Too many great knives out there

BJE

BJE

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
3,079
I sometimes wish I could carry only one knife for the ret of my life, I hate choosing between them when selecting what will go in my pocket for the day.

I love Swiss Army knives, I believe they are the most practical knives I can carry with me, I always need at least one of the tools a basic sak like a tinker has a daily basis. They are so well made and inexpensive, plus they won't get me into any legal trouble or draw too much attention from the non knife city folks I am usually around anymore.

So with that said they are pretty much the end all knives for me......yeah right if only it were that easy.

I can't even decide which SAK is my favorite, then there are Opinels with the beautiful wooden handles, so simple and they have so much character, most of mine have been customized by me so they have even more personality than usual. They cut so well and are so very light weight, plus I love the locking ring, it's a friction folder when I want, and a locker when I don't.

But what about my Bucks, they have a special place in my carry rotation as well, nothing is more comfortable for me to use than my 110, I love the perfect blade and the beautiful brass and wood, a classic that deserves to be carried and used. Cannot forget the 300 series bucks either, solid performers that carry well and look good to boot. I could easily live the rest of life with only one of my bucks as my only cutting tool, if I wasn't a knife nut that is.

I also have a soft spot for the traditional slip joints, my case and bokers are my favorites, I enjoy carrying them with me, they serve as both cutting tools and companions, I often find myself reaching for one of my bone handled slip joints to fondle like a worry stone of sorts. It's hard enough choosing which one of the many I admire to carry even if the other knives didn't exist, so many great patterns and handle materials, I don't know whether to carry a peanut or a trapper half the time, and the Boker barlow is always a tempting choice.

Now with that said, I made a hard choice even harder today by purchasing a douk douk from a local brick and mortar store, I should have known better, I have too many knives as it is and I bought it anyway.
I love this knife, so simple, it shares the history and character of my opinels with the toughness of the bucks and it carries as well as a small slip joint, it kicked my No. 8 opinel out of my back pocket as soon as I left the store, haven't been able to put it down since.

I have come to the conclusion that there are just too many great knives out there and I am bound to go through life conflicted about what knife or knives I can/am/could/should be carrying.

How do you chose what to carry and use with so many wonderful choices out there? Any reason why you can't be happy with only a Swiss Army knife or simple opinel as your only cutting tool?

BTW: I ordered a Mercator k55k while I was at the store, should have it this Friday, and so it continues;)
 
I carry knives that are the most useful and that I'm least likely to be PO'd about if it gets damaged or lost.

Problem is that definition changes from time to time. Right now I'm carrying a a Case Trapper, but plan to get a Peanut to carry.
 
Hi,

Never too many knives, just not enough time to get to them all. Enjoy them as they come and for as long as they last.

Dale
 
I feel your pain. I sometimes wish the Men In Black would come neuralize me and hand me a Victorinox Tinker, saying "this is all you really need."
 
I know exactly how you feel. When me and my wife leave the house, she fusses over shoes and I fuss over blades... I too have come to realize that there is no "one" knife, and treat it like food, one day its a gray vic pocket pal, the next its a buck 302, the next maybe its a spyderco caly 3 carbon fiber. At the moment though, it seems like the Case mini copperlock is the one.
 
I went 100% SAK for a long time. My climber tackled every job and i could carry it alone. But i began to dislike Vic steel. Can't even get it half as sharp as my carbon steels. Maybe a fine edge isn't the answer for Vic steel. I went from 600 to 2000 grit and it was as dull as a butter knife. That is the only reason I stopped carrying it everyday. I was even about to start packing up and selling many of my other knives. :rolleyes: oh well.... i guess this impossibly sharp Schrade craftsman I got for $3 will do...
 
For the great majority of my life (I'm now 57) I only owned one pocket knife at a time, so had no choice to make. In the last 7-8 years my wife and I have been blessed to have a greatly increased income, and I can now afford to have a very good selection. In addition to practical choices, like where I'm going, what I'm going to do, what I'm wearing, etc., I can just choose a knife based on what I feel like or what looks good at the time.

