The evolution of the traditional knife nut?

I have quit this hobby and sold out my collection twice now and both times I could have kicked myself for doing so. I have way more knives than I will ever use but for me it's more an addiction. My taste run all over the place old, new, handle material. The majority stay stored because I really have little use for a knife. I'm retired and usually am looking to something to use my knife for cutting plastic containers and household cardboard for the recycle bin, opening mail and packages.

Of late I've been trying to understand this obsession and the best I can come up with is I just plain like them.
 
I've carried a Victorinox or Leatherman since I was a teenager, but I've only really delved into the hobby over the last 12-13 months. I've learned a lot about my preferences of pocket knife over that time, and I've sold and traded knives that were worth trying out but I didn't enjoy carrying. That said, I still have lots to learn. I was trying to parse down my collection but, for example, I've been eyeing a Yellow CV Peanut, and don't think I'll be able to resist trying one out after reading threads like these, where that small convenient pattern ends up being one of the most pocketed knives out there.

I am not at the point yet where I know what's best for me. I'll keep trying things out for at least the near future, and see where it leads me. It's been gratifying up until now.
 
From a high of somewhere around 30 knives, I'm down to roughly a dozen. I keep avoiding the somewhat uncomfortable truth that, while many of those are lovely knives in their own right, or have memories associated with them, I probably don't need more than a couple of them.

I carry a modern folder every day (I know, I know -- it surprised me, too; I've gone full-circle there), and keep a GEC 77 Barlow either on my desk or in my pocket when I'm at home. I have a 1975-80 Buck 112 Ranger in my truck's glove compartment, a GEC 74 Mustang in my hiking pack, and a Case Trapper I take on family camping trips . . . but really I'd be fine just using one of my two "main" knives in those roles.

I'm at a point where I'm justifying and/or rationalizing my need ("need") for more than a knife or two. That doesn't feel like a sustainable state, so a change may be coming.
 
One thing I did which seemed to mark the shift from "constant acquisition syndrome" was to commit to a forum challenge from another member to carry just the same knife for several months. I carried a Case Small Texas Jack every day (along with a Vic Alox Cadet - a SAK was allowed as part of the challenge). No other knives, just those. It was supposed to be for 3 months, but in my case it ended up being about six months.

It was an odd and enlightening experience. Prior to that, I would tend to carry a knife for a week before switching to something else. During the first few weeks, I almost felt kind of "twitchy" to carry another knife, but I stuck with it. By about the end of the first month, it started seeming rather natural just to grab the same two knives every day. I used the Case jack for whatever I needed to use a pocket knife for (the Cadet was more for the other tools) and kept it cleaned, sharpened, and oiled as needed depending on use.

At the end of the 3 months of the challenge, I didn't feel any real need to stop so I just kept going for about another 3 months. I sort of bonded with that knife - it became my knife. A well used and maintained tool, but not obsessed over. Carried, used, relied on; a well-known and well-worn friend. Kind of like the two well-worn Cross pens I have been carrying and using for about 20 years. That is an experience you miss out on if you are constantly carrying a different knife all of the time.

The interesting self-observation during the first month or so is that the feeling was very similar to getting over an addiction or changing a bad habit. I have quit tobacco twice in my lifetime (cigarettes in 1980 and chewing tobacco in 1994) and it was reminiscent of that (though without the chemical addiction, obviously). So that made me realize there was something actually addictive in my knife buying behavior. I have never had any sort of compulsive buying disorder before in my life so that was sort of eye-opening.

That was the turning point. I have bought a few more knives since then, but very few, and only special situations. Last year I only bought two - a GEC 77 Barlow SFO and a $12 SAK. This year, none, and unless something exceptional appears, it should stay at zero.

I've got tons of knives, most unused, so if I get the urge for something new, I don't have to go further than my knife shelf.
 
Most of us live in a society that values consumption, competition (keeping up with the Jones'), and fall prey to the ideology that happiness is 20% more. We have first world mindsets, habits, and actions.

Consumer addiction, financial slothfulness, and individualized mindsets are real. Some here may even be addicted to the site itself spending way to much time keeping the addiction focused front in certer of their daily thought. Health, family, social health, even life can be neglected as the "porch" is substituted in for reality. The mind is renewed daily by what knives are out there, what is wanted, and soon it begins to justify the "need." Some log in 12 times a day, others stay logged in, yet the mind is never allowed to relax and forget about the new shiny object that isnt acquired. To allow the out of sight out of mind coping mechanisms to take affect. The social ascpect here is wonderful, but it certainly doesnt help in temperance.

