How do you respond to "So why do you spend so much money/have so many knives?"

djinnzfree · #41

Nothing in word to explain passion.

Spydesense · #42

It's a hobby and an investment...and **** good ones at that...any more questions? :confused: :p

angusW · #43

I don't have to explain anything to anyone, (please don't tell my wife I said that).

I like knives especially if they're Spyderco's. I figure it's my extra spending money so if I want to buy a truck load of diapers or a bunch of knives that's what I'm going to do. I usually find people who ask that question don't have much self reflection and are usually one type of sheep or another.

The Deacon · #44

I feel no guilt about the money I spend on knives. I'm single, retired, and have no debt and only a few recurring monthly expenses - rent, insurance, and utillites. I have no dependents or people I am obligated to support. My interests, outside of knives, are few and, for the most part, inexpensive. I don't enjoy sightseeing, prefer to eat food I've cooked for myself, don't belong to country clubs, and don't gamble or indulge in other expensive forms of entertainment. Aside from a bottle of beer with dinner most nights, and the occasional bottle of wine to cook with, I don't spend money on alcohol and I gave up smoking six years ago. In short, as "excessive" as it may seem to a judgmental outsider, it's a hobby I can afford.

That's the serious answer, but if someone were to ask, what they'd probably get would be "I don't owe you money and you're not in my will, so why do you care?".

To be honest, the only people who would ever have the right to ask that question are those to whom you have an obligation to provide for, or one who might be considering spending the rest of their life with you. If one of them is asking it, then you have a real problem as it would tend to indicate they feel you're purchases are at their expense, or fear that you might do so in the future. Anyone else who asks is either just making conversation, or being a busybody.

SnowCrash · #45

'it's like jewelry, but more useful'

Nonprophet · #46

"Cause I like them." No other explanation is necessary. If they push they're liable to get a long dissertation that has MANY of the other explanations, yes even the funny ones, in them.

Pharmagator · #47

My wife asks... and I wave my hand across and say "these are not the knives you are looking for"

she looks at me, shakes her head, and goes out to tend to her horses... (now THAT is an expensive hobby!)

Cobra4246 · #48

When my asks how many knives do I need?? My answer is one more than I have now!!!

Bluntrauma · #49

The Deacon wrote: "I don't owe you money and you're not in my will, so why do you care?".

This should be a sig line! :)

On the flip side, a few weeks back I looked in my girlfriends closet and asked her why she needed that many shoes. Without missing a beat she asked why I needed so many knives.

Mute.

marlinspike · #50

tonydahose wrote:my response is i don't spend the money on booze (like so many of my other coworkers do)

This is such a big part of it. My friends with similar salaries ask me how I'm able to afford the things I have. I usually point out that I've got $40 more in my pocket at the end of every week just from not drinking when they drink. That's a lot of knives over a period of years.

SolidState · #51

Evil D wrote:One of these days i'm gonna say, because i can't legally carry a sword :D

I've said this before. I have a few swords too.

I also say:
"Because they are some of the very few things that are still made in the USA by a company whose base is in the USA and I believe in American manufacture. Provide me with more American-made product diversity and I may buy more diverse products with my money."

My girlfriend asked me about it one day a few weeks ago, so I gave her the spreadsheet of what I have and what I purchased them for. She cross-referenced it with ebay and found out that I'm up more than 3% on my investment for this year. As a former banker, she was impressed that I was beating a variety of investment/interest rates.

racer88 · #52

I have a friend with quite the gun collection. When I asked how many he had, he replied, "If you can count them, then you don't have enough."

Pneumothorax · #53

Pharmagator wrote:My wife asks... and I wave my hand across and say "these are not the knives you are looking for"

she looks at me, shakes her head, and goes out to tend to her horses... (now THAT is an expensive hobby!)

LMAO!!!!! This is too funny!
Sorry to say that the only people who know about my addiction is my family and a couple of other gun and knife nuts. My nice response would be that I like well crafted things made with precision...my not so nice answer would be Deacon's "I don't owe you money and you're not in my will"...my real thought is "what the f do you care, how dare you judge me when I think half the things you spend your money on are really stupid!". So, the only people who know are other zealots...

delicafreak · #54

just give them the short and sweet 6 word answer that im sure all of you guys know: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! an exception: spydercos china knives! great quality for little price! =D

iwolf81 · #55

I tell my family that Spydies are much less expensive than my previous indulgences when I was single, and I can carry one almost anywhere.

Ira