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 here. As with many things collected, the sheer number of pieces collected over time creates a host of new problems – space to show, storage, maintenance, insurance, etc., etc., etc. Cycling one’s collection is one answer – the act of selling or giving away lesser pieces to make room for new acquisitions as one’s collection grows and matures.

Cycling is easy enough in concept, but it shines a light on my biggest problem. I suffer from what I call “sentimental attachment”.

Part of it stems from a cultural upbringing, part of it is my passion for the piece, but mostly it’s because I am truly attached to each blade. When they don’t come with a name, I give them one. I don’t mean Minion names like Bob, Steve, or Dave. I mean a name that describes the knife, like this wicked bowie named El Diablo. It just sounds better than JAA3M.

And that’s when it starts. First you name them, then you grow attached. You either use it, display it, clean it, maybe sharpen it, certainly talk about it. You do just about everything with it and to it except tuck it in for the night. (I’m not that bad...yet). It’s subtle and almost imperceptible, but a relationship between me and the knife has formed.

The point is that the more I appreciate my piece, the more I get attached to it. Which then makes it just that much harder to cycle it out of the collection. It’s even worse if I have deepened the relationship with it by adding it to any one of my tool kits either for my job or in the wood forge. They are more than EDC’s, they’re my coworkers!

In a December 2004 article in the Los Angeles Times, food columnist Russ Parsons wrote, “As far as I am concerned, there are only two really important decisions in a cook’s life: choosing a mate and buying a chef’s knife.” He doesn’t elaborate about the mate but goes on to add, “The relationship between a cook and his knife is beyond mere utility. It is odd that cold steel could generate such emotion, but while a screwdriver is a tool, a good knife is a body part.” Exactly! Even if all we do is collect them!

And speaking of EDC…mine’s more of an EDC wardrobe than a specific knife. I have a favorite one in the truck, one in the bag, one in the emergency kit, one in the desk, one in the tool box. You see where this is going. My wife teases me and asks, “how many of these do you need?”. I simply reply “shoes”. The conversation usually changes pretty quick.

As I have seen and heard many times here on iKC, someone is searching for a knife lost long ago, or has found it but it needs serious repair or restoration. And the reason is always the same…”it brings back great memories”. It never ceases to amaze me how an object can stir up such emotions and memories. In 2015 when strapped for cash, I sold my Gerber Command II knife. I don’t regret it, but man I miss that knife. Replacing it will help curb that longing to reconnect, but now I can’t afford one.

Whether a sword, a bayonet, a knife – it’s just a thing. If lost, sold, or stolen, it can be replaced. Yea right, easier said than done. But it’s true, each piece that make up my collections is indeed just a thing.

But God help me, I love each and every one of them.