Your knife collecting strategy?

steve-in-kville

steve-in-kville

Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,139
As I build my collection, I'm eyeing up the GEC and other top makes, but for now, I am getting a few of each pattern just to see what strikes my fancy. Figured that once I know what patterns I like, I'll simply sell or gift my less expensive knives. Or just make them daily users.

So do you have a strategy when it comes to collecting?
 
Wander round flea markets buying everything I see! :o
 
Find a way to get the ones I want. :o I really need a strategy, otherwise. ;):D:D:D
 
I don't specialize in any one pattern nor any one manufacture. That being said, I do have many more Case knives than any other brand and most of those Case knives are either stockman or jack knives with the barlow running a close third.
 
If I like it and can afford it; I buy it. First Law of Collecting:

Collect what you like, but like what you collect.
Never expect to make $$$$ when selling it.
Just enjoy.

Rich (collecting knives and other junk for 60+ years)
 
Trying right now to get all the blade-types of TC's in both single and double with matching covers.
 
I used to be a gun collector in times past. I'd buy, sell and trade all the time. I'd buy used guns I never intended to use, just trade off somewhere down the road. Knives, I am finding, are different. I can carry and use 'em on a daily basis. Keep what I like, gift what I don't.

It doesn't help I have a bunch of boys. They're becoming knife nuts, too!
 
I collect vintage New York Knives, American Shear and the whittler lobster gunstock Orange Blossoms. I also have some Sheffield (early) and have begun looking for pre-1970's Hen & Rooster. I just enjoy collecting, trading, selling and the company of other collectors. Researching the history adds to the enjoyment. Have acquired some quality customs as well.
 
I don't know that I ever had a consistent strategy. Probably a combination of "whatever appealed to me at the time" and "want to try a wide variety of patterns and brands."

I would do things differently given the benefit of hindsight. I would have significantly fewer knives, certainly.
 
Rich S said:
If I like it and can afford it; I buy it. First Law of Collecting:

Collect what you like, but like what you collect.
Never expect to make $$$$ when selling it.
Just enjoy.

Rich (collecting knives and other junk for 60+ years)
Click to expand...

This is real close to my position on the whole knife collecting thing.
 
I tend to like most traditional knives but found it easier to focus on my main interests, vintage Barlow's, pruners and Great Eastern knives. By focusing on a few types and brands of knives I can concentrate on finding good examples. Nothing I like better than finding a 70 year old knife in almost unused condition. The hunt is what is really fun for me.
I've become more selective, when I first started it seemed to be quantity was more important than quality, now quality comes first and I think the overall quality of my collection has greatly improved.
This 60 or so year old Queen I just found is an example, pretty much unused, original blade edge, just age patina. I had almost bought lesser examples but was patient and this one popped up for less money than the lesser ones.

IMG_4178_zps6flwuw9t.jpg
 
Rich S said:
If I like it and can afford it; I buy it. First Law of Collecting:

Collect what you like, but like what you collect.
Never expect to make $$$$ when selling it.
Just enjoy.

Rich (collecting knives and other junk for 60+ years)
Click to expand...


This :thumbup:

I do like to find serialized knives number 2 and number 4 for my daughter's birthdates. I also like to find knives with the same production date as a day that is important to me. A GEC 735109 Smooth White Bone non-loner lock is one I am trying to find for that reason.
 
Whim and having the wherewithal to pursue it:D

There's always something new and interesting provided there's still a horizon in front of you.
 
All my knives are users. At least they are intended to be. Just this weekend I cleaned out the knife drawer. I have 3-4 times this many knives but these are the ones I actually carry and use the most. So my "collecting" strategy is to buy something I can use. I'm almost at that saturation point. The bases are pretty well covered and for the first time in a long time, I'm not looking for my next purchase. I have no intention of selling any knife I have but have gifted one here and there from time to time.

DSC05419_zpskkgpg0ij.jpg
 
steve-in-kville said:
I used to be a gun collector in times past. I'd buy, sell and trade all the time. I'd buy used guns I never intended to use, just trade off somewhere down the road. Knives, I am finding, are different. I can carry and use 'em on a daily basis. Keep what I like, gift what I don't.

It doesn't help I have a bunch of boys. They're becoming knife nuts, too!
Click to expand...

I did the same with guns for about 15 years. Just got tired of it as I really never made any money, but the activity gave me an excuse to go to a lot of gunshows. Knives are different for me too. I don't have a strategy. If I see it and I like it, I buy it assuming of course I don't have to mortgage the house to do it. I buy what I like and don't care about what something might be worth in 10 or 20 years unlike firearms.

Added: As my traditional knife buying has matured, I have tended to buy mostly "better" factory slip joints such as made by GEC, Queen/S&M, and Canal Street Cutlery and buy very few Case or other branded slippies. By far, the majority of what I have purchased in the last 5 years have been made by GEC. I tend to like Trappers or "jack knives", but there is no theme to the buying.
 
Last edited:
I'm not a collector. There is no pattern to my purchases. There is no focus.

I'm more of an accumulator than anything else. I buy new patterns I've never had, knives with features I've never tried. I buy them, carry them until I get the hang of the features, then move on to something else that I want to try. It usually takes me a couple of months to get to know a knife. I keep the knives as reference points to compare later purchases. Sometimes I get an itch to carry one of the older knives, so I pull it out of the drawer and scratch the itch.

I have a fair number of stockman knives. But they are different sizes, with different blade grinds, different blade steels, and somewhat different shapes. So they, also, are a result of my explorations.
 
I don't understand why some folks are wary of classifying themselves collectors. Your stockman "accumulation" alone is a collection in my opinion.

A collection is simply an accumulation of things. A collector, one who collects.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top