Using your customs

I like to carry my customs.However I do want to keep their value and so I do almost all actual cutting with the Mini- Mel Pardue Benchmade on my keychain.I carry the customs for 3 reasons.1) for emergency use.2)for personal protection and 3) because they`re really cool!I think it is wise to keep your emergency/defense knife dedicated to that role and used for little else.That way when it is truly needed,it will be razor-sharp and in good working order.Plus when I get bored at work I can take the custom of the day out and admire it. Best of both worlds.
David

AKTI#150
 
Oops! I forgot to mention my Matt Lamey knives. I really use these knives since Matt makes a true working knife. Just realized I forgot to mention him when I posted yesterday.

Sorry Matt!
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~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska

 
I just got done using my Martin Kozuka to filet and thin slice a couple pounds of chicken for the wife's cooking exploit of the evening. Hard not to use this knife since it is the sharpest knife in the house and begs to cut. I also use a few of my other customs to cut and carry some of the other tactical models but don't cut with them. I also keep some of them mint if I think they will appreciate significantly in value. Out of the three categories: customs I use to cut routinely, customs I carry as tactical backups to my firearms and customs I keep as investment knives, I like the users the best. I truly enjoy using a fine handmade knife.
 
I'm a few weeks away from ordering my first Custom. It's a Hunter, do I plan to use it? NO, I'm not a hunter. Will I carry it? I'm sure I will. After the newness of owning my first custom wears off, or when I start to have a few, it might get some use, but not abuse. It's nice to know, whatever I decide to do, that people whose opinions I respect agree. That's great.
 
Interesting thread guys!

I buy thousands of knives each year, carry all of them for a week or two and then sell them at knife shows and over the internet!
LOL!

When I first got into custom knives, they were all bought to be used. That was my justification for the purchase.

I remember when I got my first Walter Brend model 2 (only $450.00 back in 86). I took it out of the sheath and to the amazement of my soldiers I slid it along some gravel! Scratched the hell out of it.

I looked at them and said, "now I dont have to worry about scratching it"!

The majority of the knives I buy, I do so because the appeal to me on one level or another.

I do have some in a collection, but all the others (except the ones I sell) are carried, as I have come to enjoy the feeling I get from carrying a knife that was crafted by one of the best knife makers in the world.

Chefget, I do carry a fairly expensive knife to go with that Rolex. Oddly enough, my Rolex keeps excellent time. Actually, all three of them do!

Les
 
if the maker is retired or dead, I dont use them. But otherwise I use them for the pure pleasure of it.
Also, I spoke to Bob Terzuola at the NY Show. He said he would refinish one of his knives for me for a nominal cost. So, if I carry it for a year or two, then want to sell it like mint-I get a year or two of use just for the low cost of refinishing.
Most makers will do likewise so long as you use and not abuse.
BTW-my cutoff for a user is $750-more than that and for me it is just a collectors item.

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lifter
Phil. 4:13

Dave
Wharton,NJ


 
Interesting. Lynn Griffith offers a similar service for a nominal fee. I think that is an excellent idea for any maker. Let us use the heck out of the knives, then after some time goes by we can send it back, get it refinished, and wham! we get that "new knife" feeling all over again! I'll definately be taking Lynn up on that offer, as I tend to use the Tracker hard, which is what it was designed for.
 
Chris Reeve, Darrel Ralph and Lynn Griffith will all refurbish their pieces for you. One of the reasons they are my favorite makers. Takes the worry out of using their knives.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
Add Kit Carson to that list - Both Darrel & Kit told me in no uncertain terms that I was to use their knives or else? I gave them the only possible answer, 'YES!!!' as I went out the door to do some 'hacking & whacking' with an evil grin on my face. Its great when makers stand behind their work like that & you basically get a new knife periodically for almost nothing. They are good 'people' besides being wonderful knifemakers.

Happy Holidays!
Bill
 
I had a hard time using any knife over 50 or 60 dollars when I first got into them years ago. I got over that, then got my first custom. There it sat, I thought, people must be crazy to use them. I got over that, and now I love to use them. Sure, I could cut opem boxes with my Spydee Endura or Benchmade Nimravus. But there is something about using a custom thats hard to explain (but most here know what I mean). Taking out my Patrolman, with its perfect grinds, and incredible attention to detail and cutting a box open is just more fun. Dont know why, but it is.

Richard
 
HI Chef,

But when you can get a Rolex for the price of a Baum, which would you buy?

Which still leaves me the 3K for more knives and I have a Rolex!

Right now, with the custom knife market the way it is. The problem is not getting coming up with money. It is finding custom knives to buy. The majority of makers I work with are starting to get not months behind, but years.

Les
 
I am one of those sick people that use them everyday.
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In fact my Carson gets used everyday of the week.


Regards,

Tom Carey
 
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