You buy a knife to be a user but can't bring yourself to use it!

I will still use them but only at home and with care. I try to maintain their edges with strops only. I have a couple of heirlooms and another three that are out of production that i care about, plus one i am looking to sell. All in all about 96% of the collection is in normal use.
 
Every knife I buy I have an intended use for - that’s how I justify buying it to myself. Until I actually get it. I’ve yet to get anything that carries better than my Buck Sprints. But also, working from home for the past three+ years, I don’t get out of my pajama pants more than once or twice a week, if that. Oh yes, it’s glorious. So my opportunities to carry anything are in short supply. They mostly get fidgeted with all day in the home office, so everybody gets at least some attention. New arrivals get a few days of constant handling and box cutting duty, then it’s back to whatever is handy. Once or twice a week I’ll go into the storage case, or the ‘special’ drawer, and pull out something that hasn’t been out in awhile, but mostly it’s a smaller bunch of favorites in the regular fidget rotation.
 
Kershaw TiLT... Haven't been able to bring myself to use it... (yet?)... It does seem like it would be great as a user
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ZT 0999... Haven't used it either. I was looking at this more as a collectible from the get go, as it looked like an incredible feat of production capability.
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sometimes, and it is not related to the cost of the knife.
It is usually because once I get the knife I realise that I already have other users that are very similar, thus I do not feel the need to use/damage/lose that one too.
 
If you’re going on a weekend getaway or somewhere special for a few days with loved ones put that knife in your pocket and don’t think twice about it. When the occasion comes up to use it, start using it and make memories with it and take photos along the way.

Once you get back from your trip your knife will have had memories made and a new home in your pocket.

That’s how I always do it. It’s cool to admire the beauty of our knives but nothing makes a beautiful knife more special then making special memories with it at your side.

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I’ve gone through this same scenario more than once. Sometimes I buy two of the same knife. One to rock and one to stock. But buying doubles isn’t always feasible.
 
If you really want it to be a user.

Take it outside skim it across a parking lot. Point being the first scratch is the hardest, after that you can really enjoy using it for what it was intended for.

Then you won’t feel bad about using it. In fact you will experience the true joy of owning it.

It’s really a shame to have nice things and not use them. Other than investment or art pieces. Or historical pieces.

I bought a brand new $30,000 pickup truck in 1994, first thing I did was take it in the woods getting it scratched up. I still have that truck its never been babied.
 
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I have never bought a knife and then not used it. I also have an interest in vintage or antique cameras. You can drop some serious coin in that field (I try not to). Same goes for pocket watches. If they do not take good pictures or keep accurate time I move them out.

I am not attracted by the game of acquiring "collectables" that are, on the one hand, desirable or valuable but have no utility or are just too precious to use. The extreme end of this would be collecting rare or valuable coins or stamps. hat does not attract me.

I have bought a few relatively costly high end knives from Randall and Chris Reeve, but they were bought for our son who was about to deploy to an active war zone with a Marine combat team. I b ought them as tools that I hoped he would not need to use in extremis. . . . .but could.
 
el gigantor said:
Can anyone relate to this? I'm not a collector. A few years back I got a bonus at work and the opportunity presented itself to buy a Grimsmo Norseman from the factory. The thing is AWESOME! Best action I've ever experienced by some measure. Great ergos. It's a knife I've wanted for a long time.

The intention was always to carry it daily. Every time I take it out to play with, I can't stop smiling like a goofball. But I can't get over the hurdle of actually putting it in my pocket and leaving the house. It's not the first expensive blade I've purchased either (although it is the most expensive blade I've purchased).

I'd love to hear from folks who know the issue I discuss here. I fully realize it's a first-world problem, but still..
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Story of my life unfortunately.
 
I remember many years ago when I saved up enough coin, I bought a really fancy Damascus Sebenza with nice wood inlays, it was a striped type Damascus pattern and it had like a copperish coating on the blade. Simply beautiful ;)
Then, I found out that if I were to cut up an apple, it could ruin the coating of the fancy blade very quickly. This was, like I said, many years ago and back then it was a $700 knife! far above what I had previously spent on knives so I was heartbroken to say the least. And ended up selling it the same week it arrived as I did not want to keep a safe queen, no matter how pretty she was.

I've no photos of that folder, the Damascus I think was called Ribbon Damascus, solid stripes going parallel with the blade edge.
G2
 
Just do it! I used to have more knives in my safe than in my edc rotation! Not anymore. If I don’t carry it I sell or trade it. The ONLY knives I won’t carry are sentimental pieces from family members.
That Grimsmo is built to last the rest of your life. Use it and pass it down when the time comes. Imagine…… “This was my Grandpa’s knife”
 
I can relate but I keep nothing that is not a user. I have had them but don’t keep ‘em. I understand that there are people out there and especially on these forums that are collectors but I actively work at not being one of them. Many many times I have received a knife in the mail and immediately taken it out and intentionally used and scratched it even though there was no immediate need to do so. It has no doubt cost me a good bit of cash over the dozens and dozens of blades I’ve had through my fingers. I like carrying higher end knives. They give me just that little bit of joy that a cheaper version just can’t provide even when the cheaper one is equally up to said task.
My view is this: you truly cannot take this STUFF with you. It is here for you to use and enjoy. Others that follow may not feel the same joy from said objects. Don't spend more than you can afford.
I don’t get the same buzz by just having it in a safe or storage area. Carry it and use it wisely (even carry a second blade for harsher tasks)
 
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