Prior to ETS, I was content with cheap folders. Cheaper the better. And I didn't know to call them "folders." They were simply: knives.

Didn't know about the various steels. A2-D2: C3PO's sidekick?

Thought "tang" was Apollo's faux orange juice invention.

And then ETS came into my life. And within a few months I'd ordered a knife: Doug Ritter's Mk3. Huge, to me. A small machete. Yet it fits my hand, so delicately balanced it hovers on the edge of a finger. I lovingly caress the drop-point S30V fixed-bladed full-tanginess of it.

Next to arrive is the Doug Ritter Mk4 "Gentleman's Folder." Although I am a gentlewoman, or perhaps because I am a gentlewoman, the sleekness and the efficient opening mechanism which does not endanger one's nails, seems custom-designed.

While perusing rei.com a discounted CRKT M4-03 catches my eye. I'm curious so it now resides next to the Ritter Mk4 in its own zippered pocket in an unused leather cosmetic bag given to me at Christmas.

Then AG Russell. In route now is a Bark River "Gameskeeper." One of 250 with an "unusual bronze Maple Burl" handle that proved too alluring to resist. It's tang is tapered and I don't know if that is a fault. But it's beneath the unusual bronze maple burl so I gamble that I won't care.

Next I wonder: when and what's the best knife show in this area?

"Functional sculpture," I've concluded. Beautiful knives will compliment my art collection which is currently dominated by wood sculptures, glass and metal. Favorites will become talismans worthy of inclusion in the shoulder bag that carries books and my journal on roadtrips and camping.

I have a lot of camping and hiking gear and there is no aesthetic appeal to it, except perhaps for the stainless Colemen cooler and the functional beauty of cast iron. Until discovering the world of knives -- handsome and refined -- I did not know that art and survival gear could go, literally, hand-in-hand.

This discovery is going to cost me.

This is the first post I have seen by you. So, a belated welcome.

It is good to see you realize you "have a problem and admit it". I wish you the best in building your "art" collection with the fanciful bits of steel and wood married together for blissful aesthetics.

Have fun and post often.

I don't know about up in your area but if you're ever down this way stop by Smoky Mountain Knife Works. They've got a decent selection of the major brands and every size from Vic Classics to large kitchen knives.

P.S. They've even got a knifemaker's workshop in the parking lot w/ a "make your own class" (IIRC from a section of band saw blade)

Your post makes me want to ask if you were happy and did the knifes you were using before your enlightenment work for you?

Uhm....

You're welcome?

Several hours have elapsed and I haven't purchased more knives.

Been busy re-packing camping gear. First weekender of '08 in a couple weeks.

Ignorance is bliss. With brief interludes often having to do with traffic jams, I've always been happy.

I have no recollection of the dearth of quality knives being a problem.

I'm reminded of an interview with a famous knife maker. He said that he went through a phase where he made 'museum quality' knives with exotic woods and exacting finishes. Pretty things that were functional enough but destine for high-end collectors and to stay under glass unused.

He said it dawned on him that knives were tools and that he was a toolmaker. That a tool that sits under glass is wasted. The greatest compliment would be that his knives get used and used up doing real work. He told of an encounter with a rancher. The man showed up with a knife he made a long time ago. He could tell it had been used but not abused. It had been well used and resharpened as needed. Over time the blade had been sharpened down to a fraction of its original size.

The rancher had been a little sheepish. Somewhat ashamed that what so many had considered a museum quality knife from a famous knife maker had been put through the wringer. He wanted to know if he could get another one. It was his favorite knife. Instead of being put out that the knife had been used up the knife maker felt complimented. He kept that worn out knife and replaced it with another for free.

After that the knife maker switched his production away from exotic steels and fancy materials to purely practical ones. His knives are at least, if not more, practical but he doesn't sell as many to collectors. More of his knives get used. As they should be.

The primary purpose of a knife is to cut. Everything else is secondary. A knife that doesn't cut is a tent stake.

If a knife does the job you want it to do it is, by definition, a 'good' knife. Doesn't matter if it is a $2000 dollar masterpiece or a $10 unit made in China you got at a discount store. If it works it is 'good'.

The general quality of steel and manufacturing has, and is, improving. Twenty years ago a $10 knife was a glorified tent stake. I recently used a $10 discount store model that was pretty good. Sliced through a mess of corrugated cardboard, notoriously abrasive to blades, it held an edge but wasn't brittle. While it wouldn't be my first choice as my one and only blade you would have to be pretty inept not to be able to get a good amount of useful work out of it. Our ancestors did much more with much less.

There are limits to how many knives a person needs and can practically carry. Three or four is about the practical limit even far from civilization. On the streets a single moderately sized folder or combination tool is quite enough.

For camping a fixed blade with a 5" or 6" blade, a folder, SAK or combination tool and a second, smaller but very sharp, folder in your first-aid kit are IMO about all anyone needs. Maybe add a good quality machete, better for softwood and undergrowth, or an ax, better for hardwood and larger timber, if you feel the need to fight the vegetation.

I'm not a collector. I might have a dozen or more knives of various description. Mostly the number grew as I found ones that served my purposes better and older ones got tired. For me knives are just tools. They just have to cut.

If you want to collect knives that is okay by me. Everyone needs a hobby. But I don't consider collecting knives, particularly collecting museum pieces, as any advantage for survival.

You think we should tell her about bladefourms.com or worse www.knifeart.com