Valentine’s Day Gift

Weekend Edition

 

Wrong place at wrong time

Some gifts are romantic, some gifts are sweet, some gifts are thoughtful and others are just bad luck.

It has long been a superstition that it is bad luck to give a knife to your sweetheart.

Here’s the tale:

Local Man’s Weapon Stockpile Discovered

Weekend Edition

Yesterday a man was arrested for simply having a knife in his car (in the driver’s door pocket). The story is in Skegness, England’s Skegness Standard.  He was charged with “possessing a bladed article in a public place.” Is that not unbelievable?

I don’t know about you, but my car sure isn’t a “public place.” In fact I lock it to keep people out- and you know it would be against the law to lock-up a public place, now wouldn’t it?  

The next thing you’ll know they will be raiding our houses and finding hundreds of “bladed weapons.” I can just see the next day’s write-up now. “Local man stockpiling weapons”

The police chief’s interview would read like this- “From all appearances Mr. King seemed like an average citizen, but, it is obvious we had a crime waiting to happen here. You can’t tell me someone who owns hundreds of bladed instruments isn’t planning on using them sometime…..” OUCH!

…Yeah right- As you may know I collect antique pocketknives. Heck, I won’t even open them, much less use them, but can’t you see me out there waving around my Case Brothers pearly, or my C. Platts Jumbo SwellCenter? 

If they confiscated your collection how would the next day’s write up read??

How do you decide to buy a knife for your collection?

Weekend Edition 

I am convinced now our subconscious has a mind of its own and makes us act on our wants. 

I have a story to tell you about a recent knife purchasing decision. It is on the CNJ YouTube Channel. Here is the link directly to it.

Still Own Stock, Then Better Buy Knives: Recommendations from a knife collector

If you are one of the brave few who still own publicly traded stocks, then I recommend you sell and buy knives.

Granted it might be preferred to buy gold, but who can find it. The good thing about knives is they have intrinsic value. Stock, on the other hand, is only a certificate- a piece of paper, if you will.

After the last 8 trading days, the stock market has seen a 22% decline. And investors have only lost $8.4 trillion (Yes, that’s trillion, with a “T”) since the market’s peak one year ago (let’s don’t feel that badly though, when compared to a single day- July 9th, 1932, the market dropped 91% from its level three years earlier)…heck, blue-chip stocks are only down 40% from last October’s record so far).

So, what say you? I say if you still own stock, then you had better sell and then buy knives.

Here’s why and it is very simple:

• Stocks are actually only a piece of paper
• Most people don’t actually have their stocks in their possession anyway
• Stocks’ intrinsic value is that of the paper and ink
• However, they could be used for producing warmth by burning them, if you have enough; please don’t tell me you still have that many though.

On the other hand, knives-

• Can open a can of beans, cut up green beans, skin a squirrel for dinner, dig a hole, clean your nails, cut your hair, defend yourself… just to name a few 
• Aside from their intrinsic value, if push came to shove, they can be broken down into pieces (don’t know why one would want to do that though) 
• Also, knives don’t eat, don’t use electricity or gas, don’t take up much space around the house, your wife (or husband) isn’t likely to want them, they are enjoyable to look at, they can be traded for a can of beans, and once the blades are sharpened down to nothing, they can be used as paper weights (stock certs can’t)

So here is my investment advice, “Buy Knives.”           

C Platts Jumbo Swellcenter toenail

 Yes, I know they could lose their “collector value,” BUT they can always be used for what they were made for- to cut, dig and poke things.

I can just see me trying to cut up spaghetti with my Platts Jumbo Swellcenter toenail, can’t you? 

Source: Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Edition Oct. 11/12, 2008

knife collecting

CNJ Special Feature- From the Lighter Side

Episode 01-  ”No doubt I have the most.”

From the lighter side

Sometimes we can allow life to get a tad bit on the serious side like when this past week the turbulence in the financial system caused us to stop and take inventory of things we oftentimes take for granted.

In an effort to lighten things up a bit, CNJ is launching From the Lighter Side. It is a humorous perspective on collecting.

“No doubt, I have the Most” is a look at how sometimes we inadvertently become collectors of things we really don’t want.