Use the knife or just admire it?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
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I believe there are some knife collectors who buy knives and not use them.

This may sound strange to a lot of us knife knuts. Is it not the function of a knife to be put to use? What good is a knife if it does not have an utility value?

Some may beg to differ on this aspect. Of course, there are art knives which are too beautiful to be abused in the outdoors. These are probably best displayed in glass cases.

But for the rest of the blades, basically they are meant to be used. I am sure the makers of knives would be very proud to learn that their knives withstood the toughest tests in the field and come out tops.

That's what I mean. Do you want to buy a $500 knife and then promptly take it home and keep it safe in your drawer? Occasionally, you may take it out to admire it or show it off to family members and friends.

To each his own, of course but I would rather have someone buy a knife, no matter what its cost and use it in the best and worst of circumstances. That's what a good knife is for. Use it and use it well, otherwise it really defeats the purpose of owning a good knife.

It's just like buying a beautiful car. It is not going to do you any good if it sits in the garage. Its function is best realised when you take it out on to the road and go for long drives. So it is with a knife, expensive or otherwise.




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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
I agree. Knives are tools, designed and intended to be used.

Oh sure, there are some knives specifically intended to be collected and displayed. But the greatest majority of knives are using knives.

I've read many posts here where users carry several knives or switch knives out for use as needed. Probably a good idea because no single knive was designed for all purposes.

To me, my "best" knife" is my everyday carrying and using knife!

OTE]Originally posted by golok:
I believe there are some knife collectors who buy knives and not use them.

This may sound strange to a lot of us knife knuts. Is it not the function of a knife to be put to use? What good is a knife if it does not have an utility value?

Some may beg to differ on this aspect. Of course, there are art knives which are too beautiful to be abused in the outdoors. These are probably best displayed in glass cases.

But for the rest of the blades, basically they are meant to be used. I am sure the makers of knives would be very proud to learn that their knives withstood the toughest tests in the field and come out tops.

That's what I mean. Do you want to buy a $500 knife and then promptly take it home and keep it safe in your drawer? Occasionally, you may take it out to admire it or show it off to family members and friends.

To each his own, of course but I would rather have someone buy a knife, no matter what its cost and use it in the best and worst of circumstances. That's what a good knife is for. Use it and use it well, otherwise it really defeats the purpose of owning a good knife.

It's just like buying a beautiful car. It is not going to do you any good if it sits in the garage. Its function is best realised when you take it out on to the road and go for long drives. So it is with a knife, expensive or otherwise.


[/QUOTE]

 
Depends on the knife and price!

I use a knife with care if it costs more than $50

My Sebi and 710 models 6-50 and 247-400 are keepers rather than users.

My AFCK is the exeption to the rule. I use it for whatever comes by. The reason? The BT2 was marked from day one by liner rub and cutting tough cardboard has marked the BT2 even more. For a pricey knife it gets USED!

W.A.

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"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
I think most makers are thinking about a knife's utility while it is being made. What that "utility" is exactly may be subject to redefinition as the knife approaches completion, but with the possible exception of damascus blades that will become less attractive when scratched and certain handle materials like ivory that aren't sufficiently durable to withstand hard use, a knife is really defined by its usefulness.

Unless a knife is abused, by using it for things other than those for which it's intended, most wear and minor cosmetic damage as is normal in use can be easily repaired and made to look like new with a trip back to the maker. Some may charge for the facelift; I charge postage only. Each year I see about 30+ hunters come limping home for their annual makeover. I sharpen and polish them up to almost new as a way of keeping me in touch with how well they are performing over time.

If in doubt as to whether and for what a good custom knife should be used, talk to the maker and get his opinion. Ask him about specific uses and what extra care may be required for subjecting the knife to unusual circumstances. He'll greatly appreciate your discussing that with him before the fact, than he will the phone call where you describe how you managed to break the point or chip a chunk out the handle. How well he handles that conversation may mitigate your purchasing decisions.

Knives are indeed tools, but remembering to use the right tool for the right job is good advice.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The New Tom & Jerry Show
 
"I believe there are some knife collectors who buy knives and not use them."

Isn't this the definition of a collector. Collector's buy to display, and they tend to pay a premium for rare minty unused examples. Judging by the knives that pop up for sale under our exchange there are many collectors on these forums. Almost everything is like new, unsharpened, or mint.

