How do you collect: brand; style/pattern; handle type; price

[Meridian_Mike]

Lately.... (as in today and maybe tomorrow)... I am collecting Schrades with a focus on the Old Timers and Old Timer "look alikes".

BUT... an interesting old knife is hard to resist no matter WHO made it.

[Steve Warden]

I guess first thing I look at would be price. That's why I shop SHC, SMKW and Deadwood Knives and rarely even bother to look at sights that carry the likes of Queen, S&M, customs...
Case and Rough Riders are what I tend to browse. Case if I have a few extra $$, RR if I need a fix in a hurry!

Next on the list is pattern. A folder, two or three blades, stockman, cattleman preferred. A fixed blade isn't practical for me to carry, and I don't care for tacticals.

3) Aesthetics - I gotta like the looks. If I don't like the looks, I won't carry it

D) Size - I prefer 3-1/2 to 4. I'll go to 4-1/4 if all other criteria is met. Rarely will I go down to 3-1/4.

IV) Handle material, in order of like to least: bone, stag, wood, delrin, synthetic. Handle material isn't necessarily a deal breaker if I like the looks.

[doglegg]

reschuch, an interesting thread. I collect Bulldog brand with ivory handles and Camillus 72's and their variants but I accumulate what ever strikes my fancy. I try to avoid buying just on price as if I do that I spend all my cash $10 at a time and never have the money when something worth a little more comes along. Enjoy.

[jerryd6818]

I try to avoid buying just on price as if I do that I spend all my cash $10 at a time and never have the money when something worth a little more comes along. Enjoy.

A philosophy I need to adhere to. My MasterCard balance for September was an unpleasant surprise this morning.

[Mumbleypeg]

I try to avoid buying just on price as if I do that I spend all my cash $10 at a time and never have the money when something worth a little more comes along. Enjoy.

Words to live by! Learned the hard way for me. I went from being a total knife snob - nothing but mint pre-1980 Case, to a hodge-podge of anything made in USA, England or Germany with a low price. Then realized I had accumulated a bunch of low-worth knives with no real focus.

Wasted a lot of money that could have gone toward acquiring something of value, if I had not lost my discipline. But, to each his own...........

Ken

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

I'm too darn cheap to "save up for something good" - I'll not buy the 10 x $10 knives, then when I see the $100 knife I was supposed to be saving for, I won't pull the trigger because $100 will seem like a ridiculous amount to pay for a frivolous pocket knife. My parents lived through the Depression, and I think some of that frugalness rubbed-off on me. I have some very nice things that were quite expensive, but in every case, I think I didn't buy them until my wife encouraged me to do it. I just wouldn't have done it on my own. On the other hand, any purchase under $25 seems "OK" to me, and if I'm not careful, I can spend $200/month buying 8 knives. Short-term vs long-term thinking. It really makes no sense.

And just like others have said in this resurrected old thread, I'm an accumulator. I *could* trade or sell some of my pile of low-end knives for a smaller set of much nicer knives - but that just doesn't seem to be how my brain works. What goes into the pile never leaves...

[jerryd6818]

I buy what I like. If it's $1 or $10 or$100, I seldom end up with buyer's remorse because I liked what I bought. It's a rare occasion when I sell a knife and even more rare that I trade one away. I liked it, I bought it, I keep it with one exception. Occasionally I will give one away but for me, that's a totally different scenario.

[zzyzzogeton]

I primarily acquire Western and Kabar fixed blades, almost any bayonets and western swords.

Basically, I follow the following computer-code-like algorithm --

IF I don't have Model "X",
THEN
-- IF I can afford it
------ THEN - Buy it
--------ELSE
------------Weep over the lost opportunity.
ELSE
---- IF I have it already
-------- AND this one is in better condition that the one I have.
---- THEN Buy it.

[Rotten]

First criteria is any form of stockman/cattle knife and since there always seems to be the exception that makes the rule I count the GEC Stockyard Whittler 29 pattern in there.

Second but equal to the first criteria is anything made by Camillus.

The only thing I shy away from are contract knives.