The heroin addict enjoys his hit just as some of us enjoy the white box hitting the mail box. To say, "I just enjoy it" is the same excuse I told others while I was on drugs and drinking. As in all addictions it will only grow or produce a roller coaster of a relationship with the hobby until a renewed mind is valued and kept in discipline. Will power will hold off for a few months, years, or however long as long, but as the mind and perspective stays the same, the actions will never really change. The mind has to be renewed on the truth; consumption is an addiction and it may not have anything to do with knives at all. Im not saying all here fall under this label, but some do.

Anyways, I got reeled in. Im not judging or calling anyone out. I am saying that knives are a medium no different to other forms of consumption addiction. And, the forum is no different than the countless studies done on the impact of social media.

I will give credit to JC57 - He has certainly helped my transition into a more balanced view of the hobby. Cognitive Dissonance- It is a powerful idea.
 
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KBA, thank you for one of the best, most succinct posts about addiction / obsession I have read in a long time. Well-thought out and finely articulated.
 
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Ratbert said:
KBA, thank you for one of the best, most succinct posts about addiction / obsession I have read in a long time. Well-thought out and finely articulated.
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Brother, I speak as someone battling. Ive neglected my daughters, my wife, my health, my church, my friends becuase of time spent reading here. I know I certainly spent to many late nights hunting for that "grail." I enjoyed the learning, yes, but I also enjoyed being the one with a TC PPP, or the complete set of 77s.

The nut took over and I had to take several breaks from the forum. I still do to keep perspective. I also had to break my desire of 'want' by giving away what I really wanted to keep to myself. Hence my multiple gaws.

Anyways, Im just as much in this battle as the next guy/gal here.
 
KBA said:
Brother, I speak as someone battling. Ive neglected my daughters, my wife, my health, my church, my friends becuase of time spent reading here. I know I certainly spent to many late nights hunting for that "grail." I enjoyed the learning, yes, but I also enjoyed being the one with a TC PPP, or the complete set of 77s.

The nut took over and I had to take several breaks from the forum. I still do to keep perspective. I also had to break my desire of 'want' by giving away what I really wanted to keep to myself. Hence my multiple gaws.

Anyways, Im just as much in this battle as the next guy/gal here.
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Well understood...I was once a member of a thriving cigar board online and destroyed my finances and almost my marriage by obsessing over an online community and the need to acquire multiple boxes of the latest releases and exclusive limited editions. I got a kick out of being the guy who had a great stash and gifted more cigars than I smoked. One day I just walked away and didn't log in for years. That obsessing over possessions was fueled by the online community, without me even realizing what was happening.

Kudos to you for recognizing what was occurring and taking steps to make things right again.
 
Just wanted to add, I am not saying anything about anyone else's behavior and motives - I was just sharing MY particular evolution as a knife nut.

I got into pocket knives rather recently (2012) and late in my life (age 55). That particular year had some significant life events for me which I don't want to get into, but suffice it to say that I got some stark reminders that you don't get to live forever and should enjoy your life while you can, and I had some extra income at the time which made spending a couple hundred on pocket knives in a month not really a big deal. So part of it was a "feel good and live in the moment" thing combined with not being too stressed about the money aspect.

Things change, and you find other ways to cope with loss and near loss that don't involve buying yourself little presents all the time, and periods of extra income can be transitory.

I can still enjoy the hobby and I still do, I have just lost the urge to keep buying more. I won't even take a knife as a gift. It's almost like learned taste aversion - the idea of adding another knife to the pile makes me feel bad, rather than good, so I think I am probably cured. I am also unlikely to ever fall into that sort of trap of needless consumerism again, barring a lottery win. So I guess I am now inoculated, too.
 
There's folks who take up knife collecting late in life. To others, it's just a thing to do, a passing fancy as it were.

There are others of us for whom the bug hit early and went deep. Personally, I've carried and used knives for almost 60 years. And I have had an interest in learning about them for almost the same length of time. I went for over a decade carrying the same knife every day because it worked for me and because that's what I could afford at the time. I had other responsibilities which took priority. But it did not stop me from reading about knives and tracking them. I learned about them, even if I did not own them.

