Whittled down the collection

Surfingringo

Surfingringo

Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
3,700
I realized last year that I had gotten a little weighted down by my folders so I have been on a mission to get things down to a manageable size and I think I am pretty much there. I sold off a number of my folders that weren't getting used and I gave quite a few away too. I now have my collection of folders down to 5 knives (excluding my Salts of course!! :rolleyes:). Basically I just got rid of everything that I didn't carry and use. I would rather have someone else enjoying them and make room for the upcoming knives that I "need".

Here is what I hung onto.
Ti Military- I doubt I will ever get rid of that one...love it
Lil Matriarch- another unsung edc hero of the spydie lineup
Green PM2- gift from the ex. Even though she's the ex it was still a really thoughtful gift so I'll hang onto it. Plus its not like I'm going to sell my only pm2!
Tusk- I'm a fisherman...gotta keep the Tusk
Sage 3- mainly just sentimental value as it was the calendar contest prize

That's it. Of course, I've got a drawerful of salts and a custom Gayle Bradley Flipper but come on, I'm trying to play the minimalist here...humor me. Of course the problem I have now is there are way to many empty spots in my 18 slot spydie pak that hangs on my wall. Guess I'm going to be needing a hap40 delica and an m4 paramilitary pretty soon.

Does anyone else do this? I know that some folks on here never sell any of their knives and that's cool but I feel like I have to "make space" before I can add to my knives. Its not a financial matter so much as I'm just not an accumulator and I would rather see someone else actually using them.
 
I have tried and tried but I can't get my EDC rotation down as small as I think it should be. I'm at about 11 knives now, plus 4 other folders that I use for work, plus another box full of older knives that I don't us anymore and another box full of junk knives that I never used. I've sold quite a few and have more that I will try to sell occasionally but I'll still have way too many.
 
bdmicarta said:
I have tried and tried but I can't get my EDC rotation down as small as I think it should be. I'm at about 11 knives now, plus 4 other folders that I use for work, plus another box full of older knives that I don't us anymore and another box full of junk knives that I never used. I've sold quite a few and have more that I will try to sell occasionally but I'll still have way too many.
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I hear ya. I find that giving them away helps. If I sell a $150 knife then it's that much easier to buy two more. If I give away a $150 knife I kind of pause and think for a second before I just order another one. Plus somebody else gets to have a great day! ;)
 
Of everything I managed to buy (more than I can remember) since I started in about 1998, I am down to six folders. Four are Spydercos. I plan to buy more but the only models I'm interested in are only prototypes right now, and may not be released for years, if ever.
 
I always do it, it just bothers me way too much to have hundreds tied up unused. Its not that I need to per say, it just feels wasteful, especially with my budget to have several hundred dollars left forgotten in a drawer.
 
I go through phases. I'll buy a bunch of knives, then realize I don't need them, and sell them off. I just sold off a chunk of my ALOX SAK collection on another forum today. I was sitting on about 10 Fiddlebacks a few months ago and now I'm down to 2.

I only own 2 Spydercos at the moment. A G10 Native 5 and a Sage 2. The Native isn't going anywhere and I'm still warming up to the Sage.

With the exception of a few, my knife collection is pretty "fluid".
 
Binge and purge :D. My collection has changed a lot throughout the years. I doubt I'll be able to get it down to your size anytime soon but longer term that's possible. My collection has shrunk over the past few years.
 
When you talk about your collection of folders being down to five knives, are you talking only about Spyderco folders or all folders that you have had?
 
wire edge said:
Did you get rid of your S110V Para 2 already?
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yeah, i ordered two...one for me and one I gifted to my buddy that I was visiting in the states. As soon as they came in I found myself wishing I had just gotten one for him. Anyway, he ended up buying mine before I left to regift to another friend. I'm waiting on the m4 and I don't need 3 pm2's.
 
on_the_edge said:
When you talk about your collection of folders being down to five knives, are you talking only about Spyderco folders or all folders that you have had?
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I pretty much only have Spyderco's. I have the Gayle Bradley custom and an old benchmade mini grip that my father gave me which hasn't seen the light of day in a couple of years. That's the only two non spydie folders I own.
 
I used to keep everything I bought so the collection kept getting bigger and bigger. Then I started selling some to fund new purchases. That's kind of where I'm at now except I've sold off all the stuff that doesn't make it into my pocket. So now when it comes time to sell, there isn't really anything I want to let go of. I think I'm sitting at 40 Spyderco's right now, which is the highest it's ever been. I just can't bring myself to get rid of any of my para's or UKPK's. Although, I did give away a UKPK to a buddy a couple weeks ago. He's not quite an anti knife guy, but close. I think I might have changed his mind on the matter. He seems to really like it.

You're a user Gringo, it makes sense to purge every now and then!
 
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I've sold and traded a couple, but my collection has definitely been on a constant upswing. Up to an all time high of 47 at this point. I do carry and use at least 2/3 on a regular basis. I sharpen the dull ones on the evenings after work while rotating through sharp ones. The ones I carry at work are a smaller percentage of the collection though (CruWear Millie, Schempp Tuff, S110V M2 LW, 204P PM2, CruWear M2, SE Spyderhawk Salt, SE Tasman Salt, etc.), but I rotate through most of my knives in an after work setting. There's a few I like mostly for their collectivity, and a few that are more useful around the acreage, but I still manage to use most of mine. I could make do with a much smaller stable to be sure, but I like choice. I am at the point though that if I were to acquire many more I'd have to think about starting to sell a few because I'm getting close to the limit of what I can realistically use often enough to justify holding onto.
 
Surfingringo said:
I pretty much only have Spyderco's. I have the Gayle Bradley custom and an old benchmade mini grip that my father gave me which hasn't seen the light of day in a couple of years. That's the only two non spydie folders I own.
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Call me impressed. I have several traditionals, a few Spydercos, a CRK Insingo, and even an Ontario Hossom Retribution 2. Culling even the few that I have down to 5 would be extremely difficult.
 
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I don't have very many knives and try not to overlap in size/function. I like the idea of having a single distinct Spydie for each situation, and to stick with in-house Spyderco designs.

I currently have conflicts between my Native G10 & Forum LW, and D/fly G10 & Manbug ZDP ....
 
Your Spyderco Gayle Bradley didn't make the cut? I'm surprised!

I'm an uncomfortable collector...get antsy if some knives are laying around not getting used. I wish I could be a full on collector, but it's not in the genes I guess!
 
I have never sold a knife, but I have given some away to friends. I am evil like that, trying to spread the spydieholism.
 
I've been trying to do the same.
Started buying/collecting nicer knives when I first joined my towns local knife club(late 70's) while in HS. Spent most all of my part time working money on knives during HS, and didn't slow down much until about 5 or 6 years ago. Had about 200 at that time, but am now down to about 50.
Had planned to get down to about 20, but health problems have slowed me down(trouble getting to the PO now, etc..), but when I'm able again I'll get it on down to around 20 if I can.
The sell down was a huge hassle, but I'm glad I've had so many knives pass through my hands, and I don't have any regrets at all.
 
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