What does your knife say about you?

kamagong said:
Anyone heard from Pinnah? This is his thread, but he hasn't said anything since the original post.
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He is still posting in other threads. Most recent was about an hour and a half ago. Maybe he hasn't had anything to add to this topic yet.
 
kamagong said:
Anyone heard from Pinnah? This is his thread, but he hasn't said anything since the original post.
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I'm here. Taking in the responses and enjoying them.

@Brett: I love the St-Expurey quote. I used to keep taped to my computer monitor. I work in a design related field and it's one of my credos. But, I come back to and struggle with this conundrum.


XCD Quiver by Pinnah, on Flickr

These are my skis. In a good ski year, they'll get used. They all do something different. Some are most commonly used and I *could* pare down if I needed to. Notice the run of boots? 4 pairs of boot; each different.

My friend Eugene started the rec.backcounry forum on usenet. Anybody remember usenet? Anyway, Gene would chide me, "It's not about the skis. Learn to ski." At some level, he was right. A good skier can use anything in any snow. "Toute neige" is the old French saying. Any snow. It's about the skill.

But it's called SKIing for a reason. At some level, it IS about the skis. And knives are about the knives.

I aspire towards minimalism but the reality is, that if I hadn't gone through a period of conspicuous experimentation, I wouldn't have found a daily carry that suits me so well. I hugely prefer my current carry to what I grew up with, in the same way that I have strong preferences in skis, binding, boots, camp stove and ale.

Lastly, I think that simplicity and contentment have to be thought of differently in an internet age than, say, a hundred years ago. We know more and see across horizons like never before. I can choose bike parts and bike styles from around the globe. Nordic Backcountry and Telemark skiing wouldn't have grown in the US without the net. The net helps experimentation flurish in backpacking equipment.

I've learned so much from the forum and my life is so much richer because of it. But the step away from the cornucopia of options needs to be, for me, intentional. The ember of insecurity glows deep in my heart and it doesn't take much to fan it into a flame.

"I've proven who I am so many times
The magnetic strip's worn thin." - Bruce Cockburn


EDC Pair 2 by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
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I do vaccilate on my knife buying tendencies.

My coworker showed me his grandfather's old bail knife recently after he saw me whip out a peanut pattern to open up a package.

Afterwards I thought about it and ordered a lockback Barlow. I will either give him the Barlow or the peanut that I carry in my pocket because I trust it 100‰.

I hope that the knife I choose to carry just says that I'm pragmatic about carrying a knife and that it does not define who I am. That all that the knife is, is a tool that makes my day easier. The peanut for me is the least amount of tool that can get the most common of knife things done that I keep on my person before I have to escalate the matter to something in my bag, drawer or bench.

In this way, I believe that I am not paying homage to traditional ways by collecting a mass of knives. Or paying respect to an old way of doing things. Rather it says that I'm living in the moment in the same manner as people before me who saw a knife as a useful tool to have on their person. The difference might be only slight but its important to me philosophically.

For me there's enough difference between being a spectator and a participant in life.
 
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Thought provoking, Is it true that the man with the most toys is the winner?
 
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Well, since I carry a variety of knives on a variety of occasions, and sometimes a variety of knives on the same occasion, I guess they say that I can't make up my mind!
 
My knife says that I am a composter and a recycler, a scholar, a warrior and a saint, and a thoroughly enlightened being free of attachment to any object of desire.
 
My knives say i am an idiot, these are just some of the GECs that i let go.
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My knives say I managed great with a couple of Opinel's for about thirty years until I got the internet, found Bladeforums and heard of Great Eastern Cutlery.
I wouldn't change any of it though.
 
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My variety of carry, both modern and traditional, says that I have stopped trying to please others, and have decided to please myself. I used to care more about what others would think of my possessions, like the OP has suggested of society. I have found that I can live without the approval of others, and have begun carrying what I like, without regards to others' opinions. I have become comfortable with who I am, and have put down my ego/pride.
 
My knife says that I appreciate the value of a good tool, and that I take care of my tools so that they can take care of me.
 
kamagong said:
I don't know if my knife says anything about me other than I like beautiful, well-made things.
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That pretty much sums it up for me. I also like knowing that my dollars are going to people who still take pride in honest, old-school craftsmanship.
 
To quote Mick Jagger " A Man of Wealth & Taste" Ha, ha! The latter but far from the former..:D

What I'd like to think is that they show that I've been fortunate enough to find particularly nice knives and a place to share discussion and appreciation of them.

Er, maybe that's what Mick meant....:)
 
Wealth can be measured in all sorts of ways. When it is applied to me, it's usually in a non-monetary sense. ;)
 
I'm interested in World culture, people, food, music from other lands.. I look for the same style, artisitic lines and culture in the knives I buy. I lean heavily towards European knives.. Especially the French, I have the Capucin, Laguiole, Opinel, Le Thiers, Douk Douk.. I have the Otter Messers from Germany, a couple of friction knives from Italy, Okapi from S. Africa, and a handful of Italian switchblades. I love 'em all.
 
Not really sure what my knives would say about me ???
Each one probably feels as if I spend to much times with the others. And the Traditional I have in one pocket more than likely wonders why in the heck I need that new fangled tactical thingy in my other pocket. And the Modern in the other pocket probably wonders why I'm carrying around an old foggie that takes two hand to open in the other.
I don't think they would have much good to say about me at all :p

Seriously though, I guess it may say that I'm just a huge knife nut that doesn't care that much about fitting into a certain catagory.
 
My knife says I am an anachronism that vacillates between consumerism and frugality, with class and panache. This one also says someone Ive never met in person appreciates me enough to gift me something I would never have allowed myself. Thanks Arizonaranchman!

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