Collection Limiting Rules

[steelcity16]

There are so many models, exclusives, sprints, etc I want that I have to set some rules so I don't end up with 5,000 Spydies, a divorce, and a van down by the river (packed with my precious Spydies!).

What rules do you guys have to keep your collection within reason? I'm not really talking about your likes and dislikes around knife attributes like colors, materials, scales, etc. More of arbitrary rules that apply to your collection as a whole.

Here are some examples, but not necessarily my rules:

• No duplicates of the exact knife (ie having one user and one or more safe queens/backups)

• Only one of each model

• Only one of each steel

• No more than X number of total folders/knives

• Spending on X dollars per year

• Only buying X number of knives per year/quarter/month/pay period

• Only buy sprints/exclusives and no production models

• No models from a certain COO, or only models from a certain COO

I guess the only real rule I have right now is limiting to one of each model I like from any factory aside from Seki. All bets are off on Seki models! :) That said, I don't have a rule about having a backup of that one particular model. So for example, the only PM2s I have are a user DLT exclusive DLC Cru-ple PM2 and a backup safe queen of this same knife. I only have one Native LW, one Native G10, one Manix G10, etc, (with no backups of those though). I have 4 different user Delicas (plus some backups of the new DLT Cruwear version) and I plan on getting the M390, K390, Pink TiCN, and ZDP-189 Delica in the future. Plus many other Seki users and many more on my wish list with no end in sight! :eek:

Piggybacking on the above, do you have an end game for your collection? Maybe you have a goal to get to X number of models, one of every model, one of every steel, every version of a certain model, etc? For me, there is really no end in sight. As long as Spyderco keeps innovating and producing quality blades (especially the Seki stuff) with familiar features (jimping, boye dents, etc...I was a bit disappointed in the Rock Jumper and Police LW in this regard) I will keep adding to my collection. I have 15 different users right now and there are probably more than 15 different models of current production and upcoming production/sprints/exclusives that I want to get. With how great these reveals have been, as well the stuff we know or think we know is coming (Cruwear SSS XL, more green LC200N, more Micarta, more TiCN in Seki, US steels in Seki and China, more Pink, etc) I don't see it slowing down much. RIP wallet.

[Wartstein]

I have only one actually quite simple-, but more and more not simple to STICK TO rule.. :o

- At max 10 Spydies in my possession at each point in time.

That means having to sell knives in order to get new ones.

The only platform I am 100 % sure of I absolutely "can´t live without" is the Endura 4 / Pac Salt 2. I will always have one or several of those in my collection (which is actually a number of users)
With all other models so far it potentially could happen that they have to go and will be remembered as knives I really loved and I am glad I could experience (but the Manix 2 LW taught me, that nothing is final... thought it would be one of those I really liked but never will come back to, now I have two again... :rolleyes: )

And: There are moments when I find the thought intriguing to reduce my collection to only two folders: At the moment that would be the upcoming Pac Salt 2 ffg SE plus the Chap FRN... but so far it is just moments... :D

[brj]

I only have 2 rules:
- do not buy exact duplicates
- if not used/carried for more than 3 months (unless part of a more elaborate rotation system), sell it

I've broken my first rule only recently, with the Watu (although I must admit, that was partially due to the allure of having wooden scales installed on one of them and keep the other factory).

An example for the second rule would be my Pacific Salts, which see a lot of use May-Sep but pretty much sit in a drawer inbetween.

[vivi]

My collection lives by a single rule - will I ever use it?

If a knife isn't going to get used and carried, I'll pass.

I'm fine with owning multiples. I buy pre-need backups of favorites, like my Pacific Salts and Leatherman Squirt. I have three Police folders, though they each offer something a little different.

At any given point I usually have between 10-20 Spydercos total, and about 3-5 in my EDC rotation.

Right now my rotation is a Pacific Salt 2, Police 4, Police 4 lightweight, Siren and Street Beat.

Sometimes I hold on to knives I probably won't use because they've been in my collection so long. I carry my Police 3 maybe once or twice a year, but I've had it for over a decade and wouldn't feel right parting with it despite preferring the P4. I did sell my backup though. I can't remember the last time I carried my Spin, but I've had it so long and it's so different than my other Spydercos that its staying.

So I end up passing on a lot of really nice designs. For example the ATR 2, Shaman and Native Chief have all caught my eye, but for different reasons I can't imagine any of them being carried more often than my Pacifics and Police folders.

I have too many other hobbies to devote that much money to knives I won't use. I'd rather put $200-300 towards a new road bike wheel than a knife. Or some new books. Or a new guitar. You get the idea :)

I could reduce my collection to 4 Spydercos easily, and a few years ago got it down to about that, from a high of about 120. Haven't broken 25 since. Police for EDC. Siren or Pacific Salt for a rust proof EDC. Street Beat for an EDC fixed blade, Street Bowie for hikes, camping and outdoors stuff.

