Are You Having Fun?

Eli Chaps

Eli Chaps

Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
4,458
Hello Knife Nuts,

Are you having fun in the knife world right now? This isn't some global knife environment question but about each of us, you, as an individual.

As with any hobby, we can sometimes get bogged down. It can become more chore than enjoyment. We can get burned out.

Are you having fun? If so why? If not why?

Me? I'm having a blast. I've always been a knife person. Like, since I was a little kid. That doesn't mean I was all into collecting or that sort of thing. Just that I always had an affinity and respect for sharp things. When I was in single digit years I was "sharpening" knives for those around me. Thankfully they were already so horribly dull that I couldn't go wrong!

My family still refers to me as the "knife guy".

For many years I pursued and focused on other things like motorcycles and guns and my knife itch just sort of hung out there not fully scratched.

A couple years ago, I decided it was time to get back to that old love. I tossed off the ego blanket and accepted that I wanted to learn more about sharpening. To improve my skills and understanding. I embarked on a pursuit to test different EDC and kitchen knives. I committed to being completely open and trying new things and analyzing what I thought I already believed.

I at last registered here.

It's funny how little my tastes have truly changed over all the years. Hell, I'm back to Case knives right now and seriously digging it.

And I'm loving the sharpening discussions and knowledge sharing. We're in a time of incredible information sharing that I could never have dreamed of when I was a kid. I'm learning so much!

So, again, are you having fun?
 
If it's not fun, then it's not a hobby anymore. I'm pretty content with my knife collection and if I never bought another knife again in my life, I would still have more knives than I need. I'm in it for the tinkering aspect of it and all the new combinations of brands/colors/steels coming out.
 
I’m having a great time. I’ve slimmed down my collection of modern knives to 7, soon to be 6. I’m focusing on what I really like. I just got a custom shop Benchmade that I’m very excited about, and between that and my CRKs I’m pretty set, and the GEC world keeps buying fun without breaking the bank
 
Yep, having fun.

I’ve liked knives since before I could remember, but only been serious about it for 3-ish years.

I’ve gone through awakening and rabid acquisition phases. I’m moving into the sharpening and modification phase. I’ve even considered the downsizing phase, but nope...too soon! ;)

Will this progression lead me all the way to knifemaking? Maybe. Will it lead to bankruptcy? Probably. :cool:
 
Happy? I guess so, on the knife part of my life at least. I have most of the prod knives I want, and I am taking my sweet time to pick more exotic or custom pieces. My sharpening skills are awesome (to me at least) and I am enjoying the current creativity in designs. It's a nice era to collect knives really !
 
Eli Chaps said:
Hello Knife Nuts,

Are you having fun in the knife world right now? This isn't some global knife environment question but about each of us, you, as an individual.

As with any hobby, we can sometimes get bogged down. It can become more chore than enjoyment. We can get burned out.

Are you having fun? If so why? If not why?

Me? I'm having a blast. I've always been a knife person. Like, since I was a little kid. That doesn't mean I was all into collecting or that sort of thing. Just that I always had an affinity and respect for sharp things. When I was in single digit years I was "sharpening" knives for those around me. Thankfully they were already so horribly dull that I couldn't go wrong!

My family still refers to me as the "knife guy".

For many years I pursued and focused on other things like motorcycles and guns and my knife itch just sort of hung out there not fully scratched.

A couple years ago, I decided it was time to get back to that old love. I tossed off the ego blanket and accepted that I wanted to learn more about sharpening. To improve my skills and understanding. I embarked on a pursuit to test different EDC and kitchen knives. I committed to being completely open and trying new things and analyzing what I thought I already believed.

I at last registered here.

It's funny how little my tastes have truly changed over all the years. Hell, I'm back to Case knives right now and seriously digging it.

And I'm loving the sharpening discussions and knowledge sharing. We're in a time of incredible information sharing that I could never have dreamed of when I was a kid. I'm learning so much!

So, again, are you having fun?
Click to expand...

Fun?

You think this is a game?

When the zombie aliens come you’ll wish you took your knifing more seriously!

If I wasn’t having fun I probably wouldn’t be doing it ;)
 
I enjoy looking at knives, talking about knives, drawing them, and occasionally even trying to make one myself.

But as for buying other people's knives? Not so much, any more. I'm not going to stop, but I'm slowing way down.
 
****, yes. More fun now than ever. Easily.

I went to Blade West in October, which was my first time going to a big show. I went with my lady, and with a good friend from work. Met some great people, in a casual way.

After that, I decided I wanted more. More time talking knives, meeting knife people, etc. I finally decided to try the YouTube thing, and dumb luck with timing wound up putting me in position to meet some very cool people and handle cool $#!+ that isn’t mine, for free.

If you told me two weeks ago that I’d have a day like today, 2 years down the road, I’d say you were crazy.

