Off Topic Rediscover Your Collection?

cbach8tw

cbach8tw

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After commenting on a few threads in the discussion forum, I wanted to ask if anyone has rediscovered their knife collection? I mean, if you have a lot, do you go back and find why and what reasons you bought a knife in the first place, but just placed it away somewhere and went on and continued to collect? Does the same reasons pop up why you think you want a new similar knife and maybe you forgot that those were the very reasons you had bought knife A, B, or C? My point, does rediscovering what you already have, satiate the the hunger to buy new knives?
 
I often forget that I might have purchased a certain knife and years later, I might buy another one very similar only to find out that I already owned that knife. This happens when I don't use a knife and it just gets parked in my knife "box".

I enjoy going back from time to time and digging through my knife pile. I enjoy seeing what I used to like. That's one of the reasons I don't sell my un-used knives. If I am looking for a traditional knife, I can certainly dig out one of my older ones and use it instead of a new knife. But I like to acquire new knives from time to time. So, the accumulation pretty much serves as a history lesson on what I have liked, how my preferences have changed over time, and how I often circle back to the same sort of knives again at a later date.
 
I have 80 or so folding knives readily accessible in a storage cabinet. Sometimes I'll just stand at the cabinet and work my way through the drawers and check out each knife. Sometimes I rediscover a knife I love that I haven't carried for a while or I'll pull one out and realize it now longer needs to be part of the "rotation".

Then I have another 400 or so knives that are in Spyderpacs and knife bags. Sometimes it's fun to pull out a random storage bag and go through some knives I haven't looked at in years. It kind of tells the story of my obsessive knife collecting, lol.

I maintain a spreadsheet with every knife I own logged and described, as well as the location that it's stored in. Sometimes I forget I own a particular knife and look it up on the sheet and realize I already own it...or I'll forget where a particular knife is and look it up so I can go to the right storage bag.
 
What I have discovered is that about 10 pocket knives is all I need to give me some variety of size and function. When I think of my entire collection, I tend to think of how I am going to sell it all to try to get at least some of my money back out of it. Trust me, the "hunger to buy new knives" is long gone.
 
Nice thread. I enjoy taking out some of a given type of knife (e.g. US traditional, foreign traditional, big choppers, flippers, etc.) and laying them on the coffee table for a few days; fondling them and remembering how and why they were purchased. It really has stopped me from buying some knives (not too many since I'm at 400+ lol) because I realize I have one just like it. It also serves as a way of finding knives I forgot I owned. Part of the hobby :thumbsup:.
 
I am pretty happy with what I own right now.
I think it is because I have rediscovered my older knives. Even though most of them are of marginal quality, they still bring a smile to my face.
 
I do that all the time, I've got more knives than I could possible use over several lifetimes. As I look at each one, I know exactly why I bought it and don't want to part with it. Everyone needs to have a few of their gateway knives as a reminder of what started it all and how the collection has evolved over time.
Does doing that quench the thirst for another knife, absolutely not. I may have slowed down and am now more picky about what I want, but even though my collection is more than sufficient I still have the itch to get one more.
 
Every time I revisit the knives that I have .. Its Christmas all over again!!! :) John
 
I tend to accumulate and hoard knives, and every Holidays (Summer, Winter) take them all out to fondle them, organise them and do maintenance. That brings me many surprises like remembering where/when did I buy that particular knife, or just reminding me of folders I didn't know I have.

Then I sometimes put them out and use them for some days or months, and repeat the process until the next Holidays.
I do the same with SAKs and multitools.
 
My knife " collection " is a bunch of flea market specials, and I can forget about some of those.
But my selection of about 20 users not so much. Sometimes I do go through my knives go and find one that speaks to me. A knife I probably haven't carried in a while because I do a weekly edc vs a daily swap. I'll pick the knife up, and for some reason I just want to carry it.
This recently happened with my leatherman micra which probably hadn't been paired with a primary edc blade in 6 months.
 
I revisit often, in so much as my collection is a never ending "work in progress".... I find my tastes changing, getting more and more refined as to what I like/want. I try to keep my "collection" maxed out at 27 knifes (it's the number that fits the pelican case! haha), so when I decide there is something I want, I challenge myself to find something that I no longer want and sell it. That was easy in the beginning, but these days it's very tough... I am considering a second case and a new maximum! Lord help me! haha
 
Thanks for all the replies, it can be a sickness and it it interesting to observe the symptoms again.
 
great thread. I'm going through this right now. when I caught a bad case of steel snob, I put away some fantastic blades as I was chasing latest and greatest. currently re-enjoying some wonderful knives with lowly 154cm and bg42 lol. even (gasp!) aus8!
 
I do this with mixed success.
Getting out a knife I haven't used for some time can help.
i.e. same knife - different handle color.
But them it's about different flavors...
 
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