Things change ... 17 years.

J

J Thomas

Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
67
I believe it was around 2000 when I bought my first serious knife, an Al Mar SERE 2000.

....

Phew! Who knew a knife could cost that much?! However, I read up in the trade magazines and talked to some guys and "Yep!" that is the knife for me.

....

Now, 17 years later I find my every-day-carry is a Victorinox Classic SD ... and, if there is harder work to do a Victorinox Pioneer is dropped in the other pocket.

....

The joy of aging, one acquires knowledge and experience and thus decisions we make now differ from those we made when we were younger.

My Al Mar SERE 2000 still rests right in front of me on my monitor base, a fine knife, a beautifully made knife, but, a stouter knife than I need and hard to wear/carry in dress slacks instead of the jeans of yesteryear.

Also, I now know that knives can be lost, easier to spend $11 / $40 to replace then $200+.

Do I need to cut down a tree limb or that tree limb's distant cousin, the cardboard box? What do people around me think when I pull out a knife, tool or something from an action movie?

Amazing how things change over time. Not sure if any of you all have a similar experience; it just struck me this morning when picking up the wallet, car keys, Victorinox Classic SD and saw my Al Mar SERE 2000 just sitting there, looking forgotten ... may need to go hiking this weekend and take it out for walk.

....

All the best and thank you everyone for making this forum what it is, a very unique and special place.

-John

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Great knife those SEREs. One of my all time favourites.

I would love to see some pics.

Matt
 
Sounds like your knife buying habit is as modest as your post count over all these years :)
My tastes have changed but I still buy impractical folders because I like the designs. I like to think I'm wiser too but I'm not ready to reduce the collection to the bare minimum. I enjoy the hobby.
 
I think most of us are guilty of that to some degree. "The circle of life." Doesn't matter the hobby/addiction/affliction. Knives, guns, cars, etc. When we're young we want the latest greatest coolest best iteration but it's probably unattainable monetarily. Then at some point we are able to do some of the things we've always aspired to so we do. But we age and our priorities, attitudes, and physical limits change. We discover a Corvette is nice but high maintenance not really comfortable, and harder to get in and out of. High grade double rifles are wonderful specimens of gunmakers art but too heavy and unnecessary for whitetail deer and we have no realistic expectations to return to Africa and hunt dangerous game. Eventually we revert back to our roots and the things that were most familiar, comfortable, and functional for our needs at hand. Lord knows I have knives that I will never test the limits but I do enjoy admiring , fondling, and occasionally putting to use if only minimally.
 
I'm pushing 50 now, and my tastes in knives is leaning towards smaller blades. Huge Busse's are ready to be sold, and anything bigger than a 5 inch blade will go too. I'm just not that "tactical" anymore. I still appreciate, enjoy, and carry large folders ie... Adamas, and a ZT0909, but even those start to wear me down after a while, and I look to carry something smaller/lighter. Idk....maybe its a sign I'm getting old. Don't get me wrong.....I still love knives, but I just feel myself gravitating towards a different style/type of blade these days.
 
It makes a lot of sense to me.
I may be at the beginning of the evolution you already made ;)

I am still in the 100-200 $ range for the most part of my collection but I already started to reduce the number of knives I own and to go for smaller/lighter blades for EDC

And as time has gone I think o have learned to appreciate cheaper knives for what they are

There is IMO no comparison between a Delica, a victorinox and a small sebenza but I like them for what they are and I really have pleasure carrying them and using them

I am more a user than a collector and at the end of the day, cheaper knives are as much knives as expensive knives :)
 
I'm 52 and my modern knife purchases began about 17yrs ago also. I guess the main differences for me are:

I've stopped collecting.
Stopped carrying 4" folders.
I've stopped abusing knives.
Weight of knives are a consideration now.
Price I'm willing to pay for a knife has gone up from $100 to $200.
I used to carry one folder for everything. Now I may carry three different folders in a day.
 
About 15 years ago I bought first serious knife, BM806 AFCK. Now I carry a BM531. So, the direction is similar, but I still like single-hand opening/closing and easy handling. And I promised myself that it is the last Benchmade knife (the pricing policy, quality problems)...
 
