Back and still addicted to the Classic.

[jackknife]

Amazing isn’t it? Over time, you’re likely going to find that larger knives are mostly overkill in an urban setting. That’s what happened to me. Eventually I gave away and sold all of my larger SAK’s.

Overkill.

It seems to infect all groupie situations, no matter the knife nut crowd, gun nut crowd, car/motorcycle crowd, whatever the cult worship item is being bowed down to. I know, because I've been guilty of it myself.

In my younger days, I had a gun collection. I could have armed a Marine rifle squad for operations in a hostile zone. Same with knives. I'm not sure what the hell happened, but little by little I started looking at it all and wondering what the hell was I doing with all this s--t in my life. It was like coming out of a feverish infection and looking back on it all, it was nuts. Plain nuts. I didn't need most of it. When I had my first huge downsize, it was like having a ball and chain removed from my leg. It was a freeing feeling.

You're right on. any small SAK in the pocket like a 58mm, a utility knife or two stashed around, and some good kitchen knives are all you need. Much more and it just gets silly real fast.

 

[jackknife]

I've had the same beat up looking classic on my keyring for about 4 years now, and mostly kept it there for the small scissors, and the nail file. I started giving it a chance to do some knife related EDC things after reading threads like this, and color me impressed. So far, that little blade is more than enough to get me through most of my small chores at home and the office. You guys have convinced me to take it off the keys and use it more, so it's now living in my coin pocket as my primary carry this week.View attachment 2380462

Use that little thing like you stole it!!!

Every few years the family takes a vacation en-mass to Key West. Fishing by day, smoking some good cigars with cold cocktails by night listening to good music at the clubs.

Flying down with only carry one to save time at the airport, a knife is a no=go. So I will take one of my well used classics and mail to myself where we stay. Pick it up on checking in. In the course of a week, it will cut bait, deal with fishing line to be trimmed, the little screws on the rented fishing reel that needs work, slicing those little Key Limes for the cold vodka tonics, snipping price tags off souvenir T-shirts from Jimmy Buffets place on Duval street, and trimming the end cap off a nice hand rolled Dominican for that after dinner smoke. We love to fish what they call the flats, for bonefish and red snapper to grill back at the guest house.

In many vacations there, I have not had a classic fail to cut/screw/fix whatever I needed to do. On folding out, I gift it off to the airport shuttle driver. It's always recognized as a SAK and appreciated.

GO FOR IT!

 

[Juergen23]

In many vacations there, I have not had a classic fail to cut/screw/fix whatever I needed to do.

I’ve never seen any SAK fail. Not even the old Recruit my father literally found on the street decades ago.

 

[Wirelessjunkie]

It was like coming out of a feverish infection and looking back on it all, it was nuts. Plain nuts. I didn't need most of it. When I had my first huge downsize, it was like having a ball and chain removed from my leg. It was a freeing feeling.

Yes, waking out of a fever dream is exactly how it felt when it happened to me too. I packed up all the Spydercos, Benchmades, and other boutique brands a few months ago, and it felt really good putting them into long term storage. Now for the fun part of getting them all back out to sell. Haven't decided yet if I should sell them piece by piece, or if I should do small bundles at good prices to just be done with the process faster.

 

[jackknife]

Yes, waking out of a fever dream is exactly how it felt when it happened to me too. I packed up all the Spydercos, Benchmades, and other boutique brands a few months ago, and it felt really good putting them into long term storage. Now for the fun part of getting them all back out to sell. Haven't decided yet if I should sell them piece by piece, or if I should do small bundles at good prices to just be done with the process faster.

I don't know, maybe make a bundle deal?

I had it way easier. Russell's down in Arkansas still had the A.G. knife lists, where they would sell knives on a commission. I sent most of them down there, and they sold them off for me and sent me a check. Very fast and painless. The other stuff that was just accumulation of factory stuff, I laid out on the dining room table and invited the kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews and cousins to take whatever the wanted. Loved it!!!

I got to see them enjoy the stuff while I was still around to see it. The kids got most the guns and the better half and I just kept what we had when we got married a long time ago.

 

[Juergen23]

Haven't decided yet if I should sell them piece by piece, or if I should do small bundles at good prices to just be done with the process faster.

Sometimes you just have to take your loss and be done with it.

