a sincere Question re: the 'Give Plutoh a Knife' related threads.

[Greykilt]

Is it wise or ethical or practical or prudent or legal to send a stranger and in this case a minor a knife in the mail? For those not familiar with new member' Plutoh' see the various quotes below.

 

[Greykilt]

I am trying to start a knife collection I never had a nice knife never USA made just a cheap ebay Knockoff if you guys could please donate a knife i will try to give back later on thanks

So if I'm turning 18 next year would my parent/guardian have to sign for the package

This is what I'm talking about by legitamacy and element of faith. You stated earlier that your birthday is 7/14/1995 which would make you 18 years 7 months old now. So already we have a problem. No matter. Full speed ahead. I have grandchildren who are under 18 with pocket knives. Just ascertain you can legally purchase/receive/own a pocket knife and we will go from there.
To answer your question, No. I will not send knife to another party. Only to you through said means.
So do your homework.
G..

It's nice of you guys to try to help this kid out and everything, but you have to question yourself as to whether you should even be doing this. When I was growing up I didn't have much, and there were many things I wish I could have had. I was taught to never even borrow money as a kid, much less ask complete strangers to GIVE ME something. If this kid needed something that was a necessity... go ahead, but for a novelty item? Any upstanding person (kid or adult) would not be doing what he's doing IMO. Your generous act is going to backfire as the kid will grow up thinking that if he really wanted something he can just ask for it and he'll get it.

Plutoh - We all have our sob stories... you need to use the tragedies in your life to make you a better person, not using it to gain sympathy so that you can get something for free.

I've followed this thread and I have to say:

@Greykilt, sir I am truly impressed with your willingness to be generous with this unknown person who, right off the bat, is caught lying about his stated age and then suddenly has to 'sign off' for several days. My take is that this is a scam and of course you're a wise man and this has occurred to you also. A one hundred dollar gesture is very generous of you, and I salute you. Regardless how this works out, you are clearly a man of character. Sorry to read of your own recent losses, and all best to you.

The lying-about-age thing plus his determined persistence despite ridicule plus his vagueness about his residence jurisdiction makes me concerned also that this may be some sort of bizarre 'sting' attempt trying to entrap someone, anyone from a knife Forum into shipping/supplying a 'deadly weapon' to a minor and/or a jurisdiction where it would be illegal. And he seems to have found a 'live one' and needs a time-out (to consult with someone else? to obtain someone else's identity to use for pickup?) to devise a way to entrap you despite your savvy precautions. Gun shop owners and gun forums see entrapment sting attempts all the time, and this whole unfolding scenario just strongly, strongly smells badly wrong to me.
Please be very careful, if you still feel led to pursue this any further at all.

Just my two cents, and offered with a strong sense that someone is trying to set you up here, and maybe for much more than the price of a knife.

Nicely done on the YouTube research. Really a shame taking advantage like that.

I don't need it anymore my uncle gave me one but thabks

He's been asking for people to give him a knife in every post of his. I think he should be able to give 10 reasons why he wants it and why his legal guardian won't get he a knife or let him get one. By giving him a knife you may get him into some serious trouble at home.

I feel better because his uncle gave it to him, Greyklit treated him with extreme kindness and went thorough a lot of trouble but this way he won't get in trouble at home.

"........my uncle gave me a knife......"
This is what should have happened all along and a lesson well received by me, assuming that this too is not some fabrication merely posted to halt much of the investigation and research on young Caleb V that his involvement and subsequent requests for a free knife has generated. Either way and no ill will intended my involvement with this person has come to a close.

Hello All... At the very least this thread has brought out some wonderful suggestions as what really is the proper way to handle situations of giving and receiving on BF. This "Give Plutoh a Knife" topic is on several threads under several sub-forums and many folks showed their hearts and very good intentions towards this kid besides just me. The topic also opened the door to the question : 'Is it ethical or wise or prudent or even proper to send a knife in the mail to a minor?'
On the issue of Caleb himself; this is a classic case of internet addiction where one spends countless hours persuing a specific topic of interest, in this case High End Folding Knives, watching endless video clips, posting constant commentary' joining chat rooms dedicated to the target subject, and in all cases shamelessly, unabashedly, repetitively, asking for one from any and all concerned.
I noticed many posts from Caleb, aka Pass Hype, with expressions of enamored covetting. Things like:
"Soooooo lucky to have that...." "All I have is (lesser) Wish I had (greater)..." " your soooo lucky" et.al Typicly followed in almost every instance with a request or offer to trade. In the past week I have discovered over 160 internet posts under different pseudonyms that match this young ones profile to the letter.
Which this fact alone lends itself to the much deeper issue of the psychological state of mind of this person AND then the obvious dellima of 'arming' someone potentially sufferring from mild (to severe) mental illness with an edged weapon.
Currently I am giving a knife away on the w&c forum much as a direct result of the interchange between young Caleb and I. Please feel free to visit and enter. When the GAW is over I still will have the dilema of sending a knife in the mail to the winner possibly probably someone I do not personally know.
And this leads to a new thread addressing that very topic.
On a personal note.. a HUGE THANK YOU to all for the concern and suggestions on the proper way to handle something like this. There are a LOT of truly great folks on this forum!
Again, Thank You to All!
G....

