how to handle knives when leave the world?

Give them to strangers and let them fight it out to see who keeps them all. I'll be watching.
 
I can't speak for others here, but as someone who'll be crossing the big five oh in the next some odd years, I have always had the plan that I'll start trying to liquidate...well, most of my accumulation type hobbies as I near retirement age. I don't have children, and my wife is several years younger than I am, so the last thing I'd want to do is add additional burden to my passing by her having to go through it all. Speaking of knives specifically, I will do as some others have here have stated, and pare my collection from the hundreds of knives I currently own down to just a few. One special knife, I'll take with me for the road, the few others I own by that time, she'll be free to do what she likes with them.

As someone who's had to help more than one friend faced with a huge burden of emptying out a house after a sole remaining parent passed, the absolute last thing I'd want is for my wife to have to go through that.

Obviously, all this goes out the window if I get hit by a meteor falling out of the sky and nailing me on my way to work one day next week or something, but it's good to at least have a plan.
 
I have bought a lot of great knives at yard sales, cheaply. Therefore, I know that when I pass my knives would go to someone at a yard sale, cheaply.
For some years now, I've been giving knives away to anyone who appreciated them. (I do have a lot of decent, budget and midrange knives.) Also been giving as many to family as possible without saturation of that avenue. Knowing that something you collected is actually being used by family feels good.
I have less than half the knives I had 10 years ago.
 
jbmonkey said:
im good with your plan. its a too each their own routine.....but there is nothing silly about worrying about ones family after we are gone and making their sorting through an estate while grieving process, easier.......
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My point is that I hope my knife collection is nothing more than a blip on what I have left behind. I have no safe queens, no knives where I have gone out of my way to keep boxes and papers. Same goes for my modest clutch of firearms. All working grade knock around stuff. Anything that is of sentimental value is only important in that regard to me, so after I'm gone it's just clutter.

I have enough assets socked away that my "stuff" isn't going to make or break my family's financial future. My daughter appreciates a good knife but is not drawn to the hobby. Being that I am the oldest yet healthiest sibling, I may outlive my brothers, but if I don't my wife will most likely turn them loose on what I leave behind. My smart middle brother will pick through the stuff that is well made and will be useful to use on his farm/family compound. Our youngest brother will find what looks coolest. The head and the heart of the family, so to speak.

I specifically told my wife that she shouldn't worry about any of this stuff. If I pushed off tomorrow, our house will be paid for, our high-school aged daughter will be able to afford a reasonable college, and my wife will have enough to carry her on until her pension kicks in.

I'm an odd blend of absurdist and fatalist, so I simply see it as fallacy for me to make it a point to worry about generational transfer of objects. No one will appreciate these knives much as I will have. None if it will generate a profit beyond the cost of the time and effort to track down blue book worth. It is far easier for the people I leave behind to just keep a couple as a totem that I once existed and liked knives and not worry about the rest.

I appreciate people having a desire to look after their family, though. I didn't mean to sound flippant.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
My point is that I hope my knife collection is nothing more than a blip on what I have left behind. I have no safe queens, no knives where I have gone out of my way to keep boxes and papers. Same goes for my modest clutch of firearms. All working grade knock around stuff. Anything that is of sentimental value is only important in that regard to me, so after I'm gone it's just clutter.

I have enough assets socked away that my "stuff" isn't going to make or break my family's financial future. My daughter appreciates a good knife but is not drawn to the hobby. Being that I am the oldest yet healthiest sibling, I may outlive my brothers, but if I don't my wife will most likely turn them loose on what I leave behind. My smart middle brother will pick through the stuff that is well made and will be useful to use on his farm/family compound. Our youngest brother will find what looks coolest. The head and the heart of the family, so to speak.

I specifically told my wife that she shouldn't worry about any of this stuff. If I pushed off tomorrow, our house will be paid for, our high-school aged daughter will be able to afford a reasonable college, and my wife will have enough to carry her on until her pension kicks in.

I'm an odd blend of absurdist and fatalist, so I simply see it as fallacy for me to make it a point to worry about generational transfer of objects. No one will appreciate these knives much as I will have. None if it will generate a profit beyond the cost of the time and effort to track down blue book worth. It is far easier for the people I leave behind to just keep a couple as a totem that I once existed and liked knives and not worry about the rest.

I appreciate people having a desire to look after their family, though. I didn't mean to sound flippant.
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gotcha. thanks for clarifying for me. I misunderstood what you were saying. I see your stance much clearer now and agree.
 
I’ll probably leave them all to my son who seems to enjoy knives somewhat. Or have my family come on here and give them away to all my friends I’ve made here. Why not? You guys and gals would probably get more enjoyment out of them than anyone.
 
Thorgrim said:
While that's a good life philosophy, it puts your heirs at an extreme disadvantage especially if they aren't knife people. I try to think about those people that I may leave behind, people who care for me, not myself.
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I agree. In fact, I've had to help grieving relatives (who also happen to be friends) sort thru and figure out what to do with a big boxful of knives. It's no fun for anybody, especially when you have to tell the grieving relatives that nearly all of the knives had minimal value.
 
I think in a balanced investment portfolio you need something you can trade for a can of beans if things go badly. Knives fill that need. They travel well in a backpack, and don't have an expiration date. So while you're enjoying knives as a hobby, you're also hedging your bets.

When you die, that hedge investment in excess knives doesn't pop like a soap bubble, it can carry forward as long as necessary. You can pile a pretty large collection in a suitcase or two and just put them in a closet or attic until history reaches an inflection point. In the meantime, if you bought wisely the value of the knives will only increase over 20-40 years giving whoever is in possession of your collection even more options. Think of your collection as a long term hedge investment, instead of some irresponsible squandering of income to be ashamed of.
 
shunsui said:
I think in a balanced investment portfolio you need something you can trade for a can of beans if things go badly. Knives fill that need. They travel well in a backpack, and don't have an expiration date. So while you're enjoying knives as a hobby, you're also hedging your bets.

When you die, that hedge investment in excess knives doesn't pop like a soap bubble, it can carry forward as long as necessary. You can pile a pretty large collection in a suitcase or two and just put them in a closet or attic until history reaches an inflection point. In the meantime, if you bought wisely the value of the knives will only increase over 20-40 years giving whoever is in possession of your collection even more options. Think of your collection as a long term hedge investment, instead of some irresponsible squandering of income to be ashamed of.
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Fantastic enablement! Well done Sir!
 
I plan to be cryogenically frozen, with all my knives placed neatly around me in the canister, in case they can revive me in the future.

That, or I'll do that thing where they turn you into a tree by putting your ashes into the pot of a seedling. I'll bring my knives with me there too. Except for my hatchet...
 
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