Menu
What's new

Crazy Collectors?

Paul Douglass

Paul Douglass

Member
Messages
4,993
Location
S E Washington State
I emptied a couple of spray paint cans the other day and went through my usual ritual. Get the marble out. Normally I use a clamp and clamp the nozzle down and let it spray until all the whatever is gone and then hacksaw it open and collect the marble. The other day I got the bright idea it would be fun to shoot the can with my pellet gun to let the whatever out. Well I didn't stand back far enough on the first can and I am still finding red spots of paint on me! The second can I got back a lot farther. I clean the marbles up and put them in a old coke bottle I have on a shelf in my garage. Been doing it for years, going to have to find another bottle pretty soon. I know crazy, but it is one item my grandkids are arguing over who gets it when grandpa dies...

I also collect old pocket knives that have advertisement on the handles. They use to be free giveaways when I was little, now they are getting expensive. Most I have have been given to me by friends.

Got me wondering what odd things any of you collect?
 
I collect cut-open spray paint cans. I put marbles in them and solder them back together. :rofl:

Years ago I used to go to Happy Hour at a nearby bar after work nearly every day with one of my co-workers. There was a period of time when many of the beer and liquor distributors were giving away key rings, typically with a bottle opener on the fob. We both started collecting them, and I still have a chain that's probably about 10' long of all those key rings linked together.

Also went through a time in my life when I collected baseball caps/hats. My BIL and I were both working as inspectors on a multi-year project at the Albuquerque airport, and pretty much every supplier and contractor on site gave us caps. We started hanging them along the edge of the ceiling, and eventually the cap collection circled the room. Over the years, my half of the collection has gotten smaller and smaller as I'd throw away some of them every time I moved. When I was back in LA last month, I ended up tossing out most of the remaining few I had, keeping only the ones that had real personal significance to me.
 
Interesting, you are far from the first person I know of who's collected spray can marbles. Some of them are real pretty sure enough.

I collect bad ideas mostly.. and beer coasters I guess, I have a lot of beer coasters (don't really intend to collect them they just accumulate everytime I go someplace interesting). More of an accumulator than a collector really.
 
I never even thought about opening a paint can before. Guess what I'm going to do the next time I empty one? :D

I mostly collect tools, and as a secondary collection, dust on those tools...
 
Not really a collection (just more of my OCD showing)...my old boss used to always have Big Red gum around. Anyone who wanted gum, just went to his office and helped themselves. I didn't really chew it, but one day we were having a meeting around his table and he gave everyone gum. I took the wrappers and during the meeting started a "Big Red Gum Wrapper Chain". Mostly only ever worked on it during conference meetings and never allowed anything but Big Red. That thing is probably 30' long now (hidden in a box somewhere) :bonkers:
 
I used to collect the name plates from offices and cubes at my old job when folks left or were "departed", not sure who ended up with the collection after I was departed though. :)

Wheat pennies and bicentennial quarters as I come across them. I have a collection of ticket stubs from concerts I've attended over the years. Used to collect old hand tools, mostly odd ball stuff like site levels, hand drills, and wooden rulers. Have a collection of old construction and engineering books I've picked up at thrift stores over the years, some have come in handy, but most just smell musty.

Will have to start cracking open the paint cans now...thanks Paul. ;)
 
Ryan Mooney said:
Interesting, you are far from the first person I know of who's collected spray can marbles. Some of them are real pretty sure enough.
Click to expand...

I have had one ball bearing, the rest have been blue or a greenish cleary. Maybe I use the same brand of paint too often. One of the cans I shot the other day had a glass color cleary.
 
Ooh, I forgot about beer coasters. I had a big ol' assortment of those at one time. Also pint beer glasses. More Happy Hour acquisitions. ;)

These days it's mostly guitars and guns. :D And since I'm more willing to play a cheap guitar than shoot a cheap gun, the guitar collection has been growing faster than the guns.
 
Sharon Korn said:
I took the wrappers and during the meeting started a "Big Red Gum Wrapper Chain".
Click to expand...

:rofl:

So when I was a kid I collected gum and cigarette wrappers that had the foil on them and would carefully peal the foil off and assemble it into my giant ball of foil. Because they were a little sticky where the paper had been (and super thin) it would all stick together. If I remember correctly (tenuous) it was pushing 4" across at one point. No idea whatever happened, I think it was left behind when we moved once or I got bored of it or something.

