WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR KNIFE COLLECTION ARE SAFE QUEENS ?

1.5% or 1/65.

I have one safe queen. A knife my grandpa carried. Although I'm good at not losing things in general, that knife has too much sentimental value for me to carry.
 
I've only got 4 safe queens.
The rest are either EDC candidates, or brush dogs.
 
I'm curious......
What percentage of the knives do you own that are safe queens?
Are the knives safe queens because they are antique, limited edition or special in craftsmanship?
I know some collectors that will buy say......... a Chris Reeve knife.
CRK knives are very good quality, expensive. For them it is a grail knife. Too expensive to use.
All thoughts and opinions welcome!
Probably about 90%. I like Benchmade gold class knives and those are my main collection items.
 
I'm in the 0% club, I get all my knives to carry and use, even the expensive ones. There's some out there considerd "art knives" and I just look at those and don't buy
 
started out being 0%..over time I've gotten into a collect and a use categories. I've learned on my use category i dont need so many, to cover all my tasks. so the collection grows more in collection than use.
 
1/3
Not because they are safe queens, but because the are older, blade styles I no longer like, too big to carry, too small to carry, too funny looking to carry, etc.
 
Around 75%, the others are users that won’t wear out. I’ve got some that will never get used, carried, but not used.
I’ll never use the CRK Halloween knives.
 
Zero percent. Obviously there are some I’m not going to use hard, but I carry them all
 
I have exactly one safe queen - 1918 LG&C Trench. I came very close to sharpening it but talked myself out of it. 😅
 
I’m a knife accumulator, not a knife collector. Nothing (save a backup or gift-to-be) stays in the safe perpetually.

I would estimate 20% of my knives get babied, mostly because they’re nice and I’ve got plenty of other good stuff to dork up. Examples would be my Spyderco PITS and Lg 21 Thuya.

50% of my knives are blades I’ve carried & used to a varying degree, but mostly stay in the dark because other things have grabbed my fancy at the moment. I still like these knives way too much to part with, and they’ll occasionally work into rotation. Examples would be my Schempp Bowie and ZT 0801.

30% of my knives get carried and used a lot, like my Tanto ‘Zaan, Ultratech, and Spyopera.

I have way too many knives.
 
I only have one knife that I do not abuse or have abused. My etched Boye drop point hunter because of its rarity and being antique as well as its value. I do use and carry it but I wont abuse it. If you are it willing to use a knife, it is just decoration or art (not that there is anything wrong with that). I have made an agreement with myself to not own a knife I am not willing to use. I carried two knives that I never used because they were mission specific for self defense, the “Spyderco Civilian” because they are not practical beyond eliminating a threat. I lost one and the other needs repair.
(edit. “Abuse” within reason. I test my knives so that when I need them, I know what they are capable of. I “Abuse” the steel to see its limits to keep within the limits.)
 
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All my knives were bought to be users, and all are good knives, but most end up not getting much pocket time after the new wears off. Oddly enough, the ones that get the most and the hardest use are my most expensive ones- the CRKs. No matter what new "favorite" I buy, a Chris Reeve soon ends up back in my pocket.
 
Fixed blades, maybe 1 or 2 out of a dozen. Folders probably about 20% of about 50 knives.
 
One issue I see with this question is that there are multiple definitions of "safe queen". I probably actually use and/or carry about 30 or 40 knives each year, on average. Which means that I have more knives that I don't carry or use in a given year, than those that I do carry or use - again, in a year's time.

But I am not "saving" 95% of those "other" knives - I just didn't get around to using them, recently. My plan is to use and/or carry approximately 95% of my knives, over time. So by my definition, only about 5% of my knives are "safe queens". But if the definition of "safe queen" is what percentage of knives that you own have you not used or carried in the past 6 to 12 months - then it becomes probably 60-75%.
I was curious.....in the most basic sense.
Your reply........reads like a great defense......To a spouse complaining.......
 
I'm 61 now so safe queens don't make much sense to me. I'll have a couple of safe queens that I'm keeping for my grandbabies though. I have my granddaughters knife already, but my grandson's knife is a preordered Carothers UF2 in full dagger grind with wood scales that I haven't received yet.
 
None. I max out at the $100 range on pocket knives so I feel comfortable enough to beat them like a Mora.

Anything that doesnt get used gets sold, but I'm not against owning a Grail or two to look at and derive pleasure from.
 
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