Tipping point between user and safe queen

DPC said:
....I do not yet follow the Charlie Mike approach of having a few knives and selling what I'm tired of in favor of acquiring another (user) knife, but I'm close. Its silly and maybe dumb from my part, but his sudden passing clicked on me and made me realize hoarding untouchable luxury objects is a rather big waste of time and life. For that I am very thankful.
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I'm not there yet either. Don't know if I ever will be. But I have some Randall's that need to find a new home as I know I'll never use them. The Randall's really don't have much significance to me now other than they were a big step in the 90's toward a knife hobby that goes beyond the basics. I considered them sort of a grail knife to own at the time. I don't regret buying them or not using them. I own many knives today that I haven't used and really don't care one way or the other about using them.
 
I feel like once you reach a certain price point it's not about performance anymore, it's about extremely refined fit and finish and expensive materials. I can understand anything above a certain price-to-performance ratio being a safe queen, you certainly aren't getting more performance out of it, it's just a little nicer.

I don't think the difference between safe queen and user is measured in dollars, it's measured in personal preference. If you like a lower dollar knife and want it to stay new then stick it in the safe and enjoy it at your own pace, if you want to use a $1000+ custom then don't hesitate, the world is crappy enough and life is too short and unpredictable not to enjoy nice things. You worked and paid the money for it, it's yours, you make the choice.

I personally like the looks of traditionals and would be more likely to safe queen a well refined and beautiful traditional knife. They aren't overly expensive but they look so great.
 
MarkN86 said:
I feel like once you reach a certain price point it's not about performance anymore, it's about extremely refined fit and finish and expensive materials. I can understand anything above a certain price-to-performance ratio being a safe queen, you certainly aren't getting more performance out of it, it's just a little nicer.

I
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The ratio of price/quality in ANY product you can buy is usually exponential, not linear.
 
22-rimfire said:
You'll have to explain that generalization (even with your "usually" built into the comment).
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I have found that for any product, including knives, with a linear increase in quality there is an exponential increase in price.

After a point, you're paying a disproportionate amount of money for the extra bit of quality / fine tuning / refinement that you get.
 
My expectations kinda go up with the price...

So if I'll use expensive knife - you bet I'll use my full power to swing that thing into the wood I'm chopping :D

I did that to Warcraft Tanto when I got it. I chopped some stuff with it and compared it to Recon Tanto.
To see if it's durable. And now I saved it for the purpose of why I bought it - if something happens to Recon Tanto, or if there's situation where Recon Tanto just won't cut it and I want something better.
 
There are no expensive knives on my shelf: $150 max. But there are a lot of knives and not all of them get used, so I guess you could say they are de facto safe queens. Then there are two or three that I have decided to put aside because of their oddity, or because there are small parts that could get lost, like the dog whistle that comes with the RR Dog Bone Jack, loisely attChed to the knife with a length of flimsy cord.
It is a bauble, costing twelve bucks, but it is one that I would like to keep around with all the parts together, like the Schuco race cars with the jack and the knock off hubs, just because it is so much cooler with all the parts there.
 
I like many of you, don’t believe in “safe queens.” I’m a user that likes a little variety in my EDC, but I’m not a collector. My EDC needs also vary as I like to backpack, travel in sketchy places, where potential tasks may dictate what I carry. I do like somewhat expensive knives, but try to keep my purchases under $300, although occasionally I’ll go up in price for something I want badly.
 
Every knife that I have ever bought was one that I intended to use.
I've never bought a knife for the sole purpose of putting it on a shelf or in a safe.

All are "users"...although some are used much much much more lightly than others.
Besides, the dirty nasty grunt work is reserved for my Leatherman Super Tool 300!
 
I have a beater ESEE 4 that I use for beater tasks. The closest thing to a safe queen is a non-safe queen Winkler Spike I’m keeping for when the SHTF.
 
I dont have safe queens, my problem is I buy a lot of knives and end up using the newest one the most, so more and more are getting behind, now I’m waiting for my Fischer Launch, Skiff Accomplice, Skiff Culprit, so My drawers are getting full, but I love them all
 
I do have shelf knives, but I'm always looking for better performance in a knife that I actually use frequently. That's where the hobby is for me.

My favorite knife of all time was a Rukus 610 that Josh rebladed with a Vanax SuperClean blade ground to aggressive geometry. Peters did the heat treat. Loved that knife because it sliced so well, held up under hard use, took a killer fine-grained edge that was easy to resharpen and was virtually stain proof. I got a lot of pleasure from that knife.

Then I lost it. Not sure how. I think a hem string on a new coat snagged the pocket clip and pulled it out. It's somewhere in the forest. I've looked for it for hours on end. I probably had close to $1,000 in that knife, including the custom lower scales.

Losing it hurt. A lot.

On the other hand, no other knife has give me so much pleasure to use.
 
Anyone else hate scratching satin finished Ti but will throw around bead blasted without much worry? I had a F95 Nudist with the most gorgeous satin, washed, blasted finish but it seemed like anything it came into contact with gave it fine scratches. Not the graceful way like a Seb or even a Sham take wear. Like someone keyed a car. I struggle to carry polished inlayed Sebs for the same reason. Wish they'd offer more options with the full bead blast. The CF would be amazing in full BB.
 
DPC said:
I have found that for any product, including knives, with a linear increase in quality there is an exponential increase in price.

After a point, you're paying a disproportionate amount of money for the extra bit of quality / fine tuning / refinement that you get.
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I understand your comment better now. Thank you. The original comment was a bit vague in that I didn't know what precisely "price/quality" was the exponential part. It is the old "diminishing returns" thing.
 
With very few exceptions, if I don’t carry and use something it goes on down the road. Either traded off or sold.
 
I don’t think that I have ever just taken a new knife and tucked it away. I have always at least cycled through all the blades and maybe dropped it in my pocket at least once. Just to try it.

I have, however, purchased knives with the intention to be put away for safe keeping. One knife was purchased and the decision was made to save it for my own child. I still have it and my daughter has something else.
 
I don't own a safe.
When I buy a knife it is to use.
I tend not to spend over $20~$25 for a knife, so, so with the possible exception of a couple GEC and Case knives that were gifted to me, and perhaps four Rough Rider "Riders of the Silver Screen" moose knives (under $18 each) and maybe a Rough Rider STONEWORX stockman (under $16) I don't have anything that is "collectable".
 
Sometimes for me it is a matter of buying a knife and just not getting around to using it for quite some time.
 
DangerZone98 said:
This is a highly subjective topic so it should make for an interesting discussion. :) For me, I’d say Chris Reeve Knives would be at the top of the user knives department. I think they’re beautiful knives that won’t shy away from moderate EDC use. Any knife north of $600 - $700, I would be reluctant to use. But that’s just me. I don’t plan on getting knives pricier than CRKs anytime in the near future.

What about you guys? Is there a clear line that separates your users from safe queens? Do you think all knives should be users? Do you like having beater knives paired with more expensive knives?
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I have two criteria for safe queen collectible displays that I never use:
1. Collectible or vintage & rare knives not easy to get (for example 2000 Buck Strider prototype, DDR prototype, Warren Osborne custom, Elishewitz custom, Mel Pardue custome, JJ McGovern Custom, other customs, Lone Wolf knives several production models, 1980s Pacific Cutlery and early 1990s Benchmade prototypes, 1990s Spydercos, etc.
2. Anything north of $600
 
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