The Joy of Knife Collecting
I know many of the members of the Elephant Toenail Collector Club are also members of the iKnifeCollector collector community, so I felt it was only appropriate to address my recent post there entitled: Rites of Passage- Memoirs of a Knife Collector. If you previously read my post, you probably wondered what is going with me selling toenails from my collection.
If you didn’t read my post, I shared with iKC that I sold three toenails from my collection and what this sale signified in my life as a collector.
I feel obligated to provide my toenail friends here at ET.com additional information on my decision. First off, the “What” involves my three H. Boker toenails. I have a knife friend I have known probably as long as any other. Prior to collecting toenails I collected H. Bokers and met this collector while hunting the Bokers.
He is as passionate about these knives as we are about toenails. In fact, I would venture to say he owns the largest collection of old Bokers than anyone in the Country. Plus, he bought a large number of knives from me when I sold off my Boker collection.
So, here is how it went down- Over the years we have remained in touch. He would send me info on toenails he ran across while he hunted for old Bokers. He owns close to every pattern, except our favorite- elephant toenails. And while he never approached me directly about selling any of the old toenail Bokers, he did ask me to keep my eyes open, so I know he has been actively looking for many years.
Well, there is a discussion over at iKC where members post what knives they are looking for and, yes, he posted he was looking for any H. Boker toenail, particularly the bone and pearl handled varieties.
I can’t quite explain what happened, but when I read his post I simply felt it was the right thing to do. Yes, I felt compelled to sell him the three Boker toenails I owned.
Needless to say, I contacted my knife friend to tell him I would sell him those knives. He was a true gentleman about it. I gave him the price and he agreed. There was none of the typical haggling that is associated with knife trading, and I appreciate it because that sale was a bittersweet event in my knife collecting life. It represented the first sale of toenails from my collection that weren’t either duplicates or knives I had upgraded from.
I don’t share this with you, my dear toenail friends, in an attempt to evoke sympathy, not in the least bit. Instead, this sale to my knife friend gave me tremendous satisfaction, as I knew he would enjoy those knives probably more than I had.
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