Sayin' Goodbye!

[B.F.U]

I'm not much of a collector.

But that collection, wow, I can appreciate that. Truly amazing.

 

[herder]

Incredible collection and display!!!
Beyond the knives, I hope the new custodian appreciates the time and energy which was spent in putting this amazing exhibit together.

 

[waynorth]

Overwhelming! Thanks all of you for the compliments and condolences!!

I am going to take your collective advice and put together another display or two.
I will keep you all posted here (of course!!)

 

[Primble]

The plane is coming from Montana, and is headed here to pick up a collection of Empire knives, one that has won awards for me at the Oregon Knife Show! It has also graced my den and "knife room" for many years.

Mixed feelings here. . . . . . . .a little remorse perhaps. I remember fondly the hunt for knives worthy of a showpiece, a display that would speak to the skill and greatness of the Cutlery industry of over 100 years ago.

It is in the air as we speak, and a class ride it is!!

Ah yes, it is the next page!! Must indeed be PTk . . .whatever!
Here she be!

I hope that gets all the knives. Some nices ones in there!!

Man - what a fabulous collection of old knives!! :thumbup:

I have mixed feelings about this too. On one hand I am very happy for you, that you apparently sold that most wonderful collection as you wanted. On the other hand, I know you would have to have some degree of remorse to let go of it - I know I would. I hope it turns out to be the right decision for you and yours. Thank you for sharing this experience with the rest of us. :thumbup::thumbup:

I see you used wire on that display and it is a beauty - I wonder how many magnets that would have needed ?

 

[okbohn]

Wow. Gonna miss that. I have seen that in real life!

 

[glassjaw]

Wow that is an incredible collection! I'm sure that it went to a good home. I'm sure you made sure of that. I'm wondering how long it took you to find all of those Charlie?

Gabe

 

[reader1]

Thank you Charlie for all the joy and wonder that you have brought to all of us in so many varied ways.

Knives, knowledge, research, experience and museum quality photos of knives we can only experience through your good will and generosity.

Mike H.

 

[SOUTHERN WOODS]

Overwhelming! Thanks all of you for the compliments and condolences!!

I am going to take your collective advice and put together another display or two.
I will keep you all posted here (of course!!)

Those Case Equal ends you posted when I was asking about a 62005 were very impressive. Would love to see you start a Case display.

 

[sitflyer]

It is blazingly obvious why that display won awards! Fantastic accomplishment Charlie:thumbup: Well done. Passing that torch on to another steward must have been difficult, that display looks fabulous.

 

[Dr. Scott]

I can not imagine the effort and time to assemble such a collection. I trust it gave you a satisfaction far beyond the profit you now enjoy. Let's be honest, such a collection is truly priceless, an investment of much more than mere dollars.

I wish I could have seen it in person. Perhaps the new owner will display it at a future show.

When I first saw this thread, I thought, "Oh, no. Someone is leaving us, leaving the Forums, moving to some isolated wilderness off the grid, or...someone is terminally ill, moving to Oregon where assisted suicide is legal..."

When I saw the author of the first post, I really began to have palpitations! Charlie, you don't know how much you mean to our little community.

After my initial fears, the truth actually came as a relief.

Thank God. It's only knives. 😉

 

[Campbellclanman]

I am sitting in a medium sized airport in the Pacific Northwest, waiting for a private airplane to meet me. The plane is coming from Montana, and is headed here to pick up a collection of Empire knives, one that has won awards for me at the Oregon Knife Show! It has also graced my den and "knife room" for many years.
The Collection will eventually fly to Texas, where is will grace a new home!
I know the new owner will appreciate it immensely!
Mixed feelings here. . . . . . . .a little remorse perhaps. I remember fondly the hunt for knives worthy of a showpiece, a display that would speak to the skill and greatness of the Cutlery industry of over 100 years ago.
Empire was established in the 1850s! It made knives for many, many businesses. At times it may have been the biggest cutlery in America!
The money I received will fund a bit of our retirement, which was sort of the plan - sort of. . .
I will post pics when I get home, maybe write a little more. .

Charlie- like others I freaked out a bit when I saw the Thread title! Dont do that!
Massive feelings involved there-on a scale I dont think most of us will ever experience - and yet we all will in some small degree
The feeling of achievement must be immense - almost as much as actually the hunt - and what a Trophy Cabinet you built Sir - I would shake your hand if I was in front of you.
Charlie..... honestly.... as much as we all LOVE knives, and I apologize about the very strange question - but it did pop up-and as you know me-when that happens - its gotta come out - was or is there a feeling of relief as well as massive grief? If you dont understand what I am trying to say - forgive me - the upkeep - the love the whole thing - but ONCE you make your mind up to sell - I wondered if relief came when it actually happened.
Me - when I have sold a knife that I love or gifted it - whatever - once I made the decision it was to go - it didnt matter how much I loved the knife-it was always going to go after I had FINALLY made my mind up - with that decision came almost a grief - happiness for the new owner especially when I gift the knife, and then relief to a small degree that it had gone - because I did make my mind up that that was to happen.
R

I know your feelings must be mixed on this Charlie! I too let go of some of my prized knives over the last year to Duncan, but he didn't get them all. BUT PROMISE TO SEND THEM TO HIM SOON Knives have to move on sometimes, just the way it is. I'm sure they're going to a great new home if you're flying on a private jet to get them there!

