What Other Hobbies Do You All Enjoy Besides Knives?

[Prem2302]

Hey everyone,

I know we’re all here because we appreciate good knives (and Spyderco in particular), but I was curious — what other hobbies or interests do you all have outside of collecting and using knives?

For me, I’ve recently gotten into hiking and photography. I find it pairs well with carrying a good folder, and it’s always fun capturing the outdoors while having a trusty blade on hand for small tasks.

Would love to hear what keeps you busy when you’re not browsing knife catalogs or sharpening your favorite EDC. Any unusual hobbies or hidden talents in the community?

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Cheers,
Prem2302

[Paul Ardbeg]

No hidden talents here, pretty random stuff Like hiking to. Have done trail running in the past, half marathon distances but my left knee is not the best anymore. Thinking about changing to bikes vs running, easier on the knee. Do some weight lifting/strenght training aswell, but nothing crazy. Love to ride my motorcycle. Cooking I enjoy, BBQ and the pizza oven, but also in the kitchen. Hystory, mainly WW2. Reading, but always have a backlog

[Naperville]

Hobbies?

I like to surf the Internet all day. I am a stereophile and like listening to streamed high resolution Qobuz music and listen with $3500 Focal Stellia headphones and a JDS Labs Element IV headphone DAC/AMP. My old stereo is here and I am thinking of getting it upgraded and back to working order.

I collect and read as many books as I can. I vape. I just started working, working out with weights again and I am thinking about going back into martial arts. Clothes - been buying a lot of them lately.

[benben]

It was Rawlings Horween leather ball gloves, buying, selling, collecting, and refurbishing them. My daughter played national level travel softball from the age of 13 and then onto college softball. With all the teams she was on with all the age changes I was known as the glove dad, no kidding over the years I've probably put 250 girls into a new glove!

She's graduated college and just recently married so the glove thing has faded pretty much into nothing, I think I have five super rare pro-issue / customs left? I could sell all five in probably 30 minutes.

I've always shot pistols, usually a couple times a month, but with the recent purchase of a CZ Shadow 2, I'm shooting every Sunday now, even with my aging eyesight (I'm actually 60 today) this CZ makes shooting very fun again, what a pistol!

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Walking, eating healthy but tasty food treats, drawing, reading, giving people free literature, posting content on the Spyderco Forum, learning new things, making funny faces at my cat.

[Ankerson]

Pretty avid gamer.

I play on PC only currently, but been gaming since the 1970's.

[Midnightrider]

Seems odd to me that a guy who just joined the forum and has only one other post starts asking about hobbies unrelated to knives.

[The Mastiff]

I began collecting ammunition when I was around 8 or 9. I didn't have time or money for hobbies for the first 10 to 15 years of my marriage but I restarted in a small way after I retired. Not at all like the guys I know that dedicate entire rooms to their hobby . More like a few ammo cans and a few books. I like it though.

[aicolainen]

I began collecting ammunition when I was around 8 or 9. I didn't have time or money for hobbies for the first 10 to 15 years of my marriage but I restarted in a small way after I retired. Not at all like the guys I know that dedicate entire rooms to their hobby . More like a few ammo cans and a few books. I like it though.

Cool. Even with a 10-15 year hiatus, it's quite impressive to stay consistently interested in a topic for that long. I have a friend who's a rather enthusiastic ammo collector, and even for someone like me who's been into adjacent hobbies like shooting and hunting since early age, I struggled to see the fascination with ammo collecting. But I have to admit, when he gets into the weeds and explain the intricacies and history around certain calibers or types of ammunition - it is indeed interesting.

[aicolainen]

I have too many, which is great and frustrating at the same time.

Like the OP, I like hobbies that can be combined and in some way elevate each other.
Knives and photography are great examples of interests that fit into my array of hobbies in a complimentary way. It's easy to get carried away with gear-centric hobbies though, so I sometimes have to remind myself that these are supporting hobbies and not the main gig :)

I like almost everything outdoors related; hiking/backpacking, trail running, skiing (alpine, rando, cross country, snowboard and telemark), hunting, fishing and mountain search & rescue (navigation instructor and k9 search team).
Competition shooting (ISSF and IPSC)

In later years I've become more interested in leather work and sewing, but with family responsibilities and all my other hobbies fighting for time, funds and space - it's been a very slow progress.

I used to also be more into ice and rock climbing, but in later years I've unfortunately developed some chronic issues in my feet that has made climbing too painful to be enjoyable. I do miss it, but at the same time I'm happy for all the activities I can still enjoy without too much pain - and honestly I'm somewhat relieved to take some activities off my plate so I can focus more on what remains.

