# Why did you become obsessed with knives?



## jai (Apr 17, 2014)

For me it was from such a young age I used to go and build treehouses and small forts with many platforms and little rooms and my knife let me do this soon I became more obsessed and starting stealing the bigger knives from my dads stash. Later on mum started teaching me how to cook and use knives. The more I use them the more I get addicted to them. That sharp razor edge and the feeling you get when you hold something that you've made so sharp and so useful is just incredible. I could go on for hours but I wont. So my question for all you guys and girls is why are you obsessed with knives?


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## jvanis (Apr 17, 2014)

I grew up with the impression that there is a correct tool for every job. If you want to do things right, it is normally easier, more enjoyable, and the derrived results are typically superior when the proper tool is used. Ever watched someone try to control a medium burning pile of leafs with a plastic rake? That is what I am talking about....

Love cooking and entertaining. I used a set of Chicago Cutlery knives for years and while I never formally had them sharpened after initial purchase, I kept the edge on them (to what felt "new sharp") to others who would use them. I watched people put their knives in the dishwasher, thrown into the sink/drawer/etc and cringed everytime. 

It wasnt until I started looking to invest in a good blade (that cost way more than my entire old block setup) that I learned what "sharp" is. I love prep almost as much as I do the entertaining part now. It is my zen. Just last night my wife picked up my HHH nakiri and cut up some cucumber for our kids. This is the first time she has used any of my good knives and she said "Holy crap, no wonder you enjoy cutting up the veggies, its not even work with a sharp knife"

Thanks Randy! Now I need to keep an eye on this little gem to ensure she treats it nicely!


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## mhpr262 (Apr 17, 2014)

It probably started with my first one - it was a Swiss Army Knife my father gave to me as a reward for dictated text I wrote down with zero errors when I was in the third or fourth year of elemantary school. I still have that knife 30 years later (it also gave me my first scar - don't use the tip of a non-lockable blade to try and pry chunks out of solid chocolate Santa Clauses folks ...:laugh

I have been collecting knives ever since - first "badass" balisongs and combat and fighting knives (most of which have never ever cut anything in the many years they have spent in my drawers so far), then I began to take up cooking as a hobby that was both entertaining and practical and discovered that here you can actually USE your knives.

I appreciate knives as the first real tools of mankind that have been with us for many ten thousands of years, as works of art, as a means of self defense, as indispensable cooking utensils ... and I like to bring a dull knife up to razor sharpness. Not too many people know how to do that nowadays.


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## icanhaschzbrgr (Apr 17, 2014)

I'm not obsessed. I can stop at any moment.


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## jennalyn (Apr 17, 2014)

icanhaschzbrgr said:


> I'm not obsessed. I can stop at any moment.



I'm imagining your avatar saying that.


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## daddy yo yo (Apr 17, 2014)

Who says I am obsessed??? :nunchucks:


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## Birnando (Apr 17, 2014)

I've always had a fascination for knives. 
As a young boy I was out in the woods every day with my dog, whittling bark-boats and whatnot.
Sharpening my tools became an obsession early on, I wanted that "new knife" feeling all the time.
I've been an electrician and audiovisual entrepreneur for 30 years, and that has solidified my love for good tools, knives and hones included.
Making food for my family and myself has been a hobby for a many years now, sharp, quality tools seem to do prepwork more fun.

So basically it is all about quality tools well suited for the job to me.


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## schanop (Apr 17, 2014)

It was MacGyver, duct tape, and swis army knife that got me interested in having a Victorinox in a pocket. But that interest stopped at boyhood.


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## apicius9 (Apr 17, 2014)

Obsessed? Moi? Naah, I got over that, I am mostly happy with what I have and I am trailing behind many here as far as number and quality of knives is concerned. Well, at least reg. the quality, I do have a few knives too many for a sane person. Now, hoarding wood is a totally different topic...

Stefan


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## Bigdaddyb (Apr 17, 2014)

Honestly? I have no idea. I just love em. The deeper I go into advanced home cooking, the worse it gets.


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## Lexington Jim (Apr 17, 2014)

1. I am NOT obsessed. :rofl:
2. I blame my stepson for giving me a Kakiri.
3. I am still trying to decide what to buy next.


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## Mingooch (Apr 17, 2014)

I am not an addict, I don't attend any KAA (Kife addicts anonymous) meetings.


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## ecchef (Apr 17, 2014)

They're quieter than guns.


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## Canadian (Apr 17, 2014)

I got over my knife fetishism early on (thank God), and now I focus on my knife skills. 

I appreciate well made knifes, but I'm far from obsessed.


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## loves2cook (Apr 17, 2014)

I've like quality knives since I was a kid and caught lots of fish and of course a sharp knife makes all the difference when filleting fish. So since I've been more involved in the kitchen lately and enjoying cooking again I thought it would be a good idea to upgrade my kitchen knives and luckily I found this forum with all you experts of the trade. I've only purchased a dozen or so knives since I joined the forum lol. Its truly addicting.