Perry - Fixed that for you my friend..Whats all this nonsense I am reading about not getting them all!

Charlie, to part with such a collection I'm sure is hard but I guess there's piece of mind knowing where they're going?

I too have parted with individual knives (not collections) and even on a much much smaller scale that your referring to it was still hard to let go. But knowing where they ended up took away the sting---New Zealand is nice year round I assume In addition to NZ many where dispersed here and abroad

Charlie, just think of the tremendous collections being built of your amazing SFO's:thumbup:

My friend - to this day I am shocked - just blown away by your generosity - you are amazing Paul - folks he is right - Paul has sent me some absolute stunners, and he must have struggled within himself to let some of them go - but my photos of proof as to my knowledge of where his family crosses the road must have hit the spot :thumbup:

Wait a minute! I don't live in TEXAS!!



I know what you mean, Charlie. I've recently let go of a couple that were toughies to find, but sometimes the hunt is the best part. Here's to hunting up some new treasures!

Dan - dont even the greatest of the White Hunters hand their hat up for the day? - by the way my friend I missed out on that auction - I asked for extra photos- my suspicions were right - more will come my friend - and I have you in mind.:thumbup:

Well I'm speechless

This doesnt happen often folks......

Man - what a fabulous collection of old knives!! :thumbup:

I have mixed feelings about this too. On one hand I am very happy for you, that you apparently sold that most wonderful collection as you wanted. On the other hand, I know you would have to have some degree of remorse to let go of it - I know I would. I hope it turns out to be the right decision for you and yours. Thank you for sharing this experience with the rest of us. :thumbup::thumbup:

I see you used wire on that display and it is a beauty - I wonder how many magnets that would have needed ?

You wouldnt have been able to move the Board Primble - the magnets would have weighed a ton, Charlie Sir...did you build this Cabinet or is it an original knife Cabinet?

Charlie-I dont know if you know it but your name is collectable now - like the guys said -who honestly gets to do that in their life-time - Congratulations my friend on building that wonderful Collection.

 

[fatcorgi]

just imagine the individual fates of all those knives if it weren't for collectors like Mr Campagna, important little pieces of history rusting away in draws or toolboxes and forgotten, or abused and sharpened on an angle grinder. I wouldn't feel bad about selling them on to another custodian, the main thing is that they were preserved in the first place.

 

[Jack Black]

Charlie- like others I freaked out a bit when I saw the Thread title! Dont do that!.

Definitely! I thought Charlie was moving to China or something!

Charlie, that has to be one of the best collections of knives from one maker that I've ever seen. Simply stunning, and well done for putting it together, that's quite an achievement. It sounds like your collection is going ta good home, so that achievement is still there :thumbup:

Hey, can you get those folks to send a plane over here to take away all my junk before the floor collapses?! It's only the knives others have given me that I really care about. If I wasn't so lazy I'd sell off some of the others myself!

 

[navihawk]

How did you fit that display in your scanner? Definitely a worthy retirement investment. Maybe take the wife on a nice exotic vacation to help ease the pain. You have a lot of Schrades to focus on now.

I noticed there wasn't any stockmans in the bunch. Did Empire make a stockman?

 

[clutchcarter]

Charlie! What a great collection and display! Congratulations on sticking to your retirement plans. Besides, the hunt really is the best part anyway.

 

[Parke1]

How did you fit that display in your scanner?

That one had me laughing out loud!

 

[Steven65]

I can not imagine the effort and time to assemble such a collection. I trust it gave you a satisfaction far beyond the profit you now enjoy. Let's be honest, such a collection is truly priceless, an investment of much more than mere dollars.

I wish I could have seen it in person. Perhaps the new owner will display it at a future show.

When I first saw this thread, I thought, "Oh, no. Someone is leaving us, leaving the Forums, moving to some isolated wilderness off the grid, or...someone is terminally ill, moving to Oregon where assisted suicide is legal..."

When I saw the author of the first post, I really began to have palpitations! Charlie, you don't know how much you mean to our little community.

After my initial fears, the truth actually came as a relief.

Thank God. It's only knives. 😉

I could not have said it better!

Charlie there is a fantastic company that you should consider collecting. A famous old brand from New York called Schrade.

Also have you ever seen a custom traditional knife......you should buy one or two, they are fabulous!

Thanks for all that you do here Charlie, you are an inspiration to many of us.

 

[stockdog]

Thank you Charlie for the trip through the life of a collection. We all collect for different reasons and it is great to see such an amazing display of knife history. I wish I had that type of focus on the overall result as for now it is just the knife then on to the next.
Thanks again.
Bob

 

[jkulysses]

Wow want an incredible collection and I can't even imagine how hard it would be to let that go! Thank you for sharing with us though and like Bob said you will always have the memories and the cash at least for a little while until you start a new collection.

Jake

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Charlie I thought we had driven you nuts, and you were leaving!

Hopefully the new owner doesn't bust up the collection, and they are available for display, at least to friends and family, and possibly other knife shows. Look at it this way, your SO gets to enjoy your collection with you, and at least you have an excuse to get that knife ...