Cooper, you are going to love it.
I really struggled prior to listing it for sale, as I really did not want to sell it. It just felt so good in my hand and was so beautiful to look at. In the end the opportunity to go on a photo trip to Yellowstone was just too much for me and I just had to list it because I know there was an excellent chance that I'd never actually use it.
I'm a bit weird with things I really like - I just won't use them. I think it is because they represent some sort of grail achieved and I'm afraid to damage them in some manner. I've done that with almost everything from very expensive vehicles to ordinary things like clothes. Maybe it stems from growing up poor and not having the nicer things? I don't know, but I do know that this quirk has caused me some grief over the years (my wife absolutely hates it and thinks I am nuts).
I had a (then) top of the line camera body that didn't see a single shutter count for nearly a year - I always used the least costly body for fear of damaging the far more expensive/better body. That didn't change until recently, when I forced myself to use the better body and actually sold the cheaper body. I still have lenses that were/are very expensive and haven't been used a single time. I don't set out with the intent of not using the items purchased, it just seems as though the more I like them (on some level), the more likely I am to not use them at all.
I don't really understand it all myself. I just try to work around it.
Anyway, that is why so many of the knives (I own) don't actually see use (often no use at all). It isn't that I don't like them - in fact the opposite is true.
That is not to say the used knives aren't liked (or any other item I do use). If I don't like something I return it, give it away, or throw it away. I can't really explain how one knife is deemed too good to use (in my mind) and another knife is put to use almost immediately. I love my Michigan Trail knife (and the Toby Knife) and the two of them see a lot of use.
In all I would guess that I still have somewhere around 150 knives (about evenly split between fixed blades and pocket knives). I'd guess that roughly 100 of them have never seen any kind of use at all and probably another 30 have only seen very limited use. The funniest part is the fact that two of the knives did (at one time) see use that probably went over the line and crossed into misuse - but are now considered to be too good to be used. Neither of those two knives is a beauty and both are scarred considerably - but they hold meaning to me and for that reason won't ever see use again. And other than sentimental value, neither of those two knives is worth much.
Like I said previously: not even I can figure it out completely. It just is what it is.
I'm just glad I was able to babysit the Osage Skinner for a little while. And while I can no longer open a drawer to fondle it, the memory of holding it is imprinted in my mind and I smile when I think about how beautiful that knife is. Here's hoping the new owner enjoys it as much as I have.
