The Collegian

Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Beyond

Media Credit: Sean McDermott Jim Fisher surveys his knife collection, for sale at the Hillsdale County fairgrounds.

Jim Fisher watches over his tables of swords and knives, waiting for customers that don't come. Relaxing in the back of the Hillsdale County Fair barn, he has a vaguely Buddhist calm about him, enhanced by his rotund belly and his expressionless, mustachioed face.

Surrounded by vendors of cheap statuettes, old coins, two-for-a-dollar T-shirts and baked goods, his display of knives, swords and wooden nickels stands out.

The spread is organized over three tables, with a few long, graceful swords up front and cheaper knives off to the side. Most are less than $30, and a plastic container of brightly colored, miniature pocket knives boasts a 50 cent price tag.

On a small table to the side, candy-colored pocketknives sell for $5 apiece. They would be up to $8 in a store, he says.

Fisher buys everything, from an elegant sword with a bone handle to cheap wooden nickels, from a wholesaler.

His booth is one of the neatest in the barn - and one of the most dangerous.

"Last year a guy was playing with the katana and cut hisself. He never told me. I opened it up when I got home and it was all bloody," Fisher says.

After wiping off the blade, Fisher sold it to another customer. Now a new katana from the warehouse takes its place. The sword suddenly looks menacing.

"When I retired, I wasn't sure if I wanted to sit at home or work," Fisher says. After working for VG's grocery store for 43 years, he's earned a hobbied rest.

Now he gets the best of both worlds. It's his second year selling knives.

For the last three Saturdays, he's driven two hours from his home in Drayton, Mich., and paid a $20 fee to rent a stall and peddle his wares. This Saturday, business is slow.

Collections aren't new to Fisher. He once amassed a large train collection before selling it.

He began collecting knives on a whim.

"I just decided to pick it up," he says. He has over 400 at his home in Drayton.

Fortunately for him, his wife is tolerant of the hobby.

"She doesn't care," he shrugs.

She might care that he's selling an antique knife that she gave him when they got married, though. The slim, gold-handled pocketknife is going for $20. He hopes she won't notice when it's gone.

The fairground isn't Fisher's only outlet. He also sells his knives and swords through The Treasure Chest (www.treasureweb.net), a store that deals in a variety of antiques.

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