Have you ever been ashamed of a knife you bought?

[James Y]

I’m not sure if I’ve ever been full-out ashamed of a knife I bought, but there are a few that now, looking back on it, I wonder, “What the **** was I thinking?”

What comes to mind first are a few pocketknives I bought in the 1970s that were made by Colonial. I was about 13 or 14 years old. I already owned a few good pocketknives by Schrade, Ka-Bar, and Camillus. And the quality of these Colonial knives were bottom-shelf. They were sold in packaging hanging on a rack for probably less than $2. One was a camp knife pattern; another was a small 2-blade Barlow pattern; and the last was a small yellow-handled, 2-blade pen knife that I now know was made to resemble a yellow Case pen knife. The blades were some kind of chromed carbon steel, and the scales on the first two were molded plastic made to look like stag or bone, and were partially swathed in ugly purple paint. They had loose tolerances, blade play, and even the scales were loose. I’m sure I still have them somewhere. I’m also sure they were “boys’ knives,” intended as cheap first pocketknives for kids who were expected to break and/or lose them. Why I felt I had to have them is beyond me.

Another cringe-worthy knife I bought was a very large locking folder made in Hong Kong with a plastic handle and a dragon on the inside of the clear plastic. I bought it from a martial arts supply dealer at a Karate tournament. It’s better-made than the Colonial pocketknives, and probably cost about $5 or so, but WHY WHY WHY did I buy it in the first place?



Jim

[SG89]

Every knife I've ever bought

[TkoK83Spy]

Any knife I've spent over $200 on...so quite a few.

[TomAiello]

What comes to mind first are a few pocketknives I bought in the 1970s that were made by Colonial. I was about 13 or 14 years old.

I actually had the opposite experience. The first knife I ever bought (I think I was 13) with my own money was a Mora. Looking back, I am amazed that I somehow managed to buy a knife that I still consider to be one of the best values in the knife world.

The first 'nice' ($40 at REI) knife I ever bought was a Spyderco Snap It. I'm definitely anti-ashamed of that one too. :)

[Sharp Guy]

I haven't bought any that I was ashamed of. I usually consider what I'm buying for awhile before I actually pull the trigger. There's been a few that I've impulse bought but I have a pretty good idea of what I like now. I've yet to be disappointed by or ashamed of any of my impulse buys either

I do have a NRA "freebie" knife that I'm a little ashamed that I actually carried. I had it stored in my toolbox for awhile. I had never carried a knife with a clip and wanted to see if I liked to carry one any better than the buck knives I've carried in the bottom of my pocket. It a gawdy knife and I laugh now that I actually showed it to a couple guys I used to shoot with. I eventually bought a Kershaw Leek at the local sporting goods store and I'm pretty sure I tossed that NRA knife. It did show me that I really liked carrying a knife with a clip. So not so bad afterall

[Sharp Guy]

Any knife I've spent over $200 on...so quite a few.

I kind of get this. Ok one or two maybe. Yesterday I was evaluating my knife situation and wondering if I'm crazy. I have way too much $ tied up in knives. Here I am thinking about adding a Shiro that's not really going to cut anything better than any of the other knives I have. I swear it's a sickness. I guess I could say I'm a little ashamed of what I've spent on knives. But I won't because it's something I enjoy and it makes me happy. I can always liquidate a bunch and spend the money on something else I enjoy.

[ChrisinHove]

When I was small, SAK’s were relatively much more expensive than now and my pocket money, well, wasn’t much.

I spent all my holiday money one vacation on one of those horrible knock-off SAK’s with the strange swirly logo, poor action, worse steel and terrible tools. I can still taste the disenchantment…

[JRinFL]

Every knife I have purchased beyond the very few I actually need has produced some shame. Pile it up next to all the knives and that's bunch of shame.

[bearfacedkiller]

What was I thinking? Bought this in the mid to late 90’s. The lock doesn’t engage all the way, the lock bar is silly thin, they put the word “press” on the lock bar because they figured anybody dumb enough to buy this thing couldn’t figure out how to unlock it, the steel is 440a, it doesn’t have a pocket clip, the serrations suck and it’s model name was The Beast. It’s saving grace is that I believe it is made in the USA. I think I was 19 years old and wandering around Walmart drunk. I can’t believe I still have it. I actually keep it on top of my gun safe as a reminder of my youth.

[The Meat man]

None that readily come to mind.

[RustyIron]

Not so much "ashamed." When you reach my age, you will have fouled up so many times that a silly knife purchase is mundane by comparison.

Back in the 1980's, long before Al Gore invented the Interwebs that folks use today to purchase knives, guns, porn, and to stalk ex-lovers, we used to buy our knives from tiny stores at inflated prices, or through the mail. One of the mail order companies was called The Edge Company. What caught my attention was their vast array of switchblades. Over the space of a year or two I bought a variety of their wares. It was all junk, but... switchblades!

Over the years, some of my Edge Company knives reached the point of not being worth repairing. Others I finally threw out because they were too junky to keep or to give away to anyone I respected. I just went and dug a box of knives out of the closet, and I think these are some that I got from The Edge Company. The "NATO" one came from them for sure, and the others probably did, as well. Actually, the stiletto styling appeals to me, but it's not robust enough to actually carry.

[cody6268]

What was I thinking? Bought this in the mid to late 90’s. The lock doesn’t engage all the way, the lock bar is silly thin, they put the word “press” on the lock bar because they figured anybody dumb enough to buy this thing couldn’t figure out how to unlock it, the steel is 440a, it doesn’t have a pocket clip, the serrations suck and it’s model name was The Beast. It’s saving grace is that I believe it is made in the USA. I think I was 19 years old and wandering around Walmart drunk. I can’t believe I still have it. I actually keep it on top of my gun safe as a reminder of my youth.

