Trying to Get Your Significant Other to Understand Your Knife Habit

sfknifeguy

sfknifeguy

Joined
Feb 14, 2019
Messages
585
Hi all,

It has come up in conversations that I have had with my wife before. It actually came up yesterday as well. She cannot understand how I could ever spend more than about $100 on a knife, just flat out doesn't understand it. We were in Bestbuy and she mentioned wanting an Ipad Mini as a gift at some point, with the price of about $400. I said oh okay that's fine, as long as I can ask for a $400 knife.

She couldn't fathom how I could spend that kind of money on something so "little." Of course jewelry is a thing, among other things that are quite pricey and small.

Where I'm going with this is, how can I explain to her why I'm willing to pay that kind of money for a knife, and as such, why are you willing to pay "x" amount of dollars for a knife? What is your justification when in question or under scrutiny? Thanks!
 
I never really expected my wife to understand so much as I'd always hoped she'd get excited about it too so it might be something we could share. People who are not knife people rarely understand spending more than twenty five or so dollars on any kind of knife, let alone a pocket knife so if she's good up to $100 I'd say you're already ahead. :)

Now, I try to keep my knife buying in line with our budget so I don't put her in a position to get upset over a purchase. In fact, she's usually the one who will suggest I get something new these days. I'll also say that my tastes don't lean to knives much beyond the $150 range.

But I will say, after soooo many years of trying to get her excited about knives, we did have a recent breakthrough. I chronicled that here: So She Says...
 
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I don’t think it’s make sense to try to make others “understand”

A hobby is not something that people understand, they appreciate, they share or they accept it ... but it is more something connected to the emotions than to the intellect
 
Trying to Get Your Significant Other to Understand Your Knife Habit
Click to expand...
Here we enter the realm of pure fantasy and perhaps the unreal numbers.
All I can say is change the subject FAST !
Oh dear I love seeing you in that color !
The way your hair curls around your face makes you look like a model !
Where would you like to eat tonight; I'm buying of course ?

how can I explain to her why I'm willing to pay that kind of money for a knife
Click to expand...
tell you what I'll give you an assignment . . . once you complete it come back and we will answer that . . . one step at a time though :
Get some p . . . er . . . water . . . and push it up a wall.
 
Eli Chaps said:
I never really expected my wife to understand so much as I'd always hoped she'd get excited about it too so it might be something we could share. People who are not knife people rarely understand spending more than twenty five or so dollars on any kind of knife, let alone a pocket knife so if she's good up to $100 I'd say you're already ahead. :)

Now, I try to keep my knife buying in line with our budget so I don't put her in a position to get upset over a purchase. In fact, she's usually the one who will suggest I get something new these days. I'll also say that my tastes don't lean to knives much beyond the $150 range.

But I will say, after soooo many years of trying to get her excited about knives, we did have a recent breakthrough. I chronicled that here: So She Says...
Click to expand...

You're right about this, I shouldn't expect her to understand it, I only want her to accept it. Haha thanks for the encouragement though. I may have fibbed and told her I only paid a little over $100 for a ZT 0562 Ti, I meannnn, I did get a good deal on it at $220 still.

By the way, I read your entire story, that was beautiful. So glad that she showed interest like that! I did have a bit of a breakthrough somewhat recently, I got her a Pink Mini Griptilian and she did end up liking it a lot and got pretty good at flipping around the axis lock. I guess we will just do what we can to get them interested. :)
 
Peter Hartwig said:
Good luck-not sure I even fully understand it
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That's a good point, I don't understand the fascination exactly either, something about a sleek, well crafted, beautiful tool that can be used to cut so many things just gives me joy on a daily basis.
 
Wowbagger said:
Here we enter the realm of pure fantasy and perhaps the unreal numbers.
All I can say is change the subject FAST !
Oh dear I love seeing you in that color !
The way your hair curls around your face makes you look like a model !
Where would you like to eat tonight; I'm buying of course ?


tell you what I'll give you an assignment . . . once you complete it come back and we will answer that . . . one step at a time though :
Get some p . . . er . . . water . . . and push it up a wall.
Click to expand...

