Why the growing interests in things sharp?

golok

golok

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Oct 20, 2000
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I guess it wouldn't be wrong to say that interest in knives began to mount about 20 years ago.

Before that, knives just happened to be part of the camping gear or part of the standard army equipment. And way, way before that, cowboys carried them for utility and survival purposes.

Flashback to the present: One could even say there is a "sudden" interest in all types of knives. What factors could have prompted such behaviour on the part of consumers.

I am curious to know.
 
Golok,

Probably the same thing that drives every other hobby: availability of information.

Manufacturers, custom makers, dealers, authors, and journalist have put together an outstanding paper trail over the last 30 years. I collect older knives, and much of the details that we have on pre-1970s pieces has been derived through extensive research. Even Randall Knives records are vague on production of knives during the period. For many knives we are left with little more than the knives themselves from which to draw conclusions.

N2S
 
Over the last few decades man has become more and more urbanized. Relatively few people live in the countryside, fewer way out in the bush. I think many of us are fascinated by those people and those times, and knives hark back to them. That may be a reason, though I'm sure there are more.
 
I think the increased interest in knives over the past twenty years is because the industry as a whole has done a much better job of advertising itself over that period. Many more magazines and books dedicated to knives have appeared over this time, including the Knives annuals that started in 1981. Now with the internet even more enthusiasts like ourselves can get information on knives, so much more easily that that is now helping to fuel the industry.

I do think there was a large interest in knives before this period as well. Maybe more as a tool than as something to collect, but it was there none the less. There was a point that most men and boys carried knives. They needed them for everyday chores. They could still use them for the same thing today, but public opinion has turned againt the knife in a large part of the population, so quite a few people who would normally carry knives are nervous to do so. I wonder what this industry would be like today if it were not for the sheeple.

BTW golok, great thread, it got me thinking.
 
I think some of it has to do with the highly restrictive gun-laws that are showing-up across our country. When folks aren't allowed to have or carry guns to defend themselves with, they turn to the next-best thing...A knife.:).
 
As soon as "the powers that are" began criminalizing knives (after banning guns), I had to get interested and buy an adequate amount for the next three generations....
We live in a "very free" country, world's oldest democracy, but we may not:
talk freely (racism)
critizise our government
have large dogs (too dangerous, might bite)
have guns (beside army models)
have knives with blades longer than 2" outside the kitchen
posess literature about Nazi, Porno, Computer Viruses, Explosives, Poison and at least another dozen things
there are strong influences to abolish the army (militia system) but to increase police forces tenfold.....
Evviva la Libertad!
:D :D :D :D
 
glockman, i have to disagree, knives are so much better than guns. i don't really have anything to say about the topic, i just needed to say that :D :D
 
I have to agree. Guns are fun but NOT AS FUN AS KNIVES!:D

I have noticed an explosion of interest in knives just lately. All kinds of people are carrying folders with clips and they know brand names and a little bit about steels. I have encountered two women recently in two different places who were carrying Benchmades. There has been a shift in the zeitguiste towards knives and we'd better all enjoy it.

As Ralph Mroz, a columnist for Tactical Knives and local police officer told me a while back: "This is truly the Golden Age of Knives." Never before has there been so much. Let's keep talking to folks and educating them so that they won't be tempted to pass restrictive laws out of ignorance and fear.
 
My wife told me it is because I am going through my second childhood and then mumbled something about testosterone. :rolleyes:
 
i have always loved knives - although i would have preferred BM, Spydie, REKAT all these knives were beyond my reach(carried a $45 CS voyager) - a SIFU retails for $200+ from REKAT for an example - my interest really picked up when i wanted a BM AFCK - my local B&M had some for 130 to 150 range - on a whim i checked the net and found one for $90 - quite a savings - and then things took off from there........i have 30+ knives now, production fixed and folders, custom folders, and production and smei production fixed blades - its amazing how fast ya can accumulate them, at one a month lol - anyway i enjoy it.....


sifu
 
I think the interest in knives has been growing over the last few years becasue the industry has been changing so damn fast. In just a few years we have seen countless new models from Spyderco, BM and the like. We've seen great new companies come (and sometimes go :() like EDI and REKAT. New steels, new locks ... and to add to all this, there's the internet now. I can spend all day looking for info on upcoming models on the forums :D It's kinda like the computer industry - it just took of in the last few years - just look at the amazing progress!!!
I think most of us Knife Nuts have always loved knives (I have since I first saw my grandpa's hunting knives when I was like 5 or something), but now they are getting better and perhaps cheaper every day, and it's so easy to keep informed.

Oh yeah, and according to my girlfriend, men are big babies that never grow up, so we need our toys :rolleyes:

-Tim
 
A part of it is living in a culture that has too much money and time and little enough of worth to spend it on. It isn't just knives. "Collecting" - what ever is collected - has become a big thing in the last 20+ years. Knives happen to be among the more utilitarian of thing that might be collected. That is, unlike things like baseball cards or doll houses, knives might actually be <i>useful</i>, and for this reason, I think they will have more staying power in the market place. Knives have intrinsic value and that is a natural lure for some people. I got into the hobby - if having more knives than is necessary and playing with them is a hobby in itself - about 6 years ago, but I understand the the knife phenomenon did really begin to pick up momentum in the mid to late seventies. This all probably had it roots in the trading of all the stuff that came back from Viet Nam in the late 60's and up until 1973 when the U.S. extricated itself.
 
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