Schrade made some really nice knives, but there was a lot of models in the late 1990s through their 2003-4 bankruptcy that look and feel like crap. The 47OT really comes to mind, as does the Cliphanger series. With the exception of maybe the Lake and Walker, their tactical/one-hand models had awful ergonomics. Yet, I personally like the LB-7 (and derivatives like the 7OT and 6OT) 5" lockback better than the Buck. I buy the Buck as I can still buy those in a store, and they still carry a real warranty.

[cody6268]

All tactical knives from Frost Cutlery. As a kid, 11-12 years old, and not quite yet fully introduced to the wonderful world of old, secondhand pocketknives (which all of the first knives I had were--they were users from my Granddad's own collection). Poorly made smurf that often got me injured due to failing locks, and put me off tactical knives for several years. I have owned a few of the "Steel Warrior" traditional folders, and some aren't bad; of course my sample size is one Trapper. I still have a relative that often gives me these knives, and they usually have super-soft steel and wobble.

Into my young adult and teenage years, I would mark my least favorite purchase as not only one, but TWO Colonial Knife Co. Quick Flick knives. These were assisted openers that they seemed to only sell through Tractor Supply about 6-7 years ago. This company has little to do with the original Colonial, with the only connection being the trademarks and the fact the founder is a nephew of the grandson of the founder of Colonial Cutlery Corp. It was poorly put together, and actually ripped a hole in my pocket. I bought a second on clearance 2-3 years later for $5, and it's been a toolbox knife.

That knife put me off carrying assisted openers for a long time. I picked up all three of Kershaw's main Onion folders 2 years ago, and they never cease to impress me. I never liked the blade shape of the base Leek, but the "Random Leek" I love. Even their cheapo Chinese line knives (Funxion, Filter) have never opened in my pocket.

[bearfacedkiller]

What was I thinking? Bought this in the mid to late 90’s. The lock doesn’t engage all the way, the lock bar is silly thin, they put the word “press” on the lock bar because they figured anybody dumb enough to buy this thing couldn’t figure out how to unlock it, the steel is 440a, it doesn’t have a pocket clip, the serrations suck and it’s model name was The Beast. It’s saving grace is that I believe it is made in the USA. I think I was 19 years old and wandering around Walmart drunk. I can’t believe I still have it. I actually keep it on top of my gun safe as a reminder of my youth.

Schrade made some really nice knives, but there was a lot of models in the late 1990s through their 2003-4 bankruptcy that look and feel like crap. The 47OT really comes to mind, as does the Cliphanger series. With the exception of maybe the Lake and Walker, their tactical/one-hand models had awful ergonomics. Yet, I personally like the LB-7 (and derivatives like the 7OT and 6OT) 5" lockback better than the Buck. I buy the Buck as I can still buy those in a store, and they still carry a real warranty.

I like lots of older Shrades and Old Timers. I grew up carrying an 8OT and still have a vintage one I carry on occasion.

This thing however. Whoa!!! I mean look at the height of that primary grind, that plastic thumb stud thing and that weird pinned pivot. It lived in the console of my truck for a few years though and actually got used on occasion.

[TomAiello]

The "NATO" one came from them for sure, and the others probably did, as well.

I have an identical 'NATO' switchblade that I purchased from a street vendor in Budapest in 1994.

[Mushroom]

Not since I've started buying only Spyderco. If I ever buy a knife that's not a Spyderco, I'll have to come back to this thread.

[RustyIron]

I have an identical 'NATO' switchblade that I purchased from a street vendor in Budapest in 1994.

DUDE! You could have a matched pair!!!
Whatever the Hungarian charged you, I'll let you have this one for half that!

[murphjd25]

I’m ashamed my addiction has just led me to buying a Shiro. LOL just kidding, no I’m not!

[standy99]

Being a butcher and fishing nut and having plenty of knives it somehow became a family tradition to buy me a new fishing knife each year for Christmas.



No just once or twice this was for nearly 10 or so years

I used to cringe every year at what I unwrapped from $10 to $30 in fishing knives



Stuff like this went blunt after a few fishing trips, was unable to be sharpened and the steel rusted before it was ever used on a knife. Think I do have the cutting board 15-20 years on

[James Y]

Great replies, thanks!

Below is a pic of some of mine, some that I mentioned and some that I hadn’t. I apologize for the poor lighting and pic quality. This is my first time ever posting a pic of knives.

Top: The “Dragon” knife mentioned in the first post. Bought around 1981.

2nd and 3rd down: Two switchblades I got in 1977 off of friends who had smuggled them in from Mexico. Very cheap. The spring on the top one broke (if you look closely, you can see it sticking out of the handle).

I used to carry the smaller 3”-bladed switchblade to school (in 8th and 9th grade), because I thought carrying a switchblade made me cool. I also carried a Schrade or Buck stockman in another pocket for the real cutting chores. I carried the switchblade in my RF pocket, until one day I felt a slight sharp, stinging sensation on the right side of my junk, while I was seated in class. I thought maybe an ant had somehow gotten in there and was biting me. It turned out the switchblade had partially opened in my pocket, and the blade tip was lightly poking me. Needless to say, I brought it home that day and never carried it again.

4th down is a cheap balisong-style fishing knife I got at some fishing supply shop, sometime at the beginning of the ‘80s. The handles are extremely loose and jiggly.

The traditionals are the Colonial boys’ pocketknives I mentioned in my first post, although I didn’t include the small, yellow-handled pen knife. Actually, the small, 2-bladed jackknife at the bottom isn’t quite as bad as I had remembered, although they are all still very cheaply-made. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’d ever part with any of them, as they bring back memories of the time I bought them (and other, better knives). I had carried them, and used them for some things I hadn’t wanted to use my better knives for.



Jim