When you just can't warm up to the knife

I try to only buy knives I'm fairly certain I'll enjoy, but they can't all be winners. Most of the time they just end up sitting in storage. Sometimes I'll post up one of the more expensive ones if I find myself in need of some emergency cash, but I'm generally too lazy to deal with the hassle.
 
I use them for a month or so and if I’m still lukewarm, I just give mine away - many options; son, son in law, brother in law, nephews, friends etc.
 
Skidoosh said:
I've had a few knives I thought I would love and just can't get with them. What do you do? Sell them on? Gift them? Put them in the back of the collection?
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I try the last one first, just in case (unless it's immediately obvious I'm never going to warm up to it), and then I do one of the other two. Historically, I rent 95%+ of my knives. ;)
 
I honestly can't think of that many knives in my life that I didn't think were usable. Maybe the SOG Access Card I carried for awhile back in the early 2000s, but I just ended up selling it on eBay. Honestly, as a knife, it was fine for what it designed to do. The part that didn't work for me was the "money clip", which doesn't hold money well. But, back in the days when you put your wallet and EDC pocket fluff in a tray that didn't go through a scanner at security checkpoints, that SOG Access Card made it into many a secured area, undetetcted. As you can see from the design of the clip, it didn't work any better as a money clip (which it was advertised to do) than a Victorinox Money Clip, another knife I used to EDC.

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knarfeng said:
I analyze them to determine the feature or feel that causes the turn-off. Then I keep them in the pile to serve as reference points for future purchases.
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I wish I was that smart. I've bought a few knives several times because I couldn't remember what I disliked about them in the first place. And when they show up, I remember immediately!
Blues said:
..give away some..
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I've enjoyed doing this recently. Too bad their aren't more knife nuts in my (real) life to hook up with something sharp!
 
I feel perfectly comfortable buying knives online, because after 50+ years of carrying and using knives, I know what it is that I'm looking for, and I'm not a collector, I'm a user. The only reason I even own multiple knives is because they are all for different circumstances and different tasks.
 
I'm going through the phase of flipping it or giving it away.. I bought a knife a few months ago which was a pre owned winkler belt crusher ( or so called) I tried it and first off, the handle length was too small for my hand, but I figured that I would work with it to see if it's karma changed so I change my mind to see if I would keep it.. First time, I wore it with a strong side scout carry, started walking in one of the malls here and the damn thing jumped out of the sheath and hit the floor.. I was lucky to have picked it up prior to security seeing it and freaking the F out about a concealed carry. I tried different modes of carry with it and it is used primarily as a pocket fixed blade when I rotate it through the edc rotation.. Now the thing is sitting in my knife locker and gets used/carried at least once a week.. But boy does this thing need work to fit in the cosmic karma circle to compare with my other edcs
 
I try to be very selective in what I buy and really dwell on why not to buy the next knife. I've ended up with a dozen or so that were disappointing, but I've noticed that if you keep it, it might grow on you over time. At least to where you don't think it's such a white elephant. Plus, they'll be the first one's I trade for a can of beans if things go badly.
 
I have never sold nor traded a knife. I have given probably 100 away over the years. I never buy something because it may go up in value, and i have never felt right trying to come up with "fair price" of something that I have carried and used. Instead, I just take it as a lesson that knives find their owners, and sometimes you are the pass through to where they are supposed to go :)

I tried a Spyderco Yojimbo 2 a month ago. I liked it, but I just can't get behind a smaller folder that is very wide for the length of the blade. It just didn't click, so I gave it to my brother, and he LOVES it. I bought something bigger and more my speed, and we are both happy :)
 
I have my favorites for the everyday stuff but the ones that aren’t as good for edc i find that they do well in other tasks like camping, fishing or hunting. I do enough different things that I need a variety of knives and I warm up to them just fine. Im just not a one knife kinda guy. I think it depends on a person’s lifestyle and personal preference.
 
I guess the only knife I have that I haven’t warmed up to is a Buck 402 Akonua. It just seems awkward handing and with the upswept blade it’s difficult to feel where the point is and the finger guard kinda digs into my index finger. It’s a good looking knife and with the stout s30v blade it would probably be great performer but for me it just doesn’t fit right. I bought it online and I had never had one in hand before. I usually like to try a new knife in hand before buying. I probably should sell it to someone who likes the design unless one of my son in laws would like it.
 
I trade or sell them. Some I've owned twice becuase I thought I would connect with them after some time, then get traded away again. So many knives out there, if something doesn't connect with me pretty quickly, I'll pass it along to try something that will. My last 3 purchases in a row have been winners, which is great since I pretty much know what I like and what I don't. My tastes have changed slightly over the years, but not drastically enough to cause a major shift in my collection. Just a few pieces from my early years moving on as I refine my preferences.
 
I accidently on purpose let one get confiscated prior to entering a concert. It was a 'Thrifty Thursday' kind of knife.
 
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