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Thinning the herd

Before I start let me say: I AM NOT SELLING KNIVES ON IKC NOR DO I PLAN TO SELL THEM IN THE HERE IN THE FUTURE.

Now for the post

I sold around $20 worth of junk knives in a Yard Sale over the week-end. It was a first hurdle. As an addict it is hard to give up stuff. But as a collector you accumulate a bunch of stuff that in the end is not really what you want in your collection. Before you know it you're a "hoarder" and not an actual collector. I suppose for some people that's okay but for me it was becoming disturbing and actually killing the fun. I recall the the quote "He who has the most toys when they die is the winner!" In reality the quote should be "he who dies with the most toys has left the biggest headache for their children!"

In reality I've been making excuses. I've got knives I don't want! I've got knives I don't even like! Why am I keeping them? It is time to get back to collecting knives and not hoarding them. After much contemplating I came up with a frame work for my collecting habit. Obviously the guidelines would differ from person to person but this one is mine

What I plan to keep

Knives that were presents from immediate family.
My Large toothpick collection
Most of my Nautical knives
Most of my bartender knives
Military knives
Most of the Mushroom knives
Stoneworx and other faux turquoise knives
Moonshiner Series
Coal Miner Series
Large Barlows
BSA
Tortoise Shell collection
Sawcut bone collection
Most Scout knives
White Smooth Bone collection
Swiss Army Knives in great condition
Camillus
Fish Knives
USA knives in great condition
The one of a kinds that really impress me personally

What to get rid of

Most impulse buys
The patterns I tried but don’t care for
The ones that were acquired but not actually sought out
The “shiny” one that lost their “luster”
The patterns I don’t collect that don’t fall in the categories listed above
The Junk that you didn’t even bother to catalog
The disappointments!

Despite having 20 categories of what to keep and only 7 for what to toss, I'll probably cut my collection in half!

What will I continue to buy?

For the time being, I'll still be looking for military knives, Nautical knives, Fishing knives, Large Toothpicks, Scouts, Mushrooms, and older Camillus knives. And no doubt the odd balls will always be there.

Now to sort the the keepers from the tossers and see If I can actually follow through!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 11, 2014 at 17:05

Jerry, I'm sure there are many people in this group who will ease your children's dilemma and and give you 22 cents on the dollar for what your knife collection is worth. I'm boxing up all sorts of stuff that is going to the flea market! Looking forward to the Spring! What would be terrific is if we could some how arrange a "White Elephant" Knife Exchange on IKC. People who have a decent knife that they don't want anymore would enter their name into a pot. Everyone in the pot would then be assigned a random name and address and then ship that person the knife. In return someone else would send you a knife they didn't want anymore. I think some stipulations would have to be made such as the knife needs to be in proper working order, undamaged, no missing parts, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Jerryd6818 on December 11, 2014 at 18:51

Tobias, those "pass arounds" are great. I'm a six year member of AAPK and we've had several of them, from passing a knife worth at least $50 to passing what we call a POS roundtable. I'm here to tell ya, either one is a ton of fun. You are correct, parameters must be stipulated and it's a bit of a hassle for the person who runs it (that has been me on a couple of occasions) but it's worth it. All ya gotta do is start a thread and people post they're in plus PM their mailing address to the individual running the passaround. On the specified end day. the "administrator" throws all the names in a hat and draws them out, assigning a "partner" to the next name on the list. Post the list. Pass the mailing address through PM to each sender. Sit back and watch the fun. It's pretty important that everyone posts a picture of the knife or knives they receive.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on December 11, 2014 at 19:14

I would LOVE for one of these to happen here.

As for the collection. In my safe is a list of which specific knife with a picture that belongs to which kid. They can just split up any that are left that dad made. The instructions for the rest of them are that they call Tommy at Blueridge. I know he will be fair with them. Will the get dollar for dollar, no. They are not ever going to get that because they dont know the resources to sell them and dont know enough about them to get it anyway

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Permalink Reply by Jerryd6818 on December 12, 2014 at 6:25

Jan Carter said:

I would LOVE for one of these to happen here.

How about after the first of the year when things settle down from the holidays?

I would be happy to organize it if you like. Let me know what you think.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on December 12, 2014 at 10:13

Jerry,

you just may be my new hero! Let me know when and I will get a blast out to all the members! After the first of the year and I am settled in also is perfect

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Permalink Reply by Jerryd6818 on December 12, 2014 at 10:45

We'll git 'er done. Start thinking about what you envision for the parameters of the pass around. Minimum value, traditional knives only or modern only or senders choice. I don't think it's a good idea to get too restrictive but I don't have a feel yet for which way this group leans.

Jan Carter said:

Jerry,

you just may be my new hero! Let me know when and I will get a blast out to all the members! After the first of the year and I am settled in also is perfect

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on December 12, 2014 at 10:45

I'm in! Word of warning. I might offer one knife but I have a tendency to follow that post office slogan "If it fits, it ships, all for one low price!" Don't care if I get one knife in exchange but someone is getting a box full of knives from me!

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on December 12, 2014 at 13:03

Count me in.

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Permalink Reply by Jerryd6818 on December 12, 2014 at 15:44

Whoa! Looks like we got some eager beavers here trying to get an early start. I like the enthusiasm and look forward to y'all being the first ones on the train next month. I'll start a new discussion (that's what a thread is called here abouts?) when the time comes. In the mean time talk it up all you want. That's good publicity.

Tobais -- I see you and I are birds from the same flock. :-)

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Doug Webber on August 28, 2015 at 11:40

Other than a few old bones that I'm cleaning up, all my knives are pre 2004 Schrades, other than the Queen Sway Back Jack I won in the August drawing. I mainly collect by pattern. It generally takes 30 or so knives before I have the 15-20 it will take to fill a display frame. Of the 10 or so left over there is always a couple I can't get rid of. I stick to my rule...If I'm not displaying it...sell it. Of course that doesn't pertain to in process displays. Those couple extras that I keep have added up to enough to fill their own display frame now. Of course I've only been collecting for a few years. When I get a new knife I take all the pictures needed to sell it on Ebay. Great for my own records and the insurance company. Having the pics already taken makes it a lot easier when it comes time to get rid of them, and it will sure help get the most out of my knives when the collection gets passed on.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on September 4, 2015 at 11:25

I sold 6 knives lately but I have given many away in the last year. I get a real satisfaction in giving them to friends and family.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Doug Webber on September 4, 2015 at 12:09

Ken Spielvogel said:

I sold 6 knives lately but I have given many away in the last year. I get a real satisfaction in giving them to friends and family.

I probably have 10 or so I'd like to sell but prices are so low right now I'm afraid I'd lose money. I like to give knives to friends too. I've found that giving away a knife is a lot easier for me to do if when I have two of them.