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The Knife Collecting Hobby - Why did you ever start?

So you got the bug? Can't stop reading about knives? Can't stop buying those knives?

What in the world got you started?

Tags: addiction, collecting, hobby, knife, start

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on September 18, 2015 at 21:25

Rick,

I agree and I also believe in the American people so I don't see an issue with turning it around. Time will tell how far the citizens are willing to go but the LOUD response to non politicians may be a start

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on September 18, 2015 at 21:47

Jan, let us hope so and for the best! Mean while, fish await my arrival tomorrow, I hope they're hungry! Keep up the good work! Thanks for a great forum!

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on September 18, 2015 at 23:48

Rick, you are absolutely right. But keep in mind that our current "leader" (and I use the term loosely!) is only doing what he promised, that is "fundamentally changing America." (Wouldn't you know it? The only time a politician keeps his promise is when it destroys America!)

Jan, I hope you are right and I am wrong, but I am not as optimistic as you are about the people turning things around in this country. Remember the people elected our current "leader".

One of the problems we have in this country is that we have two classes of people now, takers and producers. And the ratio of takers to producers has gotten too high. The takers will always vote for whoever promises to continue to care for them from the womb to the tomb.

Rick Hooper said:

We see a problem, with the current government and the current Leader, both seem to be, on a course to change, not just our current American, system of laws and government, but everyone's way of life, to cancel out individualism, for our collective "good"! . Whatever The "agenda" by our leaders, it's sole purpose is to change,.. every aspect of this country, the norm , the tradition, and the checks and balances are either , politically incorrect, racist, anti-anything, phobic, or unacceptable by all true " citizens" in the know. It's changing "us" to a foreign" system, ...

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by dead_left_knife_guy on September 19, 2015 at 9:28

Some of us pretty sure other presidents were better at "destroying America" than Obama. Of course there are some people who believe black men should never hold such power in America, & yes, for them, that America is destroyed. And most would agree for the better. Regardless, with all the power the presidency holds, there are much stronger influences on our culture than the POTUS, & if anything is destroying America, it is those things.

Politicians react to the desires of their constituencies, media reacts to the focus of their demographics, and corporations react to the wants of their customers.

But maybe back to the topic?

I got started knife collecting because I'd always been interested in the juxtaposition of so much functional capacity in so minimalist a tool as a knife. My love for knives has always been as much from a philosophical angle as an application angle. Yes, I spend a lot of my life thinking.

When we had our first son, my wife encouraged me to get a hobby -- my hobby used to be going out, usually with my wife, in the arts scene in Minneapolis, dropping money on dinner & drinks multiple nights a week. So I started getting into knives -- significantly cheaper hobby, for me at least. Now if only childcare wasn't so expensive...

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on September 19, 2015 at 13:45

DLKG,

My love of knives is as much from a historical angle as it is an application angle. This is absolutely the first I have heard that knife collecting was a replacement for going out into the arts scene and encouraged by the wife! I have to give you that is unique and for me a memorable answer!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on September 20, 2015 at 22:11

DLKG , that's a great reason to enter the hobby, the love of these simple tools, brings us to a point of common ground. Good to have you in our group! Have to agree with Jan on that. Charles, that was great reply, you aced it, in my estimation.

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Greg Riggs on September 21, 2015 at 4:29

What a great Group! Keep it coming. I am really enjoying these replies. I am learning more and more reasons to, not only start collecting, but continue collecting!

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 21, 2015 at 8:54

Hi Dead_left_knife_guy.

I said:

We need to take back our language!

You replied:

But I have to ask -- whose language is it that must be taken back? And by whom?

I now look at what I said and think some my think I'm calling for a English as an official language, and while it is our unofficial-official language, I would hate a law to mandate it as our "official" language. This would only exacerbate the problem we already face in this country. What I meant was we need to stop "politically correct" speech.

My point was it isn't a gun violence that wounded 50 and killed 5 people in Chicago over the week-end. it was GANG violence. And it was black on black gang violence. And if the black community would start cooperating with the Poe-poe,instead of blaming them, maybe things would turn around. (and I do understand the mistrust that lingers, especially in Chicago!) The community activists will once again scream for tougher gun laws and things will continue to spire into quagmire of blood and death as the politicians and activists looks for the someone to blame other than their misguided good intentions.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on September 25, 2015 at 2:52

Back to The subject matter of this forum, I first started collecting vintage pocket knives around 1978. I was searching a junk store in Humboldt Tennessee , and found this neat New York knife one blade Barlow, it had the blade etch and smooth brown bone. I was on my lunch break and working in a construction crew. The knife had a beautiful blade etch and was in near mint condition, I checked Jim Parker's price guide, first edition and noticed how high, NYK was , which was about 10 times more than the five dollars I paid for it. Although I was all of 19 years old and have been given case double X knives and old-timers for birthdays and Christmas, in my teen years it really set me to thinking about knives as an investment and I started collecting right then! That same year I met Jim Sargent, for the first time, add to Jackson Tennessee knife show also met several local knife makers and traders such as Jim Denton , who made many knives and repaired old case knives. I also met for the first time, and I maker from Mississippi called Allen Mayhall, who took old-timers and plastic handle Schrades took them apart and put them back together with his own Master blade and beautiful polished stag handles he was the first custom pocket knife maker I had ever met and I ended up buying a large collection over the years from him. Mr. Sargent told me to buy the patterns I like which at the time was the 47 pattern and the case 54 pattern, he said every payday buy one! I did as often as I could hunting old stores flea markets , yard sales and estate sales. Bad of me at 2000s I decided to sell out and sold about $50,000 in pocket knives and decided I would just start over again because I had full filled , all my collection needs and was getting bored! so now, I'm
back collecting different brands ,and different patterns but I still had the ones I like and the ones I use especially large case granddaddy Barlows and my fateful 5347 pattern Stockmens! and my fateful 5392 pattern Stockman's

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Permalink Reply by Ted Salmon Jr. on November 19, 2015 at 14:48

I have always had a pocket knife with me ever since my grandfather gave me an old beat trapper when I was 8 years old or so, but what made me seek out a certain knife on my own was an article in Soldier of Fortune magazine. I was in high school at the time and the article was about the Buck 110 and how to use it for protection the part I remember about the article was "Why stand like a bear when you can be nimble and sting like a bee" or something like that. Anyways I could not afford the Buck 110 so I saved up my allowance and got a Buck 501 Squire and then I was hooked. Now I got too many 110's.