It has been said that you never forget your first…whether it was your first kiss, first car, first job…. fill in the blank. Here at iKC, stories abound about our first knife – those gems we received either for our birthday as a youth, from Grandpa while fishing, or that long awaited first purchase.

This is a story about my first folding hunter and what turned out to be my love affair with that class of knife – regardless of brand. And to be more specific, my love affair with a…

I’m not sure exactly when I first started my obsession for all things sharp and pointy, but I was sharpening popsicle sticks on the sidewalk long before I received my first Imperial Kamp King pocket knife as a Cub Scout. What started as a passion to own my own knife soon expanded into a passion for all bladed weapons – knives of all kinds, bayonets, swords, spears, arrow heads – you name it. If it has an edge, I want one.

That describes many collectors, so I don’t think I’m alone…

My 10 year old granddaughter has been into photography for several years now, growing her skills with her dad's "hand-me-down" digital cameras. This last Christmas, she got all rigged out with new tripod, new camera bag, memory cards, and a bunch of other great camera gear. Earlier this summer she was showing me some of her photos...lots of them...and I was actually surprised! I mean I have to like them all....she's my granddaughter. But I was impressed with her eye and her skills of working…

I was wandering around some of the older discussions recently and I came across one that grabbed my interest. Eight years ago, iKC member Robert Burris started a discussion called “Knife Carry?” and asked the question “What is the difference between a "Sheath"...." Scabbard"... or "Frog?"…

Spend any time on the internet whatsoever looking up knife stuff, and you’re bound to hit a few dozen discussions regarding “cheap” knives. In this context, cheap is referring to poor quality in materials, construction, performance, or any combination thereof. Today, cheap knives are almost synonymous with anything made in China, Pakistan, or other parts of Asia.

This is unfortunate, because many inexpensive knives come from these same regions, and they are anything but cheap. Even…

We all have them…those knives we bought some time ago…years maybe…that we really did not intend to add to our collections. We see them as disposable tools, junk knives, knives not worth mentioning or are too embarrassing to admit you ever owned.

I have a handful of such knives – those blades I purchased for a specific need at the time and really didn't care if I ever lost it, broke it, had it stolen (no such luck), or just neglected it because I no longer cared about it.

After…

Part 2 of this blog is dealing with Survival knives, both as an item and a legit category for collecting.

The bone of contention that was vocalized some time ago is that there is no such thing as a tactical knife or a survival knife – rather, these terms are marketing terms to sell more knives. (Tactical knives are discussed in Part 1).

While I have a different opinion on the matter, I can’t throw out the whole argument because some of it is true – many companies and makers do…

When it comes to knife collecting, there are probably as many types of collectors as there are categories of knives to collect – from purists to novices, open-minded to staunch believers, early adapters to Luddites, and everything in between.

I like to think of myself as one who knows why I collect what I collect – evolving technologies notwithstanding – and stands behind it unless a better argument comes along that challenges my thought processes enough to either broaden my…