When I was a young little fart, my Dad gave me my first pocket knife. That knife meant so much to me; it was like a passage into manhood. Although I was quite some ways off from becoming a man, it felt like I was on the right path.

The majority of men in my family, and a few of the ladies, are very much into collectible pocket knives. I assume that is where I got my urge to skip truck payments to buy more knives. I am just kidding, sort of. Disclaimer - I, in no way, endorse skipping truck payments to purchase knives. Read on.

I can look through my stash of knives and give you a rough history about the knife, where I bought it, the incredible deal I got on it and give you some tidbits about what I have done with a particular knife. I know, I am an official knife geek no matter how you look at it.

Now getting into collectible pocket knives is not as overwhelming as it may seem. You should not feel like you have to be an expert on blade steel or handle material to step into this hobby.

What I do, is pick out a manufacturer. I then study their line of collectible pocket knives. Now, the knife does not have to state "collectible" on the box to call it that. It becomes collectible when you add it to your stock and you learn a little bit about it.

I really like barnboard handle material. Barnboard comes in a variety of colors and designs, but I thoroughly love the rustic look and feel. Toying with a knife made with a barnboard handle feels like I am stepping back in time.

So, I search out collectible pocket knives with barnboard handles. I scour the Internet, the department stores, pawn shops, sporting goods stores and just about anywhere else I could possibly find a pocket knife.

When I run across that barnboard pocket knife that I am craving, I either buy it, if I like the price, or I jot down the location and do some comparison shopping. The trouble with many knives is that they can disappear off of the market quite quickly if you do not jump on those deals when you find them. So, shop around at your own risk.

Over a period of time, I will buy the type of collectible pocket knives that are interesting me; like my barnboard example above. Once I get a nice little group together, I put them in a decent looking display. The writer in me likes to jot down a few lines and print them out in some impressive looking font and display it below my knives.

Now, I grab my digital camera and snap a few shots of my new collectible pocket knives. I will take those images, brush them up with a paint shop type program if need be, and display my new toys in a forum or two to get some feedback.

Putting your knives in photos and posting them for discussion is a great way to learn more, find out values and often times receive some good offers if you are up for selling parts of your collection to make some extra money.

Another thing I like to do is purchase some knife rolls for my knives. These rolls make it easy to transport knives without nicking or scuffing them. I throw my knife rolls in the backseat and head for a gun and knife show.

I browse about the booths at the shows and find folks with similar knives. If I find a dealer or private individual with a similar selection of collectible pocket knives, I will brows through them, showing some interest and getting the booth owner excited about a potential customer and then I will spring out my knife roll.

You never know where this might lead. You might find a buyer for your knives. Or, you may find some good information about them. I tend to find more knives to add to my collection much to the dismay of my banking account.

Collectible pocket knives are not the answer to your financial success, but are a very gratifying hobby full of history, art and interest.