Where Do Old Knives Go, Do They Just Fade Away???

Megalobyte

Megalobyte

Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
2,761
Although i have been collecting knives off and on for years, i was never really serious about it. Id see an occasional knife now and then that caught my eye, like my CR Sebenza, or a neat looking tactical type folder, but i only began to collect knives in earnest very recently. And never had i collected high-end (read expensive) customs. So, about a month ago, i went into a store called, aptly enough: "Guns and Knives" (As an aside, and this is 100% true, i once called information on my cell phone for the phone number to that store, i asked the operator to please tell me the phone number of "Guns and Knives", she couldnt find it at first, and then she says, and i swear this is true: "Sir, what kind of store is it, what do they sell?" I said: "Uhhhh, GUNS and KNIVES?") Anyway, so i walk into the store, and they have, as you might expect, lots of knives, and i began to browse, and then i saw the display of CaseXX knives, and i liked the neat colored handles of various color bone and colored marble. So, i ended up buying about $300 worth, and felt i was going to collect Case Knives from here on in. The only problem is, i have very quickly evolved(in about 2 weeks) to a point in my knife collecting where the Case Knives now just dont do it for me any more, and this happened right about the time i began looking at high-end customs. So, im left with $300 worth of nice, but vastly inferior knives i just dont want, in fact, though the knives are still somewhat nice to look at in their display case, i dont even want them NEAR my new and far superior customs, for fear of contamination. So, im stuck with them and feel like i wasted $300 that could have been put towards a MT, or even towards a nice little custom folder. So, my question is, what do you all do with the knives you first bought, thought were the "Sh*t", but no longer want or have any use for, do you keep them, or sell them dirt cheap? Im torn between the 2 choices and would like to know if others feel this way too. Now that i have crossed over to the dark side, i know i can never go back. :)
 
You can get yourself a Gold membership and sell them on the for sale forums. Or you can trade them on the appropriate forum without having to purchase a membership.

Something else you could do is put them in your pocket and use them. One at a time or all together, it is up to you.
 
Megalobyte, I used to live in Boca Raton and have often wondered how Guns and Knives stayed in business after I left Florida ;). Well now I know :D. Last December on my way to Ft. Lauderdale I stopped by G&K and picked up a nice Al Mar Hawk Ultralite with a mirror finish blade.

I second Biohazard's advice about the Knife Exchange here on BladeForums. You'll need a Gold Membership to sell but if you're going to be a "regular" I think it is worth the thirty dollar investment.

I have purchased some excellent knives from my fellow BladeForum members. In many of these deals I think the seller was in the same boat as you; they wanted something else and used the knives they didn't want to raise cash.
 
There is obviously SOMETHING you liked about them to have gotten them in the first place.

It seems to me you went overboard plunking down $300 for some non-vintage Case knives, but still, you liked something there.

I have rarely find that my earlier folders are true junk, but they just aren't as rich in character with my other higher-end stuff. I say keep one or two of what you got to remind you of your start, and then give the rest away as gifts.

It is pretty rare that you can trade up a bunch of low-end knives for even one medium end knife. Who wants that kind of a deal?
 
I agree--the knife exchange is great. I've gotten rid of some stuff that was just lying around collecting dust when they could've been making some other people very happy.

As an aside (only slightly off-topic)--once on a trip to Vegas I was wandering around out in the desert and came across a store called "Guns, Drugs, and Liquor." I had a good laugh at that one...probably not the best mix.

-Z
 
I agree with Architect, it is unlikely that you will be able to trade these knives for a custom knife. You may get lucky and find someone that wants your knives enough to trade a custom for them, but even then you will likely have to come up with some extra money. Selling them and using whatever you get towards a knife you really want is probably your best bet.
 
OK, so far, its kind of mixed, some of you think i should dump them, some say keep them. I just went and looked at them again, and i know that Case gets a lot of knocks here on the forums, and, i have seen some VERY nice customs recently, Im talking $2,000 knives, and the customs are definitely superior in fit and finish, and without a doubt far superior in materials to the Case knives, but, after looking at them all again, i am surprised to realize that they actually have pretty decent fit and finish, especially for the relatively low price, the blades have ZERO play, as i have heard they sometimes do, they lock open with a very solid feeling, a very satisfying click, they close very precisely. The fit of the liners, spacers, bolsters and handles are actually just about flawless. I may have lucked out and gotten a good batch, in any "case", i think i have decided to keep them, and look at and fondle them from time to time, i still like the colors of the handles, but i certainly wont be buying any more of them. One other reason to keep them is that one night, i was bored, and i polished every bolster, spacer, liner, pin and shield with my dremmel tool and Flitz, it came out beautifully, so, these are customs after all! So, in the end, i guess it wasnt a complete waste of money, and who knows, maybe in 30 years, theyll be worth almost what i paid for them. :)
 
Megalobyte, glad to see you've found new love for your cases. I doubt they'd be worth anymore than they cost down the timeline, since non of them are special editions or anything, but they are nice knives, and they should at the very least be handy for areas like major cities and theme parks where you might end up getting your $2000 custom confiscated(!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top