When finances allowed, I started buying knives. That was about 15 years ago. And to this day, when I can, I do. I don't buy junk, and I don't buy high end. I don't buy 10 variations of the same expensive knife. But I hunt and I buy the knives which I wish to try. I keep the ones I have, because to me they are comparison points as I compare designs, materials and workmanship. For me, I cannot compare if I do not carry and use them. After 15 years of buying and trying, I have a good idea of what I like and what doesn't work for me.

At the end of the day, it's a hobby. And a hobby is individual. We each have our own idea of what works for us. So there is goodness in someone figuring out that he has other priorities in life. And there is equal goodness in those who have found something they like and revel in it.
 
I've currently got a little over 2 dozen.

Much of the initial acquisition was due to trying to find out what I needed in an everyday tool. After figuring out what my general taste was, the next phase of acquisition was to find the "perfect grail" knife - which I have not yet found. Next, was supplementing the preferred edc knives with "special occiasion or special use knives". Along the way, there have been a few gifts come my way and I've gifted a few away. So that's where I'm at now.
 
I generally have an addictive personality, and the last few years I have gotten a lot better. It's been really bad, financially taxing, and it took some realizations before I got it to a manageable point.

I'm not sure if any of you ever watched my YouTube channel, but back then I had well over 100 knives, most of which I didn't even review on video. It was just an acquisition syndrome.

SAKs were dangerous for me...I'd seek out and buy every alox I could find. Here's the mid point of my collecting. I had about 40-45 I think in this video, and a couple months after, I had about 70.

They're pretty much all gone now, and I'm settling with around 20-30 total between modern, traditional, and SAKs.

 
Woodrow your post rings true to me. I will admit that I visit this forum far less than I once did. At some point, the collector mentality took over knives, even traditional knives. The mad lust to grab a knife as soon as it goes up for sale; the buying up of knives that will be sold for a premium price later, etc.--that mindset has spoiled the traditional knife forum for me.

I am satisfied with a couple of really good knives, my most frequently carried being a Northwoods Broadway Jack in orange camel bone, Northwoods Indian River Jack in smooth white bone, along with a couple GEC, Case and Queen knives that make the rotation as well.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to visit the traditional forum to see and hear from the real knife afficianados, it's just the guys who lust and grab knives to excess that puts me off. Seems to defeat the purpose of a very practical, efficient tool that becomes a part of you when you carry, use and maintain it.
 
WoodenChicken said:
Woodrow your post rings true to me. I will admit that I visit this forum far less than I once did. At some point, the collector mentality took over knives, even traditional knives. The mad lust to grab a knife as soon as it goes up for sale; the buying up of knives that will be sold for a premium price later, etc.--that mindset has spoiled the traditional knife forum for me.

I am satisfied with a couple of really good knives, my most frequently carried being a Northwoods Broadway Jack in orange camel bone, Northwoods Indian River Jack in smooth white bone, along with a couple GEC, Case and Queen knives that make the rotation as well.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to visit the traditional forum to see and hear from the real knife afficianados, it's just the guys who lust and grab knives to excess that puts me off. Seems to defeat the purpose of a very practical, efficient tool that becomes a part of you when you carry, use and maintain it.
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Appreciate the thoughts and post. The "mad grab" certainly has changed the hobby and the porch for me as well.
 
I really think we can still enjoy the porch without the lust for every knife available. Good folk and plenty of discussion that doesn't require one to go and get the latest knife.

Primble's fishing thread is a great example. Show us the fish you are catching and the knife you are using to clean it. I think maybe more traditional knife activity threads could be good.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I really think we can still enjoy the porch without the lust for every knife available. Good folk and plenty of discussion that doesn't require one to go and get the latest knife.

Primble's fishing thread is a great example. Show us the fish you are catching and the knife you are using to clean it. I think maybe more traditional knife activity threads could be good.
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As long as the focus is on knives. This is, after all, a knife forum. It's a friendly forum, but the discussion threads are about knives. The Lounge thread is there for other conversations.
 
Thanks for the reminder, Frank! I am finding this thread very interesting!!

It has caused me to question my relationship with knives!! I have some more thinking to do before I attempt to add to the discussion. I have erased three or four starts of comments!!:rolleyes:

I'll be back!!:)
 
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