I’d sell ‘m all in small bundles. That’s what I did when I sold my expensive camera gear many years ago. I was brainwashed into thinking that only Leica would do…and stuff gets really expensive really fast with that brand… It was crazy.

At some point, I was introduced to the work of a landscape photographer who had taken amazing photos of the British countryside, all with just an old iphone.

At that point, a light switch went on. All of the Leica stuff, thousands of euros, was sold at an acceptable loss at fixed prices on the big auction site. All was sold and shipped within a week or so. I never looked back.

 

[Wirelessjunkie]

Thanks for the advice, and I think you're both right. I'll be selling some bundles this week, it'll feel good to have the space back. For once, BF is helping my wallet

 

[jackknife]

Thanks for the advice, and I think you're both right. I'll be selling some bundles this week, it'll feel good to have the space back. For once, BF is helping my wallet

You're welcome.

It's not just the space, it's the sense of freedom you get back.

There's an old saying, I think it's far eastern, that when you own too many possessions, then the possessions end up owning you.

I know that every time I sold off my once obsessive possessions, there was this incredible sense of lightness of being. The whole knife collection thing, the gun collection thing, the tools thing. Once I got back down to basics, I felt free again. Now I don't go to knife shows, gun shows, or read the magazines that are the industry shills for an artificially created market. It was all sooooo much bull hockey, it was amazing how they figure ways to get you to spend your money on things that are totally not worth it, or even needed.

It's all a trap. If I could go back in time to find myself as a young guy looking at gun and knife magazines, I'd kick my young self right in the A## and tell him to get his head back in the real world. I look back on the time I spent at gun shows and knife shows as time totally wasted. I'd have been way better off spending more time fishing, canoeing, woods walking, backpacking, motorcycle camping, and traveling, with a SAK in my pocket and some modest factory sheath knife in the pack like my old Buck 102 woodsman. In other words, going about real life, instead of obsessive cult worship of some inanimate object.

Don't worry too much about how much money you get back on the knives. Consider it tuition on a valuable life lesson in what you don't need and go forward in life and remember to beware of hype and smoke and mirrors.

 

[Wirelessjunkie]

There's a lot of wisdom in that. All manner of things large or small can rule our days while we tell ourselves that we're making informed decisions about them, when they don't really matter to begin with. A good friend once told me, "Your ego is not your amigo"... and when you realize that it's usually your ego that drives the impulse telling you that what you have isn't good enough, you have to decide whether or not you want to keep playing along. I decided I'd rather fund my own retirement than someone else's, and it all kind of fell apart after that.

I still like seeing what people do with their knives, but there's no way I could spend what I used to spend on them. It just seems like insanity fueled by competitive shopping and the promise of marginal returns for a single item that often costs more than a weeks worth of groceries... and most of which will get tossed in a safe and never get used much or sharpened to a point of ever needing to be retired.

I guess thats what eventually drew me back to Victorinox (I had a few as a kid, and they got used hard). They can be had for cheap, they solve more problems than they create, they have thin blades that cut well, and there's no competitive shopping needed to acquire one. I know how to sharpen a knife, and I have good enough knife skills where I don't feel the need for a locking blade to do chores... and since those aren't barriers for me it means I see Viccies as practicality perfected now.

Thanks for relating your stories though, its good to have voices here for people who need the push to exit collection fever when they're ready.

 

[shopdoc]

You're welcome.

It's not just the space, it's the sense of freedom you get back.

There's an old saying, I think it's far eastern, that when you own too many possessions, then the possessions end up owning you.

I know that every time I sold off my once obsessive possessions, there was this incredible sense of lightness of being. The whole knife collection thing, the gun collection thing, the tools thing. Once I got back down to basics, I felt free again. Now I don't go to knife shows, gun shows, or read the magazines that are the industry shills for an artificially created market. It was all sooooo much bull hockey, it was amazing how they figure ways to get you to spend your money on things that are totally not worth it, or even needed.

It's all a trap. If I could go back in time to find myself as a young guy looking at gun and knife magazines, I'd kick my young self right in the A## and tell him to get his head back in the real world. I look back on the time I spent at gun shows and knife shows as time totally wasted. I'd have been way better off spending more time fishing, canoeing, woods walking, backpacking, motorcycle camping, and traveling, with a SAK in my pocket and some modest factory sheath knife in the pack like my old Buck 102 woodsman. In other words, going about real life, instead of obsessive cult worship of some inanimate object.

