Why Do You Buy Knives?

When I was a child, back in the day, all the men had knives. I use to look for hours at my Grandpa's collection of no longer used knives. Around eight I always carried one, even to school.

This was before society lost it's direction. As a teenager I thought I could go into the wilderness and as long as I had a knife I could survive just fine.

Next I went into the military and knives were a natural part of being prepared. Then something happened to knives. They got extreme quality and never ending new designs.

Now I am on a quest for the most useful, in my life, quality knife I can find. And last, they do cost allot less than my firearm collection which has been evolving too. MV out! :cool:
 
Why I buy knives is because I find certain particular knives beautiful, functional, and practical. When the knife I'm looking at fits these criteria and I can afford it, I'll get it.
 
Eye appeal,function,the way they feel in your hand,bragging rights(limited Eds.) etc.etc....What else can you buy that can work a longer day than anyone and still come home looking sexy?Art meets function!!!

MPE
 
A great set of answers. Me? Steel addiction!

My father collected knives, still does, I collect knives, always will!

I hope I never find the perfect knife. But I just love trying!
 
It started back in High School. "First Blood" was popular... folks thought the big-ass knife was cool. I was getting into guns and just bought my first: Winchester 1200 Defender 12 Guage. My friends and I were "Merc-Wannabes" and wore camo when we when shooting. So, we HAD to have big-ass cool knives, too. I started collecting crappy imports that couldn't hold an edge but looked mean. I bought my first good knives (Buck Folding Hunter, Gerber's Guardian, Mark I and Mark II) and was hooked right there. I realized the difference between a crappy 10 dollar knife, and something that cost a week's pay. I still have those knives, the good ones. The Mark I and Mark II are stored in their original boxes. The crappy ones are mostly gone... broken, rusted or thrown out. Although a couple of the 20 dollar specials turned out to be really good knives.

I wanted to collect guns. But... knives are cheaper and easier to store.
Now, I keep buying knives... quality knives... because I'm a collector and I appreciate a good quality blade that will hold an edge and will be around 20 years from now. Plus, some are so damn cool it's really hard to pass them by.

(I wanted to collect watches, too. But, after the Rolex, I figured I'd got as good as it gets and stopped. That and the damn thing broke the bank.)
 
I started buying knives because most of my hobbies require knives of some sort (camping, hunting, leatherwork). My dad and grandfather always made sure that I was in touch with traditional Argentine rural life, and knives are a huge thing amongst country folk.

I bought all the knives I "needed" a long while ago, so now I buy things I like and enjoy using. Sometimes I'll get a very specialized knife for something specific, like a mushroom picking knife, or I will have a certain knife made by a bladesmith and save a few months to get it.

I'm the first to admit that I don't buy knives just for their usefulness. I like them and I don't go into my rent or college money to pay for them, so why shouldn't I buy them?
 
First, some background: my first knife, a scout type Kamp King, was all I carried for 15 years. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want something that provided only a blade when for the same pocket space you could also have bottle and can openers, screwdrivers and an awl available. I had no interest at all in knives as such, just found it necessary to have one on hand as an everyday utility item.

One day I gave away the Kamp King and replaced it with a SAK, and for the first time understood that there were quality differences that mattered among what was available, and got a little interested in knives as a result. But I still only bought one SAK at a time to replace those lost, given away or stolen, which were only a few over decades.

Then, about 10 years ago, I became aware of Leatherman tools and interested enough to learn more about them. Through this I wound up with a Super Tool, which I thought was the bee's knees, but the process of researching got me introduced to a whole world of knives and bladecraft that I found fascinating and which eventually drew me in.

At this point, I don't really know why I buy knives. When I started accumulating them, mostly multi-tools but some single blade folders (turned out they were quite useful, after all :) ), my intention was to try them out, find which suited me and sell or give away the others. This I have done, but still find myself with more than a dozen that I don't really want to let go. So, either I am just taking my time evaluating them, or have somehow morphed into a knife knut. I wouldn't call this a runaway obsession just yet, but can't rule it out, either.
 
I think it's because a pocket knife was the first 'non toy' thing I wanted to have when I was little.
 
Knife buying and collecting for me is like an addiction. There is something about the feel of a well made knife in your hand, the shape of the blade & look of the handle. I have been carrying a knife for about 40 years, like my wallet I don't go anywhere with out one. It drives me nuts to see people miss use a knife, they are a tool and should be used properly. I have knives that range from expensive to extremely cheap. I personally carry cheap knives that hold a great edge, and lockup the good ones.
 
Started as an expansion of SD training. Studied several forms, then got into MMA, and then got into kali/escrima. That got me interested in knives, from a fighting point of view. Russian Systema got me a bit more hooked and saw how hand held weapons can negate most things. As time went on......yes...I admit...it became an addiction and getting a new knife just plain makes me happy. Love getting home and seeing that box there. Still can't figure out why most people, when they see a new knife of mine just don't really "see" it if you know what I mean. It's just a pocket knife to them, while I'm busy saying "look at the lock, the blade shape/design, the way it feels in your hand, it's titanium!". OK, so it's a desease, I'm happy I'm sick :)
 
Interesting answers.

I got interested in knives when someone stole my Vic Super Tinker and I started searching the web for alternatives. Stumbled on the Leatherman Wave (which had just been released) and learned that some folding knives could be opened with one hand; yes, I grew up in an environment where the only folding knives I had seen/heard of were either Swiss Army knives or switchblades. From there I wandered in to this forum, bought a SS Spyderco Dragonfly and have slowly been accumulating knives (mainly Spyderco with a few Chris Reeve and a couple of customs now...)

I buy knives because they are aesthetically pleasing to me, both as objects of creation and tools of use. I admire the precision, thought and execution of the knife, from design through construction. And I like using a well made knife, both folding and fixed.
 
I initially bought a 'nice' pocketknife as an upgrade from the cheaper models I'd been using for years. I use a pocketknife every day at work. I had my heart set on a Benchmade Osborne 770 in Carbon Fiber. When I couldn't find one for sale for under $300.00, I went with the Gerber SLG 3.25. Then I started looking at types of steel, and purchased a Harsey T1 in Carbon fiber and CPM-S30V, which I thought was an upgrade from the ATS-34 on my Gerber.

Both were destroyed by improper sharpening at a store few months after I purchased them. I sent the Gerber back to Gerber and purchased a new one, and sent the Harsey back to Lone Wolf to have the blade replaced. Gerber gave me some store credit and a catologue, and I kind of fell into collecting knives--albeit better ones than the junk steel Gerber mostly sells now.

And, I admit it. I'm a gearhead. When I got into Paintball, I bought a Phantom pump and tricked it out. Then I bought a high-speed semiautomatic marker, and spent $800.00 customizing it before I finally realized I don't ever use it, and would rather have my pump-action Phantom any day.

Unfortunately, I'm the Buy-And-Try type, so it doesn't look like I'll be learning from my experiences anytime soon.
 
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