Why does a knife hobby lead to other funky hobbies?

C

Creepo

Joined
Dec 16, 2008
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I dunno if anyone else has wondered this before but I've been wondering about it some.
Most of us who have been into knives for a few years or even less, have at some point developed an interest towards something else "unusual" such as zippos, flashlights, guns or other tactical and survival gear. Stuff that's not really well known or popular in the common public.

For me it was the flashlights, I have a serious urge to get my hands on a high-tech flashlight (Was thinking to try the Fenix PD30). Prior to my knife collecting days I had really no interest in flashlights or any other things mentioned earlier, but now I do!

Why is that?
Why does a knife hobby lead to developing interest in other gear?
Please share your opinions and ideas, maybe we'll get to the bottom of this philosophical matter. :D
 
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I don't think its the knife collecting. I think its who you've been hanging around with ;):D.

This place is loaded with bad influences.:p
 
Rupestris said:
I don't think its the knife collecting. I think its who you've been hanging around with ;):D.

This place is loaded with bad influences.:p
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Yes it is definitely the influence of other people with those hobbies. But then again, how did they start out with their hobbies? :P
And how did it end up so that you become interested in them also?
 
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There are certain affinities we all develop at an extremely young age. I've never understood why it's one thing versus another (and the Internet is chock full of forums for people who are into other things too), but for those of us on this forum, yeah, it was knives. I'd be willing to bet that, almost to the last man, we're all gun nuts too.

Flashlights. Well, yeah, I own about six or seven of 'em. Don't sweat it. Do you go around asking people how many screwdrivers they own? Or why they're so "into" screwdrivers? They're a tool, and can be a very valuable tool under the right circumstances as well.

Quit stressing and enjoy your hobby. As hobbies go, it's really one of the more harmless ones.
 
I don't think the knives lead to the other hobbies- they are all intertwined. Some of them just don't express themselves right away!
 
I agree knives and lights are two things that defo seem to be intertwined some what.

I'm real big on my knives, lights and watches and they go along nicely with the martial arts, bushcraft and chopping stuff up type hobbies I have
but I am also into things that have little to do with knives........ I cant remember what they are but I'm pretty sure I do have some other hobbies :p
 
Samael said:
There are certain affinities we all develop at an extremely young age. I've never understood why it's one thing versus another (and the Internet is chock full of forums for people who are into other things too), but for those of us on this forum, yeah, it was knives. I'd be willing to bet that, almost to the last man, we're all gun nuts too.

Flashlights. Well, yeah, I own about six or seven of 'em. Don't sweat it. Do you go around asking people how many screwdrivers they own? Or why they're so "into" screwdrivers? They're a tool, and can be a very valuable tool under the right circumstances as well.

Quit stressing and enjoy your hobby. As hobbies go, it's really one of the more harmless ones.
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Yea I'm enjoying it for sure no doubt about that. I'm not worried or anything, just intrigued by it since many knife-people tend to have such similar interests.
 
Once you upgrade one of your tools, say a knife- and you get over the common misconception that "a knife is a knife", then it starts to make more sense to get the best you can when buying other tools and EDC gear. It is a matter of continued exposure as well. reading and seeing pictures of other people's cool stuff does have some influence.
Knives are not the only starting point. Some people are into flashlights first, watches, guns, cars, cameras, camp gear, you name it. It all comes down to becoming educated about what is available, and what the advantages are with higher end stuff.

I can't imagine anyone having a hobby or pastime where they never upgraded and simply shuffled along in mediocrity. How many photographers still use a cheapo 110 instamatic they got for their 10th birthday?
 
Knives have started many things for me. Went to watches and then flashlights then cool Edc bags/packs then handguns. I could go on and on.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
Once you upgrade one of your tools, say a knife- and you get over the common misconception that "a knife is a knife", then it starts to make more sense to get the best you can when buying other tools and EDC gear. It is a matter of continued exposure as well. reading and seeing pictures of other people's cool stuff does have some influence.
Knives are not the only starting point. Some people are into flashlights first, watches, guns, cars, cameras, camp gear, you name it. It all comes down to becoming educated about what is available, and what the advantages are with higher end stuff.

I can't imagine anyone having a hobby or pastime where they never upgraded and simply shuffled along in mediocrity. How many photographers still use a cheapo 110 instamatic they got for their 10th birthday?
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That is absolutley true! Prob the most educated answer yet, that makes perfect sense. To demand only the best from your gear...
 
I started with guns, and have always appreciated well made mechanical things. At least I can afford knives. Lots of stuff that interests me just isn't feasible to keep around.

