I just made an account here the other day (although I've been lurking for a few months) and I'm enjoying myself immensely. The sheer amount of knowledge on this forum is astounding and I want to say thanks to everyone who contributes (paid membership incoming to go along with that thanks too).
Going back to when I was a small child, I've always been fascinated with knives (small, folding, every day carries in particular), but I never made it a point to collect them. I just recently had shoulder surgery, so I've decided to take up a less active hobby and since I've always had an interest in knives, I thought this would be perfect! I also work in the Meat Department at Costco so I'm starting to appreciate having better steel (we just use a Victorinox 12" straight butcher and a Victorinox 8" curved breaking knife for the subprimals, but we open dozens of boxes a day so a good folder is highly prized).
My collecting is literally just starting but I'd love a little advice/direction! Here's where I'm at so far with my meager "collection";
Gerber Gator
Given to me by my little brother before he went overseas so it has a lot of sentimental value, but I actually love this thing. The grip is super comfy and the steel is so soft I almost feel like I know what I'm doing when I sharpen it. It sits in my tackle box most of the time. The blade is prone to chipping which is lame.
Opinel No. 7 Carbon
Given to me by one of my college professors after she asked if she could use one of my essays as an example for future classes (she loved Pablo Picasso). This thing is SHARP! I mainly use it for eating apples because it just feels... right?
Gerber Air Ranger (two of these)
SOG Field Pup (my fiance's technically)
SOG Seal Pup Elite (satin, straight edge)
These were an impulse buy from Cabelas for my fiance and myself right before a camping trip a few years ago (before I even knew about this forum, so be merciful). They were having a Christmas/clearance sale and I purchased all four of these for under $73 total... After tax! No regrets! The Air Ranger's were actually a nice surprise. The steel is absolute trash and I hate that they are partially serrated (seemed like a good idea at the time), but they have really smooth action and a great build quality for a $10 knife. I can actually deploy them MUCH faster than any of the assisted openers I own. I paid about $11 for the Field Pup (fiance's full tang for camping) and for that price, I find it a pretty sweet knife! We lucked out and happened to get one with AUS 8 instead of 7Cr17Mov which is cool. It's very comfortable in the hand and most importantly my fiance loves having it (in case of bears or snakes she says). I paid around $36 for the SOG Seal Pup Elite and it's... Ok. Nothing to write home about and I'm sure I could have gotten more for my money, even at that price. It feels good in the hand and is easy to sharpen though. Both SOGs have great wet weather handles which was important to us since we tend to camp year round in the Pacific Northwest.
Now we get to the knives that I picked up over the last few days since I started "collecting"
Kershaw Leek (Sandvick steel)
Wow! What a fun knife! My (soon to be) father in law received one for Christmas and I thought it was pretty cool. I purchased one locally for $26 to open boxes with at work and have quickly fallen in love with it (the pointy tip is great for boxes and it's unintimidating look is perfect for Costco). I really have this knife to thank getting me interested in knives again... I've only been able to use one arm since the surgery so I've been flicking this open a lot and it's a BLAST, lol. Way more fun than a fidget spinner.
Kershaw Leek Carbon Fiber (CPM 154)
My fiance, seeing how much I loved the original Leek, decided to get this for me as a surprise post operation gift (see why I'm marrying her?). It'll be here Monday and I'm very excited! I'll be passing the original Leek down to my fiance of course... Although I think I'll pick up another regular Leek for myself shortly since the CF is a liner lock with a flat grind and the original is a frame lock with a hollow grind.
Kershaw Blur (S30V)
I purchased this as a Birthday (3/28!) gift for myself locally for $64 before tax (what a DEAL) and I LOVE it. I'm a little intimidated by the curve when it comes to sharpening, but the steel should be hard enough that it won't need more than a hone and strop here and there.
Kershaw Blur (black, Sandvick steel)
Saw this for sale for $30 secondhand (but brand new, in box) and I couldn't pass it up. Before I started learning about the different steels, this is the Blur I originally wanted. It should give me a chance to practice sharpening a curved blade without screwing up my S30V Blur.
Victorinox Swiss Army Compact
I always had a Swiss Army on me as a kid, so I wanted something simple, nostalgic, and useful in an urban setting. This fits the bill PERFECT (the pen is such a fantastic addition).
Any ideas of where I should go from here? The next thing I purchase will probably be a Stropman strop as they may be hard to get soon.
After that I think I want to pick up a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
Some of the knives I'm keeping an eye on for flash sales/deep discounts include;
Swiss Army Farmer Alox
Swiss Army 1
Spyderco Delica
Spyderco Paramilitary 2
Spyderco Manix
Kershaw Leek Composite (I know, I know but I love these things)
Benchmade Griptillian
Cold Steel Code 4
Leatherman Wave+ (or Charge TTI if the price is right)
Custom Buck 110 (My great grandfather had one of these when I was a kid and I always thought was a great looking knife).
Buck Vantage Pro
Ontario Rat in D2 (undecided which)
Morakniv Companion or Bushcraft
Svord Peasant Knife
Also... If I'm understanding the tiers of the paid memberships... I can purchase knives from people on the forum with the Basic $10 membership (private message access), but if I wanted to sell a knife, I need the $30 Gold membership. Is that correct?
Thanks everyone!
P.S.
I blame the post operative pain killers for the length of this post.
Edit*
Updated with a picture of the "family"!
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Edit #2*
Updated with new additions!
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