Vaughn: glasses! Oh man I forgot those, you go to enough beer festivals and dang. I can't say I collect them but they have accumulated :rolleyes: (not the same right? :huh:). I must have like 20 of the plastic ones and dozens of little glass tasters.

Paul: I've seen a bunch with lots of color in them and some had really cool swirls and cats eyes, etc.. Of course I haven't bothered to look at one in a good solid 20 years so maybe they're more boring now. I hope not though, as I can remember being pretty fascinated with the one collection as a kid.
 
Shot glasses from places we've traveled - not a major collection but it takes a couple of shelves on the bookcase.

I'm down to about 75 caps now, after giving some away. The largest single source is NASCAR (Jimmie Johnson and Coke drivers); several cable networks (wife and I both worked at cable systems); a very special one from our Family forum. Oh, yeah - even have one from a joint called Bootleggers in Riverside, AL!
 
Belt buckles. Got out of hand when people realized I was collecting them and for a few years it was a standard gift from people for birthday or Christmas. My wife collects salt and pepper shakers and santa clauses. Used to collect beer steins. Now I think I will start collecting spray can marbles. Never thought about it, just assumed it was a ball bearing. Why the fancy marbles?
 
Where to start Paul :rofl:

The oldest thing i have by way of collections from my own time is a few cards that used to be supplied with ice creams back in SA when i was a kid....they still around somewhere.

Then we had tokens which were at one time handed out by gas stations and you had to stick them in and fill out a collectors card with them. Two gas stations gave them away ....BP did a sportsman series of aluminum tokens and Caltex did a flight series this was at the time of Neil Armstrong landing on moon. I got both and multiple cards...why i keep them i have no idea.

Then the gas stations changed to plastic discs of various airline logos little did i know someday in my future i would fly on so many of those airlines.

Then with doing a bunch of travelling in this world i started collecting beer mats initially when i first toured Europe post military service and have added to that collection and for the first time recently did a swap of doubles with a friend here. I think that's probably my best collection because of the memories associated with the various mats.

Then to go with the mats i have shot glasses from all over.

Then i have a few odd ball items that come from various parts of the world. Usually something unique to a place preferably not a mass produced tourist item. There are all sorts in this collection.

Add to the above payphone cards that i collected as a result of being actively involved in the payphone industry and selling payphones all around the world especially with the micro chip in the card....hopefully this collection is the only one thats "in the money".

Add to the above stamps and first day covers although i have stopped collecting stamps and first day covers and actually wish to dispose of my enormous stamp collection which got added to when my dad handed his down to me too.

So yeah i am hoarder no1 in the collect it department. I have not collected a single thing for the purpose of money or the hope of it being worth something someday so none of my stuff is "collectible". Most is related to my own life and phases in it.

I don't consider my tools as a collection or collectible everything i have is user level but there are a few items i have that are pretty precious to me. One of which is a draw knife sent to me by our own Frank Fusco and then a few planes that came from Larry Steve and Stu.
 
my buddy collects flashlights.

If NY has a blackout, he probably has enough to light up half of NYC.

I used to collect dollar chips from every casino I walked into, but I gave that up, lost interest, cashed in the chips over the years, still have some.

marbles out of paint cans, that pretty weird stuff paul.
 
I collect wood, which lately has been turnging into firewood or rotted junk. Oh and dust, I REALLY need to finish my dust collection system before I start another project. :doh:

I used to collect matchbooks. I had well over 1,000 different ones. When my parents retired and moved up here to IA they asked if I wanted to keep them. I hadn't seen them (the matchbooks) in 10yrs so I said toss them. Since they downsized for the move, I've thrown out, sold or gave away a couple other collections of "stuff" It was just taking up space in the garage, errrr, shop anyway. Making room for more tools! :D
 
my son isn't really a collector, more of a hoarder Id say, he doesn't throw out anything.
He has every comic book, every baseball card, every game, electronic game system he every owned, dating back to the mid 80s. He keeps it all in original boxes in mint condition, and Im thinking he might have the right idea, as Im sure some of that stuff is worth more than he paid for it now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top