Traditionals, overbuilt, tanto, assisted opener, butterfly knives, automatics, framelocks I've been through several phases and I have enjoyed all of them. Who knows I may die with a flea market butterfly knife in my pocket. The hobby is enjoyable
 
I can relate somewhat ... although I still carry bigger more mid priced knives alot I still have a slipjoint in pocket daily ... I think its kind of a sentimental thing as I get older remember the first knife and the time when I never carried anything more then a slipjoint except when hunting or camping.

And I've went through the same with firearms as well as knives ... I think I had the ability and desire to want to try alot of new guns and knives as they came out ... always thinking I might be missing out on something.

As I just turned 50 I've found in the last year or so I have my guns and knives I use most ... and I've slowly considering which I need and best work for me and have been seperating both guns and knives with the thought of soon putting duplicates or those that just never got used up for sale and simplifing things.

Now don't get me wrong I still get excited now and then over a new design but I don't feel the need to run and buy all of them. It almost is like a Zen thing when you get to the point you realise the things that matter to you and alot of the noise and rush fades away.

I may always have some good sturdy folders like some of my ZTs and CRKs or a Hinderer ... and a couple large fixed blade like my Esee Junglas or a Becker ... but my fixed blade favorites are 4 to 5 inch and I seem to have about 4 that are always the ones I reach for ... I can't ever see not havin a handful of slipjoints.

But think in the next year alot will get to go to someone new to enjoy.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
Now don't get me wrong I still get excited now and then over a new design but I don't feel the need to run and buy all of them. It almost is like a Zen thing when you get to the point you realise the things that matter to you and alot of the noise and rush fades away.
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THIS + a zillion!

It is definitely a zen thing when you realize that all this stuff means very little in the larger scheme of life. Things don't matter, the people you love matters. Knives, guns all just immaterial things.
 
Knives and guns...they're all good. I stay under 5 ounces for a folder, and fixed blades are cross-draw belt sheath and 3.5" blade of something decent...like M390 or CPM-3V. I'm still a CRK and Spyderco fan; Bradford for fixed.
 
Things do change a great deal after a certain point. The older you get and the more you know, the less you really do need. And needs change. 20 years ago, I was into much larger knives than today, but theres been a steady downsize in my stuff over the past 20 years. Knives, guns, vehicles, even home, all have downsized. With all the kids grown and gone, the better half and I don't need the mini van anymore. A nice compact car for just the two of us now. My larger K frame .357's are gone and now a compact J frame .38 is good, my N.A.A. mini .22 revolver even gets carried.

My most carried knives;




If I go fishing or out in the woods, my fixed blade is on my hip.
 
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I've always had an interest in knives but only have been Carrying everyday for about 7 years. When I first got into knives I was into the more tactical folders and of course I dreamed of a Sebenza. As the years went by I almost exclusively carry Victorinox, I think the two main reasons were, I didn't use my knife As much as I would have liked, and the additional tools of a SAK came in handy for kids toys, cutting tasks, hair trimming, etc, which got me using my knife more. Not too mention they are great bang for the buck.
 
As I get older I care less about the things I don't use much e.g. I just started CC'ing under the belt
 
It's now been about 62 years since my first knife (cub scout). It's been an on again off again type thing through the decades (ouch) but recent years (with the help of this @#%&* forum) my interest has peaked. My gun collection got to where I wanted it about 14 years ago, swords about 7 years ago, knives never have. :cool: This hobby (what it is for me) doesn't cost nearly as much for most of us as many other hobbies do. (Thank God) :D The variety seems endless and the search is always exciting. :thumbsup: The thing that changes is the knives (though most do basically the same thing, so do women-but "vive le difference") THAT is something which provides many, many hours of fun for relatively little cost (the knives, not the women); a rare thing these days. ;)
 
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JJ_Colt45 said:
As I just turned 50 I've found in the last year or so I have my guns and knives I use most ... and I've slowly considering which I need and best work for me and have been seperating both guns and knives with the thought of soon putting duplicates or those that just never got used up for sale and simplifing things.

