) my ,"accumulation"(collection is not a word I like)is somewhat diverse.It has come to be so because as I age my tastes in knives(and everything else)evolve.For instance I really used to enjoy a glass of good sour mash whiskey at the end of the day but due to the number of medicinal substances I am forced to ingest every day that has become problematic.
When I got my first knife(which I still own)at the age of ten I had to have a hunting knife even though my hunting escapades were minimal and did not require the use of a knife. Then a friend of mine in school got a fishtail switchblade and I had to have one of those. Cost me 2 months allowance and it broke after a couple weeks.
Switchblades were still able to be purchased in stores but you had to be 18 to buy one.I managed to con an older neighbor into buying one for me.That didn't last long;a teacher got sick of listening to me opening and closing it while he was trying to teach class.Never did get it back.
Although I always had several knives around,my accumulation addiction didn't really take off until after I got out of the Navy in 1967.It was supplemented by my friendships with several members of the law enforcement community who would supply me with knives in exchange for me working on their motor vehicles.
It accelerated rapidly when I became aware of an organization known as the National Knife Collector's & Dealers Association.I became a member and it was all downhill from there.
As to what types of knives I collect,I must say that it has evolved over time.After switchblades it was stag handled knives and then pearls.That morphed into ivory handled ones and then multi-blades. When knives started becoming harder to find I started into straight razors and then safety razors. Somewhere along the line I found letter opener knives and then regular letter openers. I always enjoyed finding "unusual" knives which can encompass many factors.Knives that have special use(usually single purpose)or ones that don't look like knives.Advertising knives can be a whole field of types.
So after accumulating knives for about 67 years what do I collect now? Whatever I like when I see it.
I wish I could say that I was that focused. I am about as focused as the average magpie, I guess.
). The frame has a slight 'crook' in it; it is not straight like what is often called an 'equal-end' knife. Hence, 'dog leg' after the expression "Crooked as a Dog's Hind Leg (speaking of lawyers and politicians, often). Aside from the nearly ubiquitous longer bolster, I will leave the definition of a barlow to someone else. The barlow pattern is a fertile field; you should get a good handle on it after the first six or seven thousand of them.
