How many kitchen knives do you own?

[Giovanny Torres]

I have 29 "forum worthy" and maybe the same amount of mixed wusthof, Vic, henckels and similar stuff.

 

[deanb]

I have about 70. I’ve been “collecting” for about 30 years.

 

[Borealhiker]

I have just 22 J knives. Plus a Shun premier. And then a bunch of random Henckels inherited from my mom. Some no names and …lol…Cuisinarts and such…for general use by the savages that frequent my kitchen .

 

[WellLikedTurtle]

8 Japanese knives
1 Project knife
2 beaters

I've been fairly slow at collecting since my buying spree in early-mid 2021. Sold off 3 before starting this year.

Started 2020 with 2 Jknives
Started 2021 with 3 Jknives
Started 2022 with 6 JKnives

 

[preizzo]

At some point I used to own 240 + knives .
Nowadays have only 65

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

Four Japanese knives: nakiri, gyuto, sujihiki, and petty, and about 12 or 15 beater and practice knives. I've only been at this for about six months.

 

[Xunzi]

Crazy how many knives people have. I have four in regular use with a fifth incoming. Have three additional ones that I’m not using..

A bit worried I’ll end up with 50+ knives…

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Crazy how many knives people have. I have four in regular use with a fifth incoming. Have three additional ones that I’m not using..

A bit worried I’ll end up with 50+ knives…

Oh don't worry. You don't have to end up with all those knives at all.

The trick is to sell them off on BST!

 

[Michael J.R.]

Crazy how many knives people have. I have four in regular use with a fifth incoming. Have three additional ones that I’m not using..

A bit worried I’ll end up with 50+ knives…

Don't worry, be happy

And stop counting

 

[Xunzi]

Don't worry, be happy

View attachment 187959

And stop counting

That’s awesome. In a dark side of the force kind of a way ;-)

 

[cdhumiston]

We have about 35. I made 20 of them and the rest are Henkels. The Henkels are in a drawer, I think. My wife quit using them when I started making knives that were better. I think she's going to eBay the Henkels...

 

[bahamaroot]

I started telling my wife "only one more" at 5 or 6. I'm around that ~50ish mark now.

 

[deanb]

Those of us that collect knives as a hobby can take comfort in the knowledge that, as hobbies go, it’s not that expensive. Take boating for example..

 

[cotedupy]

I have twelvety.

 

[WildBoar]

I'm a bit embarrassed to say....107!

107 is nothing to be embarrassed about -- we all had to start somewhere. Give it some time and you will eventually build a good-sized arsenal. You should have most of the basics covered now, and be in a good position to start adding redundancy. Maybe even start checking out custom makers. A year from now you will look back at your post and laugh.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Those of us that collect knives as a hobby can take comfort in the knowledge that, as hobbies go, it’s not that expensive. Take boating for example..

Actually... um.... well.... I do both....

Knife collecting has it's sporadic expenses; in boating, it's pretty much a consistent (and greater) financial drain.

 

[Bico Doce]

Im curious, how many of members keep detailed information about their knife collection that they be willing to share?

I started using a spreadsheet primarily because I would forget details about the knife (such as wood type for the handle). After reading this thread I took a look at the numbers and I was surprised at what I found (excluding beaters which I don’t track).

Current collection:
Total #: 16
Avg cost: $899
Max: $1535
Min: $540
Total cost: $14.3k

Sold:
Total #: 36
Avg cost: $567
Max: $1700
Min: $115
Total cost: $20.4k

Recently I’ve made a move to reduce the overall number of knives and focus on landing/keeping what I consider the “best” of my collection or personal favorites. Not to knock overall quantity but I didn’t find joy in having knives I knew I wouldn’t reach for so I made that change. Also I don’t mean to imply you need to spend a lot of money to find a knife you love, tbh I wasn’t really aware how much I spent until looking at the numbers for this post.

 

[ThirdJewel]

1 western chefs
2 gyutos
1 petty
1 paring
2 nakiris
1 santoku
1 cai dao
9 total but only 2-3 see regular use

 

[NotAddictedYet]

Im curious, how many of members keep detailed information about their knife collection that they be willing to share?

I started using a spreadsheet primarily because I would forget details about the knife (such as wood type for the handle).

I have a spreadsheet for a similar purpose. Have not tried to sum up the cost though. That will be a task..for another day. You are a braver man than I am.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Im curious, how many of members keep detailed information about their knife collection that they be willing to share?

I started using a spreadsheet primarily because I would forget details about the knife (such as wood type for the handle). After reading this thread I took a look at the numbers and I was surprised at what I found (excluding beaters which I don’t track).