Don't worry too much about how much money you get back on the knives. Consider it tuition on a valuable life lesson in what you don't need and go forward in life and remember to beware of hype and smoke and mirrors.

Wise words that all should heed. But, and I doubt Im alone here, it doesn't really sink in until your 40s. Even with people like Carl telling us otherwise. Kind of have to go through these life lessons on your own. But Carl you are 100% correct.

 

[jackknife]

Wise words that all should heed. But, and I doubt Im alone here, it doesn't really sink in until your 40s. Even with people like Carl telling us otherwise. Kind of have to go through these life lessons on your own. But Carl you are 100% correct.

Actually Doc, I think you're the one who is 100% correct. I think it was into my mid to late 40's that the fog of the obsession started to lift. The example of more minimalist outlook was right in front of my face for most of my life; my dad who lived most his life with a Case peanut for a pocket knife, my friends who thought I was nuts for spending what I spent on knives. My platoon sergeant who served his role in the army combat engineers with the issue demo knife which is a crude version of the Victorinox pioneer. Growing up, I was the only knife nut I knew. I was too dumb and obsessed to see the value of those who were in my life.

Maybe by the time we reach middle age, (which comes at different times for many of us) we've lived enough to gain some sort of perspective to figure our what is really important in our life. Enough life's experience to gain some smarts. Maybe. In my case, it was closer to 50 than 40. All the clues were there, but my skull was too thick for it to penetrate. But a crystalizing moment came in my 50th year.

We were on a round the country trip, camping out at the big name national parks, and we found ourselves going through Minnesota. Charles Lindberg had been a childhood hero of mine and the hero worship had led me to take flying lessons and fly a Cessna 150. So, not stopping at the Lindberg home museum was NOT an option. I had read everything there was to read that he wrote, and the book his daughter, Reeve Lindberg had written, in which she said he loved Swiss Army knives.

At his boyhood home museum was a lot of his personal effects, including his old gray VW beetle that he explored two continents in. He camped out in his VW, and the floor of the front passenger area had cans of sardines and boxes of cracks, canned goods, his stag handled Marbles sheath knife. But it was the ignition key hanging there in plain sight in the preserved 1957 Volkswagen that was "IT" Dangling from the little bead chain the car key was on was his house key, a P-38 can opener, and a little Victorinox classic.

Charles Lindberg's pocket knife was a Vic classic.

To a Lindberg fan boy, this was a shocking, monumental moment. Charles Lindberg, aviation pioneer, explorer, author, carried a SAK classic in his day to day life. That was that!

 

[Juergen23]

But, and I doubt Im alone here, it doesn't really sink in until your 40s.

I’m 44. What you and J jackknife say is spot on. I am very much a different man than the man I was at 34, let alone 24. In a way, life gets easier the older we get because of the lessons we’ve learned.

 

[jackknife]

I’m 44. What you and J jackknife say is spot on. I am very much a different man than the man I was at 34, let alone 24. In a way, life gets easier the older we get because of the lessons we’ve learned.

Wait until you get up there to senior citizen status! Talk about things changing, wow!

I look back on some of the things I believed and felt, and I wonder what was I smoking and thinking. As you make the passage from middle age to retirement stage of life, your views will sometimes be 100% opposite of what it was in your "younger" days. Maybe it's the lessons learned sometimes the hard way, maybe its the decrease of testosterone affecting your metal process, but there will be a new pragmatic mindset to it all. Especially as you realize that expiration date is drawing closer.

That's when material things cease to have value and you worry about and want to be closer to those you love and have cared about. Your family and the few close long time friends you still have. Like when your granddaughter the horse nut wants to go to vet school and the tuition is a bit much. But over the course of 50 years of working, your investments have done well and you can tell her, "Don't worry about it, we've got you covered."

A legacy isn't the knife collection of custom or boutique brands stuff you can leave, or the gun collection, but helping them to a future they will love what they are doing and doing a greater good.

 

[Hashishiin]

I love the Classic, but with someone who got into knives at minimum 3oz to some folders like the Espada that weighs an LB, the lighter version, I can't justify forgoing the tools of the Minichamp (1oz), or Rambler, or the 74mm like the Executive. Why would I? This is what I pick when I am wanting LW carry, usually with a LW. Spyderco.