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## 29palms (Apr 17, 2014)

Started when I was a kid too then I bought my Randall Model 1 field knife in 1973 and a Ralph Bone skinning knife in 1974. I'm a fabricator I like hand made things.


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## gunnerjohn (Apr 18, 2014)

I am in no way obsessed or an addict. I've only just passed the 450 mark. I'm thinking that if it reaches 1000 then I can diagnosed to be a bit of an obsessed addict of sharp pointy things... That is all


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## Amon-Rukh (Apr 18, 2014)

I've always loved knives (and pretty much every other bladed object) since I was little. This was probably enhanced by the fact that my mom was very anti-knife. So not only were they inherently awesome but they were also forbidden fruit. The obsession has been set free now, though is still kept in check by financial constraints. Once that suitcase full of money comes along though....


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## XooMG (Apr 18, 2014)

Having a knife fetish helps me justify home cooking more often. I live in a place where convenient food is everywhere, pretty good, and pretty cheap. I never _need_ to cook, and shopping for ingredients and deciding recipes is something I'm not always motivated to do, so the knife hobby helps keep me interested.


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## Geo87 (Apr 18, 2014)

For me it started in quite a backwards way . I spent the first few years of my career with pretty dodgy knives and terrible knife skills in hindsight, mainly due to a lack of guidance... But then I got into a great restaurant with some real bad ass chefs who really drove home how little I knew, I think that's when it started, realising my skills were lacking and getting obsessive to improve myself... Now I'm in a more senior position and I can help/guide/teach people and I want to teach them the right way, there is a real lack of care I think by some chefs when it comes to teaching the next generation, I don't want to contribute to that. So in essence I'm obsessive so I can teach others better.... And obviously there are more selfish reasons... They are tools we use all day everyday I sure want ones that I love, loving your knives makes prep so much more fun, we fight over chopping buckets of onions at work because we all love using our knives at peak performance to smash out prep
The real problem is I have no money to fund the obsession! An ironic situation for sure.


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## Keith Sinclair (Apr 18, 2014)

Working on fishing boats in my teens. In my Dads shop as a kid with all his polished edge carbon wood chisels.

Most of adult life putting out banquets in Hotels that's how really got into knives. Collected Ice Chisels too carbon & stainless.

Got my first carbon Japanese Gyuto in early 80's & became a total carbon junkie Japanese Gyuto , Yanagiba & Chinese Cleavers.


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## sachem allison (Apr 19, 2014)

I'm a guy


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## 29palms (Apr 20, 2014)

sachem allison said:


> I'm a guy



Yup - that about sums it up.


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## Larrin (Apr 20, 2014)

I blame my parents.


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## Richard78 (Apr 20, 2014)

I always had a knife as a kid for fishing and playing in the woods.
The last couple of years I am really passionate about cooking and although I have lots and lots of cookware I never had a great knife till just recently.
Cooking has become a lot more fun now and I want to eat veggies every day now so I can practice my cutting skills as much as possible.


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## daveb (Apr 21, 2014)

A potential girl friend asked me recently if I was "Obsessed with cooking and knives".. I told her of course not, everyone with a compost pile cuts up their vegetables into little pieces - it digests in the composter faster. And the knives, well this one is stainless for when I can't clean it right away, this one is stainless clad when I want a little more heft and sharp but still stainless, this one is carbon for when I want one really sharp and this one is for weekends. These are called 240's. And over here....​ 
So what does one call an ex potential gf?​


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## jai (Apr 21, 2014)

A failure


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## Keith Sinclair (Apr 21, 2014)

daveb said:


> A potential girl friend asked me recently if I was "Obsessed with cooking and knives".. I told her of course not, everyone with a compost pile cuts up their vegetables into little pieces - it digests in the composter faster. And the knives, well this one is stainless for when I can't clean it right away, this one is stainless clad when I want a little more heft and sharp but still stainless, this one is carbon for when I want one really sharp and this one is for weekends. These are called 240's. And over here....​
> So what does one call an ex potential gf?​


:rofl2: Dave maybe you should have put more on the cooking obsession & less on the knives. Girls like guys that can cook


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## Erilyn75 (Apr 21, 2014)

I've always been a different kind of girl. I'm very feminine: hair, makeup, shoes, purses, jewelry and all that but, I do love finely crafted steel and guns. If I could, I'd totally embed one of my vintage crystals into the end of a wa handle lol. 

It started when I was a kid and won a little red swiss army pocket knife at the air fair. I thought it was the coolest thing back then and I still have it around here somewhere. Then as I got older I really got into swords and dirks, being heavily influenced by playing mortal combat and watching highlander lol. In my 20s it was MMOs, which is where I met my husband oddly enough. Now it's because I enjoy and appreciate find tools while cooking. There's just something about beautifully made steel that I love. This forum doesn't help either. Y'all are not very good influences :tease:


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## Salty dog (Apr 21, 2014)

I'm a serial collector. My last thing was guitars. I had 52 at one point. But I couldn't play a lick.