If they ever make a Police Salt, I can reduce my folders down to a single model.

[steelcity16]

Oh, I guess another rule I have is the knife has to be a user or a backup of a user. I won't buy a particular model for the sole purpose of keeping it in the box to admire or for "investment". I have users and backups of my 2 favorite users, and that's it.

[Wartstein]

Oh, I guess another rule I have is the knife has to be a user or a backup of a user. I won't buy a particular model for the sole purpose of keeping it in the box to admire or for "investment". I have users and backups of my 2 favorite users, and that's it.

Yes, for me either it goes without saying that I only keep and have real users (with one exception: Unused backup for the Stretch 1 since this model is hard to find anymore).

I totally respect people who own folders just as collector pieces (every form of enjoying knives is equally fine for me, and who am I to judge!), but personally I can´t imagine especially having / collecting knives in different steels without ever really putting these steels to the test and comparing their properties, pros and cons by that.

[zuludelta]

When I started getting heavily into Spydercos, I intentionally limited my collection to variants of 2 models: the Native & the Dragonfly. At the time, I felt that these 2 designs worked best for me ergonomically and met all the needs I had in a folding knife. I got variants of each to fill certain niches: a plain edge basic model, a serrated variant, a Salt variant (plain edge LC200N for the Native, serrated edge H-1 in leaf shape & hawkbill for the Dragonfly), and a variant in an exotic long-wearing steel (S110V for the Native, ZDP-189 for the Dragonfly). For a long time, this helped keep my Spyderco collection relatively small.

The funny thing about this hobby, though, is that what we look for in a knife, and the features we find most useful in a knife, can change over time.

I've since expanded this "multiple variants of a single model" approach to two other designs: the Delica 4 & the Endura 4, although I don't have ZDP-189 versions of these models—I'm sort of over the whole "superior edge retention" thing (I've found that VG-10 & S30V/S35VN works just fine for me).

Additionally, I've developed an interest in wharncliffes, as I've found this blade shape to have a bit more utility in my job than the typical Spyderco leaf shapes & drop-points. So along the way I've picked up a couple of Yojimbos, a Yojumbo, and wharncliffe variants of the Dragonfly, Delica, and Endura.

But while my collection is built around the Native 5, the Yojimbo 2, and the "Seki Trinity" of the Dragonfly 2, Delica 4, and Endura 4, I do buy the occasional one-off model to satisfy my curiosity or to serve as design references. Indeed, in addition to those five models, my current top 10 list of all-time favourite folding knives is rounded out by the Li'l Temperance 3, Introvert, Para Military 2, UKPK, and Manix 2.

I'm always looking to further downsize my Spyderco folder collection, however, and if I could own just one folding knife, I would probably be okay with any one of a Yojimbo 2, a Li'l Temperance 3, an Endura 4, a Delica 4, or a Native 5.

[archangel]

No duplicate models. This rule stands.

And initially only one spydie per steel. But that rule got to be put to rest with the arrival of the original Smock in S30V, since I had already owned the Szabo Folder, but had to have the Smock as well. Now I have four S30V Spydies (Szabo, Smock, Ikuchi, Hanan), plus 33 Spydies each in a different steel, without any model duplicates.

[PSquared]

Rules spoil hobbies. If you can afford it and it isn’t going to cause domestic strife then buy it.

Common sense needs to be applied, not rules.

[aicolainen]

When my knife interest started to develop into something more than just another tool in my "tool box" about 4 years ago, I realized there was so much out there, and I didn't have a clue about any of it. I had never, as far as I remember, in my then 35+ years owned a dedicated folder. Just a (yes 1! ...and just a 2.8" at that) fixed blade for hunting, fishing and outdoors, and a few Leathermans.

I needed to learn more and get familiar with different types of materials, sizes, locks and mechanisms to find out what I like and what works for me. Initially I probably just wanted to throw different variations at the wall to see what sticks, but as my fascination for these things developed, it kind of became goal in itself to have a representative collection, so beyond the variations mentioned above, I also wanted to add some important designs, like e.g. Buck 110, Sebenza etc.

This was all fun and all, but one day I realized I had all these knives, but when I was heading out to do something that could require a knife, I often stared into my knife drawer without really finding a knife that was very suitable for the task at hand. I realized that I might have been taking in to much influence from social media, and my collection had drifted away from what I needed and more towards the popular opinion on what "you" need.