This ride is unreal.
 
Having fun, but in a different way than when I started on the forums. I now am more into looking and discussion and less into buying everything that comes along . I finally have accepted that I neither need nor can afford all the toys, but still like to be involved with the knife world and enjoying what I have.
 
Fun for me is trying something new, whether that's a particular steel, blade style, lock, or deployment method, and the combination of various things that, in real use, helps me discover things I like, or don't like, when it comes to design and materials.
 
I get to make knives every day. It gets stressful like when this happened today

Warped titanium
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Broken bandsaw
3T2V1Vx.jpg


Besides that I love every second of it. If I'm not working on knives I'm looking at them online or talking to other makers. More of an obsession than hobby or job
 
Yes. I started making knives in 2017 and although I've only made a handful that has added a whole new aspect to the hobby for me.

In terms of edc I have started carrying a Vic Spartan SAK again after many years and it's like I've come full circle realizing that it serves all my daily knife needs and that, for now, is making me happy.
 
Heck yes !
First of all I have many of my folders laying around the living room. I have purchased enough knives now that I can look here or there and think : Wow, I have one of THOSE !

Second of all, partly because of my past struggles and success to learn REAL hand tool woodworking, and partly due to my competence with (I didn't say mastery of) my Edge Pro Apex, I can now produce edges that are sharp far, far, beyond my wildest dreams when I was a kid. Frankly I could not wish for sharper edges. Heck I surprised my self and sharpened this near trash level knife The Chef bought me. It is the Imperial of Ireland shell handled knife that is missing its handles that I have posted about in other threads. The blades are badly rusted and pitted. There were dings and chips and just beat it on a brick with a hammer places on the edge of the large blade.

I got it in my head that a mirror user edge would contrast nicely with the brown rusty blade and it was fun to just be able to go put that edge on this poor little knife.
What blew me away was that deburing it was super easy. Shouldn't the bur have hung on and fought me ? Either this steel is really decent or I have gotten a step better at deburing. I honestly don't know which. I didn't strop at all I just debured with the Shapton Glass 4,000 and it just happened as I was refining the edge. That was surprising and fun.

I'm carrying the knife (and it may be in my pocket as part of my EDC for years) out of respect for my Irish brothers and sisters who lost their jobs in 2002 when the plant was closed. Heck I called it a trash knife because of the condition it is in due to abuse and neglect but it sure took a beautiful useful edge just like a BIG O' DOG.

That was a fun discovery.

And it is fun to have my M4 blades. They always make me smile at how well they cut and hold an edge in challenging materials.

I too am buying and using Case knives. Mostly a pile of large trappers both SS and CV.
 
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I've been reading about "Gun happy" people in the news, what's next? Knife happy people too? Yes, I'm giddy with the knife happys! :D
 
Yes. Just a few years ago you couldn't dream of the knives coming out now. There are too many choices in an abundance of different materials. Prices have gone up, but they have on everything else too.

It's a golden age for this. Mark my words.
 
I reached the top of my frantic obsession here some time ago. Logic has begun to sink in. I no longer have a collection of anything...just a few highly-appreciated blades. I know, now, what I like...in general...although I was recently pleasantly surprised with a $150 folder from China...the MassDrop Keen/Laconico folder. Great knife...I'm shocked that I could get this quality for such a low figure...
 
Chicks, guns, cars, knives, hats, footwear, fishing gear. The order varies except for the first lol.
 
Folder production has advanced a lot, and the market for custom folders also heated up tremendously.

I find the result of that to be a bit dull.

There are now too many high-quality production folders with no meaningful difference between them, and too many low-quality custom folders selling for eyewatering prices.

New knives and new makers used to be consistently interesting events. Now they're interesting 1% of the time.

I'm enjoying my collection: About a dozen folders, all users, plus a couple of special knives that get carried only on rare occasions. But I'm not planning on buying anything new until the noise level drops, and some of the hype subsides. The impending global recession ought to be sufficient. The one exception is that I have my eyes on Three Rivers Manufacturing. There's a company with some soul.

Until my knife buying resumes, I very much enjoy helping people on the forums here when I can, and injecting serious comments and questions into the rainbow sparkle pony nonsense on Instagram.
 
Yes. I've been into gear ever since I was a kid. I don't know if it was my first watch or that first Swiss Army Knife. I've just always enjoyed being prepared. What strikes me today is the explosion of quality budget gear coming out of Asia. What I'm seeing for the price from brands like Civivi, Steel Will, Bestech, etc. just blows me away. Stuff like this would have been "grail" knives for me twenty years ago. Look how much of it falls well under a hundred bucks or even under fifty today! Getting down around twenty bucks, I recently found a nice Ganzo in D2 and a Tangram in Acuto 440. I'm pleased as punch. We are seeing a real budget knife Renaissance.
 
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