The Problem With Memory as Your Inventory System
You bought a Benchmade Griptilian in S30V, micarta scales, clip point, full flat grind, axis lock, 3.45" blade. You also own a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in S110V, G10 scales, clip point, saber grind, compression lock, 3.44" blade. They feel different in hand, cut differently, and have completely different edge retention and sharpening profiles. Three years from now, without records, you will confuse which is which when someone asks about your S110V piece, because the blade lengths are nearly identical and memory compresses fine distinctions.
At thirty knives in a collection, the distinctions between similar models from the same manufacturer become genuinely difficult to hold in working memory. At sixty, it is impossible.
What the Technical Spec Actually Contains
Blade geometry in this template runs across three separate fields: Blade style (clip point, drop point, tanto, sheepsfoot, wharncliffe), Blade grind (flat, hollow, saber, convex, scandi), and Blade material (the steel — S30V, M390, 20CV, VG-10, D2, and everything else). These are three orthogonal dimensions that describe a completely different set of properties. Blade style determines the geometry of the point and edge for specific cutting tasks. Blade grind determines the cross-sectional geometry and affects cutting performance, edge retention, and ease of sharpening. Blade material determines corrosion resistance, edge retention, toughness, and sharpenability in ways that are independent of both style and grind.
Conflating them into a single notes field means you lose the ability to filter. When you are looking for your convex-ground pieces specifically because convex edges need different sharpening equipment and you are setting up your strop, you need to pull all convex grinds without reading through every record manually. Separate fields give you that filter instantly.
Scale material and Scale colour operate as a pair for similar reasons. G10, Micarta, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, and wood all have different carry characteristics, wear patterns, and maintenance requirements. Colour is a secondary field that matters for resale and for identifying pieces at a glance in a drawer where four black handles might otherwise look identical.
The Lock type field captures framelock, linerlock, axis lock, compression lock, back lock, button lock, and the increasing variety of proprietary mechanisms. Assisted (boolean) separates spring-assisted opening — which is a legal classification issue in several Canadian provinces — from manual openers. For a collector who carries these pieces and travels between jurisdictions, the Assisted flag is not a luxury detail.
The Valuation Moment That Justifies the Record
When a knife sells for significantly over its original retail on the secondary market — because the model was discontinued, because the steel is no longer offered in that configuration, or because a particular run had a production variation that collectors value — the Value field in CAD marks what your piece is worth today, not what you paid.
This matters when you are selling. A Benchmade 940 with M390 blade and blue anodized aluminum scales that you bought for $220 CAD three years ago may be worth $380 now because Benchmade moved the production version to a different steel and the M390 run is sought after. If your record shows current Value at $380 and Date purchased against the original acquisition, the spread is immediately visible without any calculation.
The Sold boolean closes the record without deleting the historical data. Past sales inform future acquisitions: you can sort by sold pieces, look at what you purchased versus what you ultimately sold, and identify which makers and configurations consistently appreciate versus which depreciate quickly enough that you should hold rather than trade.
Weight as a double — in whatever unit the collector uses consistently — is the final field that separates this from a hobbyist list. A knife you carry daily needs to sit below a threshold that varies by person and clip position. A knife you collect but do not carry has no weight constraint. Filtering by weight gives you your carry candidates without opening every record.