My girl is more into the ultralight - I have a Princess that I got for the scales that I gave to her with a swap that was better for her, the Princess is a nice one layer, or the Escort (one layer, blade and SD file) plus two SD Classics (black cats and pink donut) scattered on her rings and bags. She carries one of these, supplemented with a light, small Spyderco like my Cruwear Yojimbo 2, her alum PM2, Para3 LW in 4V and a Vic with a screwdriver main too, this time using my Explorer till I hook her up.

 

[Juergen23]

The Classic did a lot of little jobs over the last days. Like cutting up a massive cardboard box out in the garden. It took some time but the Classic delivered. A little stropping afterwards and it was back to razor sharp. In the supermarket it released a couple bananas from a ‘family pack’ as I didn’t need 12 bananas.

 

[Wirelessjunkie]

Almost two weeks later Im still using my Vic Classic and Wenger Esquire for 99% of knife tasks. I had to bust out the bigger wenger screwdriver a couple of times for tasks needing more torque, but other than that they've both carried me through the weeks really well. The smaller handle sizes were a little weird at first, but didnt take long to get used to after I made some paracord lanyards for them. Having more pocket space has been nice too.

 

[jackknife]

Almost two weeks later Im still using my Vic Classic and Wenger Esquire for 99% of knife tasks. I had to bust out the bigger wenger screwdriver a couple of times for tasks needing more torque, but other than that they've both carried me through the weeks really well. The smaller handle sizes were a little weird at first, but didnt take long to get used to after I made some paracord lanyards for them. Having more pocket space has been nice too.

Be veeeery careful there, junkie. You will get used to the extra pocket space and lightness in the pockets, not to mention getting used to doing it with a smaller blade. Sometimes you have to eye the situation a little more carefully with the small knife, and maybe take a different approach, but you'll learn and become used to it. Used to it to a point that going back to a bigger SAK or pocket knife will actually be awkward. My old Wenger SI feels like a brick in my pocket so I used a belt pouch. But that is a PITA as well, so I put the Wenger back in the sock drawer.

Once in a while I need a bigger or sturdier screw driver for light prying, but that's what the one piece Sear's 4-way in my wallet is for. But after a while of carrying the smaller SAK, you come to realize that in an urban/suburban environment, you don't actually need anything bigger. If you go into the boonies for hiking/camping, then you'll have a fixed blade on hand anyway. Or should have.

 

[jackknife]

The Classic did a lot of little jobs over the last days. Like cutting up a massive cardboard box out in the garden. It took some time but the Classic delivered. A little stropping afterwards and it was back to razor sharp. In the supermarket it released a couple bananas from a ‘family pack’ as I didn’t need 12 bananas.

I've done that in stores before. The small size of the classic makes it good for "stealth cutting". It's small enough to hide in the hand, even open. I keep the blade just under my index finger out of sight. Living most of my life in and just outside of Washington D.C., stealth cutting was a needed skill.

 

[Juergen23]

I've done that in stores before. The small size of the classic makes it good for "stealth cutting". It's small enough to hide in the hand, even open. I keep the blade just under my index finger out of sight. Living most of my life in and just outside of Washington D.C., stealth cutting was a needed skill.

Exactly. Index finger on the spine and some 'push-and-pull' force on the little blade and it cuts just as well as any larger blade. In fact, the thin blade offers even less resistance than a thicker blade.

The Classic. Never too much and always enough in an urban setting.

 

[jackknife]

Exactly. Index finger on the spine and some 'push-and-pull' force on the little blade and it cuts just as well as any larger blade. In fact, the thin blade offers even less resistance than a thicker blade.

The Classic. Never too much and always enough in an urban setting.

I think that the thin blade stock is how the humble little 58mm's cut so well. The steel thickness behind the edge is so razor blade thin that even a little dull, it still cuts well, like most SAK's. That's why I loved SAK's so much in my life, that as I tried all kinds of knives in my younger "knife nut" days, they all had a failing; too much darn steel behind the edge. The so called tactical knives are some of the worst. Fine for prying open a tank hatch in some fantasy, but not so good for real world package opening and other jobs.

Look at how well the lowly Stanley 99 and Husky utility knives cut some very tough materials. And they are just razor blade thin cutters. I just regret it took me soooo long to come to my senses.