Is it possible??

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Definetly! If you don't enjoy your collection as you collect, why bother? If you get aggravated that you missed out on something, didn't have the cash, etc., that's the wrong approach. If you realize it early enough that you can't get it all, then collecting will be fun. If you're happy with what you have and you look forward to your next piece, you got it licked.

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

I tend to agree, you can't get it all, you can try... But I hope that people who collect handcuffs and other forms of restraints work to learn the history of each one and preserve that history. Everything from when they were made and how they were made, etc. I think if we work collectively together like this site and have some sort of database we can achieve alot.

-Dorson

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

I think Dorson's point on learning as much as possible about the items in your collection is the essence of being happy with it. When you understand how it came to be, and especially why it came to be, you will find the happiness and rewards of your collecting.

Getting all of everything is actually defeating the enjoyment of your hobby. If one has it all then one has no reason to be interested in looking anymore. I have several fine friends on this forum that have phenominal collections of things I will never have and never would have seen if they didn't have them to show me. Yet, they don't have it all and they seem to me to be as happy getting a new piece as they probably were when they got their second piece (the first one you wonder why you're doing it, the second one you're hooked).

I find myself going back and revisiting older acquisitions and appreciating them more now than when I found them.

Outta my way, I'm heading for eBay.

Happy hunting,
Brad

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Well said. I agree with Dorson and Brad. I started out collecting padlocks, and I knew you could collect forever and not get all of them. I bought my first pair of cuffs and sold or traded the padlocks and became a cuff collector. After all, how many could there possibly be ? I thought maybe there were a few hundred. Well 1285 restraints later, I am still amazed at what is out there, and I am just as hasppy when I find something now as 30 years ago, maybe even happier because I understand more about what i am buying.
Stan

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

I know some collectors that would get physically ill if they missed out on piece in their field of interest. It's pretty wild to see them go through their gyrations when they miss out on the item. You should have to have it your head that it's not the last piece. There will be tons more to come. Just be ready.

Another way to look at is that after 30 years of collecting, that collector should be a force in the field. Not to metion his collection should be in the top 10 in his field.

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Kevin, if you mean Stan, actually his collection is #1 in the entire universe.

Yet we all see his continuing enthusiasm, because not only is there one more hill to climb, but because the hills behind are still fascinating and worth walking back to.

If you need to see a picture of a cuff or know something about it, Stan drops what he is doing and helps you.

Methinks that is what a good hobby is about.

Brad

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Brad,

I meant in general. Stan, me and others with 30+ years in collecting should fall into that criteria. Either by collecting or attrition over that time period. I'm not saying everyone with 30+ years will achieve this level, but most in their field will. Some may take more time, some less and some never. To me, it's the life cycle of collecting. You usually start low on the totem pole and wind up in the end near the top. Just my two cents.

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Yep, you're right.

I'm at 20+ years, but don't have the collection others have (although IMO it ain't bad), but I think I enjoy one of my buddies here getting a trophy and sharing it almost as much as if I'd gotten it myself. Sort of like hunting or fishing, I guess.

The other thing I enjoy is hearing from one of our fellows by mail telling me that it was a great point I made or that I am a complete ass, with a wink. It's really not something you find everywhere.

In all of this, I hope Adam will see the comraderie we share here and the value to each of us. He made a good discusssion.

I have a question i would like to hear some different opinions about....Is is possible to ever be happy with your collection???

Adam, I'm always happy w/ what I have. But, I'm always coming across items I find interesting and worth owning.

I started out w/ small ambitions, which only grew. I don't aspire to have a "complete" collection, just what items I like for aesthetic and engineering values.

Warts and all, Ebay is your friend.