It is good to have choices!
 
Well I've kept my collection to a relatively modest level. 7 traditionals so far, and 9 non-traditionals, and only one SAK.

That doesn't count a few old knives I've had for 30 or more years, but they're pretty permanently retired for one reason other another.

Out of all of those, I could probably get by with three for the rest of my life (barring loss or theft) - peanut or small SAK, medium 2-bladed jack, and something a bit larger for more demanding cutting tasks (3 to 3.5" modern folder).

But it's nice to have some variety in life, even if you do always come back to your reliable favorites most days. Except for women of course, in case my wife is reading this. Variety bad, same every day good!
 
jc57 said:
Except for women of course, in case my wife is reading this. Variety bad, same every day good!
Click to expand...

LOL!!!!!

You're killin' me, jc, you're killin' me! :thumbup: :D: Seriously, though, you made me rethink my first post.

I really think I could get by with just 6 knives (but I sure wouldn't want to!):

- 5" OHO tactical drop point (for protection in "iffy" areas and hunting backup)
- 4" OHO drop point (for outdoor utility work)
- 3-7/8" stockman (EDC)
- 3-3/4" traditional locker (hard use)
- 10-11" fixed clip blade (camp knife)
- 8-9" fixed drop point (skinner)
 
I carried the same Case stock knife for 20 years until I came across this place!:eek: Now I don't have near enough pockets or days.

Dave
 
Like others here, I was a single SAK ownin' guy until I found this place ;)
It's weird too, as I was already a collector of Zippos, the parent company of Case, one of the most collected knife brands in the US and I never got into it. It was only after coming here, reading all the posts and looking at the pictures of all kinds of great knives did I fall into collecting and choosing something every day to carry. Before that it was pretty much the 1 SAK on my belt...
 
I notice that when I am active on this site, even if its just reading interesting posts and looking at pictures, then I acquire new knives at an alarming rate, I have actually made myself take a long break from bladeforums to help me appreciate what I already have and give my current knives some much needed carry time.
So I blame temptation for my weakness.

About a year or so ago, I took a long break from the Internet, I carried a victorinox tinker in my rf pocket and a delica 4 in my rr pocket for dirty jobs as a mechanic everyday for at least 6 months without changing them out at all. I did not feel like I was missing anything even though I already owned a lot of nice knives then.
It wasn't until I got bored one day and got online to bladeforums and saw a bunch of pretty picture of case peanuts and stockmen, and the buck subforum made me dig out my 110 with all the 110 love that goes on there :)

I went almost all year last year without buying more than a handful of new knives, this year I haven't even made it past February without buying more than half a dozen. I sure do love this hobby though, beats gambling, smoking and any other vices many men spend their money on.
 
So you're saying Bladeforums is hazardous to the wallet? I'll have to agree there. I originally told myself I'll establish a budget of $50 per month. If I wanted a $100 knife that would use up 2 months budget, etc.

So at that rate, I think I've already bought all of the knives in my allowance for the entire year, and February isn't even over yet.
 
OzarkCreekWalker said:
I went 100% SAK for a long time. My climber tackled every job and i could carry it alone. But i began to dislike Vic steel. Can't even get it half as sharp as my carbon steels. Maybe a fine edge isn't the answer for Vic steel. I went from 600 to 2000 grit and it was as dull as a butter knife. That is the only reason I stopped carrying it everyday. I was even about to start packing up and selling many of my other knives. :rolleyes: oh well.... i guess this impossibly sharp Schrade craftsman I got for $3 will do...
Click to expand...

You aren't doing something right then. Email me at my user name at gmail dot com and you can send it to me and I'll sharpen it for you to show you how shall they can get.
 
BJE said:
. . . beats gambling, smoking and any other vices many men spend their money on.
Click to expand...

And even when you do go on a binge, you don't kill too many brain cells and you're left with something that holds it's value a lot better than a used bottle of hooch.
 
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