When Is It Time To Say Goodbye ?

[philco]

I've been collecting pocket knives for over fifty years now. I have somewhere north of 1000 knives. Much as I'd like to, I know I'm not going to live forever (in this realm). We spend years of our time, and lots of our money gathering up a pile of knives. When is it time to start saying goodbye to them, or Is there ever a time to do so ?

[Mumbleypeg]

Good question, and one to which I’ve given some thought. My loving wife, who has put up with my addiction for all of our married life (and knew about it before we married) encourages me to photograph, document and catalog my knives. Which I have done but I need to update things.

In my case fortunately I have two sons and grandchildren who are interested in my knives. (All my wife knows is that I have too many.) So when I’m no longer able to enjoy them my collection will pass on to my heirs, who can do with them as they wish. Hopefully the documentation I leave with them will help, whether they choose to keep them or sell them, in part or in total.

Ken

[bladecollectorr]

While I don't share your Faith I do respect it. I'm sure everyone can agree we can't take 'em with us when we go. I hope you live to 110.

I'm only in my early 50s so I hope to have a few more years to enjoy my smaller but still growing 100-knife hoard. Due to the fact that no-one I'm really close to has any real interest in my Schrade collection beyond its cash value I have recently been asking myself the same question. Where will my sharp and shiny things go when I'm gone? Dweb and Howieru R.I.P. were the Schrade-whales that got me thinking about this unavoidable but uncomfortable subject.

Dweb R.I.P. had a jaw-dropping Schrade collection and bravely posted that basically everything he had was up for sale when he got the final bad news from his Doc. That's a kind thing on a number of levels. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to contact him about purchasing anything. I was hoping that maybe his Doc was overly pessimistic and I didn't want to jinx anything. Sadly that's not the way things went.

This is where I landed for now. Tons of big-name reputable charities sell stuff on ebay to raise money. I think I'm going to pick my favorite and Will them to that charity for re-sale. That way they will all end up auctioned off to collectors who really appreciate them and a little more good will get done in the world. eBay doesn't charge the charities sellers fees. It's not a cash-grab scam.

As Mumbleypeg mentioned I try to take the time to photograph my whole collection so they could be posted online with near-zero effort (and because photography is fun).

"eBay for charity" search engine: https://charity.ebay.com/search

Capital "G', Good stuff like this can be found: https://www.ebay.com/str/thesalvationarmyonlinestore

[eveled]

I like the charity idea. I have kids that will be interested in my stuff. So my only worry is if they end up fighting over my stuff.

It would be neat if there was a system in place to ship them to AAPC to be sold here and support this community.

For the most part I figure my hobbies cost less than an addiction that doesn’t have any actual physical accumulation.

In other words I could have spent the money on cocaine or crack and left my heirs nothing. At least they will never have to buy a knife in their lifetime.

I wish my parents had invested the money they spent on cigarettes over the years.

[espn77]

I've thought about this subject and when I get to whatever age it is I'm going to go back east, maybe even west, and set up at the knife shows, meet people I've always wanted to meet, enjoy the selling part of this hobby, see places I've wanted to see, and let my knife collection pay the way for me to do it. To me that will be a great way to dispose of my collection.

[Jody744]

I seem to have hit nirvana with my accumulation of pocket knives. I still enjoy looking and going to shows, but am pleased with what I have. As far as selling, I haven’t figured that out yet..

[Beavertail]

I'm going to enjoy my knives for as long as I can.
I already talked to my family and made a list of which knives go to who.
How's the old song go "When My trophies at last I lay down."

[jerryd6818]

This subject has been on my mind for quite some time. I'm not one who worships money but I sure can get attached to material things and I HATE to sell, sooooo...... I'm gifting some of my woodworking tools to my granddaughter's husband because I no longer use them and he will. As for the knives. Neither of my children and none of my grandchildren seem to have any interest in them. So a couple of years ago, I was sitting and shooting the breeze with Ozzie Marie at a show and the subject came up. Keith has agreed to sell what remains of my pile and my daughter knows how to get in touch with him. He's relatively close so there won't be any shipping cost involved. There are some that I've mentally earmarked for certain people but I haven't generated any enthusiasm for passing them on just quite yet. I'm still suckin' air with little or no effort so why rock the boat. Divesting myself of my worldly goods is tooo much like facing the inevitable head on.

