As I write this blog I am thinking about my brother and sister collectors on the iKnifeCollector forum as well as the passion of collecting in general.  These deep thoughts are prompted by roughly six to nine months of trying to find a really decent American made woodworker's vise that I could afford and realizing they are extremely difficult to find because there are people out there who have a garage or barn full of American made vise's that they do not use – they collect them.  I thought it strange that so many people would have so many vintage vise's but then I have to concede that many people may find it strange that I have so many knives or, also in my case, vintage Hewlett-Packard calculators.

So why do we collect the things that we collect?

My research has led me to understand that we do not necessarily collect for the monetary value of the objects of our desire, more-so it is for the emotional value.  We collect things that bring back fond memories from our childhood.  We collect things that attach us to a specific period in time that we feel connected to, such as the Civil War.  We collect to preserve the past for the future.

Another aspect of collecting is when we collect to fill a part of our own self that we feel is empty and we are attempting to fill the emptiness.  We feel the thrill of the search until we acquire the object that we desire and we temporarily feel elation and excitement.  When that wears off we feel empty again and we need to begin the search again.  I am only stating this as a fact, I am not judging as to whether or not this cycle is healthy or unhealthy.  It just is what it is.  (Also because I know we all do this and I am not going to call myself or my fellow knife collectors unhealthy.)

When collecting becomes harmful it is called hoarding.  Hoarders are not collectors, they are demonstrating pathological behavior that often interferes with normal daily life and becomes unmanageable and unhealthy.  The hoarder's possessions often have no value and are thrown into disorganized and dangerous piles.  A collector, on the other hand, lovingly catalogs and displays his/her items, tends to them, keeps them clean and in good working condition, and when asked for a specific item can tell you exactly where it is and everything about its' history.

I began to think about my collections and my motives and I believe with my knife collecting I fall into the category of “preserving the past for the future”.  Nearly all of my purchases of “vintage” knives are made while thinking of my grandson and what this collection will mean to him one day.  With my Hewlett-Packard calculator collection I believe I am reliving a part of my past that has special meaning for me; i.e. it is an emotionally valuable collection.

One could really dig deeply into this subject and find that Freud would have claimed it was because of poor potty training or some unresolved sexual conflict while Jung would have postulated that it related to our cave-man consciousness fulfilling the need to collect and save nuts and berries for our survival.  Fabulous, we'll leave those theories to the psychologists.

So I ask all of my fellow iKnifeCollectors . . . why do you think you collect and what do you collect other than knives?  No one is going to laugh at you, I promise.  I just admitted to complete nerdism by admitting I collect calculators.  If I can do that, you can tell us what other things you collect as well.

And by the way, I think I have finally found my vise (not my vice) on Craigslist.  It is an old American made Columbian vise that is a bit rusty and needs some TLC but it is in good working condition and will do what I ask it to do.  So for American made vintage vises – I now have a collection of one.