All About Pocket Knives

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:11 pm**

So I’m a bit OCD and I pick up on patterns. I watch eBay knife auctions daily and I have noticed that there are a lot of slightly used Benchmades for sale. Why is that? They aren’t worn out and many say just carried and never or slightly used. When you look at the photo’s you see the pocket clip is usually showing wear.
Do people buy these and then have second thoughts about spending so much money on a knife? Or what is the reason that people give these up after only using them so little? Most blades show no sign or little wear so they aren’t used up. Just trying to figure this one out.
Mark

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:55 pm**

Benchmades and Spydercos are two of the most commonly counterfeited knives. It would not surprise me at all if those are $30 knives from AliExpress and DHGate that are then sold on Ebay for the bargain price of $150...

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:23 am**

To me tactical knives are all the same. I really don't see the need for so many variations. Now don't get me wrong, I think Benchmade makes a great knife but drop point, clip, ran to, black, silver blades what's the difference? Not much in my opinion. People buy several different kinds and discover they are really all the same. At least that has been my experience with tactical knives. Figure out whether you want an auto or manual serrated or smooth blade and buy one. Then spend the rest of your money on old classics

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:28 pm**

I didn’t consider the counterfeit option. If you look at the auctions during the day, you really see a lot of these slightly used Benchmades and a fair amount of ZT’s. Very curious why there are so many? Many times the seller will say “carried but never used”, what the heck does that mean? It makes me think that some of this has to do w/ the price that is paid. And you may be right and that once they get it they realize that a less expensive knife will do and they can’t bring themselves to use the knife.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:06 pm**

I sometimes do something similar with new knives.

Sometimes I have to carry a newly purchased knife in order to determine whether I want to keep it or not. In those cases, I won't use it unless I know that I'll be keeping it. Carrying it around for a day or two helps me make that decision.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:59 am**

Just watching the auctions again and see 4 Benchmades and 2 ZT’s for sale w/in 1 hour, all slightly used. When I checked the other items that this seller has, they are all being sold by one person, he has a lot of used knives selling in lots. They look like TSA confiscations. That could explain why there are so many of these. People weren’t changing their mind, they had it stolen from them at the airport by TSA.
If I took a Benchmade through security and they took it from me, I would change my flight and keep the knife.
Mark

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 3:10 am**

Many people now travel on economy tickets that cannot be changed. You might be looking at $300+ dollars to buy another ticket vs $300+ to replace the knife. And, if they are traveling on business (meaning someone else is paying for the ticket), they might not want to explain why they missed their flight to their boss - or to their wife...

I once walked all the way back to a far away stadium parking lot to put my $30 pocket knife in my car when they wouldn't let me bring it into a concert. I had meant to leave it in the car but had forgotten. My wife just shook her head at me...

Posted: **Mon Dec 24, 2018 12:18 am**

They should have a quick ship desk to send them home to yourself for a fee. Or better yet just give it back after the flight. Actually there is no way you will get into a cock pit anymore just let everyone keep their knives. We’ve given up so much in the name of security.

Posted: **Mon Dec 24, 2018 11:08 am**

Just a theory here ....

So many 'tactical' knives out there, and they are mostly a sales gimmick.
How often do you find yourself in a 'tactical situation' ?

I surmise that many of these knives are purchased in keeping up with the Jones.
Once in hand it is realized how impractical they are day to day. . .

So they are eventually sold off in order to finance something usable .....

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:35 am**

royal0014 wrote:Just a theory here ....

So many 'tactical' knives out there, and they are mostly a sales gimmick.
How often do you find yourself in a 'tactical situation' ?

I surmise that many of these knives are purchased in keeping up with the Jones.
Once in hand it is realized how impractical they are day to day. . .
So they are eventually sold off in order to finance something usable .....

I respectfully totally disagree with this post.
I have hundreds of traditional folders and hundreds of "tacticals". Even though I have never (knock on wood) found myself in a "tactical" situation I find them extremely practical in day to day life. Being able to have them handy clipped to my pocket, one hand open, one hand closed. Probably more practical than traditional folders.

I spent 34 years as a career firefighter, I found them quite useful being able to deploy one handed while the other hand is busy.
Even though now retired I still have one in my right front pocket. Very useful while working on vehicles, home repair etc.

Definitely not keeping up with the Jones. Maybe "tactical" is just a bad name for them.

Posted: **Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:17 pm**

Welp, to each their own. Obviously others share your vision, otherwise
there wouldn't be a market for them.

Oddly, I am hooked on Kershaw SpeedSafe, at least 5 in my EDC pile.
Never really considered these 'tactical' but I suppose they are in a sense ....

That is all,carry on .

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:46 am**

My EDC are tacticals. Either a Emerson Sheepdog or a Benchmade Torrent is in my front pocket. Both are easily accessed and opened with one hand. I use them in the kitchen, outdoors, and occasionally at a resturant cutting up a rare rib-eye. Sometimes a tactical goes in my boot and a pen knife in my watch pocket. I've considered a sword but the scabbard is a nuisance. To each their own.

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:42 am**

kingknight wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:46 am My EDC are tacticals. Either a Emerson Sheepdog or a Benchmade Torrent is in my front pocket. Both are easily accessed and opened with one hand. I use them in the kitchen, outdoors, and occasionally at a resturant cutting up a rare rib-eye. Sometimes a tactical goes in my boot and a pen knife in my watch pocket. I've considered a sword but the scabbard is a nuisance. To each their own.