[zoogirl]

Total accumulator.
I do nab every Richards I can get my hands on. They’re cheap, colourful, come in a huge variety and seem to be plentiful around here. I’m also a sucker for PAL, both the Brand and Blade varieties. So far I have two PAL Brand and one PAL RH 36 fixed and a little white PAL Brand pen.
I like old knives, the older the better. I’m not picky about condition. If it has worn, ancient, bone, I’m delighted.
My other weakness is three blade folders. I have to have my 72, my big German and my little Coast and my junior Walden on me. They occupy various sections of backpack, purse and pockets.
Last, but hardly least, I have a fair pile of Gentleman’s Knives. Jewelry knives is more like it. These are the pretty things I haul out when people seem nervous about my collection. Girls take one look at my tiny pearl or gold plated beauties and go “Oh. Ok!”. Guys never seem to have a problem. They just want to see the fixed blades.
Oh yeah, fixeds. I like small bird and trout knives, or boys knives. Those really make me grab!
As to how I collect, it’s al personal, except for the occasional, much appreciated, bomb.
I’m very lucky to be surrounded by swapmeets, antique shows and second hands. I never shop on line. The knife has to scream at me and I have to be able to pick it up and see if it feels right. Once it goes home with me, it’s in for life.
Guess that’s about it!

[DTM1973]

I am new to the forum and new to knife collecting. The brand don't matter as long as it looks good to me. The only thing I don't like is to repeat the same type of knife. I have a stockman knife I don't need another. Every knife has to look different to me. This could cause a problem or work in my favor. I have to see as time goes on.
Dennis

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

Welcome DTM1973! I predict that where you may start to have trouble is when you see a knife you already own that is in much better condition than the one you have now. That kind of thinking leads to madness - trust me, I know!

[Lansky1]

Its taken me years to fine tune my knife acquisition syndrome ... I've narrowed it down to a half dozen or so patterns I like and pretty much focus on post 1970 Case's. I've noticed the longer I'm in this hunt, the more persnickety I've become - I've sold off all the "less than perfect" knives and only keep my "all star team", which is somewhere ~ 100 at last count. I'm running out of room on my desk for the acrylic stackable knife display cases - I have to really want something now to buy more.

PS - my fave's are 107w mini trappers; ratcliffe muskrats; 32 & 90 medium stockmans and canoes ... with a soft spot for minty '70's 47's. Plus I'm always on the hunt for a deal on a knife with full blades that I can rehab into like new.

[petesknives]

I have an easy answer...collect them all!

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

I've posted this before, but it has changed a bit, so I'll do it again. I keep track of everything in my collection in a spreadsheet. This allows me to look at my buying:

Pattern % of Total
Pen 17%
Jack 14%
Peanut 14%
Modern 12%
Stockman 11%
Lockback 9%
Barlow 3%
Trapper 2%
Whittler 2%
Muskrat 2%
Stiletto 1%
Copperhead 1%

Brand % of total
Case 35%
Camillus 18%
Queen 7%
Buck 7%
Ganzo 5%
Ka-Bar 4%
Imperial 3%
Robeson 3%
Rough Rider 3%
None 3%
Sanrenmu 2%
Kershaw 2%

I would also show the average price I have paid for each brand/pattern, but that number is quite embarrassingly low. It shows just how much of a bottom feeder I am. I suppose it is a bit lower because the average cost includes gifts I have received, but still - I don't have *that* many friends...

PS, yeah, I know a Peanut is technically a Jack pattern, but it's my list and I can look at it however I wish!

[JnBama]

I just recently been more interested in knives since looking for info about my dads Case pocket knives . I like the 1970- 80's Case Camillus Western and Schrade . I have Delrin Bone Wood and plans for Stag.Have set my budget to maybe $65

[Quick Steel]

TFL, Do you have any E/O [easy open] knives?

[Reverand]

I accumulate most any knife, but I am typically drawn toward Stockman, Whittlers, Congress, and old barehead Jack patterns. I used to dislike Barlows, but I am beginning to like them more all the time.
I am drawn toward wood or bone handles more than plastic or stag, and I prefer old American made knives, though I have some few made in Germany, Japan, & a few from China.
I want to get better as a knife mechanic, so I most often buy parts & project knives, usually cheap knives that I can afford to mess up.
I used to collect books, so I understand people who want "complete matching sets" of things, but I no longer feel that way about stuff. I keep knives that are to be used and not dust-gatherers,, so I often like to handle a knife before I buy it. It has to "feel right" for me to want it. I give away those that I don't intend to use, and many of my repaired knives as well.

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

TFL, Do you have any E/O [easy open] knives?

Yes, I have just one - a Queen #11EO from 1978 that I got from bdev. For some reason, I have that knife in the "utility" category. Now that I'm looking at my list, I think I have not been very consistent with 1-blade traditional knives. I seem to have knives listed under "utility", "farmer", "1-blade" & "sod-buster". I may have to do something about that...