I know of a guy who collects old cars, and has a fire truck. Suddenly having a bunch of knives doesn't seem so silly.
 
i started at a young age with flashlights, at first since I was competing with a friend of mine back in 7th grade on who could have the brightest flashlight, and by high school I found Surefires, and I developed an interest in firearms, so that went on from there; and since I couldn't legally have anything to do with firearms without the help of my dad, I found knives at the age of 16 and have been getting more involved in them ever since though it was just a part of biding my time till I got to guns.
 
Creepo said:
I dunno if anyone else has wondered this before but I've been wondering about it some.
Most of us who have been into knives for a few years or even less, have at some point developed an interest towards something else "unusual" such as zippos, flashlights, guns or other tactical and survival gear. Stuff that's not really well known or popular in the common public.

For me it was the flashlights, I have a serious urge to get my hands on a high-tech flashlight (Was thinking to try the Fenix PD30). Prior to my knife collecting days I had really no interest in flashlights or any other things mentioned earlier, but now I do!

Why is that?
Why does a knife hobby lead to developing interest in other gear?
Please share your opinions and ideas, maybe we'll get to the bottom of this philosophical matter. :D
Click to expand...

I don't think one leads into the other... I just think that most of us are of a similar personality type. We tend to be imaginative, adventurous, and inquisative. Follow that up with the fact that our personality types leave us going into situations that many others don't like Wilderness Excusrions, Survival Trips, Military Service, LE Service, and other adventurous endevours... we tend to be more aware of what's going on around us or the things that can and do happen in life. People who see us as odd tend to be the very happy go lucky type that wonder thought life thinking nothing bad can happen and that everyone just wants to get along. So we dive into hobbies such as knives, guns, gear and such because we want the tools to address those things that can and do happen in life. The main difference between me and a Normy (Some call them sheep) is that if my tire blows out on the side of the road I have a tool bag in my truck pack with not just the crap the include with vehicle from the factory... but real tools that do the job better... So my tire is changed or repaired in 10 minutes and I'm back on my way... the other person probably won't know how to use the factory tools included with the vehicle if they've even kept them in the vehicle to begin with... and they will most likely need to rely on the kindness of someone else. We constantly search for better gear to address what challenges life may toss at us... and if you can ever explain this to a sheep in a meaningful way... you'll find they'll go out a buy their first Leatherman, or Benchmade, or Surefire or whatever flavor you have. I believe we tend to be more thoughtful and passionate about life... which is why we often get into heated debates about whose ideas are more sound. But in the end... we are all of a kind. We see what is actually going on around us.
 
What Steel-Junky said- once you've started thinking about being prepared (or equipped, actually) it's a very short step from a knife to a flashlight. Next thing you know, you'll add a bandana, and ... and pretty soon you need some kind of a bag to keep it all in, and so on and so on!

Plus it's fun, interesting, and you learn a lot that may actually help you some day.
 
Rupestris said:
I don't think its the knife collecting. I think its who you've been hanging around with ;):D.

This place is loaded with bad influences.:p
Click to expand...

LOLOLOL, u guys got me into flashlights (surefire G2 LED) and fireamrs (got about $2200 in TWO ruger 10/22s :D:D:D)
 
i blame those "wachacarrytoday" threads...
first time it is cool flashlight, then nice watch... alas, no handguns for me
 
Knives, axes, flashlights, briar pipes, pelican cases. Yes i have a Pelican case problem......

:)
 
Well, you've got to tote all that junk around somehow, right?

And if you want to start talking about addiction, don't even get me started about my BlackBerry. . . .
 
I don't know if it leads to other hobbies, but using high quality knives certainly opens your eyes to other high quality tools.

I've got more than sixty knives... but

I'm not a gun nut, I own several, but I'm not fanatical about it. Hell, I haven't fired a gun in close to six months. They get cleaned every now and then, but I haven't had the time to put a sigle round through one in ages. I miss it, but I don't really care.

Flashlights... hmm. I own four I think. A 4D Maglite for the car, a 2D Mag for by the bed and a Surefire in the living room (my power tends to go out a lot, especially at night) and a little Inova in my travel bag.

I don't know. Maybe I'm not a collector, just a user. My philosophy is to buy the best I can so I don't have to buy again sooner than later.

My real hobby for the past 20 years? Baseball cards... there's an addiction.
 
Knives, guns, 4 x 4s, Zippos, fishing equipment, motorcycles (Electra Glide), misc. tools, camping gear, axes, canoes, jetboats, boots, jackets, hats... I hope it never ends:D.
 
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