A sword as a edc....LMAO

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:41 am**

It's also a edc trend thing , spyderco and benchmade are 2 of the most trend setters , the latest is the BM Bugout, lots of coloured handle options to go with your different coloured flashlight etc , sadly though trends pass and new ones come in , I remember when the spyderco ukpk was trendy, I've had one years ago and hated it, weak mechanism and looks too tactical for the uk laws , slipjoint all the way for me as more stylish and who cares about trends, if it works it works

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:27 pm**

Mark, it's been a couple of years. Are you still seeing those "slightly used" Benchmades, etc?

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:39 pm**

Enquiring minds want to know.

Posted: **Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:32 pm**

I gave up on following Benchmade knives shortly after I posted that back some time ago. So I could not say with any accuracy that there are more or less now.
Back then it seemed that half were listed as lightly carried or carried but never used. After I got burnt on a counterfeit Paragon, I really gave up on collecting anything I wasn’t absolutely certain about. It seems that tactical knives are the most counterfeited of the modern knives, maybe I’m wrong about that but that is what is sold on Ali Express and other counterfeit sites the most. I really feel badly for Chris Reeves, they counterfeit his knives like crazy.
So to answer the question, I don’t know. It does pay to do your homework before jumping in. And it pays to ask questions here first. TFL’s response back then turned me away from trying to collect Benchmade knives, so I’m really glad I asked here first.

Posted: **Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:40 pm**

I have bought a few cheap copies and wound up stuffing them away. I prefer to buy nice knives for either use or collection. I have a "lightly used" Bat Cave Cutlery Sendoa coming my way. I'm not above having it ride in my pocket to be called upon at a moment's notice for medium-to-heavy cutting tasks.

I'll often carry my 6.25" Oreste Dibon Fishtail Picklock Automatic as a "pocket accouterment". I usually carry my Chrome Vanadium Yellow Delrin Case Peanut as a "backup" knife for daily cutting chores. These are carried either in the change pocket of my slacks or my sports jacket.

On long journeys, I'll carry a larger automatic with a pocket clip in my front slacks pocket. I rotate the larger automatics and will carry a the largest where the prospective situation demands it.

These are all contingent upon the situation.

Posted: **Thu Oct 14, 2021 2:09 pm**

Mark,

Many people buy these on impulse. A lot of knife buyers tend to purchase these items on an emotional basis, rather than thinking them through. They'll carry them a while and then stop when they realize the knife really isn't what they originally had in mind. The owners then sell them.

This is the very reason that I suggested to a number of knife manufacturers that they begin making gentlemen's pocket autos as they did before the Switchblade Control Act of 1957 had been passed. Encouraging responsible "pocket" automatic carry was, and is, never a bad thing.

Posted: **Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:11 pm**

Mark,

So many "knife nuts" (collectors/traders hobbyists) find themselves caught up in the "tacticool" syndrome. (The notion that, at any given moment, their pocket/carry knife will be called upon to be employed for self-defense).

In some of our large(er) cites this has all too often turned out to be the case. It was only Tuesday I had spoken with a worker in a Gladstone, OR pawnshop that told me of being stabbed at the Light Rail (Metropolitan Area Express, or MAX) station. He had refused a homeless man a cigarette and the bum stabbed him. His assailant sits in the Clackamas County Jail awaiting trial for attempted murder.

For the most part, this isn't the case. Most of us live our lives relatively untouched by street crime and egregious violence. We buy "tacticool" knives, and a month or three later we change our minds, realizing that we aren't consistently "living on the edge of violence" and subsequently sell the huge automatic knife we bought for a fraction of its price.

This is a highly logical answer to your question.

Posted: **Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:09 pm**

I think the problem is in part due to social media/YouTube in which people build up a following posting knife/tool reviews. They only review them, then resell them later.

While usually not Benchmades (more along the lines of CRKT), I buy a bunch of stuff from a guy who does this, and relists them a few months later for near nothing.

Posted: **Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:28 am**

edge213 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:35 am
royal0014 wrote:Just a theory here ....

So many 'tactical' knives out there, and they are mostly a sales gimmick.
How often do you find yourself in a 'tactical situation' ?

I spent 34 years as a career firefighter, I found them quite useful being able to deploy one handed while the other hand is busy.
Even though now retired I still have one in my right front pocket. Very useful while working on vehicles, home repair etc.

Definitely not keeping up with the Jones. Maybe "tactical" is just a bad name for them.

I don't leave home without a knife I can open with one hand (including my Leatherman Wave on my hip) There are many times I have been holding something and I have to cut a cord or rope or wire and I have just one free hand... (I scrap a lot of metal these days) Always good to have it and not need it then need it and have left it at home

Posted: **Thu Nov 25, 2021 5:36 am**

I recall an older discussion somewhere here on AAPK; the discussion was afound, "What is a Tactical Knife?"

There was considerable discussion as to what constituted a tactical knife, was it the way it opened, the way it looks, was it the opening mechanism, the locking mechanism, or another aspect of the nice design?

As your might suspect, the discussion generated a fair amount of heat but very little light.

I wish I could remember which AAPK member made the following statement: "A tactical knife is whatever knife you have in your hand when the situation turns tactical."

That to me was the clearest statement of the entire discussion. It was like someone flipped on the light switch because it makes so much sense.

All About Pocket Knives

Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

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Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay

Re: Why so many “slightly used” Benchmade on eBay