Thinning out my collection and it feels good!

With still over 380 knives in my collection, I have a long way to go to "thin" it down.

The plan was to sell off about 100 of them this year but "market forces" have forced me to put off those plans.
 
Do not listen to this devil. Do not pay attention to the sweet words that come out of his mouth. He seems to be telling you about paradise, but he is opening the gates of endless regret. Brothers and sisters. Love your knives. Love them very much. It is a sin to sell knives except to sell them to buy a new one 😂 .

All kidding aside, sometimes the idea of having a small and well-known collection sounds very tempting. At some point it stops being a collection. It's like owning masses, not knives. I really want to be able to do this, but for some reason I can't spare the labor of years. However, 5 knives are enough for a person to do everything for a lifetime.
 
whereismyknife said:
However, 5 knives are enough for a person to do everything for a lifetime.
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When I realistically look at what I currently use a knife for (not counting the kitchen tools, only carry knives) I can do everything I normally do with one well chosen pocket knife. I have other tools for non cutting tasks.
I realize that others need more and I do have many more but one in my pocket will do everything that I really needed to do with a knife over my lifetime so far. I fall short when trying to come up with an exception.
 
If I had it to do over, it would be one each custom traditional and modern folder and one custom fixed pocket carry. No need for the choppa's, tomahawks, many tubes of GEC's and other refuse that languish in obscurity. I don't need the ones listed in the first sentence.
 
dialton said:
When I realistically look at what I currently use a knife for (not counting the kitchen tools, only carry knives) I can do everything I normally do with one well chosen pocket knife. I have other tools for non cutting tasks.
I realize that others need more and I do have many more but one in my pocket will do everything that I really needed to do with a knife over my lifetime so far. I fall short when trying to come up with an exception.
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Well, while a locking blade can be seen as safer to use in many situations, there are areas in the world where they are frown upon, if not outright illegal. So right off the bat I need 2 knives, one for home where a locking blade is permitted, and one for travel.

Then some knives are better at some task than other. Nothing can beat an Opinel for food prep, a SAK come close but no cigars, but they're not all that tough, would be my last choice to open up crates and pallets for example.

The point being that a single, use it for everything knife would leave conveniences on the table at some point. It would have to be small and non locking if one travel at all for starter. But yes, it is certainly doable.
 
Floatingby said:
Well, while a locking blade can be seen as safer to use in many situations, there are areas in the world where they are frown upon, if not outright illegal. So right off the bat I need 2 knives, one for home where a locking blade is permitted, and one for travel.

Then some knives are better at some task than other. Nothing can beat an Opinel for food prep, a SAK come close but no cigars, but they're not all that tough, would be my last choice to open up crates and pallets for example.

The point being that a single, use it for everything knife would leave conveniences on the table at some point. It would have to be small and non locking if one travel at all for starter. But yes, it is certainly doable.
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dialton said:
When I realistically look at what I currently use a knife for (not counting the kitchen tools, only carry knives) I can do everything I normally do with one well chosen pocket knife. I have other tools for non cutting tasks.
I realize that others need more and I do have many more but one in my pocket will do everything that I really needed to do with a knife over my lifetime so far. I fall short when trying to come up with an exception.
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knife for preparing food, a knife for survival (camping etc), a knife for carrying it every day, a knife for carving wood, a knife for self-defense. A total of five knives is enough for a lifetime.

I guess I should add this too. Five is enough to do everything perfect. Otherwise, I totally agree that just one knife is enough.
 
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dialton said:
When I realistically look at what I currently use a knife for (not counting the kitchen tools, only carry knives) I can do everything I normally do with one well chosen pocket knife. I have other tools for non cutting tasks.
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In the long ago days before I became a knife Knut, I got by for 25 years with one pocket knife. A Buck 301 stockman. That knife did everything I needed. It was a camping knife, a fishing knife, a utility knife, whatever. There was a SAK someplace around then, maybe in a pack, if I needed tools. But that Buck 301 was a workhorse knife. It took me 25 years to wear it out.
 
whereismyknife said:
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knife for preparing food, a knife for survival (camping etc), a knife for carrying it every day, a knife for carving wood, a knife for self-defense. A total of five knives is enough for a lifetime.
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Unless you have hobbies that require specialized knives. For example, I carry a Spyderco Caspian salt and a Benchmade H2O(both discontinued unfortunately) when scuba diving. Back when I was hunting, I carried a knive whose sole use was dressing games, I didn't want to spoil the edge by using it on anything else. I have a knife that I use solely for dispatching(no matter what people say, I do not like animals, of any kind, needlessly suffering)and gutting fish.
Sure, a generalist blade could be used for all those task. Heck, I could dive carrying a carbon bladed camp knife; not sure it, or me, would like it much thought.
 
jackknife said:
In the long ago days before I became a knife Knut, I got by for 25 years with one pocket knife. A Buck 301 stockman. That knife did everything I needed. It was a camping knife, a fishing knife, a utility knife, whatever. There was a SAK someplace around then, maybe in a pack, if I needed tools. But that Buck 301 was a workhorse knife. It took me 25 years to wear it out.
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Same here. Between the 301 and 303 they were the only knives I owned and carried for 40+ years.
 
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Floatingby said:
Unless you have hobbies that require specialized knives. For example, I carry a Spyderco Caspian salt and a Benchmade H2O(both discontinued unfortunately) when scuba diving. Back when I was hunting, I carried a knive whose sole use was dressing games, I didn't want to spoil the edge by using it on anything else. I have a knife that I use solely for dispatching(no matter what people say, I do not like animals, of any kind, needlessly suffering)and gutting fish.
Sure, a generalist blade could be used for all those task. Heck, I could dive carrying a carbon bladed camp knife; not sure it, or me, would like it much thought.
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Absolutely I agree. Of course, anyone can lower it further if they want. For example, he can use a dagger-style diving knife as both a diving knife and a self-defense knife. Or the leatherman Klamath can be used for the edc and hunting. At the end of the day, we should do what makes us happy.
 
I have almost 200 knives and not getting rid of anything. The beautiful thing with knives is, they are virtually maintenance free (especially fixed blades which I favor). I have lots of guns, motorcycles, bicycles, etc and those take considerable more time and effort to upkeep. Knives..not so much. They also don’t take a lot of room comparatively. I don’t use most of them but I love picking them up and handling them, makes me happy. I carry a few everyday and rotate them. I’ll probably buy more.
 
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Down to 13 folders and 3 fixed blades.
Feels great,just the right number for me.
 
I can relate. I need to pare down my gun collection, knife collection and have a few too many cars I pay registration and insurance on.
 
I started in earnest last August. I am up to 10 folders and 18 fixed knives. (LT Wright fixed knives are hard to resist!)

I bought that many to learn about everything - folding vs. fixed, scale materials, steels, grips, etc. I went over and above what I needed, but, hey, that's part of the learning.

I want to get more use out of what I have and find my favorites. After that I'll start thinning.
 
While I've pared down the number of knives, the value (replacement cost) has gone up, as I buy more expensive knives now, but less frequently, and have given away 4 production knives recently.

By today's prices, only two are under $100 and the rest over $150. Hard to believe I bought my PM2 for $105 new. That was 9 years ago. They are what, $185 now?
 
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