Current collection:
Total #: 16
Avg cost: $899
Max: $1535
Min: $540
Total cost: $14.3k

Sold:
Total #: 36
Avg cost: $567
Max: $1700
Min: $115
Total cost: $20.4k

Recently I’ve made a move to reduce the overall number of knives and focus on landing/keeping what I consider the “best” of my collection or personal favorites. Not to knock overall quantity but I didn’t find joy in having knives I knew I wouldn’t reach for so I made that change. Also I don’t mean to imply you need to spend a lot of money to find a knife you love, tbh I wasn’t really aware how much I spent until looking at the numbers for this post.

I don't have a spreadsheet, but I do keep a list of knives I own on my iPhone using the Notes app. I record info on where I got it, how much I paid, who made it, type of steel, etc. If I bought it from a commerical vendor, I also copy and paste whatever description they posted on their web site. Makes for a nice record in case I decide to sell any of them.

 

[Jason183]

2 years ago I had 8, 2 years later still have around 8. Only bought for what I need at work, half in use, half for back up/replacement for the rest of lifetime.

 

[chefwp]

Im curious, how many of members keep detailed information about their knife collection that they be willing to share?

I keep a spreadsheet tracking my acquisitions starting with a purchase just about 2 years ago, which is when this turned into more of a hobby than purely utilitarian. Hobby though it may have become, I'm not too keen in keeping any I don't actually use.

current	sold (not including shipping cost in all but 2 local deals which were local)*
tot $5207 max $656 min $81 avg $306 count 17	tot $1498 max $424 min $91 avg $214 count 7

*The numbers in the sold column also doesn't include profit/loss on what I originally paid for them. To my amazement, if it weren't for the cost of shipping it would probably total less than 200 lost, but shipping adds to that of course, they've held their value really well!

but I didn’t find joy in having knives I knew I wouldn’t reach for so I made that change

I think we have similar philosophies, at least with knives over a certain value. I've not bothered too much with some of the old junk I've had forever, although I have moved a few in local BSTs where shipping is not a cost burden. Otherwise the old stuff is just relegated to drawers, cabinets, or camping supplies, but if I'm not using a high-end expensive knife, it's gotta go so I have some cash to get something I'll use.

 

[drrayeye]

I have 20 that are grabbable on a moments notice--or on a whim--and a few others I keep near my computer. Constantly reorganizing and repurposing.

 

[Bico Doce]

To my amazement, if it weren't for the cost of shipping it would probably total less than 200 lost, but shipping adds to that of course, they've held their value really well!

Thanks for opening the books and sharing the #’s. I’ve lost about 8% ($1750) of what I initially spent on the knives I’ve sold when taking into account all fees/shipping. You’ve done a helluva lot better than me on BST.

As I’ve tried to curate the collection a bit more Im hoping if I had/wanted to sell I could without taking a loss. Tbh, now that BST has slowed down drastically I try to avoid anything I don’t think I could easily sell without taking a bath on it

 

[chefwp]

Thanks for opening the books and sharing the #’s. I’ve lost about 8% ($1750) of what I initially spent on the knives I’ve sold when taking into account all fees/shipping. You’ve done a helluva lot better than me on BST.

As I’ve tried to curate the collection a bit more Im hoping if I had/wanted to sell I could without taking a loss. Tbh, now that BST has slowed down drastically I try to avoid anything I don’t think I could easily sell without taking a bath on it

You're knives are a lot more valuable than mine, so shipping is at least a much smaller % of the price for you, so at least there is that. I jump for joy when I'm able to sell without dealing with UPS or the USPS. Another thing, that was pure luck and not market savvy, was just market conditions. I saw knives I bought 1 and 2 years ago were selling new for a lot more than when I bought them, commanding a much higher resale price.
I'm pretty happy with what I have right now, I use pretty much all of mine, even some of the old beaters. I have yet to bite on any custom makers' stuff. So until Takada blues come back into stock, things may stay static in my herd for a bit </famous last words>.

 

[cooktocut]

Finally got the whole gang together!! Was going to do another pic with sayas but didn’t have it in me

 

[Bico Doce]

Finally got the whole gang together!! Was going to do another pic with sayas but didn’t have it in me View attachment 189847

Close to 50 and all bangers! That is truly impressive

 

[cooktocut]

Close
Close to 50 and all bangers! That is truly impressive

Thanks!!

I realized that some of them are hard to figure out, so here goes left to right starting from the top

Kamon x4, raquin x4, yanick x3, Burke x4, oatley x2, catcheside x2, xerxes x2

Nguyen, DT, kipp, Billipp, straub, majime, isasmedjan, Franco, dalman, lisch, Schroeder, tighe, kato, tetsujin, jiro, tf, Takayuki, yoshimi kato, yushoku, kurosaki, takeda

Cleavers - oatley x2, Kamon, isasmedjan, halcyon, and takeda

 

[tostadas]

Finally got the whole gang together!! Was going to do another pic with sayas but didn’t have it in me View attachment 189847

I like that bottom row!

 

[inferno]

if you have more knives than you can remember you might have too many.
i you find a knife you didn't know you had or forgot that you had, then you have too many i guess.