What Do You Collect???

Geetarman - have you ever been to one of the big annual (?) Knifemaker's Guild shows? They used to be in Orlando but moved away about ten years ago, I think to Las Vegas.

A good buddy of mine loved high-end knives and canes - the kind with the sword blade in them. I went along but the prices were way out of my league except for a skinner or two made by a journeyman qualifying for the guild. Very interesting to see the mix - buyers of all sorts, including rich folks that you wouldn't see at the Orlando gun shows, and knifemakers from all over. In particular I remember one old fella, a knifemaker, with a long shaggy beard who looked like he might live way-deep in Appalachia. He also looked terrified at being around so many people at one time. I felt really sorry for him - he was about as far out of his element as a person could be.
 
I have a curio cabinet with a bunch of old ammo in boxes. Also a Martini-Henry on the wall, some African spears, and a couple of large framed Zulu War prints, couple of old framed maps of Africa and Hindoostan, both are old enough to have good blank spaces on them.

The bayonets are in the map drawers along with the other maps, and there's a collection of old medals, too. Lots of bookshelves and books, fireplace, so it's all pretty relaxing. The guns are in the safe room just through the door by a cabinet.
 
Geetarman - have you ever been to one of the big annual (?) Knifemaker's Guild shows?
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No, I have not. I have seen some of the knives that won prizes and they are really nice. Some of the fantasy knives ( Gil Hibben ) don't work for me.

I don't often see one that really floats my boat. . .but sometimes I do.

Knife Center of the internet and Smoky Mountain Knife Works have some interesting offerings.
 
Got books.... Three plus bookcases filled with books. That isn't anything compared with the school's. They have 14 six-shelf bookcases filled with gonne books. It's an amazing collection. :D
 
^ Same. My book collection dwarfs my other collections combined. I have an apartment packed in every corner with them, and my old bedroom at my parents' place has hundreds (probably close to a thousand) more. That's not counting the hundreds digitally stored on my Kindle Touch.

I have never regretted the $10-20 spent on a good book. Truly a tiny investment given how a single good piece of literature can reshape your view on the entire world. The short stories of Richard Matheson and Alastair Reynolds have permanently reshaped my perspective on life in an easy half hour of reading.

Not to say I don't enjoy my five firearms, eight knives, and my fledgling cartridge collection that has 20 or so chamberings.
 
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