Haha you're right, I will probably never get her to understand the hobby, but I will try my best. I don't want to have to fib to her to buy a new Olamic or CRK or a midtech, but that's where it gets difficult.
 
I got my wife involved. She comes to Blade and we make a couples trip out of it. She now has her own collection of knives and just this past week she indicated she was going to need her own knife case to keep them in.

Now she shares the excitement when a new knife is due to be delivered, or seeing the new lineup of our favorite manufacturer, or when Jerry announces a Ganza - for instance.

Pick your wife up a cute little pink or pearl Victorinox for her purse. Find something to ask her for her knife when you have "forgotten" yours so you can use it and give it back.

That or set up a clandestine second identity so you can run your knife money through that. ;^)

best

mqqn
 
My GF doesn't understand it either but her opinion doesn't matter. My $, my choice.

Besides, she doesn't have anything to complain about given the thousands of dollars that I've spent on meals, entertainment, jewelry and other things that I've gifted to her.

I was married for 25 years and have been in a LTR w/my GF for going on 12 years. Being in a LTR is much better. LOL! ;)
 
Upgrade all the kitchen knives to $100+ knives then after she is used to them and loves them take them away and give her back the set that cost maybe $100 total.
 
My fiancée got fairly into knives for a bit after we got together, so no real issues getting her to understand. And she has a pet habit that costs exponentially more than my knife habit, so when I say I want a knife, the only comment I think I ever get is, "Why don't you buy it?"
 
Therom said:
it is more something connected to the emotions than to the intellect
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Oh now . . . ALL my knife decisions are based on FACTS (gleaned here on BF) and HARD SCIENCE.
I MUST have the knives that I have selected with a stedfast devotion to rigor and discernment.
It is just that the average LAYMAN cannot begin to grasp the ultrascience and megaengineering that attempts to describe how the various factors propagate through space and interact with each other.
:) :p :)
 
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She doesn’t have to understand the allure of expensive knives, but she does understand that it is something I maintain a high level of interest in. As long as it doesn’t put us in a financial bind and I keep the habit somewhat reasonable, she doesn’t seem to mind. We all have our hobbies!
 
Same reason some people want to spent tens of thousands on a single designer bag than a hundred on a commercial made bag. Or why some people prefer sports cars over an SUV, both gets you from point A to B, but it's just not the same.

It's not about the sharp edge (all knives have that after a good sharpening), it's about the experience.
 
mqqn said:
I got my wife involved. She comes to Blade and we make a couples trip out of it. She now has her own collection of knives and just this past week she indicated she was going to need her own knife case to keep them in.

Now she shares the excitement when a new knife is due to be delivered, or seeing the new lineup of our favorite manufacturer, or when Jerry announces a Ganza - for instance.

Pick your wife up a cute little pink or pearl Victorinox for her purse. Find something to ask her for her knife when you have "forgotten" yours so you can use it and give it back.

That or set up a clandestine second identity so you can run your knife money through that. ;^)

best

mqqn
Click to expand...

I want to go to Bladeshow this year for the first time, and my wife said she'd go if one of my buddies doesn't want to go, maybe I can spark her interest there. That's super cool to hear and I hope I can get my wife interested as well!

I picked her out a pink Mini Griptilian for Valentine's Day and she does actually like it a lot, although I don't think she's ever cut anything with it. That's a neat touch, asking for hers though!
 
PirateSeulb said:
Upgrade all the kitchen knives to $100+ knives then after she is used to them and loves them take them away and give her back the set that cost maybe $100 total.
Click to expand...
Haha we do have a decent kitchen knife set, and I loved that when her mom came over for a party, she went on in front of everyone, including my wife about how nice our knives were and whatnot. It was pretty great Maybe I'll pick up a cheap $40 farberware set and see what she thinks then!
 
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