R
rishma
That is a great question that not very long ago would have been immediately replied to with a resounding YES. I have and continue to get an immense satisfaction and even joy from using the knives Chris designed and made to do the things they were designed and made to do.
I am not much of a philosopher and don't spend a lot of time thinking metaphysically, however I guess my approach to CRK knives does at least sit on a hill that it can be seen from...
I do tend to think of " things" from the aspect of what the maker, designer, artist, tradesmen created. Is a painting of a soup can more than a glance into a cupboard? Of course it is, it takes the artists vision and applies it in a physical reality for the world to see.
The question is can the painting be complete without fulfilling its purpose of being shared with the world? Would Mt Rushmore be just a pile of rocks if no one ever saw it? Is a farm plow art before its used for decades and than put into the corner of a yard?
I have often wondered how an art thief can enjoy a painting when its locked into a bunker far from anyones eyes...Can the painting give the same to only one person that it could being shared with the world as created to?
You ever notice no one seems to collect new hammers? When was the last time you heard of a warehouse being found filled with modern cars? My point is that the antiques and vintage things that are collected have for the most part been used for their intended purpose ( lightly for some collectors) and that is what makes them complete in my mind.
Now however as I become a " real" collector with what I think of as a fairly decent CRK collection Im starting to see some of my pieces as more than the sum of thier parts. The 25 you asked of is just another knife..except it's freaking brand new in its box and probably can't be replaced in its condition! Does that change anything? It never has for me in the past. The term collector being applied to me to replace the term user seems to have caused a slight shift in my thinking and even opening my eyes to the thoughts that what I used to call the " my precious " crowd.
Ive always felt a bit of excitement in unpacking a new knife from the past and shoving it into my pocket for a days use. Sometimes that was enough for me and I could than place it into its place on my shelf somehow believing I had made it and its maker happy to have fulfilled its purpose. Others I carried and used for a good deal of time and some stayed as my EDC for years. I kinda liked the rush of doing something that would make the collectors gasp..." do you know what that is? Do you know what you just did" where statements I liked hearing and often answered with a yep I used my knife. What I guess in a small way I was feeling " Yes I set it free to be what it was intended to be"
This 25 was intended to replace the one I have, carry and us regularly as its one of my favorite Chris Reeve designs. However I had a reaction markedly different when I pulled it out of the box. I had no desire to use it. I decided than and there it was going on the shelf and I would keep my user as a user...WTF? I than realized I add just received a NIB 31 Magnacut that should go on the shelf as well, I didn't need to carry it as I had other I could carry instead. Than. I thought I should start hunting mint examples of all my knives and keep the users so I could have both....Than I could build this real cool display case and they would become a tribute to the man and his company....
I could just keep them locked in my shop/den/mancave marveling at them everyday and maybe even picking them up and fondeling them. Maybe sometimes I could take them out to take a photo and share my precious with the guys on the forum/
Than I thought...WOW that happened fast! One second I was walking to the mailbox to get my new knife and the next second I had become....them?
Ive thought a lot about that moment since yesterday. Ive honestly just chuckled at the " my precious " crowd. I didn't have a clue how they could find the same joy I did by caring and actually using a knife by just having it. It's a tool to be used. Chris didn't make these to be collected, hell he stopped numbering them because he figured he had already made more than the collectors would want. He built a tool. A freaking hammer ( you know what I mean) to be used except....
...he did starting making them for the collectors when the inlays and annual started didn't he? He new damn good and well that no one was going to use a Mammoth Damascus Mnandi in SERE school
Look at me growing up and opening my mind!
Anyway after all that I decided that I wanted to be true to my feelings even though I am starting to understand others and maybe even thinking about a compromise. I'll be removing the lanyard and placing it into my pocket today as it was created to be. I will carry and use it away from work in the same rotation as the other 9 in my timeline collection. I will however keep the other( maybe) It will be used alongside my Micarta as my EDC / Work / Beater rotation because sometimes you feel like Micarta and some times you don't.
I think of the Micarta 25, and now I guess the other PJ 25 ( both of which I pulled brand new from the box) as my " I know Ill need a knife today" carry, and the others as my "In case I need a knife today" carry.
It allows me to carry and use my knives as intended but still having a collection of hard to replace knives I just love having.
ok that went long.......
Yes I'll be carrying the new 25. Probably. I think. Most likely. We will see.
Clay
