why did you start collecting?

[cutitout]

Okay, so maybe I do have too much time on my hands. But I was wondering what made you start collecting. Lots of folks buy a pocket knife carry it for awhile and then it gets tucked into a junk drawer somewhere and then maybe sometime later they buy another that looks kinda cool, but I don't think too many of those kinda folks find their way to a forum like this. Most everyone here searched out a forum to talk knives with others that like talking about knives. I am pretty sure that no one here has only one knife or if they do, it would be a recent aquisition which is just holding them over until the next knife they have to have. Also, just guessing here, but when one of us see a knife that is very interesting or unique, it become a need not a want and in many or maybe most cases, you will eventually justify the cost somehow and lay down a credit card to get it.

But what made you graduate from someone with a knife to a collector?

 

[Fancier]

Fascination with the endless variety of alloys, grinds, and designs.

 

[cutitout]

Who else but a knife collector would get that. I do!

 

[Jack Black]

Started out 40 years or so ago just trying to find that one great knife, and it kind of got out of hand!

 

[harkamus]

Not really a collector. If I buy a knife, I flip the one it's replacing. I only buy knives to replace existing ones. As such, they are almost always upgrades. I'm more of a flipper than a collector.

 

[Bob W]

I started Accumulating over thirty years ago. As a kid I kept losing pocketknives, so I became very particular about never carrying them around. After a couple of years of not losing knives, I had the start of a hobby.

I didn't start semi-seriously Collecting until 2004 when the Imperial Schrade Corporation went bankrupt. Started with grabbing a few Old Timers on closeout, and evolved into a quest to obtain all of the different models and variations. Little did I know how many there actually were.

 

[nopyo]

The reason I started is the same reason I'm slowing down/stopping.

I wanted one to fill every role, and all these roles have recently been filled:
- Multi-tool - Leatherman Skeletool
- Mindless abuse - Fake SMF (once this thing breaks, I'll be buying a real SNG/HEST.F/ZT5xx and probably not abusing it as much)
- Lending to others - SanRenMu 710
- Public food use - Opinel No.6
- Campsite food use - Inron MY803
- Toys - SOG Mini Vulcan (arc lock = fun) & Bradley Kimura 5
- Dress - Spyderco Chaparral
The rest are cheap autos and assists that stay at home as designated letter openers.

Now that my urge to buy another knife has pretty much died, my mind is in a crazy calm. Knives are a hell of a drug.

 

[viper89]

I guess what I have is becoming a "collection" of sorts. I like to buy knives that appeal to me whether in terms of steel, handle, ergos, looks, and necessity [which I create just to purchase a knife ]. Oh and also back ups to my EDC drawer in case "something happens"

Added:
Oh and to support my favorite forum as well! See link in sig below or in "BFC Gear" link above

 

[knarfeng]

I'm a bit like Bob W above, except I started accumulating longer ago.

Also, like Jack Black above, for me it's been kind of a quest to find one knife. I only need one. But it has to be the RIGHT one. And how will I know I have the RIGHT one until I try all the others?

I will admit that my rate of accumulation has grown exponentially in the last 6 years. Since starting to hang out here, I have seen more designs that I haven't tried yet.