Thinking of selling all of my knives and starting over.

As a man who makes his living providing cutting tools for people, maybe I should not say this. BUT, I had a modest collection of folding knives that I really loved and enjoyed, which included a 204-P Military, majorly overhauled Yojimbo, Yojumbo, Enduras, Delicas, a Dragonfly each in ZDP-189, and H1, Mantra 2 or 3, more Cold Steel folders and megafolders than I can count, including a bunch in CTS-XHP, a bunch of other $200ish folders I am not thinking of off the top of my head, and at various times a few dozen "budget" priced knives from Spyderco, and other manufacturers. After I went full time as a knife maker after the layoff, things were very touch and go financially for the first year and a bit, so I not only dipped into my RRSPS (that is, cleaned them out), but I ended up selling nearly every folding knife I ever owned. Yes, it stung, and yes I often missed this knife, or that knife, and often when I would look at pictures of them I would think, man I really shouldn't have gotten rid of that one!

But now, in my fourth year as a maker, despite that things are not quite as tight as they first were (thanks in part to moving to a drafty old farm house in the country with low rent price), even though I often look at pics of knives and think, wow that's cool, and maybe I can afford one again, I have gotten so used to using my modified Resiliences, and the fixed blades I make for myself to use and carry, that I know deep down I don't need another Yojumbo, or Cold Steel XL Voyager, etc., and would either never, or seldom use them, so I never pull the trigger. Instead I end up buying things like a sheet of carbon fiber for a few hundred bucks, and other knife making materials so that I can keep making nice and useful stuff for others. And I get to scratch the itch of wanting so many different knives by having what I make in my possession long enough to sharpen it up to a crisp edge, take some nice pics and send it on its way to someone who, I hope, will actually use it and get the same and more enjoyment from it that I got making it for them.

Now maybe when things go from "not quite as tight" to "laughing all the way to the bank" I might start a legit folder collection again, but who knows. I don't even know what the first knife I would buy is. And maybe by then I will have invested in the tools and knowledge I need to make my own folders, and just go that route instead. We're talking years away though....
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
fiscal discipline and discrimination
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Wise words.

I only had a few user knives until I bought a house. I went years without buying anything I didn’t actually need. I mean really needed. I even learned to cut my own hair. Saving for a down payment.

There are more important things than a knife collection. Only the OP can figure out the right path to reach his goals.
 
I've started to do something similar. I've sold most my lower end (Hinderer, Benchmade ish stuff) and now focusing on higher quality makers. Much happier with my collection now.
 
Keep what you like and move on the ones you don't.

Years ago I ordered a few left handed custom folders from well respected makers of the time. I ended up figuring out I preferred the reliable execution of a Sebenza over the hit and miss functional quality of some of the customs. They looked great, but didn't always have the level of fit and finish I had grown to expect from my Sebenzas.

In the watch world I have gone through more watches than I can remember. The journey helped me figure out what I really like, but there are a lot of pieces I would like to have back. Especially at the prices I paid for them back before the market got nutty.
 
I've had similar thoughts, I've talked about before....

Knife collecting isn't often about the knife.

We chase the brand, the following....but, it's more than the knife.

Not just what knife is available, but Who made it? How? Where?

We are such a small, niche market. So many people want different things.

With technology looming, A.I. Shadowing over everything, we live in a digital world. Programs, start buttons, and marketing companies.
I predicted more people, will want something made by Someone, as that becomes more rare. Almost an oddity. Machine made perfection is cold looking to me, personally. Everything is the same as the next. Dry.

I've been the same way. I like knowing a person did it. Seems more special.
 
David Mary said:
Thanks @Swp321. But whatever you do don't send me your Shaman for a regrind, or it might end up looking like this one I did 3 years ago.


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I'm telling Bob lum
 
adluginb adluginb A real man wouldn't sell them. He would look to better someone else in their life. And he would choose this person in an impeccably logical fashion.

A fashion so pragmatic and magnanimous at the same time that he would doubtless be revered and worshipped by other real men. By selecting a random poster in this thread, shall we say post #31. Yes, I believe that is the best way to do it.

So adluginb adluginb are you a real man? Prove it.

Sam⚔️⚔️
 
Hard to imagine someone would sell off their entire knife collection suddenly and entirely. If we agree our taste of knives evolves as time goes, it shall be the normal case that our knife collection gets changed gradually. But I guess everyone is different?

I guess I should add that there are unexpected events in one's life that requires them to raise $ quickly.
 
Sam Wilson said:
adluginb adluginb A real man wouldn't sell them. He would look to better someone else in their life. And he would choose this person in an impeccably logical fashion.

A fashion so pragmatic and magnanimous at the same time that he would doubtless be revered and worshipped by other real men. By selecting a random poster in this thread, shall we say post #31. Yes, I believe that is the best way to do it.

So adluginb adluginb are you a real man? Prove it.

Sam⚔️⚔️
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I think he's a post 35 kind of guy!
 
sharp_edge said:
Hard to imagine someone would sell off their entire knife collection suddenly and entirely. If we agree our taste of knives evolves as time goes, it shall be the normal case that our knife collection gets changed gradually. But I guess everyone is different?
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Last year I got back into knives with a passion, my collection of Spydercos ballooned, then shrank as the ZTs grew, which shrank as the LGs and SHFs and Hinderers grew. I'm down to a couple favorite Spydercos, a handful of ZTs, and a mess of LGs, SHFs, and some Hinderers. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at, though I'm always watching for the new SHF designs!
 
Put them in a proper storage so as not to destroy them while they are away and check them out in several months. You may find some pieces that pique your interest or look like something you may want to carry. If you go through them and don’t see anything at all that you’ve missed then you’ve got a lot of people who would happily buy them right here.
 
norcalAF said:
Last year I got back into knives with a passion, my collection of Spydercos ballooned, then shrank as the ZTs grew, which shrank as the LGs and SHFs and Hinderers grew. I'm down to a couple favorite Spydercos, a handful of ZTs, and a mess of LGs, SHFs, and some Hinderers. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at, though I'm always watching for the new SHF designs!
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At one point I had about 20 spydercos, including about 6 militaries and 6 PM2s each. I have gradually reduced my spydercos to like 3 (with one iof them lost inside my house). But I acquired more RHKs and just recently got into SHF while always having a few benchmades and cold steels. The point again is it's a evolving process that takes time.
 
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