"Tool Box" Beater Knives - My Plan for Unused Knives

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bvo85

Joined
Apr 27, 2017
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I have a handful of decent knives that I don't enjoy anymore from a collection standpoint, and I've either tried to sell them and can't get any takers even at prices too low to make it worthwhile to sell. Or sometimes I have an older production knife that I like enough not to get rid of it, but not enough to keep in my main collection storage.

Just some examples - Emerson Production Knife I couldn't sell for months even at $100 in 95%+ condition. Retails for $260... I feel like an idiot selling it for less than $100, so I've just kept it. Another is an older Spyderco Endura that I've outgrown from a quality perspective, but it's a great knife and what would I get if I sold it - $30 after PP fees and shipping? Would rather just keep it, but I don't want these knives in with my customs and high end productions.

I've decided to throw them into different tool boxes as "beater knives" of sorts. If I wind up getting epoxy on them or breaking a tip off, that's fine. Better than letting them sit unused forever, and better than taking an enormous loss on a knife.

Anyone else do anything similar?
 
You could do a Giveaway. I'm thinking of doing that with some of my knives that are "not worth the sale." I figure they might be welcomed by somebody with a lower budget than I.
 
bvo85 said:
I have a handful of decent knives that I don't enjoy anymore from a collection standpoint, and I've either tried to sell them and can't get any takers even at prices too low to make it worthwhile to sell. Or sometimes I have an older production knife that I like enough not to get rid of it, but not enough to keep in my main collection storage.

Just some examples - Emerson Production Knife I couldn't sell for months even at $100 in 95%+ condition. Retails for $260... I feel like an idiot selling it for less than $100, so I've just kept it. Another is an older Spyderco Endura that I've outgrown from a quality perspective, but it's a great knife and what would I get if I sold it - $30 after PP fees and shipping? Would rather just keep it, but I don't want these knives in with my customs and high end productions.

I've decided to throw them into different tool boxes as "beater knives" of sorts. If I wind up getting epoxy on them or breaking a tip off, that's fine. Better than letting them sit unused forever, and better than taking an enormous loss on a knife.

Anyone else do anything similar?
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What production Emerson was it if you don’t mind me asking.
 
I keep a bunch of stuff in little boxes because I don't want to go through the hassle of selling them. Would I rather have some of the money back on some of them? Definitely. I don't have a huge collection, but I have enough that if I stopped buying today I would never need to buy another for the rest of my life I bet. The biggest reason I haven't is that I have two young boys who, as they grow older, will need a supply of knives to learn on and lose--just like they lose those painful Legos all over the house. Gifting your spares seems like a good way to use your excess, but keeping them as beaters works too. But I don't understand the need to keep something because it would realize a monetary loss. You have already lost the money used in buying them, it's gone. It doesn't hurt your karma to give someone a better deal than you yourself got, especially if it's to someone who would not otherwise be able to purchase a quality knife.
 
bvo85 said:
It was a CQC 8.
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Surprising, I thought that would get snapped up at $100 every day of the week.

I've toyed with doing a giveaway before. I think it is a good idea if you are trying to de-clutter some of the lower end stuff.
 
bvo85 said:
That's a great idea!
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That is a great idea. This board is full of generous members. Someone gave me an Emerson HD7 just out of kindness. (In response to something I said in a thread)

I sent him a couple Higonokamis in return anyway but he was fully willing to give it for free. It feels good knowing your unwanted knife is going to someone who will truly love it.

(As opposed to giving it to some of my real life friends who no matter how hard I try just will never respect or appreciate the knife as most BF members would)
 
I don't intentionally beat my knives up but have had a Protech and a Lightning OTF in a tool box as tools.
 
I've put a few knives in my toolbox in the garage and I do use them occasionally. Sometimes I need to open a box, cut some tape, slice a piece of cardboard, do some whittleing, etc.
 
SpySmasher said:
You could do a Giveaway. I'm thinking of doing that with some of my knives that are "not worth the sale." I figure they might be welcomed by somebody with a lower budget than I.
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You could raffle them off, then donate the proceeds to a worthy cause, be it knife related or something similar to what @NickShabazz did with the domestic violence shelters. Seems like a good idea to get rid of some knives you have no use for and do good in the process. :thumbsup:
 
In the process of tinkering, acid/stonewashing, learning to freehand sharpen, and the like, I've mucked up the faces of blades, rounded off tips, partly dissolved thumb studs (I left a blade in an acid bath too long -- the blade was fine; the thumb stud became pockmarked)... what else... over-bent lockbars... you get the idea.

So yes, I have a few throw-'em-in-the-toolbox, really-shouldn't-get-upset-if-something-happens-to-them, knives.

What this has taught me, though I do continue to forget at times, both in regard to knives and other things, is to slow down and take care. Just about every such mistake I've made has had as much to do with inexperience (like when sharpening, for example) as it has not setting aside adequate time and space to do things properly.
 
For me such knives are cheapo's.
I just can't do things like this with knives that costed more than 20$, the cheapo's that sit on my work bench or in a toolbox are sub $10 knives.
They'll see dirty work mostly and not heavy abuse, but the occasional heavy type abuse as well.
You may cringe, but crap knives like this can in fact be safe to use and the ones in my garage have been ( even one that only costed $1 new )

Nothing wrong with relegating any knife you no longer carry to garage / tool box use, even if expensive at least it's getting use which is what you bought it for.
 
I've given away a bunch of knives; probably more to local friends than here, but I think that's generally understandable. (It's one thing to hand somebody a knife, or some parts; it's another thing to have to pay to do so).
It's actually surprising how difficult it can be to sell lower cost (but good) knives here...I've put ridiculously low prices on some, and even done small bundles, without success. I don't bother any more.
 
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