Hello all,
I have been following this thread, and felt I would add my 2 cents worth. Especially as this has gone from a discussion about knife makers and fame, to a justification of the custom knives we buy.
I have been buying custom tactical folders for a short time (about 6 years). At first it was a simple thing. I wanted something specific that I felt I could not get from a production company. I then got bite by the custom bug, and it became an obsession. I always rationalized my purchase with the knowledge that the money I spent was for knives that I used, and enjoyed. But after alot of purchases from many great makers, I began to realize I had gone from a user to a collecter.
I still use everything I buy, but I have learned many things along the way, and because of Les, I am learning much more than I thought possible. I would like to share what I consider to be the most important things I have gathered from my many long discussions with Les. They are,
1) Buy what you like.
2) Remember your tastes may change.
3) There are literally thousands of makers out there.
Now this may be over simplfying things a bit but the problem is to remember that when your tastes or needs change you do not want/need to have made a purchase that will cost you an arm and leg.
I realize that none of us need to buy expensive knives (inexpensive knives cut just as well with a proper edge put on them), and this is disposable income. However, I only have so much money I can waste and I do not want to do so foolishly. So the trick is to buy knives that as my tastes/needs change I can recoup my purchase price (if possible) to get that next thing I have to have. Therefore, I am concerned with making a wise purchase (and that means a maker in demand), and this is were a dealer like Les comes into play.
There are no dealers that I know of that have spent the time with me that he has, or takes my purchases and lets me turn them over when I feel the need like he does.
I have bought many knives from other well known dealers because they had what I had to have (right now), but they have been more of a shop clerk filling an order than a source of information. And when I try and trade at a later date they either will not take back what they sold me or want to offer me much less (these are often knives I sell on the forum).
Now before somebody says that I am trading knives like baseball cards, you should know that like many of you there are knives/makers that I have that you will not get from me or my estate until I am long cold in the ground. But if I had stopped with those knives I would have stopped collecting awhile back (and I do not want to).
At this point in my collecting experience I am moving out into the Fixed knife fighting phase. These are knives that will never see use, but I want them none the less. The way I see it I can make an educated purchase (its not an investment) and enjoy my new TOY! and feel good about my decision (thanks to a good dealer) because I know that there is a relatively fixed value (it might go up or down, but just a little
), or I can gamble. Gambeling is another vice and I don't want to go there.
I hope I have made some sense.
Thanks for letting me rant,
Mike
P.S. I am sure that there are other great dealers out there that you have dealt with. I am just expressing my opinions about my experiences. How many other dealers will give you an opinion about someting they do not sell. By the way Les, I love my D.C. Munroe Chimera. Thanks for the advice.
[This message has been edited by Boomer2 (edited 11-01-2000).]
