what's the point of collecting knives?

lutejones said:
Hello my point of view and story:
I bought my first knife as an adult when I made a trip around Europe by train, since I was in Switzerland I bought a Swiss Army knife, with it I realize that was a very useful tool to have around, some time later I was into traditional archery and a bow and knife maker on a forum encouraged some members to try our hand at sharpening in a thread called "the knives of the archers" from there to a knife forum is a little step.
When you begin to read you want to try, other brands other steels, etc.
So you go through an accumulation phase an you buy new knives all the time until you realize that you're spending a lot of money with no sense at all and sell some of them, give away others,etc and only keep certain types or steels or brands and... Presto!! you'd became a knife collector :D

Right now I got rid of a lot and I'm into traditionals from a user point of view, but I kept the spyderco as a collector.
Mateo
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This is exactly freaking right!!!!
 
tadpole25 said:
I'm new here. I got interested in knife collecting after hearing that Gabe Newell (Valve CEO) owns hundreds of knives.

So far, I only own one knife, it's a balisong butterfly knife.

And I have a practice balisong knife, as well, for practicing newer tricks (so I don't cut myself).

But, from an outsider perspective, is collecting knives practical? A full collection can run over
$5000, and what's the point? What does it accomplish? Are they necessary? Don't you only
just need 1 or 2 knives?

But what I learned is that you can't judge things at surface level.

I'm actually very much into a hobby that a lot of people think is silly and impractical. I collect
fragrances and I own over 50 colognes (some of them are high-end $200+ fragrances like luxury
quality Creed). And of all the people who have asked "You only need one or two, why collect
50 of them?", I can sort of understand what knife collectors must go through.

But I am curious as to why you collect knives?

Is it for safety? Hunting? Is it for aesthetic? Is it an investment to fight inflation?

I'm curious.
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I used to be into cologne, probably have 20 or so bottles, haven't bought one since 2018. I enjoy smelling different everyday.

For me, the reasons for owning knives (I use them all, so not really a collector) has changed throughout the years. As a boy, most men carried a knife. I received a Swiss army knife for my birthday, never left my pocket (or backpack if I wad at school). When I was 17 I bought my first one hand opening knife, and it was in the mid 1990s when tactical stuff was new and cool. For about 15 years, it was as much about utility as it was being a wannabe ninja assassin badass whatever.

I joined BF in 2013. My perspective changed. It was about quality.

Now, I'll be 43 in a few weeks, and it's for additional reasons.

I suffer from terrible anxiety, and fast opening and closing knives do double duty to calm me down as well as be useful. Keeps me from downing a lot of clonazepam all day.

I enjoy variety and aesthetics, and have customized many of my knives. I like a variety of colors and materials. I no longer buy G-10 or plain black knives.

Nothing makes my day like a package arriving and being able to whip my knife out and open it. Well, not nothing, but it makes me happy.
 
They're not beanie babies.

They're a lot easier to move than guns, especially if you move every 2-3 years.

There's great history in knives. I spend more time researching than buying. I think that's why the traditional and old knives have such a following.
 
I don't collect anymore, I know styles and steel I enjoy and use

All my knives look used lol
 
I have a deep appreciation for steel itself... sure I could collect ball bearings and bedpans instead, but knives are also a VERY useful tool, and a great accessory to any outfit...

Since the first primitive man found an edged piece of flint stone assisted him with cutting stuffs, to his primitive descendant who noticed molten metal oozing from the rocks of his camp fire and hardening into shiny goodness, so he decided to work with it, (or the aliens and/or gods who taught them the technology), however you dice it, I collect old straight razors for the historical connection, and more modern knives primarily to commemorate the technological advancements, but all to tie back to that connection to our most ancient ancestors who first figured it out...
*(and because I always need one to match my outfits).
...
That, and to give one final passive aggressive f--- you to my wife and kid who will inherit the collection and not know what to do with it...
 
It sort of just happens. I don’t think I’ve met anyone that woke up one morning and decided they want to collect knives
 
not2sharp said:
You are either born with a desire to collect or not. If you are a collector, then you tend to collect anything and everything. Whether, it is golf clubs, fishing equipment, camera and imaging, guns, knives, coins, stamps, baseball cards or pound puppies, there is a pre-existing highly focused drive to capture, control, catalog, organize and understand the world around you. Liking knives will not make you a collector, although it can become the principle objective for someone pre-disposed to collecting. At the oposite extreme are probably those who hate to focus, who prefer travel the corridor of life in an intoxicated state. To me collectors are interesting, irrespective of what they may collect, they tend to become very expert in their field and as such represent the root sources for all knowlege; a sort of instinctive application of the scientific process. On the other hand, like everything else, when taken to extremes it can be a self-distructive drive. There are collectors who will, like the classic "mad scientist", ignore family, friends, and even serious health issues to focus on collecting.

n2s
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That is really funny that you should mention, "The opposite extreme...hate to focus...intoxicated state".
I have been a bona-fide collecter from birth, collecting coins, swap meet swords, cards, records... and eventually, after (my life story) happened, drugs. While it was most certainly addiction while it was going on, I was numbering and classifying the drugs I had taken. As a collection. I got to 62 if my number is right. This mentality persisted after sobriety, there was a point where I lamented the fact that I could no longer get XYZ because I was sober, and I desired a collection of a sample of every certain class of a pharmaceutical.

Knives came after that. The point is, they are not mutually exclusive, and one may drift from one extreme to the other depending on circumstances. :)
Easy to write folks off.
EDIT: Holy crispy, did not realize someone necro'd a thread from 2012 and that's what I was responding to.
 
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K.O.D. said:
I used to be into cologne, probably have 20 or so bottles, haven't bought one since 2018. I enjoy smelling different everyday.

For me, the reasons for owning knives (I use them all, so not really a collector) has changed throughout the years. As a boy, most men carried a knife. I received a Swiss army knife for my birthday, never left my pocket (or backpack if I wad at school). When I was 17 I bought my first one hand opening knife, and it was in the mid 1990s when tactical stuff was new and cool. For about 15 years, it was as much about utility as it was being a wannabe ninja assassin badass whatever.

I joined BF in 2013. My perspective changed. It was about quality.

Now, I'll be 43 in a few weeks, and it's for additional reasons.

I suffer from terrible anxiety, and fast opening and closing knives do double duty to calm me down as well as be useful. Keeps me from downing a lot of clonazepam all day.

I enjoy variety and aesthetics, and have customized many of my knives. I like a variety of colors and materials. I no longer buy G-10 or plain black knives.

Nothing makes my day like a package arriving and being able to whip my knife out and open it. Well, not nothing, but it makes me happy.
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I feel that, Vanax over Xanax, mane.
 
Has anything changed in the past 10 years?
Or are the reasons for piling up knives still the same?
 
So many cool looking blades out there. Fun packing multiple EDCs. Plus like stated above easy to move if another strikes your fancy and ya need CASH!
 
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