Anybody else give up on high-end carry?

Haha, the bumper thing or top of the truck/car is so true. Never lost a knife that way but I have a couple pairs of sunglasses that stung a little. Many times I drive away and see my coffee cup or water bottle go off one side or the other of my rig. One of my Swells is so dented up it won't stand up anymore.
Bit of an aside.... I had just gotten a new pickup and stopped for gas and coffee. I got a large coffee since I was going to sip on it driving.... I get the coffee and set it on my dash surface. Climb in and the coffee completely spills on my brand new dash with all the electronics. I was pissed and went in to get another.... set it down also and the same damn thing happened.... I gave up. Took two rolls of paper towels to clean up the loose liquid. Lesson... always get the lid if you are driving with drinks.

I have more than a couple times driven off with drinks sitting outside (truck tool box) and they inevitably fall off and empty. The lids help, but are not full proof.

As to the thread topic, I now will not buy a knife I know I won't carry or use. Just a waste of money as I am no collector.
 
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Two biggest reasons I hear back from customers on how they lost their knife:

1) Didn't put the knife all the way back into the sheath. My sheaths make an audible "klunk" that also can be felt when seated all the way in. Folks forget and get in a hurry I guess.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKcsUfjAeM/

2) And this one has amazed me how many times I've heard it. Used the knife for something, put it on the bumper or tailgate and then drove off forgetting the knife was there.

These are the two consistent reasons I've heard from my customers on how they lost their knife.

Customs being used for dinner at a branding:

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I know of more than a few people that have lost their cell phones laying in on the truck railing while getting gas and driving away ... I have seen guys lay a knife on the ground while field dressing an deer or elk and look for it ... but I reckon some probably forget to pick it up and lose it ...
 
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I took my watch off one time gutting a deer. Dragged it out of the woods, loaded it up and headed down the road. Probably got 10 miles before I realized I didn't have my watch. Drove all the way back, hiked back into the woods to the gut pile, looked everywhere, no watch. Bummed got back in the truck and then saw it sitting in a cubby in the dash.

Another time elk hunting I took a crap in the woods on a very rainy day. The next day we got stopped by a stater who was checking tags, I had no wallet! He said 'it's gonna be tough getting an elk out of here w/out a tag'. I racked my brain and the only thing I could think was I lost it poopin'. Went back to where I did the deed and laying right beside the turd was a very wet wallet, never been happier to revisit a poopin site :)
 
I find myself carrying my less expensive knives more, as I have a tendency to not want to use the higher priced ones. That doesn't mean I have "given up" on them, I just don't carry them nearly as much as the average ZT, Benchmade, or Spyderco.
 
i will say that I did grab some sort of off brand, they kind they give away, "sak" while doing some plumbing work - rather than using the Domino I EDC.
knowing it was going to be subjected to some not so nice conditions, and funny angles, just made more sense
 
Absolutely not!

If anything i'd say the exact opposite of giving up on it! ... I've been enjoying it more and more every single year that has past for the past 3-4 years. Today I have knives ranging from $40- $500 and I enjoy carrying them all equally depending on what tasks I have lined up for that day.

Honestly, I can say I do enjoy knowing I have something more "substantial" in my pocket for EDC like 1 of my many sebenza's or hinderers, as opposed to carrying something like my spyderco delica...

The delica is just a knife/tool but something like a sebenza is a knife/tool and on some level a piece of art. The super tight tolerances in which everything fits with precision, it is a feat of engineering which I cannot ignore, nor cannot be compared with any "cheaper" knife on the market (imo) Plus the history of it and it's company is also something that attracted me to the brand.

This is all relative, and if you are somebody making $30,000-$40,000 per year, then yes, carrying a $500 knife on you to EDC might seem crazy, but where I am currently in life, I can afford it and beyond that this whole knife sub-culture is something that has been a part of my life for over a decade now.

When i first started I couldn't even imagine spending over $100 on a knife!.... I was sweating when I spent $60 on my first "good quality knife" from a reputable brand LOL! But over time as I've progressed in the sub-culture of knives it ultimately has allowed me to gain more of an appreciation for what is available on the market which wasn't around a mere 15-20 years ago.