Now don't get me wrong I still get excited now and then over a new design but I don't feel the need to run and buy all of them. It almost is like a Zen thing when you get to the point you realise the things that matter to you and alot of the noise and rush fades away.
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I felt that I was reaching axe and knife saturation several years back. I have knives and axes that I haven't, or have barely, used. Will I still buy ?, maybe. I don't sweat it either way. But as I age I tend to move toward lighter and simpler outdoor tools. These days I tend to wear a D-2 RAT 1. And I was thinking about digging out that silver Victorinox belt hanger and popping the Farmer or Pioneer onto it, for town. I still like tougher stuff for going into the bush though. I remember when I used to wear a military pistol belt with a full canteen of water on one hip, and a Becker Brute on the other side. Those days are gone.
 
After carrying a Buck 110 on and off for more decades than I will admit to, I decided it was time to modernize. I bought a pocket-clip folder, then another one, then I saw one that I liked even more and bought that. I was in the process of figuring out which "super steel" knife I was going to buy when I happened across a little used Schrade (USA) mini-stockman. I bought it just mostly for the novelty and as a collecting piece, but it stirred something in me and I realized how much I enjoy traditionals. Since then I've added a couple of Case stockmans to go with my others (a Buck and some Schrades) and a couple of Vics to add to a very small collection of SAKs (one of which is older than the 110). Now, every day I carry one of my stockmans and one of my SAKs and I feel like I have everything that I need to get me through the day. :)
 
J Thomas said:
I believe it was around 2000 when I bought my first serious knife, an Al Mar SERE 2000.

....

Phew! Who knew a knife could cost that much?! However, I read up in the trade magazines and talked to some guys and "Yep!" that is the knife for me.

....

Now, 17 years later I find my every-day-carry is a Victorinox Classic SD ... and, if there is harder work to do a Victorinox Pioneer is dropped in the other pocket.

....

The joy of aging, one acquires knowledge and experience and thus decisions we make now differ from those we made when we were younger.

My Al Mar SERE 2000 still rests right in front of me on my monitor base, a fine knife, a beautifully made knife, but, a stouter knife than I need and hard to wear/carry in dress slacks instead of the jeans of yesteryear.

Also, I now know that knives can be lost, easier to spend $11 / $40 to replace then $200+.

Do I need to cut down a tree limb or that tree limb's distant cousin, the cardboard box? What do people around me think when I pull out a knife, tool or something from an action movie?

Amazing how things change over time. Not sure if any of you all have a similar experience; it just struck me this morning when picking up the wallet, car keys, Victorinox Classic SD and saw my Al Mar SERE 2000 just sitting there, looking forgotten ... may need to go hiking this weekend and take it out for walk.

....

All the best and thank you everyone for making this forum what it is, a very unique and special place.

-John

.
Click to expand...

I started buying blades before I was married. Now that I've been married 12 years, and have 3 kids, my whole life has evolved including my spending and purchasing. Once I had kids my thoughts of what I will be able to hand down to them one day became cause to spend a little extra to get the quality and craftsmanship they deserved. I even bought a "husband" knife when both of my girls were born, just so that one day when they married their husband would have at least one good knife to last him.

I have blades that are engraved with each of their names (thanks again Derek @KnivesShipFree!). When I was teaching them how to camp, we got fixed blades for them to learn with. I noticed that my identity has changed, that when I buy a blade for myself it makes me happy, but when I buy one for my children or another family member or friend that I'm excited to see their faces as they open a box that has a shiny metal companion that will be with them.
 
I started out in the '70s with traditionals from Schrade, Camillus, Buck, etc. Then I went to Victorinox SAKs, in particular a Spartan that I carried from the '80s until 1997. Then I got into modern designs. Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw, Cold Steel, and eventually Chris Reeve (CRK).

I still regularly carry either a CRK or a Spyderco, but my main carries are 2 Vic SAKs; a black Executive and a basic gray Pioneer. The Executive has been my constant EDC for the past 18 years. Regardless of whatever other knife I may switch out, those two SAKs are always with me, and I don't ever see myself without them. Lately, I've been finding the most daily use out of my Pioneer, which is basically a traditional scout knife pattern. There are uses for my knife(s) every day, and I don't even need to invent reasons to use them. I wish I could post pics of them online.

Jim
 
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