Submitted here for consideration....
G..

 

[Bob W]

I would not give a minor (under 18) a knife without their parents' permission. I would not send a knife to anyone who was asking for handouts, regardless of age. I would ridicule anyone caught in a lie trying to get stuff for free.

Since you asked...

 

[I.N.F.K]

Ahh, I remember that thread, but my own personal opinions aside, no I would not send a minor a knife. Do you even know his actual age? He could be a twelve years old. Now if he's like 16 that's different, becaue some stores will sell knives to a sixteen year old sometimes, but I think it varies on the store policy. It's up to your really, because there is no actual age restrictions on posession of knives, at least where I live. I think it all comes down to what is the proper thing to do, and how would you feel if someone sent your under 18 son a knife.

 

[Greykilt]

Exactly. The fact is many children have internet access through countless media options, x box, i pad, smartfone, etc. and Sadly Mom & Dad remain clueless as to Jr's internet visits. Kid can't drive to Wal Mart yet, can't get to a debit card #, BUT can go on line to a pocket knife chat room & convince some old one eyed philanthropist that "Hey, my Grandpa died and all I got is this cheapo knife...Can you Help me? Boy a new Chris Reeve sure would make my life better.."
You can almost hear the sirens now.

So what if a minor enters and wins a BF GAW?How would you know? How do you send it?

 

[RevDevil]

So what if a minor enters and wins a BF GAW?How would you know? How do you send it?

This is why you hVe to do your homework, read the persons posts and get a feel for their personality. You can tell in some cases, which members here are underage by the type of things they post about.

 

[Locutus D'Borg]

This thread is highly instructive. On various websites I visit, there are postings by kids who are trying to mingle with adults and fulfill their childish fantasies. Best not to get drawn into internet dramas. Everyone has their own sob stories, and their are many legitimate charities if one wants to help people in need.

 

[9blades]

I think this is an interesting topic. I'm fourteen, so this is a biased opinion. When I buy something, my parents send the paypal, and it ships to their PO box. If someone says "you must be eighteen yeas or older to buy" I explain, and sometimes I get the knife and sometimes I don't.

I think going on a case by case basis is the best way.

Kirby

 

[severtecher]

So, i take it from your opinions here that i should not have sent my 1943 Thompson withh the drum magazine to this kid? Thougjt it would be educational.

 

[AddictedToGear]

I think this is an interesting topic. I'm fourteen, so this is a biased opinion. When I buy something, my parents send the paypal, and it ships to their PO box. If someone says "you must be eighteen yeas or older to buy" I explain, and sometimes I get the knife and sometimes I don't.

I think going on a case by case basis is the best way.




Kirby

That seems like a very fair and reasonable way to handle it. Glad you know how to show maturity at your age, I use to do the same thing with my parents just a few years ago.

 

[Czechmate]

I would not give a minor (under 18) a knife without their parents' permission. I would not send a knife to anyone who was asking for handouts, regardless of age. I would ridicule anyone caught in a lie trying to get stuff for free.

Since you asked...

I agree with Bob, no knife and extra bad karma points for the moocher..

So, i take it from your opinions here that i should not have sent my 1943 Thompson withh the drum magazine to this kid? Thougjt it would be educational.

Got to use a Thompson (only with the stick mag) in Vegas - it was pretty awesome. :thumbup:

 

[Greykilt]

I appreciate all opinions here as it helps me learn. I actually felt bad for this kid. He posted on whine & cheese and got battered pretty good even before research lended cred to the fraudulence. I felt a bit embarassed by my own shall we say eagerness to doubt AND criticize and then it left me rather hollow as if I had failed somehow. I know a lot of emotion to generate from a single new post on a thread dedicated to bashing. But there is that nagging doubt "what if it's true? I'm a jerk..." I didn't wanna be that guy. Then one of my friends daughters lost her managerial job for selling a Vapor E Cigarrete to an underage customer in a Denver Sting... no job..big fine..hard to find another job in same venue.. I don't want to be that guy either!

