How I got started:An 8 year old boys brother who was 10 years older than he, gave a very special gift once. The brother came home from the Navy in 1956 on leave and brought his younger brother a 4 blade Imperial knife. The boy was so excited he cut himself with it that very day. His Mother took it away for awhile, and in about a year gave it back. The boy carried it proudly and loved that knife. One day in the 5th grade the teacher had the students do handstands, while the boy was attempting…

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First off, Iv'e been a minister for many years.Saying that, this is my spin on the ten commandments in regards to knife collectors. It is meant to be read in a lighthearted manner.....so here we go.

1. Don't love your new Boker knife more than God.

2. Don't carve any graven images to God with that 'ole whittler.

3. Don't cuss with God's name when you slice your finger open with that vintage Queen folder.

4. You can buy G.E.C. knives on the Sabbath, but go to…

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When Donnie started collecting you had to go to a knife show or travel to a dealer.  Your local hardware usually only carried a few patterns from one maybe two makers.  Of course as he became an adult, the area around Gatlinburg always had somewhere you could go see numerous brands and being from the South he went there as often as possible.

 When I became interested, we had a few dealers that were online.  They would tell you what they had and if you were interested, they would email…

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I am new to iKC, and thought I would describe to you my knife collecting life (which is not too long).  To start with, I am a recently retired structural engineer.  I worked 34 year performing stress analysis on aircraft wheels, brakes, and struts, mostly for large commercial aircraft, but also some military aircraft.  If you don't mind me "tooting my own horn", I structurally designed the B2 (stealth bomber) main wheels and brakes.  I retired in March of 2011, and picked up an old hobby I…

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I find my  choices in knives change weekly. One week I'm all about you get what you pay for,the next week I make a new buy and say I  could have got 4 of these for what I paid for that.

The knife world is changing and its tough to keep up. I guess that's what keeps us moving on.

If this happens to you let me know so I know I'm not out of focus.

From the time I was a young boy I loved looking and watching my dad buying and collecting knives.When he gave me my first knife I was in love . I starting going to places to buy knives. Some days I would go to the hardware store and just gaze thru the glass case thinking of witch one I wanted to get next. Then when I started working I would pull my knife out to cut something and people would ask me were I got that.and I would tell them. It always gave us something to talk about.

Then…

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I bet everyone has their own stories about how they got into knives, and from what I have heard it usually starts with "I got my first knife when I was 6", etc. Surprisingly, I didn't gain interests in knives until this past fall. Continue

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It’s been so hearting to see folks here on iKC who for 50 years or more have collected knives. I watch Versus Network and the Outdoor Channel and they have Cabalas, Mossy Oak and other corporate sponsored teen hunts and – God Bless them, Bass Pro Shops have seminars for youth. It’s a fact not an argument that hunting has saved the American Turkey and it’s created a healthier whitetail population with proper management. It’s also the same for most migratory birds too. It’s the passion behind the… Continue

“Knee to Knee and Toe to Toe”



What is the true value of this “knife collecting passion” to any of us? Knife collecting to your friends is viewed the same as mine view it. No doubt, raising the eyebrows of the “un-enlightened”. Only those that do…. Know It! It’s like a “biker” says, “if I have to explain … you’d never understand”.



I spoke of the “devaluing of my portfolio” – First, “Frank! It’s a ‘collection’ not a bunch of printouts or once-a-month reports that come… Continue