I'm not telling any1 to go in to debt for anything either! IF you can be honest with yourself and consider your own life and expenses, and still be able to comfortably afford a high end knife, thats when it would make sense for you to pull the trigger. I feel some people formulate their opinions about high-end carry without thinking beyond what is accessible to them financially, along with them not really having been around long enough or dove deep enough in to the realm of knives to get that deeper appreciation for them. With that said, I don't see an issue with somebody EDCing a $2,000 as long as their financial situation allows them to do with it without breaking a sweat...Lastly, I hear the words "diminishing returns" thrown around a lot, and people seem to miss the point with high-end carry. High-end carry is about being able to carry something that will make you grin every time you take it out of your pocket or lay down on your table, or while you use it. Something that can put a smile on your face, that's priceless.
 
I always carry two knives, a GEC or Case sodbuster with a delrin handle as a cheap knife that’s easily replaceable, and a more expensive knife such as a Spyderco, ZT, or GEC knife. I only have a couple of GEC knives that never come out of the tube, but those can’t be replaced.
 
I went back to cheaper knives for difft reasons. I'm no explorer or anything like that so more often than not I'm commuting to an office or really using a knife in my yard chores. Quite often I could be on one side of my property and my wife will ask for a knife. I tend to use something like a Spyderco with frn which I can toss clear across a yard and have it land near my wife. I just can't do that with more expensive knives as they don't really come in frn format. With that in mind I tend to like being able to just be able to toss a knife around. And I've also checked into a lot of customs where a production knife was designed off of and so far only in a handful of cases did I like the custom more than the production. Function over form for me at the end of the day, w/ a few exceptions set aside of course.
 
I gave it a real shot several times, but the practical and budget-conscious part of me combines with my knife hobby in such a way that I see no point in having a $300+ knife when I could instead have two $150 knives that cut things at least as well and are of roughly the same quality of assembly.

I’ve carried Hinderers, Striders, Chris Reeves, expensive limited release ZTs, customs, etc - None of them are a better cutting tool than a Manix2, and none of them are appreciably “tougher” than a Recon 1.

The trend towards budget knives having immaculate assembly quality (Stedemon, Civivi, Maxace, etc) has also eliminated the only remaining reason I would consider spending high amounts on a knife: flipper pivot action. I’m not going to spend $900+ on a Shiro just so I have a knife that might be better than a Civivi, since the difference in flipping action and edge retention is definitely not going to be in proportion to the price difference (~2000%)

Similarly, if I wanted maximum cutting performance, Spyderco already makes production Maxamet and S110V versions of full-flat-ground highly-utilitarian knives that are available for under $200.

Not being on instagram has probably saved me thousands of dollars over the years; I just don’t care to carry around $500 wallet chains and $700 knives so I can flex on people with better spending habits.
 
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If anyone can afford to and they choose to carry a high end knife I think it's fine. I guess the most I've spent is around 120 or so on a knife.
But I've carried stuff that is mostly under 70 dollars or so. The most expensive I've carried is a native 5 lightweight,which was snatched lol. Seriously considering another one or a para 3 lightweight. I need a bigger thicker blade every now and then , most times a stockman from case or buck or perhaps a sak will do most of what I need. Some complain about having to sharpen less expensive knives more but I enjoy seeing how sharp I can get one so I'm fine with that. In a few days I'm probably gonna order a harrier 2 to use at work.
I think as long as u stay where u don't burden your family and your comfortable go for it
 
I don't buy high-end blades. I think the most I have ever spent was $70, and I really didn't like going that high. I have a lot of knives on camelcamelcamel so I get notices if they get down to what I'm willing to pay.

I'm not really a "collector" in the sense of buying things that might have high resale value later. I'm all about blades that have a good mix of affordability and quality. I tend to focus on knives that are good for Bushcraft, certain types of pocket knives, machetes, axes, and tomahawks. I have a small collection of spearheads, and want to branch into other polearm heads (functional ones, not wallhangers), though I'm going to have to be willing to spend more on those.
 
