what's the point of collecting knives?

T

tadpole25

Joined
Dec 4, 2012
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7
I'm new here. I got interested in knife collecting after hearing that Gabe Newell (Valve CEO) owns hundreds of knives.

So far, I only own one knife, it's a balisong butterfly knife.

And I have a practice balisong knife, as well, for practicing newer tricks (so I don't cut myself).

But, from an outsider perspective, is collecting knives practical? A full collection can run over
$5000, and what's the point? What does it accomplish? Are they necessary? Don't you only
just need 1 or 2 knives?

But what I learned is that you can't judge things at surface level.

I'm actually very much into a hobby that a lot of people think is silly and impractical. I collect
fragrances and I own over 50 colognes (some of them are high-end $200+ fragrances like luxury
quality Creed). And of all the people who have asked "You only need one or two, why collect
50 of them?", I can sort of understand what knife collectors must go through.

But I am curious as to why you collect knives?

Is it for safety? Hunting? Is it for aesthetic? Is it an investment to fight inflation?

I'm curious.
 
Hello my point of view and story:
I bought my first knife as an adult when I made a trip around Europe by train, since I was in Switzerland I bought a Swiss Army knife, with it I realize that was a very useful tool to have around, some time later I was into traditional archery and a bow and knife maker on a forum encouraged some members to try our hand at sharpening in a thread called "the knives of the archers" from there to a knife forum is a little step.
When you begin to read you want to try, other brands other steels, etc.
So you go through an accumulation phase an you buy new knives all the time until you realize that you're spending a lot of money with no sense at all and sell some of them, give away others,etc and only keep certain types or steels or brands and... Presto!! you'd became a knife collector :D

Right now I got rid of a lot and I'm into traditionals from a user point of view, but I kept the spyderco as a collector.
Mateo
 
I think I am more of an "accidental" collector. In my case, I purchased a knife for use for some outdoor activities. Then I found one that was better at it. Then I saw one that was better at different tasks, then one better than that, etc... After a few years of that, I have a goodly number of knives. The idea was to get tools that would help with the things I do, but after some time at it I have several that have been usurped by different knives that are better or nicer looking or higher quality than the ones I used previously. It is a continual process. I have a habit of giving knives away that I no longer use to friends and family that are starting down a similar path or find themselves in need of a blade for a certain type of job, but I still have a decent number left.

The intent wasn't and has never been to "collect" though, I just find myself buying better and better knives. It doesn't really require justification, I am an adult and make the money I spend, so I am content with how I manage, but when you get beyond that, at the end of the day I do have a large amount of very useful tools that will still maintain that utility long after I am gone.
 
I grew up as the nerdy kid obsessed with fantasy (especially Lord of the Rings.) I was obsessed with blades, so I naturally got hooked on knives. I thankfully started off with a few Cold Steels, rather than some walmart or kmart garbage, so I was able to experience what good craftsmanship is in a knife. It didn't take me long to move up to nicer knives, and now I've actually started making my own :D
 
tadpole25 said:
So far, I only own one knife, it's a balisong butterfly knife.

But, from an outsider perspective, is collecting knives practical? A full collection can run over $5000, and what's the point? What does it accomplish? Are they necessary? Don't you onlyjust need 1 or 2 knives?


I'm actually very much into a hobby that a lot of people think is silly and impractical. I collect fragrances and I own over 50 colognes (some of them are high-end $200+ fragrances like luxury quality Creed).

But I am curious as to why you collect knives?
I'm curious.
Click to expand...

From an outside perspective I'm curious as to why you collect fragrances:confused:

What does it accompish? Are they necesarry? Don't you only need just 1 or 2 fragrances?
 
fragrances? lol...

Why does anyone collect anything, WHO CARES< THEY DO. Why do you wake up in the morning and clean yourself.. WHY WHY WHY BOTHER :D
 
As far as "collecting" goes... either you get it or you have no clue. I'm pretty sure the justifications people can conjure up to justify their "collecting" is just as varied as exactly what people will try to collect.
 
i don't get it. you mean there are people out there who don't collect knives?!? next thing you know, there might be people out there that don't eat meat. now that's scary.
 
Why do people collect anything? Stamps? Rocks? Minitures? Shot glasses? Bells? Snow globes? Etc.

It's a hobby, plain and simple. At least knives are a useful tool.
 
Just like collecting anything else, there's really no "point". People collect things because for some reason they like to have them. I don't consider myself a collector. I have about 5 knives that I use regularly and they are all pretty different from each other and have different uses. I have a few knives that I've gotten while travelling to Switzerland and Italy and such so I guess you could call that a collection. But even those get used. My only safe queen is a 2010 Victorinox Soldier that I bought for my son (also born in 2010) that I will give him later on down the line.
 
tadpole25 said:
...But I am curious as to why you collect knives?

Is it for safety? Hunting? Is it for aesthetic? Is it an investment to fight inflation?

I'm curious.
Click to expand...

You are either born with a desire to collect or not. If you are a collector, then you tend to collect anything and everything. Whether, it is golf clubs, fishing equipment, camera and imaging, guns, knives, coins, stamps, baseball cards or pound puppies, there is a pre-existing highly focused drive to capture, control, catalog, organize and understand the world around you. Liking knives will not make you a collector, although it can become the principle objective for someone pre-disposed to collecting. At the oposite extreme are probably those who hate to focus, who prefer travel the corridor of life in an intoxicated state. To me collectors are interesting, irrespective of what they may collect, they tend to become very expert in their field and as such represent the root sources for all knowlege; a sort of instinctive application of the scientific process. On the other hand, like everything else, when taken to extremes it can be a self-distructive drive. There are collectors who will, like the classic "mad scientist", ignore family, friends, and even serious health issues to focus on collecting.

n2s
 
For a person who collects fragrances, I don't get why you're so baffled as to why people collect knives. I would really like to just have one favorite knife and be done with it, but unfortunately I have about a dozen of favorites. I think for most people when they have a hobby, whether it be guns, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, watches, knives, they will always have more than one that they want.

The limiting factor often comes down to MONEY. If I was a billionaire I would probably have at least 10 of each of the things I listed above... as would most people.
 
Collecting fragrances, why do you have so many? Do you use more than 1 at a time? I'm curious to know why someone would have more than 50 fragrances?

Me, I have and collect knives because I enjoy fine craftsmenship. Plus I use my knives as tools, so I always need one on my person.
 
knives for me are working pieces of art. I love the blade shapes and grind lines, but I still use almost every knife I own. I have so many because I'm always buying more in the search of finding that one elusive knife that, in my eyes, is perfect. as for the collecting aspect, "rome wasn't built in a day". most people here, myself included, have been collecting for year, even decades, so don't feel that you have to run out and buy all the knives you can find.
 
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