Knife collecting is certainly an enjoyable hobby. Different people collect for different reasons and most people collect for multiple reasons. Some of the reasons are:

* Enjoyment. Life is a challenging experience for most people. It comes with good times, bad times and a lot of time that is best quantified as being neither good nor bad...but more a means to one of the other outcomes. Having enjoyable hobbies makes our life journey more pleasant and provides a nice escape/distraction from those times when life is...more burdensome than we'd like for it to be.

* Social: For some folks, the hobby is as much about social interaction as it is the tangible aspect (the knives themselves). One of the wonderful things about iKnifeCollector is that it's a great place to meet other people that share the same hobby (knife collecting). While each person is an individual with their own unique personality, likes and dislikes, I've generally found that the majority of knife collectors share a similar value system and view on many different topics. In other words, it's nice to have "a lot" of common ground with other people.

* Tangible: Most of the collectors that I know have a strong connection with the physical properties of knives. Surely, some collectors really focus on certain types of knives (slip joint traditional, fixed blade traditional, modern folders, tactical folders, tactical fixed blade, multi-tool) while others enjoy just about anything knife-like. They enjoy the variation in aesthetic design, functional design, use of varying materials...how a knife looks...how it feels. You get the idea, right? If not, why are you reading this?

* Mechanical: A few people really get into the mechanics of a knife. This shouldn't necessarily be automatically associated with it's functionality...since what I'm really talking about is how the knife's various components interact with each other. Predominantly, this category is more folding knife-oriented than it is fixed blade-based (though there can be some degree of this facet included). I'm an engineer by trade...so this is a fairly strong point of "connection" with the collecting hobby...for me. If you want to call it "nerdy", that's fine. I'm a knife nerd; it's true. Of course, with my modern folding collection, the tacticool crowd usually exhibits some envy...so perhaps I'm not a complete nerd? In any event, the mechanisms that I'm generally referring to are types of locking systems and types of deployment systems. Also...for the multi-tool gang, there's no better way to get your nerd-groove going...since the purpose of this knife-variant provides a lot more moving components than any other type of knife.

* Competition: Go ahead. Cringe at my including this in here. Yeah...I know...and agree with you. However, I can name a bunch of collectors that always race out to buy the coolest, newest, baddest piece of steel as soon as it comes out. These people are competing with others...and are generally focused on the, "Hah! I got it first and look at how impressive it is! You envy me, don't you?" component. You know what? I kind of like that these people have that odd driver motivating them. Why? Well, I'm not a "got to be first" kind of person (being an engineer, I usually like to let others find the problems with a new product "first"...and I might buy the second gen improvement after the company fixes the initial bugs). So...these really bold cheetah-speed collectors do a great job of exposing me to all kinds of new knives. You know what else? They're really good at propelling the monetary side of this hobby. Yep...without the business part of the equation, the rest of us would have nothing to collect. Got it?

* Adventure: This part...is actually kind of the same as the very first one that I listed ("enjoyment"). That said, it's also worthy of being identified on it's own. Over the past 150 years, a lot of knife companies have come and gone. Thousands upon thousands of knife designs have been produced...and reproduced...with multiple versions being introduced by many different companies...only to be discontinued after the buying public lost interest. This means that there are some real jewels out there to collect. Some of those jewels are super hard to find and acquire (and I'll mention one such jewel that I'm currently hunting for...later in this post)...and the road to landing those valuable pieces of treasure can be a thoroughly good experience. Researching knife history...who designed the knife...the materials used in the knife...who made the knife...how many versions were made...who sold them...when all this happened...the histories of the knife companies involved...all that stuff!

* Investment: Yep...there are some...relatively rare knives...that appreciate in value over time. Some knife designs come out of the gate hotter than molten lava...and then cool, losing value. Some knives go up in value while the collecting community is interested in them...and then drop in value after that interest subsides. My general thought on this category is that knife collecting isn't the kind of hobby that is going to pay big dividends (fiscally). Making money with this hobby is like most tough endeavors; it takes a lot of work...a sense of good timing...and a very particular focus.

Arguably, my approach to collecting uses all of the above motivations...with the exception of "Competition". Primarily, I do this more for the enjoyment, interest (mechanical) and adventure. That last one is a biggie for me...since it's very similar to my approach towards life in general (it's an adventure...and one that we should experience as richly as possible). I enjoy the social aspect quite a bit...and have met some absolutely wonderful people through iKnifeCollector...but this is more of an unexpected benefit than a primary-driver for me. If you've ever looked at my photo collection, you'll undoubtedly draw the conclusion that I'm a fairly diverse collector. That's an accurate description...and is a byproduct of my "adventure-driven" focus. My knife collecting hobby began four decades ago...starting out with simple slip joint knives and a fixed blade hunting knife (I still have my first knives in both categories). I'm old enough that my roots are undeniably "traditional". However, in the early 2000's, I gravitated to modern knives (particularly folders) and found myself very drawn to the modern locking mechanisms (remember that I'm a super nerdy engineer?). While I still enjoy those knives (and buy a few each year), I've kind of come full circle...and focus more on traditional slip joint knives than anything else.

While I occasionally fail to resist nabbing a blade that catches my eye, more and more, I tend to focus on certain specific knives. As an example, for the past few years, I've been extremely fond of Queen's Titusville Cutlery Trapper knives. These were very low-run limited edition releases. I've succeeded in acquiring all but one model. Below are pictures of what I've landed. However, there was one release done in Mastodon Ivory. I don't have one...and I can't seem to find one of these magnificent pieces of steel anywhere...no matter what I do. Laughably, I'm willing to pay a small fortune for one...or to trade something(s) for it. At this point, I'm nearly convinced that it's lost in Smaug's treasure horde. I'm way too big to be a hobbit...so sneaking into Smaug's lair and locating this charming gem won't be easy. By the way, if you happen to be Smaug...and are reading this, let's make a deal. Trust me when I say that I am certain that I have something you want! Oh...and don't even think of double-crossing me. You may be a fire-breathing dragon, but I'm Italian and am one of the godfather's of the Knife Mafia. For those of you that don't know who Smaug is...just because you are way too cool to ever enjoy something as nerdy as the movie titled "The Hobbit; desolation of Smaug"...uh...remember that comment I made about life being an adventure? Well, park your coolness in the garage for a bit, watch the movie...and allow yourself to be 10 again...at least for a couple of hours. Or better yet, do me a favor and go find me one of those Mastodon Ivory Titusville Trappers. Please. Pretty please with sugar on it.