[dlr110]

I plan to keep on collecting as long as I'm able. I've never sold a knife from my collection and I never will. It's already in my Will as to what I want done with my collection so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to enjoy the knives and whatever remaining time the Lord grants me.

[Chase]

I have given this same scenario thoughts on many levels. I absolutely love my collection and I continue to add to it weekly. I have offered to share some of my collection with the Warwarsing Knife Museum in NY (Display purposes for Museum Visitors). They are looking into what they are going to do for the upcoming year. I do have some very Rare and Unique knives that would be a great addition to their showing.

I have also thought long and hard about splitting them up and sharing them with my 2 Grandsons and 1 Grand Daughter, although I am not sure they could manage them...too young and the parents aren't interested.

So that leaves me to wonder....Should I start selling? I have had this talk with Ozzie Marie and Philco a while back. What would our spouse do in the event something happened to us?????

I even talked with Ozzie about liquidating my duplicates and Tactical knives, which he agreed to do .....I just hadn't gotten around to providing him a list or the knives...kind of like letting go of a friend.

And then I thought...Maybe I will retire and start selling off the collection bit by bit, and even head to the local shows to sell. I just don't know what I am going to do...Especially with the Rare and Unique Knives...Not sure I can sell them for what they are (In my opinion) worth.

Tom

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

My parents were collectors of a variety of things, and when they passed it fell to us (their children) to deal with their accumulations. I learned a lot from that experience. The first thing I learned was that for many collectors, it is the *collecting* that truly gives them joy, not the actual ownership. There were a few things that we kids kept, but it was not based on the value of the collectible, but rather on a memory attached to the item. For example, maybe I gave a particular piece to my Dad, so having that single piece reminded me of that happy time. None of us took an entire collection of something.

The second thing we learned was that selling collections is HARD WORK. You have to have the time, the skill and the resources to photograph, document, list the items, manage the sales, package & ship. It's a full-time job for someone and can take weeks or months - and quite frankly, for most "hobby-grade" collections, it is simply not worth it. The alternative is to sell it in bulk for pennies on the dollar to someone who does estate sales for a living, or give it away. We did a combination of both - we gave away as much as we could to close friends & family, then we hired an estate sale company to manage the rest.

The third thing we learned is that saddling your heirs with all this work is NOT being kind to them. As collectors, we put FAR more value into our collections than they truly have. We don't think about how much physical space and time we devote to them. These collections mean everything to US, not to our children. However, your children will know how much the collection meant to you, and the result is that your children will feel guilty or sad when they do NOT love the collection as much as you did. And, when they decide that they have to sell them because they don't have the room or they simply do not want the items, they will again feel sad & guilty. Is that what we want our children to feel after we are gone? I do not.

My expectation is that when I'm gone, anything (other than cash & real estate) that I leave behind is worthless. It can be dropped off at a charity donation box, or sold in an estate sale. Eventually, maybe one or two of the items will be found by a future collector in a thrift store and they will be able to tell all their knife-collector buddies about the great deal they found. Circle of life!

[RevolverGuy]

I'm in my 40s and plan to collect for hopefully another 40+ years. I've lost count of how many I own. Most of them will probably be sold off before then and a few will pass on to my children and younger relatives. It's hard to determine when it's time to say goodbye. I think everyone just sort of "knows" when that time comes. I remember when my grandfather started to give away his things. It happened a few years before he passed and he was 69. We can't take it with us after this life, but we can enjoy them while we're still here.

[XX Case XX]

My collection is small and I plan to keep it that way. I want a collection that is "manageable" when I'm gone. Although I have other hobbies, I'd like to keep searching and collecting for as long as I can.

For me, searching for those old knives is like a treasure hunt. It's just plain fun and like it.

__________
Mike

[glennbad]

A lot of great points being brought up. I don't plan to stop collecting any time soon, but have certainly become a little more selective with my purchases. I have been trying to focus more on quality than quantity lately.

