What is the focus of your collecting?

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SanLuisObispo

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Nov 14, 2020
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What is the focus of your collection? Is it a certain type(s) of knives, or a certain brand(s), or national origin(s) or "firsts" or what?

My tiny collection has largely always focused on actual needs: work, hunting and now, defense.

But I would like to branch out and begin collecting the knives which different nations are best known for (e.g. USA: Bowie, Spain: Navaja, Italy: Stiletto, etc.)
 
Changed throughout the years. Something's will be a definite no forever, other things come and go. Mostly I like variety in color and materials other than g-10 and FRN etc.

Current focus:

Front flippers, though I've spent do much on a gun and gun stuff I need to calm my spending down, and focus on gifts for my family.

Definite no's:

Thumbstud only
Partially serrated
Tantos
Tip up only clip

I'm happy with my current collection, I've knives in many colors and styles. Can't bring myself to buy yellow or orange. I've got black g-10, carbon fiber, two tone blue and black CF, ironwood, burlap micarta, canvas micarta, aluminum, black dlc titanium, plain ti, purple ano ti with CF, frn, green circuit board, etc.

I really want a c-tek scale for my domino.
 
I focus on 4 main categories:
Folders I carry at work (I wear scrubs so it limits what I can carry)
Folders I carry outside of work
Fixed blades I carry while fishing
Multi bladed Slipjoints that can fit in the coin pocket of jeans

I've actually narrowed my collection down significantly after figuring out what I like the best for each category. I have plenty of knives still, but mostly rotate between six that stand out amongst those categories.
 
There's very little "focus" in my collection of over 330 knives.

I collect knives of all types (autos, balis, karambits, folders and fixed blades), brands (Spyderco, ZT, Kershaw, CRKT, Gerber, LionSteel, Hinderer, ColdSteel, Buck, BenchMade ProTech, MicroTech and on and on), many different blade shapes/steels, many different frame/lock/scale types/materials and many different uses (general purpose, fighting/SD, rescue/police/military, camping/bushcraft/survival, etc.).

My primary considerations in buying any knife are: 1) whether it is attractive to me (in terms of appearance/design and feel), 2) a "good value" relative to other knives of similiar design or "unique" enough to justify a higher price and 3) whether or not I think that it "fits" w/in my collection or not.

Bought most of the cheaper knives in my collection early on and the more expensive knives later. When I started my price limit was only $50 but now my limit is $500. However, I buy far fewer knives now than I did before.

On the high end in my collection in terms of cost/value are knives like a MicroTech Halo V, Spyderco Spyderfly and Hinderer XM24. On the low end are a wide variety of Kershaws & CRKTs and other "budget" brands. However, I do have some rare and relatively expensive "collectible" Kershaws and CRKTs like the Kershaw Tilt and Limited Edition Ken Onion designed Titanium CRKT Hi-Jinx mfg'd by LionSteel.

So, the knives in my collection pretty much run the entire gamut of the type of knives made/sold w/in the last 30 yrs or so.
 
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At first I just wanted to try out different blade geometries, lock types, steels and handle materials, but the underlying motive was - and still is - to search for great ergonomics, real users, dependable tools.

This eliminated all knives with ball bearings right off the bat for example (grit is a concern in homestead use). The curiosity to test out different steels, locks and whatnot attracted me to Spyderco and I found perfect ergonomics, nice materials and good looks in Bark River knives.

I am also looking at Striders and CRKs, but I am in no rush. I already covered all my needs, leaving me only with a few wants.

And this is where 'collecting' in it's classic sense comes into picture I guess. If I ever go that route, the traditional, handmade, custom knives will be my focus. Old patterns, embellishments, beautiful sheaths, natural materials that change as they age, and the lore that comes with it all is the real treasure.
 
Anything that tickles my fancy, provided it has a certain quality.
These days it's mostly vintage (older German, British, French, and US made knives) as well as a few Spyderco's and Bucks.
Also a couple of kitchen knives and some old swords.
 
My current focus is American made, custom or obscure. I guess my main focus is limiting my purchases to 1 or 2 a month. In theory im buying EDC stuff but in reality I love the large blades. I'm trying to hold off from buying a comp chopper.
 
It just depends. I have a small collection of Soldier/Pioneer SAKs just because. Also a collection of bayonets for the same reason.

But some of my meager collection is because I received an item as a gift. A lot of my most commonly used knives were gifts from fellow
BF.com members.

Personally, I have considered collecting based upon lock design.
One Axis Lock, one compression lock, one liner lock, etc.

Another idea has been collecting “first”. The first modern flipper knife, for example. Or the first practical lock back. You get the idea.

You could focus on knives acquired during your travels.
Or, only collect knives with clip point blades. Knives with company names or advertisements on the blade or scales is popular.

Maybe do something silly or fun.
Like knives that are cat related.
Spyderco’s Cat folder, a Puma lock back and the Mercator “Cat knife” all come to mind.

The possibilities are endless. Your idea of “World Knives” sounds like a fun challenge that could get very costly.

At one time, I thought collecting by “brand” would be enjoyable.
One Buck, one Benchmade, etc. This is how I got my Spyderco D’Allara 3. I knew I wanted one Spyderco to represent Sal Glesser’s line of products. This is hard to do, BTW. Especially with a company like Spyderco.

Please let us know what you decide.
 
My main focus is on SAK, and within that realm, there are already numerous themes one could take on for a lifetime. Various length, a certain model progress over the years, different colors, cultural or locality theme, etc.

Knives wise, I don't really adhere to one particular theme. Many are from my travelling, some of 'value' buys, some just because I appreciate the design or I like to use.
 
I like all knives. I go through phases. I have slip joints, and an OTF, lock backs, frame locks, a Spyderco.

Of course I have a long list of knives that I want.
 
My general rule has been to buy knives that I like.

I worry about sorting them into a collection afterward. To me a collection is about how things are presented and not why they are acquired. It may be as straight forward as “Dad’s Hunting Knives”, or “Knives I carried as a Student”, or “Knives of WWII”. The possibilities are endless and the same knife may end up sorted into any number of collections. It is about telling a story and keeping it interesting.

I find the idea of buying based on types, steels or brands limiting. There are an infinite variety of knives in the wild, you never know what you are going to encounter and going after a preconceived target blinds you to all of that. At least for me, it would make the hobby a lot duller.

What is the point of reading the same book over and over again. Keep it fresh, trade off the old and allow yourself to discover new stories.

n2s
 
I've never tried to focus on anything specific with my collecting. If I stop and think about it, there are some common themes to the knives that I buy, though.
 
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