Wasteful, well perhaps, but collecting is more about entertainment than use. Perhaps its equally wasteful to beat up every knife you come across. Knives can only be in mint condition once; after that they can be used in ??? condition.

As, tools go, knives have a fairly long useful life. If I were approaching knives strictly from a user's point of view I would have very few knives. I have some knives that I bought many years ago, and use on a regular basis, that are still going strong. By any objective measure there are far better knives out there. None-the less I have become very comfortable with the my selected knives, and I have no reason to replace them in the lineup.







[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 02-05-2001).]
 
In my opinion you can never fully admire a knife until you use it. If you just stare at it then you bought it for looks and you might as well start buying United cutlery peices.

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Mykl
Don't think you are...know you are.
 
At one time not long ago I would have agreed that to buy a knife and not use it is a waste. Now I am not so sure. I am about to purchase a des Horn folder with damascus blade. This is a beautiful knife with a blade that is easily damaged and hard to touch up.
Maybe I will change my choice of blade material to Damasteel so that I can use it for at least some things.

Keith.
 
If you do not use the knife you own, that is just fine, in my book. It only means THAT YOU ARE NOT READY TO USE IT YET. You probably already have a knife or two that get used quite a bit. If, and when the time comes when you are ready to use it, go for it. You WILL know when that time is. For the most part, I have found that knives I own and do not use, don't get used for a very good reason. Mostly, that reason is that my current users are doing a fantastic job.
ON THE OTHER HAND, if you are looking at a knife, holding it, playing with it, and asking yourself "Do I want to use this knife" Take it for a test run. You can always put it back on the shelf, right?

Why use a knife that you spend all of your time worrying about it getting a scratch. That's just not fun.

[This message has been edited by Pergatory (edited 02-04-2001).]
 
Originally posted by Pergatory:
If you do not use the knife you own, that is just fine, in my book. It only means THAT YOU ARE NOT READY TO USE IT YET

As your tastes in knives progreses, you will USE your show pieces and acquire new show pieces. There was a time when I coveted my large plain Sebenza. Now, I use the daylights out of it. I am now "progressing" into the new keep-it-but-don't-use-it piece.

If you acquire a quality "tool" then USE the darn thing. If you have a show piece then, by all means, enjoy the "showing" rather than than the "using" of the darn thing. Bottom line : it's a thing!

[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited 02-04-2001).]
Click to expand...
 
Golok,
This thread reminds me alot of this one http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum64/HTML/001608.html that you posted not too long ago.

It appears as if you are looking for the correct answer as to what you should do with your knives.

If you are looking for the "correct answer", I would suggest that the only thing that you could do wrong with your knives is to not do what you want to!

If I'm off the mark here, sorry. I do not intend to insult. This is only an observation on my part.

--The Raptor--
 
OK I'll jump in. I have knives I don't use or carry, not because they're way expensive, but because they're useless, illegal to carry, or designed for a specific purpose that doesn't interest me (what would I use a sword for anyway?); these knives hang on my wall. And I like them there. Most of my expensive (to me, i.e., ~$100) are folders and all get carried and used. Most have been sharpedend. I just acquired my first custom, a D.R. Good w/a damascus blade & elk antler tip handle. I carry and use it, but I use it carefully; for potentially knife damaging tasks, I'll use a BM or Spydie, because I know they can take it and they could be replaced. The idea of buying an expensive knife and never cutting anything with it has never crossed my mind. I don't own a glass case. None of my knives are really NIB, but all are well taken care of. Sometimes I wonder if in the future I'll ever "use up" a knife, since I have so many that I keep switching my carry. Some people are actual collectors or investors, and using one of their knives could depreciate its value significantly. I can understand why they wouldn't use a $1,500 knife when a $100 would do the job just fine. If I could afford really expensive knives, I'd probably use them too, but I can understand why some folks don't.

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Jason aka medusaoblongata
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"To give is a need, to receive is mercy." - Thus Spoke Zarathustra
 
I think this "kind" of debate has gone on long and over again. I had the same encounter in Emerson forum sometime ago and it found it's way here again.

The bottom line is, if YOU can afford to use a USD$1500 folder....BY ALL MEANS, USE IT! Don't lecture others what to use and not!