I figured I'd collect something I know how to use.

I'm down to six guitars. I've almost kicked that one.


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## wisew (Apr 21, 2014)

In a similar vein to Salty dog, I started getting into cutlery in almost the same way I got into guitar. 

I'm an avid guitarist (usually play at least an hour a day), and much like you guys could debate steel types and knife geometries like the back of your hand (I'm not quite there yet haha), I could debate guitar scale lengths, wood choices, pickups, and string gauges like the back of mine (and certainly more than most guitarists I know). This pretty much started because several years ago I became determined to improve my guitar skills and knowledge as much as possible.

So here I am with kitchen knives - I've always loved cooking as I've always loved music, and I've recently committed myself to developing my cooking skills and knowledge as much as possible, and it turned out that my knife skills needed the most help. And down the rabbit hole I go... :laugh:

With both I always end up chasing the elusive holy grail - the PERFECT one for me. I'm sure you guys know - you find something really good, really really good, only to come to realize that it's just off enough to keep it from being perfect - so the search continues. I'm really close with guitars (my current guitar is AWESOME), and we'll see how close my starter knife purchase gets me to my ideal.


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## Lizzardborn (Apr 21, 2014)

Erilyn75 said:


> I've always been a different kind of girl. I'm very feminine: hair, makeup, shoes, purses, jewelry and all that but, I do love finely crafted steel and guns. If I could, I'd totally embed one of my vintage crystals into the end of a wa handle lol.



I would definitely not say that steel and guns are not feminine. Especially if in range or said steel and guns in the hands of a woman than knows how to use them.

I am not yet obsessed thanks to financial issues and the fact that I live in Europe (although that Akifusa shall be mine soon. I hope) but I decided to learn to cook and I have always been a geek - so it is a natural fit to obsess over such technical topics like geometry and the metallurgical side of the knifemaking. And kitchen knives are the only pieces of good steel that you can actually use unless you are serious bushcrafter/hunter.


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## Scrap (Apr 23, 2014)

I think it may have started with learning about having the right tools from a few years of trumpet playing. From there I became obsessed with sharpening after some "professional" took a set of belt sanders to my school knives and still handed me a knife as dull as what I handed him. I came here to learn more about sharpening and everyone talked of Japanese knives, and being obsessed with Japan and in need of a new knife....it was inevitable.


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## Danvil (Apr 24, 2014)

When I was 8 I bugged my old man to let me get a Gerber with a black handle, so I could make spears and play caveman with my buds. This would have been in the early 1960's. No computers and you had to have something sharp to make a good spear. When I turned 10 the old man broke down and got me the Gerber with a 3" folder. I loved to strip the bark off off the wood I used to make spears and then make a point. PC didn't exist then, so a boy could be a boy, without being sent to a Pschy or put on Ritalin. 

I always had knives up through and into my teens and then took a trip to Colombia in the early 1970's and became fascinated by the way the people in the tropics could build a complete home from natural materials using one tool, a machete. They sharpened them on smooth rocks. I bought several machetes. In the late 90's I agan got bitten by the bug and attended the two week American Bladesmtih Intro. To Bladesmithing Class in Old Washington, Arkansas. I forged a bunch of knives, but got bored with the same old drop point hunters and Bowies. I became intriqued with the blades of the Mughals, the Islamic rulers of India and the blades of Persia. I collected several antique blades that included some beautiful watered Wootz steel with Walrus Ivory grips and other more common Kards and some Kindjals from the Caucasus. . However, since they were antiques there was no way I was going to sharpen them or even use them and I knew that I couldn't be happy unless I could use them. I continued to collect smaller using knives made in Scandanavia and sharpened on AR Stones and stops. 

My next foray into knives were handmade blades from the Phillipines in the 18" blade length. I used them to cut through the thick grape leaf vines that will grow to 3-4" in diameter and cover up a hardwood tree's crown. Then I got into sharpening, mostly using a 6" flap disc and 6" buff with chromium oxide to take the burr off. The flap disc allows you to create a convex edge and maintain it very easliy. IBut I never really enjoyed motorized sharpening. 

My current blade obsession teamed up with my enjoyment of cooking. I breed and raise my own heritage Berkshire Hogs. I also like to cook outside year round on my Kamado grill and am always needing a sharp knife or two or three. I discovered Japanese knives about 6 months ago and now have about 6 different knives and a variety of stones and strops. I able to sharpen to my satisfaction freehand, but am always seeking improvement. My favorite steels are carbon steels like: White #'s 1 & 2 and Aogami Super. I have some CPM folder blades, but don't enjoy them. For cooking prep I'd rather use carbon steel or every now and then a Swedish stainless steel. I think I will stay with the Japanese type blades from here on out, because freehand sharpening is such a kind of Zen experience and you then you get that instand gratification of using a very sharp knife. I think I've covered my addiction in more than enough detail.


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