Would/do you guys ever carry and use a sought after knife that is no longer made?

My MT born and raised husband, not my late husband, uses an older RUANA knife made in Bonner, Montana in a model that is no longer made when he hunts.

He bought all of his Ruana knives at the factory store. He used to take some elk racks to them many years ago too.

He gifted and sold all of his other Ruana knives. So he is down to one Ruana knife now.

He has a few favorite older and newer hunting knives.

Cate
 
socalknifecollector said:
I don't understand buying a knife and being afraid or just choosing not to use it.
If your afraid of using a $300 knife, then spend $25 and get a Rat 1 and use it :)
Click to expand...

It's not about being afraid to use it. Some people collect, some use and some do both.
 
I try to carry a knife that fits my hand and my EDC needs. I don't care how old it is...
 
That is pretty much my perspective. Who cares really? Back when I first joined BF, I was on a SOG buying kick. I liked their knives and I wanted some of the older models that were not AUS 8 or whatever. I was also fairly active on fleabay then and have since pretty much curtailed my interest there. So, would I use one of those discontinued knives? Probably. They are just knives and I have no intention to sell anything. I'll probably die with rubber maid tubs full of knives. Use them or not, not a big thing.
 
socalknifecollector said:
I don't understand buying a knife and being afraid or just choosing not to use it.
If your afraid of using a $300 knife, then spend $25 and get a Rat 1 and use it :)
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Which is why I don t buy many 300 dollar knives anymore and I recently got my first Rat 1. Impressive.
 
This is my cold Steel Ltd kuhkri machete. Didn't even know it was valuable until a few days ago.
c59b4aea893db7420e56a379d4413c60.jpg
16908c1687a349d0989b5fa3dbfd5b56.jpg
 
I hate to deprive a collector of something that is sought after when I could be carrying something common. I've bought a few knives that were sought after with the intention of carrying them, and never managed to do it so I eventually sold them. I bought a Spyderco sprint a few years ago and and actually did carry it a day or so but it still looked like new so I sold it and bought a production model to replace it with. In the future I might buy another limited model with the intention of carrying it. What I need to do is to start carrying it before it becomes sought after.

But most knives are made to be carried and used, so if you buy one and give it honest wear, you shouldn't be too ashamed of that.
 
My holy grail is finding an authentic Fairburn Sykes. I wouldn't carry it though because 1) daggers are illegal for carry in my state and 2) they don't really have any sort of utility other than assassination since the blades are thin and needle point.
 
I feel a lot different about firearms than I do knives. I don't collect knives. I accumulate knives. With firearms, I generally know the difference between a collector piece and a non-collector/user. Of course there is no predicting what the collector items will be in the future. If I have no intention of collecting something special (gun), I generally will not purchase it regardless any more. I don't want to tie up thousands of dollars worth of guns that I have no intention of shooting now. But I didn't feel that way in the past. I viewed them as sort of a bank account. With knives, it's just money spent.
 
Why not? A mint specimen would be undoubtedly more desirable, but this knife has already been used. Sticking it in a drawer won't make it cherry again.

12461552294_2971272acb_c.jpg
 
Me ?
I would carry one in a heart beat. I am careful and take care of my stuff and if I am getting too western with a tool I change tools mid stream as it were. I'd carry a knife such as you describe in a belt pouch or at least in a pocket slip. Treat it like a fine piece of jewelry that cuts stuff.

Not to carry it is an insult to the maker in my opinion. Especially given the obsession these days of makers discontinuing nice knives just when they attract a customer or two. GEC . . . you drive me crazy ! Just when I see a knife you have come up with I can't buy one. I have never bought one of your knives for that reason. I am tired of looking at your catalog because I can't get what I want when I want it.

But I don't "collect" I buy and use and enjoy.
Call it a character flaw of mine.

I saw a guy driving his Rolls Royce today. I wonder what HE would say ?
 
YES. Regular sebbie , lil temp or ti ATR, Salsa , CRKT apache , prowler and s2 . Bench made AFCK and so on.
 
Eric H said:
Should I carry and use them? (I'm leaning toward yes, since they are built like tanks, and I'm not terribly hard on knives!)
Click to expand...
It seems to me that the only person qualified to answer that question is you.

I don't see the point in asking anyone else, much less a bunch of total strangers, whether or not you should carry and use your knives.

If you were concerned that you might have a very valuable knife that would be worth more if you didn't use it, then I could understand asking about it's value. But Buck sold a lot of those knives, so I seriously doubt that they have increased in value enough to make it worth not using them, especially since it appears that you want to use them.

Personally, if I want to carry and use one of my knives, as long as it's legal to do so, and as long as it serves my needs, I carry and use it.
 
Totally agree. Which is why I don t buy many 300 dollar knives anymore and I recently got my first Rat 1. Impressive.
Click to expand...

I have been carrying a S&W (assisted) knife now for 3 years. My most reliable fastest opening knife beside my auto. Has never let me down.
 
I carry a few knives that are not being made anymore. I know they will last my lifetime and I want to get as much use out of them as I can. I also know they will be around to hand down to family. So I have no problem using them, I actually love using them, they are too well made not to! Just my opinion though. Some people are natural collectors. I am not.
 
Wowbagger said:
Not to carry it is an insult to the maker in my opinion. Especially given the obsession these days of makers discontinuing nice knives just when they attract a customer or two. GEC . . . you drive me crazy ! Just when I see a knife you have come up with I can't buy one. I have never bought one of your knives for that reason. I am tired of looking at your catalog because I can't get what I want when I want it.
Click to expand...

Knives are made to be used, but I see no insult choosing not to use a particular knife. GEC frustrates me as well and sometimes I simply don't have the free funds to acquire some new release of their's IF I am aware of it at all, and then they are sold out. It is one of the reasons I have been buying Queen/S&M stuff lately. Their quality has improved with the Daniels ownership.
 
There are some fancy, pretty, knives that aesthetically so lovely they are more for show than use. Some just to show the skill and talent of knife making. So some are just for owning and admiring and the value is in the ownership than in their use.
The vast majority of factory knives are for using and that is where the value is.
Here is a Blackjack Marauder II. They were once $80, now change hands at $200. Only 500 or 600 Green Handled ones were produced. This is my second and I would buy again if I lost it; the first was stolen. They are for using.
IMG_4909.jpg


Here is a CR Project II No:9. This I used and carried for 10 years. Its was factory reconditioned a few years back. Number CR are rare and hold a premium.
IMG_4840.jpg


Now, knives I bought years ago and used are collectable. They would hold a far higher premium if still mint in box, but still not much. I've enjoyed using them.
If I found one of these old ones mint in say a house sale I would probably buy it to pass it on to a collector. The reason being is I could use any profit to buy a modern user which will have the advancement in blade making that has happened in the last few years. Choose wisely and some modern blades are better than those offered not so long ago. You have to look because many modern blades are not that different but some are.
All really depends if passing along a collectors piece would get you something that you really want.

Lastly I have a few knives that I just like owning and rarely see any use. As much because I have enough user knives, and some knives I've bough just because I like the look of them or like the maker. Most knives really are never going to hold a premium high enough to really worry too much about it.
F/S Commando knives can be bough new for $60, an original $800. Both available. Any collectors premium is nice but not enough to give up your day job. Its a hobby, use or collect MIB, whatever floats your boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top