As of right now, my collection would go to our son. He doesn't share my love for all things sharp the same way I do, but I would leave it to him to decide what he wants to do with everything. I would note any knives that are family heirlooms, so they can be set aside for the nostalgia, and try to note some values on anything that could be sold to collectors.

I secretly hope that he will get "the knife bug" and want to know more about all the knives, but that is wishful thinking. At the very least, if he needs the money, he can get a few bucks out of them.

[Lansky1]

There's no one in my family that has any interest in pocket knives, so when it's evident my time is short, I plan on contacting one of the dealers on the AAPK board or maybe even the SMKW eBay site to buy the whole lot at a better than fair price - they seem to specialize in selling estate sale knives. I really feel strongly that my knives should go to a dealer and then to someone who appreciates them, not just a random estate sale where they will be sold to non-knife guys who probably wouldn't know a primo 70's #47 from a rough rider. To me it will be all about getting the knives back into peoples hands that would appreciate them, than getting every penny out of a hobby that I've thoroughly enjoyed that doesn't owe me anything.

[kootenay joe]

My time is now. I'm 73 and no longer vigorous but with no terminal illnesses. Friends, some younger than myself, have died and this helps me realize that i could die today, or very soon.
I have accumulated/collected knives for over 60 years. Many i acquired without considering condition. In recent years i have bought a few hundred China made knives, mostly Rough Riders.
About 4 years ago i had about 10,000 knives, mostly unorganized, except i knew where most were.
I have 3 adult children living in Zanzibar, Italy and Calgary. None have an interest in knives and all are very busy with their own careers.
If i still have this many knives when i die they will be angry at having to deal with them. They don't need the money but they do need their own time.
My knives would likely get piled into large plastic totes and given to whomever would take them. (thrift store, etc.)
So i am in a race against time, the amount of which is unknown.
4 years ago i began sending boxes of knives to an ebay seller in Portland OR. Two forum members have also sold knives for me on ebay. I also have sold some in the "For Sale" forum here. I do not sell any of the ones with 'issues'. I do not mind these going to the thrift store. I have not tried to sell any made in China knife as value is so low.
I only sell the 'good' ones and many are a bit hard to let go of. Often a knife comes up for discussion and i think i have one that could add to the discussion and then discover it has already been sold. There is a hint of sadness in selling the ones you really like.
My aim is to get down to a small collection of 'good' knives, about 100. Then i can leave a note about each and not leave extra work for my children.
kj

[OLDE CUTLER]

Like I always say about guys that collect a LOT of stuff, be it guns, knives, old cars, tools or what have you,
"The Widow with the biggest auction check, WINS"

[deo-pa]

This is such a tough question and clearly we all have different approaches and goals. Here is mine.

1) I'm trying to steadily reduce my collection down to about 100 knives. When I get there my goal is to sell a knife every time I buy a new one.

2) Create a page like the one below for each of my 100 knives and save that page as a jpeg.

3) For the knives my heirs want to sell they don't have to fool with photos or descriptions, they just have to post that one page on eBay, or even better here on AAPK.

On the back of each sheet I put a pencil note as to what I think the knife is worth and a recommended starting price for an auction. For example, the knife shown below I bought from Lee Roark's AAPK store a couple of years ago and I paid $175. We negotiated a bit and I think I got a decent deal. My notes say: "If you sell this knife on AAPK ask for $175 or best offer and state all offers are welcome. If you sell it on eBay start the auction at $50."

Most of my knives I don't remember what I paid for them so my AAPK price would be a best guess at a price that I hope would interest you folks, but always with a "make an offer" option. I'm going to encourage my heirs to sell on AAPK because it is good to keep the knives "in the family" and they are dealing with straight shooters. When it comes time to sell, the title on my page can be the title of the AAPK or eBay listing. For eBay the description can be as simple as: "See detailed description of the knife in the attached photo. Ask any questions before bidding."

I keep a printout of each page in a binder where my knives are stored along with a flash drive with all the files (both the Word version and the jpeg version) plus a note as to where the files are on my computer hard drive. The notes also have a short description of the AAPK website and my username and password so they can look through my postings if they want.

