". That makes it easier for me to justify using them because, to me, (and those are two key words) they actually have a purpose. I also live and work in a place where I can use them every day if I want. While I enjoy the challenge of making a large knife, I don't have much use for one, nor do I collect them and I can see where it would easily become a safe queen. I think that they would be just eye candy if I started collecting them.

While I understand that using these knives degrades the value that is not something I worry much about because my knives are keepers. I don't mind at all buying a knife that has some miles on it, as long as it has not been abused. Even one that is a little beat up is ok, if the price is right, and it is one that strikes me. That Randall I mentioned was one that had seen its share of hunting camps over the years and is still ready to go again. I really enjoy the looks I get with that knife hanging on my belt and I doubt it will get much more wear than it already has.
 
...and the blades I find most useful have an overall length of at least a foot!LOL
 
I have always used my customs . I fight with myself about which ones and I have some safe queens that will never be carried mostly damascus pieces that are hard to touch up. I have traveled alot to remote place's in Africa to Asia and most places in between. I believe the reason I started buying custom knives 20 some years ago was because I wanted a blade that I could count on and could not find it in the prouduction knives of the time. The last few years I have been carrying a Bagwell bowie either on me when I am not wearing a pack or in the pack if I have one. I do not use it for a screwdriver and I do not abuse it but If I ever need a knife I want to make sure I can bet my ass on it and that is why I got into custom knives. A properly made knife is like a little extra insurance when your life might count on it. Some knives beg to be used but due to finish or materials they sit in a box which is fine and I enjoy knowing that my carbon stag Bagwell has a twin brother in a case just in case. How one became a user and one a safe queen my decision was not made on feel so much they are very close. It was made on finish the one was a little bit cleaner so she went in the box. To be honest I have carried that one also but have just been a little more careful. Point is ya carry the best knife you can afford and the more remote ya go the more you depend on your stuff if ya ever need it it ain't gonna do ya no good at home and when I die my kids are just gonna sell all my stuff at a yard sale probale so the way I figure it I might as well enjoy some of them before somebody else does.
 
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If I am purchasing a user, I never spend money on fancy materials that aren't going to make any difference in the performance of the knife.
 
I don't have an "on-off" criteria. Usually the more expensive and delicate knives (some have heat or other coloring that could not be repaired without a complete re-make, or special handles) get only light use. These I carry for the sake of having some beautiful art in my pocket.
Anything that could be replaced, or re-finished/repaired if necessary, gets harder, more frequent use. A basic production knife just gets used.
At the current time I only have 2 knives I won't use. Both knifemakers are now deceased and the knives are special, beautiful, and irreplaceable.
Here's a picture of my George Beechey. Imagine trying to repair the finish on this blade!
blade.jpg

Greg
 
I never buy a knife with the thought of ever reselling it , so all mine become users. The most I have ever paid for a knife was an Onion MidTech I scored in a lottery , couldnt bring myself to use it so I sold it.

I stay under $450 for knives. But each gets carried and used. If it hangs around and doesn't get used , it gets sold.

Just like guns , I can't own something and not use it , it flat out drives me nuts , i wont own something I have to worry about getting scratched or marked up. While I may not abuse my knives , they dont get pampered either.
 
I applaud those who have the opportunity to use their customs often. My needs are stringent and a short selection of knives succeed in opening cardboard boxes and cutting rope, etc at my boatyard.

I have about 3-4 fixed users for this, and about 3-4 gents folders I rotate. Most less than $500.

That said, I have accumulated over 70 custom knives, and just last week I needed to touch into those values to spend money in another direction...

In two weeks, I was able to sell 15 knives. Quickly, and with a slight profit! (There is an averaging). Every one I sold was considered 'mint' with one exception: my Hudson Boar Hunter which had been a 'user'.

Point being that once you decide to use a knife, you are committed to the loss when or if the time comes to sell it. I will submit that a 50% reduction isn't out of line. That's a hard number to swallow, if you have purchased more edge than cutting needs dictate.

Buy quality, and do your homework. I still have a lot of safe queens. Love them!

Coop
 
I follow SharpbyCoop's advice. I'll generally handle the knives and play with them, but wont use them unless I'm committed
 
I guess you just have to decide up front if you are buying for the satisfaction of using or for eventual resell. I can't not use something I buy , it's a sickness. :)
 
I just started buying custom knives about two years ago, but it wasn't until this year that I started buying knives with the specific intent of keeping them as pristine display pieces (and I do mean display, no hiding in safes around here). Now that is not to say that my knives up to that point were all users, but I would have described them as knives that I just hadn't gotten around to using.

I have two knives now that are designated as users and have seen some real action: a Burt Foster integral and the Jason Knight adventure grade bowie that I picked up at Blade this year. I spent between $600 and $700 on each of them and to me it's money well spent as these knives not only perform better than any production knife that I've ever owned, but they also look better while they're on the job. :D
 
Hmm- I find myself in an interesting position- like several others here, I haven't been able to bring myself to use any of my more expensive knives. I've even learned to buy used if it's a knife that appeals to me as a user (as opposed to interesting, unusual, pretty, art, etc.)

Much of my fixed blade buying has been aimed at finding "the" knife, you know, the one that will do everything and you'll have for the rest of your life. Now, obviously, part of this is sheer romance, but I also feel that the the more familiar you are with a tool the better you get at using it.

I've pretty much decided that one of Ed Fowler's Pronghorns is a likely suspect. So now the question is whether I will be able to bring myself to use a knife that costs about 3 times as much as my most expensive safe queen? I sure can't afford to "collect" it!

Comments welcome!
 
Question:
How do you collector folks feel about a knife that has been used a bit, and then sent back to the maker to be refurbished to "as new" condition before resale? Even if it is exactly the same as the day it left his shop the first time, would that make you hesitate to buy it?

Furthermore, if you know the maker has a policy/option of refurbishing a knife to like new condition (for a reasonable fee) would that make you more inclined to use it? (i.e., knowing you can always send it back to be cleaned up if you gets some scuffs on it, etc.)

A while back I read someone say something along the lines of-
If you want to use that knife, but can't bring yourself to it just because it's your prettiest and most expensive knife, then just buy yourself a different knife that's even prettier and more expensive. :D Sounds like solid reasoning to me!
 
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