[Scandi Grind]

I like playing video games with my brothers and we recently managed to make our first small video game on our own indie game engine. I play basic guitar not badly, sing, and have written over 60 songs between me and my older brother. I learned to enjoy cooking and recently got into leather working. For the last little bit me and my older brother have been teaching ourselves martial arts, which probably sounds like a bad idea, but I think we have been making steady progress. Nunchuks have been really fun to learn and have become one of my favorite stick weapons to practice after making a pair out of paracord and oak dowel rod from Home Depot.

[FrankSD]

I'm a birder. Dedicated. Possibly obsessed. I have always been a nature nerd, going back to my childhood days turning over logs in search of beetles, centipedes, and the like, catching crayfish, frogs, toads, snakes, turtles... Spent most of my youth hunting and fishing whenever possible. In 1993 I took an ornithology course as part of my BS-biology studies, and birding just checked all my boxes: get to be outdoors; it's like a treasure hunt; the challenge of identification; list keeping (I love keeping lists!)...so, a birder I became.

A couple years ago I completed my goal of seeing 100+ species of birds in each of Michigan's 83 counties. I am now on a quest to see 100+ birds in each of the Lower 48 states (n=28). My USA Life List is 691 birds - I've always told my wife I need to live long enough to see 700 birds in the Lower 48. I'm getting close! As the Executive Director of a small, non-profit nature center, I organize and lead birding field tours to amazing destinations throughout North America. One way or another, I go birding every day.

Loggerhead Shrike I recently saw while birding on Dauphin Island, Alabama

[Scandi Grind]

I'm a birder. Dedicated. Possibly obsessed.

Ah, I've always enjoyed birds. To many things in my life have gotten in the way of being able to make much of a hobby out of it, but I get to watch birds out my kitchen window and in my yard every day. Lot's of different birds to see and hear at my house.

[Mushroom]

Too many to keep up with. Fishing, riding motorcycles, disc golf, hiking & backpacking, kayak fishing, photography, watching Boston's professional sports teams, and last but not least - fishing.

I used to play paintball like it was a religion. I was more obsessed with paintball than I currently am with Spyderco, somehow. Lately I’ve been thinking about getting back into it at a casual level.

Sometimes I like to grow a certain plant that I'm not allowed to talk about on this forum.

I had a nitro RC car as a kid and recently took a small step back into the RC car hobby. Bought a 1/24 scale Losi Micro b and it's a ton of fun to race around indoors. Also a 1/10 Losi Tenacity DB Pro - it will do 50+ MPH out of the box and it's an absolute blast to rip around.

I ski and snowboard but don't really keep up with it much anymore because it's gotten too expensive. The conditions and terrain in my area are not good enough to justify the prices they charge, in my opinion.

I’ve always enjoyed riding ATVs and dirt bikes too but I haven't exactly been active with it in recent years. I sold my last dirt bike before college and my fun quad has been collecting dust in a shed for about a decade. So while it’s not a current hobby, it’s definitely something I’ll always have a passion for. Just a couple days ago I rode a friend’s CRF450 and it really reignited that desire to make it a current hobby again.

I also like to go fishing when there's water nearby.

A big part of what draws me into hobbies is the gear itself. I tend to go down deep rabbit holes researching gear, setups, options, etc.

[Evil D]

Pretty avid gamer.

I play on PC only currently, but been gaming since the 1970's.

Same.

I just started Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon and it's outstanding for an indie game.

[Blooze8]

I ocassionaly make leather bags, jewlry and walking sticks, but no pics right now.

[Makunochimaster]

"new" camera+lens today obtained)

[aicolainen]

"new" camera+lens today obtained)

Congrats, Makunochimaster!

I too bought a D700 recently. Last year I think.
For a while I was into sports/action photography, but I got burned out by the constant gear chasing and overwhelming workflows going through thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of photos from each event.

After a complete break from the hobby I’ve dialed it back completely, and now focusing on slow photography with retro gear.
I’ve been a Nikon guy for a long time, so the D700 was a pretty obvious candidate for my first retro camera. This year I added a Cannon 5d classic (mk 1).

[Makunochimaster]

Thanx, @aicolainen,
i got this kit ≈ 1000 $, used lens and camera shutter 7000 count

[holoblue]

I really enjoy trekking whenever I travel. Exploring new countries is amazing, but getting out into nature makes the experience even more special. I always try to fit in a hike wherever I go, and my latest adventure took me to Chile, The Andes Mountains were absolutely breathtaking! The weather was perfect too, with clear skies, sunshine, and a cool breeze that made trekking so enjoyable. Big thanks to my guide from https://gowithguide.com/chile — super easygoing and made the whole journey even better!