I should add that it is a lot of work and a PITA to create these listing sheets! I hope it is worth it.

Finally, if my heirs don't want to fool with the above procedure my notes also have the names and contact information for several of the folks here who sell knives in large quantities. My suggestion will be to show them what I have and say "take them all for $50 each." I figure I have a lot more $100 knives than I do $30 ones so that price would allow the buyer to make money when he resells and if I am down to about 100 knives it would give my heirs about $5,000.

Lord willing, it will be many years before my "Peters Bros. with Pearl Handles & Stanhope Viewer" shows up on AAPK!

Dennis

[Meridian_Mike]

It's time to say "goodbye" when the Lord calls me home.

I enjoy working on knives even more than I like collecting knives. I do have a soft spot for the Old Timers since they were the first knives I had as a kid. But, the other brands are just fun.

My wife also wanted me to catalog my knives and put a "value" on them. That is just too much trouble..... (start 'em on ebay at $.99). So I guess she plans to sell them if I go home first. (Good Luck Dear!!)

My sons both enjoy knives so when I am gone, they can have what I leave and give them to friends, their kids or whoever.

[bighomer]

No worries for me, son and grandson like knives.

[zoogirl]

The boys want them, especially my younger one. I may designate a few special ones to give grandkids or friends. I know my buddy Paul would love to get the miniatures.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I started to collect knives seriously, in 1988.

I accumulated and sold small collections of 1970 Ten Dot Cases and John Primbles and then a 400 knife collection of Robesons.

Neither of my sons are interested in them and they have zero knowledge of the history of American cutlery.

I'm soon to be seventy-three and I do not wish to burden my family with the disposal of these knives, given that they, frankly, would not know how to go about that.

So, I have been selling knives for a couple or three years.

I entertain all inquiries, I go to a couple of Southeastern knife shows a year.

I really need to list them in my AAPK Store, but taking detailed photos for that is daunting.

For me, the was age seventy.

Charlie Noyes

[tongueriver]

I see a coupla gent's my age, 73ish. Time to stop and do a little chin scratchin'. My collection is too huge to not turn at least part of it over to a dealer. I had wanted to start selling a few here on AAPK starting a week ago but this busted shoulder business is stalling that until I get out of the sling, at least. With an explanatory tutorial to a dealer or individual, along with a USB drive, I don't mind saying that my documentation is almost unbelievably thorough and would make selling any item much easier. Passing the knives themselves to relatives is "iffy." Probably would not work well. Any proceeds will go through the beneficiary heirachy, starting with my Wife at the top. Meanwhile, I am still in fierce addition mode, and loving it. But I do have a lot that will start going. The thrill, as we have observed, is largely in the acquisition/hunt, rather than the holding, although it's all good. As Roland postulated, we might consider that we are renters or caretakers rather than terminal owners. I like that. I pity the poor soul whom I draw for the upcoming POS round.

[Dinadan]

I've been collecting pocket knives for over fifty years now. I have somewhere north of 1000 knives. Much as I'd like to, I know I'm not going to live forever (in this realm). We spend years of our time, and lots of our money gathering up a pile of knives. When is it time to start saying goodbye to them, or Is there ever a time to do so ?

I do not think that there is ever a time for a man to give up his knives. If you enjoy collecting them and owning them, then collect and own them. I do not think that many heirs will begrudge someone for owning a knife collection when the person dies. Maybe the heirs will not realize any money from the collection - so what!

If a person eats at an expensive restaurant a couple of times a week and drops $100 each time, that is probably about what some knife collectors spend. Do any of you think that your heirs would begrudge you eating fine meals in your declining years? Why is the money you spend on knives any different, except that there are physical artifacts left behind?

Maybe we should leave an address for some place that buys knives in bulk in case the heirs do not want to keep or personally sell the knives. But other than that, I am for enjoying a good pocket knife, and a good meal, as often as I can!

[Reverand]

I have a few that have special meaning to me, because they were gifted to me by people that I love. Those I need to mark and document.
Most of my other knives are of low value. Most of what I have bought are knives with issues that I wish to repair.
And I tend to give away many knives after repairing them, so my collection of good knives is relatively small.