Home  Knives 101  Hunting Kitchen Tactical  Antique Collectibles Accessories   Gerber

Since the early 70's Al has been collecting, using, and learning about knives.  Knives in his current knife collection ranges in size from less than an inch to three feet or more.  He's bartered, bought and traded hundreds if not thousands of knives over the years.  Al's antique knife collection has hundreds of truly unique knives.  Browse around the site.  Al will show you how to find the best knives at the best prices, and just about anything else you want to know about knives.

At Knives 101 Al teaches you how to sharpen, store, and in general take good care of your knives.  You'll also learn what to look for when you purchase knives.  Whether it's a kitchen knife, a hunting knife, a pocketknife, a tactical knife, or an antique knife, Al educates you and helps you find the best deal on the Internet to make your purchases. 

Here's a few of the most popular questions from site visitors and Al's answers to get you started with all the knife info here at Al's. 

What’s your favorite brand of pocketknife and why?

I’m partial to the older Case XX knives (pre 1970) because of the better quality steel in the knives.  This steel will sharpen easier and hold an edge better than other pocketknives, including the newer Case knives’ hold.  Case knife company is a 160+ year old company whose owner is now the Zippo manufacturing company.    Case knives are pretty much hand made with a 160 step process and since the history of all of their knives, and the different brand stampings, is so well documented this makes them probably the best knife to start and continue a collection with. 

I also like the older Puma knives.  I have one that I won on a Tip Board in 1983.  I had an Indian Ironworker replace the black plastic grips with Ivory and hand tool the blade and the back of the knife.  This is a beautiful, rugged knife and it never needs re-sharpening. 

I don’t know when Zippo bought the Case Knife company, but I’m almost certain the quality of the steel went down about the same time.  Zippo is a great company and they make great products, so I’m not knocking Zippo.  Unfortunately the cost of creating a quality knife in a changing, worldwide market became to much for Case and the only way Case could continue was to lower there costs by using a lesser quality steel.  Unfortunately, knife companies have come under the same pressures that the firearms and all other industries have come under.  They have to manufacture low-end products to compete with the low-end products coming out of China, Korea, and other countries.  Along with this quality has taken a big hit.

What’s your favorite type of hunting knife and why? My favorite hunting knife is an old Edge Mark that I purchased in Kentucky in 1979.  The cutting edge was so dull it took me 2 weeks of working on it to get the edge I wanted, but it will still shave you today.  These knives are made in Solingen, Germany, a location known for their exceptional steel. This knife came with a low-end sheath so I had one made by a leather-smith and it is still in good shape.  This knife has cleaned quite a few deer and other game. I have only had to give it a touch up on the sharpening stone a few times.

How do you buy a hunting knife?  Scrimping on hunting knives is definitely not something you want to do.   You will want to make sure that you have a good solid blade and a good non-slip handle.  Nothing ruins a hunting trip much quicker than having your hand slip while field dressing your game and slicing your hand open and becoming blood brothers with a deer.  No cheap Chinese imitation pearl jobs here.

 Hunting knives come in two configurations – Fixed Blade or Folding Lock back.  Purchase hunting knives specifically for the activity you are going to be involved with or the type game you are going to be hunting… and the area where you will be hunting. For example, if you are going to be Squirrel or rabbit hunting you won’t need that heavy of a blade… unless of course you hunting in black bear country while there are new born cubs and there is a chance you could come between the cubs and their mama.  If this happens, you might want a good solid knife to back up your .22 rifle or shotgun with birdshot. 

If you are into mountain climbing or wilderness survival, then you might want to choose a folding lock back knife that has partially serrated blade and has one-handed opening capabilities.  The Serrated portion of the blade will come in handy for cutting rope while the non-serrated edge will be good for whittling stakes or dressing game.  The one handed opening capabilities will be self evident if you are hanging from a rope or tree with one hand and you need to release yourself.

Whatever you choose you will want to make sure that the knife has a good scabbard that will protect you from accidentally cutting or stabbing yourself, will protect the knife, and will secure the knife against loss.

What makes a knife a good collectible?

Collectibles depends on individual preferences and markets. This will depend on the individual.  If you are just starting out collecting, I would start with Case knives because of the ease of finding good specimens, the relative low price, and because of the documentation available.  Collecting, as with all things, will depend on each individual’s likes, dislikes, and their tolerance for price. 

There are so many choices available that a person has literally hundreds of choices.  You can collect pocket knives, hunting knives, fishing knives, Japanese, German, or USA knives etc., Swords, Bayonets, or daggers, brand names such as Gerber, Randall, Case, Eye Brand, and the list goes on.  The most important things to remember are cost, availability, and future resell value. 

The value of anything is in the eye of the beholder.  I had this point driven home by an elderly lady at the Hillsville, Virginia gun and knife show.  This lady was carrying a fiddle she had purchased at one of the booths when a man stopped her and asked her how much she paid for the fiddle.  “I paid exactly what it was worth”, she replied.  Any thing that you collect will be worth exactly what you paid for it, but you want to make sure that what you just purchased will be worth at least that much or hopefully more in perceived value to someone else.

Check out Al's favorite video's about knives from You Tube below. 



Check it Out:

Knives 101 -  Learn the basics of knives.  DO you really know about knives? I'll bet you'll be surprised at what you'll find out here.

Kitchen Knives - See the best deals, learn about which knife does what and how to keep your kitchen knifes safe, and sharp.

Hunting Knives- Get the best e-bay prices, and learn more about hunting knives.

Tactical Knives-  No we're not promoting violence...just check out this page and you'll see what we mean.

Pocketknives - Still a man's best friend. Get the best deals on the best quality pocketknives.  Plus get Al's latest review.

Collectibles and Antique Knives - Find out how to start your knife collection.  Al's good at trading and bartering. Let him help you get started.