Variety versus Standardization

[frogger42]

Over the last few years, I've been accumulating knives... mostly folders. I started out hot and heavy on the Kershaw assisted openers, but had a few fail and have now gotten rid of all but one Blur of those. Then, I fell in love with the Spydercos. I've got Delicas, an Endura, a Native and a Ladybug. Then, I decided I liked the Benchmade Griptilians so I got a full size, a mini and a fixed blade. Now, I'm wondering if I'd be better off selling off most of them and standardizing on one style (probably either the Griptilian or the Delica) or is it better to have variety.

My knives are mostly for utilitarian purposes like opening packages, etc... but I would use one in a last ditch defensive situation if I had to. For a self defense tool, I'm thinking having them all the same makes sense. What do you guys think? Do you like to stick to one style (at least for what you carry) or do you switch it up with the changing of the tide?

 

[midnightreport]

Variety. I find that having the versatility of different designs in my collection allows me to designate certain knives for certain tasks to which they are better suited. For example, my go-to backpacking and hiking knife is a Spyderco Delica 4, but I prefer the slimmer and sleeker design of the Kershaw Skyline for urban carry. Also, having a collection with a breadth of different designs is more enjoyable to me.

Edit: I also think you have a valid point about standardizing for defensive use. Nevertheless, if you're looking to pare down your collection, perhaps you could approach your knife collection with the "Bases-Covered" approach in mind (see thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/855154-List-Your-quot-Bases-Covered-quot-Knives). Think about the uses you have for your knives, determine which one or two blades in your collection do the job the best for each, then seriously consider selling or trading the ones that don't make the list. I'm still approaching this with variety in mind, but those are just my two cents...