Lately I have been much more focused on what I actually need, and that's what primarily drives my purchasing decisions.
So basically it must fit into one of my defined use cases, and ideally there is just one (or one pair of folder and fixed blade) in each category.
I don't really consider my knife interest as a separate hobby per se, it's more like a side interest that elevates my primary interests, who are mostly in the outdoor domain. So, just like vivi mentions, I have to keep it kind of real and make sure that the time and money spent on knives actually serves to elevate those hobbies, and not restrict them. So that's what's limiting my collection for the most part. No fixed rules, just some general rules of thumb, my own conscience and priorities.
I'm still a curious person though, so I do buy and keep some knives for their novelty, but to a much lesser degree than before. Suitable users are my main priority. And just to mention it, I'm maker agnostic, I will buy whatever I deem to be best suited. It just so happens, that more often than not, it turns out to be a Spyderco.

[rabbitanarchy14]

my rules are as follows
1 will i carry it, if yes then yes, if i wouldnt carry it i wont buy it.
2 i only keep 12 knives at a time; so do i have an open spot.
3 no more than 2 of the same knives but have to be in different steels

[standy99]

My latest rule is buy it before it’s discontinued.

Had to buy a few lately that were in the list to be discontinued at the end of last year.

But basically buy what I will use.
Plenty of knives I like that I know I just wouldn’t use. ( and they are the ones that are a bit more expensive most of the time )

[Sharp Guy]

No real rules other than only buying what I like and what I'm comfortable spending the money on. I don't try to own every model or each version of specific models. The only exception is maybe the SNK exclusives. I have the ones they've done so far. I might continue to buy the others depending on what they are. If they do one that I wouldn't normally buy (Military, Native Chief, etc) I'll have to make a decision at that point it. It may give the opportunity to try something I wouldn't own otherwise

[curlyhairedboy]

I don't have anything hard and fast except requiring all-steel lock interfaces. Been burned on that one, so ended up purging my collection of anything that deviated from that rule, with a single exception.

More general guidelines:

Is it sturdy enough to use and then pass down to someone else? will it still be solid at that time or super wiggly and loose?

Do I want it just for the novelty or will it actually get used? For models that have sentimental value, is that sentimental value changing over time?

[FullFlatMind]

I've started to implement loose rules about purchases. I'm trying to limit it to models or steels I don't already have. I think the only repeat I plan to buy is the LC200N Pac Salt 2, but that is like a whole new knife, right?

[prndltech]

I don’t have a rule. I’m a single, adult male, with a job, truck and a house. As long as the bills are paid and everything’s taken care of... I’ll buy whatever I want, whenever I want, for whatever reason I come up with at the time.

But generally speaking, I do try to be wise about what I buy.

Edit* as PSquared said... common sense, not rules.

[TkoK83Spy]

The past year I've been trying to keep my total number of knives to around 25 max. I'm doing well at staying in that range.

As for the knives themselves, besides my two favorite models the Manix and Shaman, I try to only have 2 of any other model that I also like. I try to have 1 satin and 1 DLC knife of those. Best of both worlds in my book!

I'm also not buying multiple models with the same steels as other knives I have (though I did just break that rule with the Cruwear Delica)...BUT, it's also my only DLC Delica so it's kind of ok

No duplicates for me either. I have enough knives, that no one knife will be used to the point that I need a backup for it.

[bobnikon]

Give yourself an allowance. Don't make it enough to buy more knives than is reasonable (open for debate). Use it carefully. Stick to it, no slips. If you don't keep enough in the piggy bank for the sprint/exclusive that pops... you don't get it. Make careful decisions about what you are about to buy and sleep on it. Impulse purchase that current item that catches your fancy, and you won't be able to buy the even better one that you come across tomorrow. If you sell something to buy another then that helps manage the excess.

Other than that, if it is pissing off your significant other, you have to determine if it is really that important. After all, we could all live with 1 or 2. All the rest are just stuff.

Sorry a little deep there.

[Tucson Tom]

My rules. One is no Seki City knives -- nothing against them, but this cuts out maybe half of the candidates.
Two is that all rules are meant to be broken, hence I have a Police 4 and a few others.
Three is no exact duplicates, and nothing I won't use.
Four is never more than one per month (this is sort of like a budget). I think I have bought 4 this year, cutting back from last year.

Beyond that, simple rules apply. Don't be stupid is first on the list. Don't be financially irresponsible is another. Don't try to get every variation that comes along. Saying no is a good thing given all the knives I already have.

So, if something appeals to me, I will buy it. But I have said no to some knives and then used simple economics and said, "hey, with this $200 I just saved, what else could I buy?", and made some key purchases in other areas that I really enjoy. When you say no to one thing, you can say yes to something else, and vice versa.

[odomandr]

Rule 1
Dont get upset or wrapped up around one model or limited release. If i miss out there is always another. i say that and will be mighty upset if i miss the pochi.... really though I usually find a second option as a back up purchase to ease the pain...