This is all relative, and if you are somebody making $30,000-$40,000 per year, then yes, carrying a $500 knife on you to EDC might seem crazy,

I make less than that, and today I had $900 of knives in my pockets.
I save on other things...like having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch for the last 11 months. ;)

But while my lunches are boring, my knives are great. :D
 
I make less than that, and today I had $900 of knives in my pockets.
I save on other things...like having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch for the last 11 months. ;)

But while my lunches are boring, my knives are great. :D

That is SICK

What were you carrying???
 
That is SICK

What were you carrying???

Today was one of my Medfords for the right side, and the Emerson Karambit for the left.
Last week the overall cost was lower, as the ZT 0620CF was the right side knife.

Been rotating through most of my folders for the right side, carrying each for one week at a time. The left side is always occupied by the Karambit, as sometimes a curved blade is handy. Actually, it's been the main left pocket knife now since 2009. :eek: It's also great for getting splinters out due the pointy tip (old style tip, before they redesigned it to be less pointy).

Sometimes I'll add a belt pouch/sheath so I can add a third knife, like a Laguiole or other slip-joint, just for added knife goodness. :thumbsup:
 
I make less than that, and today I had $900 of knives in my pockets.
I save on other things...like having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch for the last 11 months. ;)

But while my lunches are boring, my knives are great. :D
The exact same reason I drive a reliable POS car...the cool toys:thumbsup:
 
Frankly, my definition of "high-end" is probably somewhat less than many here, but I do have some genuinely high end knives, or ones that would be next to impossible to replace. I quasi collect several brands; older Gerbers and Spydercos, Bucks, Smith & Wessons and a handful of the older Pumas and even fewer Al Mars. I also have some odd ducks, knives I acquired while stationed in Italy, from Italian, Greek, French, German, Spanish and Corsican makers, including a few autos. (On a clear day, I could see Corsica from my courtyard on the back side of La Maddalena.) Those don't see much play.

In actuality, my daily is an older CRKT large PE Mirage, which I picked up in some multi knife internet trade years ago, and CRKT was nice enough to provide me with clip screws and a thumb stud to replace the missing items. It takes and holds an edge, and has the perfect spine to open non twist off beer caps, and pull target staples out of backers and stakes. I might have $11 tied up in it. If I lose it, it won't crush me (although I'm actually quite fond of it now, it's opening action is so smooth, yet without play) My other daily is a Lightening OTF Titan tanto, and for a light weight dress knife, a black micarta scaled Al Mar Falcon that I picked up at a flea market for $35.

I have honestly pondered picking up a Gold membership to sell down my odd ducks, knives that I picked up but do not fit into a collection, and maybe even (now that I am retired) take the time to photograph the nicer mini collections I have. Actually, as older Gerber collections go, I'm pretty proud of my efforts there.
 
For years I had an abundant supply of SAKs and a number of unnamed knives which I sharpened and sharpened and sharpened. While the edges would sharpen a few blackberry canes or rope cuts would kill the sharp edges so I end up carrying three or four. I took a gander on some Chinese knives a few years ago and they were a definite step up from what I had even though many I would later discover were knockoffs of famous-to others at the time.
The kershaw link and dividends in m390 opened my eyes a few years ago and I grabbed several of each, and they became my carries, and I thinned out the unsharpenable horde from my sixty years of life ( except the knife I hunted with my dad with), and now had a few Americans in front of a Chinese horde. I carried a kershaw and a Chinese for the paint can reopening duties. Many of the horde have been gifted on to younger souls.
I’ve now moved on to spydercos largely and a few other $50-200 knives. I carry one or two of the best and sometimes still one of the amazon specials for root cutting duties or mushrooming which I won’t use a “good” knife for. I’m still figuring out what to do with massdrops purple Laconicos and SpydieChef as I don’t know how I feel about snail trails yet, new car syndrome.
 
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