If you can afford to convert your ferrari into a super touring race machine, race and bang up the damn car....GO FOR IT!
For us mere mortals who can't......we'll just cruise down the country road! Thank you!

Enough of this already!

Eric.
 
Only my opinion but if won't own a knife I won't use. Art knives are pretty, I admire their workmanship, some are made to standards that will take abuse. But if that will ruin their value, I will leave them to the collectors. Unless I really like it for some reason. It is like with my other hobby, guitars. I have met guitar collector who don't know how to play. I have met owners of '59 Les Pauls who keep them under glass, they haven't been played in years. To each his own, but if I have it I will use it.
 
There are a lot of knives that I own, but don't use. If I were simply a "knife user," I would own one or two decent, but not extravagant working fixed blades and a couple of stout folders. But I am a knife knut and a city dweller to boot, so my motivation for accumulating knives is not for hunting, skinnng, camping, etc. I have a few blade that cut stuff, but I just love knives and will continue to buy them, even just to look at and play with.

I buy knives because I love the looks, design, materials, action, feel, etc... I love to simply handle and admire the flawless execution and design of my LCC and other MT pieces, and the toughest material that they cut is the occasional piece of paper when I want to remind myself how nice and sharp they are. My Civilian's only "use" is getting it out of its little pouch, thumbing that insane blade open 'til it locks up with a solid snap, twirling it around and admiring it's lethal beauty.
 
We all accept the fact that some knives are not designed to be used, such as (off the top of my mind) the Hibben fantasy knives. Then there are knives that welcome the worst abuse and seem to slice through it, almost as if it was saying "Is that all ya got?"
Sometimes I think I over-brag about how good the Buck/Strider is, but that is the truth. If you want to know who to ask what a knife can "take", I can think of none other than the man himself, Mick Strider.

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See you in hell, Liquid. That takes care of the cremation.
*Walks away from the scene of the battle, Hind gunship in flames. Lights a Marlboro.*
 
The issue seems a little confused. I don't think the original question was specifically referring to art knives. As I understood it Golok was asking whether we bought any (non-art) knives for our collections which we otherwise did not intend to use.

Art knives were specifically excluded:

"Of course, there are art knives which are too beautiful to be abused in the outdoors. These are probably best displayed in glass cases."

 
I say if it was meant to be used, by all mean use! Never mind the price. I have a Emerson CQC6 in my pocket as I speak, and have used it a couple of times today. I'm not the original owner either.

Certainly, fine art pieces were never meant to be used. A lot are probably not even heat treated.

Why take a fine blade crafted by a
Mastersmith such as Ed Fowler, or a folder by someone such as Ernest Emerson, and put it in a drawer or a safe? (Okay. Full dress I can see why, 'tho it would still hold up.)

You just want a really sweet, pristine colection? Fine. I respect that. I personally want my money's worth from mine, and using them is how I get that satifaction. I can always sent them back for refurbishing.



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"When loss and gain are alike to one, that is real gain.."
 
After digesting all the comments on this thread, I am compelled to come to the conclusion that there is no right answer.

The correct one will be a combination of what Rick1955, The General, Pergatory have said.

Not2Sharp was right. My observation is exactly what he said. Quite sharp of you, Not2Sharp.

And Raptor, my previous posting had a slightly different flavour. Not the same, even though it may sound the same.

In the former, I was merely gauging how others conceived their collection and the principles on which their knife collection is founded. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.


I had no intention of delivering a lecture as some had perceived. Quite the contrary, I was merely soliciting viewpoints in comparison with mine. It doesn't mean I am right.

Thanks guys for the illuminating feedback. We all have our ideas on how our knives should be used. Since it is a personal hobby, ultimately it really depends on the individual.

There is really no right or wrong on this issue.



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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
I say use 'em.

I couldn't see using a $5K knife, but if I had enough money to buy a $5K knife I'd use the bastid! Even if it were just to top the caps off my Cubans, I'd use it.

Unless it were some type of historically important knife I couldn't see leaving a knife under glass!

Brandon
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">We all have our ideas on how our knives should be used. Since it is a personal hobby, ultimately it really depends on the individual.
There is really no right or wrong on this issue.</font>
Click to expand...

Golok,
I agree with your final comments, from your last post, wholeheartedly. That was, ultimately, the point that I was trying to make.

--The Raptor--

[This message has been edited by Raptor (edited 02-06-2001).]
 
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