Safe Queens: Collectibles or waste of Money?

In reply to the article: What knife do troops, Army Special Forces and SEALs use?
I rather enjoyed this thread. It’s been a good read & can tell who knows what the heck they’re talking about & the few who don’t. I’m a former USN man & a multi tool is what I needed, not a Rambo knife. When u work on the boiler, it leaves little time to sneak up behind the enemy & deliver the death blow w/some fancy $$$ fixed blade. As I’m now older, w/3 boys (grown-up but 1), I collect knifes from pocket bone handles folders to my safe queen SARGE 7 BUSSE. The knife I actually use is a “Pendelton Hunter”, from Cold Steel. My boys use the $20.00 Throwing/Survival 550 chord wrapped handled Tanto’s from Cold Steel. They too have very expensive knifes I purchased for them as gifts to use, but they set in the safe along side my BUSSE. Any questions? lol It boils down to whatever is comfortable, priced right & has real world uses along w/not weighing 5lbs hanging off your belt. I don’t care what someone else carries because that does ZERO in helping me in a real world everyday situation. Or possibly what is coming down the pipe for the USA financial market. Be ready!
-Scott
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Thanks Scott for sharing your experience. You mention knives that you keep in your safe, “Safe Queens”, knives, guns or other gear that, due to their value are kept safe but not really used much, or at all.
I can’t say I fully agree with the idea though. I do have some collector’s pieces but anything that is production I’ll use. Sometimes you have antiques, or one of a kind items which I understand not wanting to use but for a functional tool like a Busse knife I’d go ahead and use the hell out of it. Of course I’m not criticising. Some of these items are pretty expensive. In the case of Busse knives I think they fall in that middle point. On one hand they are tough as nails knives which can take abuse few other knives will tolerate so my natural inclination would be to use it and have it ready for when its needed. On the other hand there’s people out there that truly collect these knives and they do tend to go up in value, especially when unused.

My grandfather's pocket knife and "Black Widow" by Mariano Gugliotta.Two of my "safe Queens"

Still, this reminded me of a conversation I had with a guy in Ireland. I don’t remember the exact circumstances but I remember that I brought out my Leatherman Charge Tti, which is my EDC mulitool. The guy saw it and mentioned he owned one just like mine but left it home, never used it and used a cheaper and much lower quality multitool instead. That made no sense to me, why would you do that? He said something about not wanting to lose it.
I guess what I’m going for with this post is to encourage everyone to use their best tools and gear even if they are expensive. Don’t be afraid of losing it or breaking it. Just be careful. There’s a world of a difference between using high quality gear and tools compared to some of the cheapest stuff floating around. A good gun, a good knife or multitool, it’s not only a joy to use, it’s also less likely to let you down when you need it the most.

Busse knives and my EDC Leatherman Charge Tti.

So sure, leave behind the antique, the one of a kind, but give it another try and see if you can convince yourself to start using that “safe queen”. The pleasure you get out of it is much greater when actually using it rather than staring at it every now and then. And who knows, maybe if you carry it all the time you’ll have it when it is needed the most rather than wish you had it with you.
Is there a point to this little rant of mine? Yes there is.
USE YOUR BEST GEAR. Not the most expensive, not the most unique, but the best tools and equipment you have, and do this for two very good reasons:
1)It’s just a pleasure to use high quality gear. Ordinary tasks are dealt with better and faster.
2)During critical times, quality may be the difference between failure and success. Sometimes what’s in the line is the well-being of yourself and your family.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.