Coffee and Knife talk: Today's subject is Collector's Knives

 Coffee and Knife talk: 

Today's chat is about is Collector's Knives.

BCT

Q: Has the LINDER Super Edge 2 become a collector's item because LINDER are no more? ; ATS-34 is no longer made by Hitachi?

What makes something collectable we can not actually say. It is different for everyone. However, it could be argued that it is a deep down neurological desire  or rather what becomes an addiction to own something for which we place some value. That value does not have to be in the form of money but rather "a value of appreciation in the form of simply visual stimuli which increases our desires to own more".

How about the iconic AITOR OSO BLANCO (Olivio)?

When it comes to collecting knives, what defines a collector's knife? 

Does that knife need to posses a serial number? Does that knife need to be from a limited edition production run? 

What about Extrema Ratio's rendition of the infamous Gerber BMF, as seen in their AMF Survival knife, is this a collector's knife?

Can the knife merely be "hand made' so that realistically no two knives will ever be the same? Does it matter if bazillions of the same knife has been made, all identical from some AI controlled CNC machine from an anonymous programer?

Could the Production knife such as the PARUS from FKMD become a collectors knife, if they stop making it?

None of the above. A knife is a collector's item simply if there is that desire to own it . It is not a collector's item if you say I'm collecting it because it is worth something (more than the retail value) or that it will be worth something in the future; no, because unless you plan on selling them then you are selling and not collecting, that is something different. 

Is a collectors knifer worth anything? It is not worth anything except maybe the price you paid for it? Or unless many many people desire it, then it will be worth more than the price you paid for it. The joy from the visual stimulus is the "worth"; there is no need to justify it in any other way. For example: collecting plants and filling your house with them. Clearly it is not done as an excuse to propagate plants as there are far better ways to achieve this; it is done because of the 'feeling" it gives the collector. 

Is there anything "wrong' with collecting?. Well if we say this then we have to argue that there must be something wrong with museums, art galleries and zoos as well. Which brings me to the point of the following; No, a collection does not have to enjoyed by the public.

Will this LINDER Bowie become a collector's knife?

Is collecting knives a dangerous addition? Well to answer this we must examine what is meant by a "dangerous addition".

All additions can become dangerous if it impedes the family or the individuals's financial situation, or leads to financial ruin and all that goes along with this. They become dangerous when they upset the social interactions between people.

Placing "too much value"  on inanimate objects can be a bad thing. All things in moderation. Milk is ok but too much, you could drown in it.

BCT