To open or not to open. Opinions anyone?

[BigAl62]

So I like to stay on the hunt for vintage folding hunters and lockbacks. . . typically 5" or 5-1/4" size knives, mostly USA-made although I have some smaller ones and a couple of european-made examples. You'll find a Boker and a couple of Opies if you look closely.

I recently came across a Sharp (TM) USA 900 Stag Hunter floating in the Bay. I made an offer and the seller accepted. So now I have a NOS, still in the blister pack Sharp 900. The problem is that I like to maintain an up-close and personal relationship with my knives. A knife in the hand is oh, so much better than a knife in a blister pack! My general feeling is that this knife isn't ever going to ever be valuable enough to warrant keeping it all sealed up and isolated. I think the Sharp would be so much happier in the drawer with the Kabars, Camilluses (or Camilli?), Schrades, Westerns, Cases, Queens, Colonials, and Craftsmans. If you look closely, you'll find another Sharp 900 - 1st pic, 4th from the left.

The package is dated 1992 and if my research is correct, the Sharp USA was made by Colonial for K-Mart. There's a couple of pretty good threads on AAPK about the Sharp USA/K-Mart/Colonial relationship. These are not the Japanese or the Taiwanese Sharps.

I'm thinking I'll slit the blister pack carefully without damaging the cardboard insert and release the knife and sheath. I'll keep the package for information purposes. Thoughts anyone?

[Mumbleypeg]

Not much collector value either way (opened or unopened) but it’s a nice looking knife. It’s your knife to do with as you please. JMO

Ken

[Railsplitter]

I would open the package also. The knife is right there. Yet so far away if left sealed up.

[bighomer]

Man it's yore thing do what you gotta do, me it be out of that blister pack and the blister pack in the trash so fast it'd make your head spin. But that's just me.

[BigAl62]

I'm getting the reactions I expected. Kind of like a gentlemen's club. . . look but can't touch!

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

Open it and tote it around. I like both the Japanese and Colonial made Sharps

[SwedgeHead]

Once it's opened, carefully or not, that's that, no going back. Buy another one. Seems they are easy to get and pretty inexpensive. Then you have both NOS and one in hand. For $20 why choose!

[Froe]

I know exactly how you feel. Been there. Usually when buying a nice ‘user’ that morphs into a ‘too nice to be a user’.
You don’t have to open it right now. How about just sitting on the unopened package for a few weeks or a few months while waiting on your heart to make a decision? It can’t hurt.
Froe

[Modern Slip Joints]

I would not hesitate to join the choir singing free your knife from confinement and enjoy using it if you did not already have a duplicate in use. It's unlikely this new one is significantly different. Most of us have at least one pair of a user and an identical like new collector. I have a pair of Case 3254 Trappers that I bought on sale in seperate blister packs. After Christmas Wal-Mart was getting rid of their Christmas blister packed knives, half off, IIRC. I've only opened one of them. Suit yourself. As posted above, it's not an important business decision.