 

[A Justice]

You really shouldn't even correspond with children on the Internet. According to COPPA, it's illegal to gather personal information on a child under 13 without parental approval, and when they send you a message or their address, or mention their full name, you're breaking COPPA. I know there are a lot of children on BF that are closer to 18, but nothing very good can come out of it.

There are several young BF members that seem responsible, and for the most part they have a good attitude (I often notice that goes out the window on a lot of the threads that get locked, but they are usually amicable), but they no doubt have parents that probably do not supervise their Internet use as much as they should, and you have no idea what else they're in to.

Here's a good video showing how an un assuming YouTube personality was brought into a child's crimes and got an angry call from their parents http://youtu.be/acthZsRqRXs


I definitely wouldn't just send a kid a knife because they asked for it. I did send a member a knife in a PIF thread with the requisite that they PIF an item, andlater found out that the member was a teenager, but had a large knife collection that was condoned by his parents. I am more than willing to donate a blade to a budding knife collector that has full permission from their parents; I was there once too, and a gift usually means a lot more when you're young; but corresponding with minors through the Internet isn't just a taboo thing, it also often ends in terrible consequences for an adult that probably has good intentions, but is a little naive.

 

[Greykilt]

And see thats the delemma.. Plutoh gave a false birthday. My safegaurd was to 1. Locate a vendor in the city of his choice. Put knife on will-call at vendor location. 2. Send Plutoh an order #. I don't need his address. I don't need his name. He goes down to the store he chose and picks up knife. If too young, I got another knife. I put parts on will call at Graingers, Westland, Johnstone, for customers all the time. Takes less than ten minutes. The merchant bears all local municipal burden of age compliance and it was when I discribed this method of delivery Plutoh's mo fell apart. As most felt it would.

 

[Krav]

This is why you hVe to do your homework, read the persons posts and get a feel for their personality. You can tell in some cases, which members here are underage by the type of things they post about.

I believe the teenagers started a thread about being teenagers also.

 

[I.N.F.K]

Probably the best way to solve an age issue on GAW is for it to be paying members only and for them to also have a good post count/history. It will also weed out those members who only look for the GAW.

 

[RSpies]

Strictly staying on the age aspect and if it's viable to send someone underage a knife, well it comes down to personal philosophy. Depends on how mature (or lack thereof) the person in question is, which isn't exactly on par with an 18 year old in my eyes.
Through my years of skateboarding I've seen hundreds if not thousands of kids beg, and I mean BEG, for free stuff or sponsorships. Out of all those kids I've rarely seen anyone over the age of (roughly) 16-17 begging for free stuff or acting so entitled.
But I do believe they all deserve a chance, not at free stuff for nothing is truly free, but at improving themselves.
We've all had those moments of weakness and deceit, to say you haven't is defying human nature. But hell, maybe one day this kid will look back and think, "damn, that guy was nice enough to offer me that knife even though I was obviously trying to scam him" and maybe through that he'll pay it forward and learn from his mistake.

 

[I.N.F.K]

Strictly staying on the age aspect and if it's viable to send someone underage a knife, well it comes down to personal philosophy. Depends on how mature (or lack thereof) the person in question is, which isn't exactly on par with an 18 year old in my eyes.
Through my years of skateboarding I've seen hundreds if not thousands of kids beg, and I mean BEG, for free stuff or sponsorships. Out of all those kids I've rarely seen anyone over the age of (roughly) 16-17 begging for free stuff or acting so entitled.
But I do believe they all deserve a chance, not at free stuff for nothing is truly free, but at improving themselves.
We've all had those moments of weakness and deceit, to say you haven't is defying human nature. But hell, maybe one day this kid will look back and think, "damn, that guy was nice enough to offer me that knife even though I was obviously trying to scam him" and maybe through that he'll pay it forward and learn from his mistake.

The views and opinions on knives are a lot more different then the views and opinions on skateboards & the gear associated with it.

 

[I.N.F.K]

double post

 

[Tallahassee]

Probably the best way to solve an age issue on GAW is for it to be paying members only and for them to also have a good post count/history. It will also weed out those members who only look for the GAW.

I don't see that verifies anything. Post count only means a minor has free time to type. Any kid can use his own or a parent's credit card or paypal. This issue is as old as the Internet and if a minor has the simplest basics he can pass as an adult and it's difficult to verify without making a serious time commitment. As Greykilt can attest.
Greykilt, you're a good man for all this.
Plutoh, the poster that launched a thousand parody threads. Or something.