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When does a person become a knife collector as opposed to owning a few knives?

A little background and why I'm asking the question:

My Uncle (rest his sole) had a few knives . He was very proud of the knives he owned. Among the knives he owned were about a half-dozen Case knives, primarily Stockmans and Jacks. All of the knives were bought new but had been used over the course of his life. Despite being used, they were in excellent shape. He had other knives, but they weren't made by Case. His Case knives were stored in a small jewelry box when not being used.

He did not actively seek out and buy Case knives, but when the fancy came over him and he saw one at the local store, he bought it, retired his current one and started using the new one. Thus he may have bought a new Case knife every five-ten years.

I would say his Case knives were in very good to excellent condition, and some probably dated from when he was a kid. (he passed away this year, and was over 80 years old.)

Was he a collector of knives? If not why not, If so, why?

In your opinion, what is a knife collector and what is a knife collection?

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Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on August 12, 2011 at 4:16

If you have more then one knife that does the same job i.e. skinner, caper, Bushcraft, Nessmuk, fillet, Bowie, stockman, trapper, peanut, etc. you're a collector.

If you have more then one knife from a specific company/brand (kitchen sets excluded) you're a collector.

If you purchase the same knife is all of its colour versions or handle material versions or sheath versions then you're a collector…or multiple brands with the same handle colour i.e. pink or handle material i.e. Stag, MOP, G10 etc. then you're a collector.

If you purchase your knives based on the type/kind of steel used D2, O1, 440C etc. then you’re a collector.

The only difference is in the amount of knives...I've have 22 (18 models) Randall knives at the end of this month but then I'm a certified Randall Knife Collector...I have every model of Ek Knives (three) and yet I'm still a collector of them.

I collect brands--Helle, CRKT, SOG, Fallkniven, Extrema Ratio, Entrek and a few others that are almost entirely complete but I also collect, usually by custom or semi custom makers, types or styles of knives i.e. working knives--like Bushcraft and Nessmuk, also Puukko, chute, chisel grinds, Searles, California and cowboy pattern Bowies, trapper, muskrat and elephant toe folders.

Knife prices also have a lot to do with the maker's name, whether they're still producing knives or not, whether they're still alive or not...I've got three Loveless knives that I got from him personally, I traded him for two and bought one for $480--each knife is over $10K and now due to those outrageous collectors' prices are safe queens; one I used hunting for many years (until he went into partial retirement) that then got relegated to a non working.

I've had and still have Scagles, Buster Warenski, Al Marr, Frank Centofante, Steven Osborne, Royal Hanson, Ron Lake, Bill Moran, H.H. Frank and many others that I bought in the 1960/70/80s that are worth many thousands of dollars--Now--while I paid in many cases under $100 for some--My first Randall knife (Bear Bowie #18-8) I bought in 1968/69 for $95 (with a two week waiting list) and later that year a #1-6 and a #2-5 for $160 the pair--they're now $500, $355 and $360 respectively and collector priced about the same.

The term hoarder(s) is a derogatory statement for someone who stockpiled lots of something when other did without like WW1 & 2 rationing or now to a psychologically diagnosed disorder…I have a number of friends who have 3,000+ blades in their collections and they are not hoarders—as they are ALL neatly displayed, catalogued etc. they just have large(r) collections and another who has only a dozen (all Bob Loveless) so size doesn’t matter!