What will happen to your knife collection when you die?

Daniel L

Daniel L

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Nov 2, 1998
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I was actually getting ready to write my will and it occurred to me... what do I want to do with my knives when I die?

I'm not yet 50, but neither my partner nor kids have any interest in knives so they don't want them. I don't have anything super rare / super collectible... just a lifetime of picking up pieces here and there of mostly production knives from around the world. It's an interesting collection to me, so I guess that's all that counts as each piece has a story behind it.

The retail value is probably between $5k to $7k... and worth a lot less in an estate sale.

What plans have you made? What would you recommend?
Give them all away and don't think about it? Sell on Ebay / Bladeforums? Will someone sell my $400 folders for $10??
 
Luckily I have sons who are happy (I think) to get a few knives. I also have a grandson who is now in college and into blades. I give a knife to my sons on occasion. I gave my grandson an inexpensive sword, SOG tomahawk and neck knife on his last visit. It’ll be a few years from now but I’m hoping my granddaughters will appreciate a good blade.

My wife is ok with a knife that is bought for the kitchen. Perhaps my granddaughters or daughters-in-laws will take them after the Grim Reaper arrives.
 
There is no need to worry about this. Your family will take charge of your estate, and likely liquidate it for pennies on the dollar. To them your investment in time, effort and funds is meaningless, and they will be simply out to clear out your home as fast as possible to be rid of it. Whatever they get out of it monetarily is 100% windfall and they will primarily see getting rid of your property as an unwanted task. A lot of our hard found “valuable” antiques will simply get thrown out with the trash as so much incomplete/damaged/rusty junk. This is where estate dealers make their money.

The exception to this would be if you happen to have a family member who 1) appreciates the collection and 2) has a talent for sales.

Your collection is your thing. Your heirs would prefer that you work to get rid of everything that you own and simply leave a cash balance in a bank account. But, that may deprive you of your time and pleasure for the benefit of people who are usually unwilling to make an effort.

Don’t worry about it. Either someone will step up that you can teach about your collection or your items will be a windfall to fellow dealers and collectors. As with everything else your family gets to reap what they sow. Whatever, notes files and images you painstakingly amass for them would likely be among the first items of clutter that gets tossed out. If they could not bother to learn directly from you, they are certainly not going to make an effort to read through your notes to figure it out.

n2s
 
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not2sharp said:
There is no need to worry about this. Your family will take charge of your estate, and likely liquidate it for pennies on the dollar. To them your investment in time, effort and funds is meaningless, and they will be simply out to clear out your home as fast as possible to be rid of it. Whatever they get out of it monetarily is 100% windfall and they will primarily see getting rid of your property as an unwanted task. A lot of our hard found “valuable” antiques will simply get thrown out with the trash as so much incomplete/damaged/rusty junk. This is where estate dealers make their money.

The exception to this would be if you happen to have a family member who 1) appreciates the collection and 2) has a talent for sales.

Your collection is your thing. Your heirs would prefer that you work to get rid of everything that you own and simply leave a cash balance in a bank account. But, that may deprive you of your time and pleasure for the benefit of people who are usually unwilling to make an effort.

Don’t worry about it. Either someone will step up that you can teach about your collection or your items will be a windfall to fellow dealers and collectors. As with everything else your family gets to reap what they sow. Whatever, notes files and images you painstakingly amass for them would likely be among the first items of clutter that gets tossed out. If they could not bother to learn directly from you, they are certainly not going to make an effort to read through your notes to figure it out.

n2s
Click to expand...
^^^^^This^^^^^ I have unfortunately witnessed what you described. When my father in law passed away, my brother in law tossed an antique old timer that once belonged to his grandparents because the blades were worn. Most of his stuff was split up between family members, sold to dealers/auction houses, or sold in yard sales. The money that was raised during the process went into a bank account and was split evenly between the family.
 
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not2sharp said:
There is no need to worry about this. Your family will take charge of your estate, and likely liquidate it for pennies on the dollar. To them your investment in time, effort and funds is meaningless, and they will be simply out to clear out your home as fast as possible to be rid of it. Whatever they get out of it monetarily is 100% windfall and they will primarily see getting rid of your property as an unwanted task. A lot of our hard found “valuable” antiques will simply get thrown out with the trash as so much incomplete/damaged/rusty junk. This is where estate dealers make their money.

The exception to this would be if you happen to have a family member who 1) appreciates the collection and 2) has a talent for sales.

Your collection is your thing. Your heirs would prefer that you work to get rid of everything that you own and simply leave a cash balance in a bank account. But, that may deprive you of your time and pleasure for the benefit of people who are usually unwilling to make an effort.

Don’t worry about it. Either someone will step up that you can teach about your collection or your items will be a windfall to fellow dealers and collectors. As with everything else your family gets to reap what they sow. Whatever, notes files and images you painstakingly amass for them would likely be among the first items of clutter that gets tossed out. If they could not bother to learn directly from you, they are certainly not going to make an effort to read through your notes to figure it out.

n2s
Click to expand...
N2s unfortunately speaks a lot of truth. I’m hitting 65 this August and have a fairly large collection of all my treasures. I really don’t want them sold for pennies on the dollar, so selling them to others that have the same application. I’m kidding of looking at this as renting, had the use of my blades then once the term is over.😳
 
I hope to sell and give away most of them, at least the significant ones, before then...whatever is left over my wife can do with as she will. (She has a basic idea of who to go to if advice required since she's met many friends who are makers and collectors over the years at the Blade and Guild Shows.)

Since they don't represent the sort of value that will make a difference in terms of quality of life for her, the matter is not an urgent one...but one of convenience, bringing some smiles to others and maybe raising a little money for something fun to do for herself.
 
I’ve pondered the same thing. I’ll likely pick a few special ones to give personally before I pass, God willing. Keep a couple for me to carry and use that hopefully will be treasured and sell the rest and spend it on me and the Mrs in retirement. I inherited my father’s guns and while I cherish them they’ve basically been something I clean and admire from time to time and don’t get the opportunity to shoot. He was more of a hunter than I am. So, they will fall into the same category along with my own guns as to how I will handle them. I do have people in mind that would appreciate the firearms. I do, however, want to sell or pass these things along while I’m alive, though, and get some enjoyment out of the giving and for the ones I sell get some enjoyment from the living.
 
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