Almost every non-knife person does this, and I don't know why

David Mary said:
Those who know me best are aware that I always have at least one or two "R&D knives" on me. Those are knives that I made, which I justify keeping for a period of time for the sake of familiarizing myself with how the model carries and how the materials work for regular uses. Another purpose of my R&D knives is they are something I can show to anyone I meet who asks what I do for a living, or expresses interest in knives. Now quite often, I will end up showing a knife to a non-knife person, that is, I will hand them the knife and sheath (usually something small, like a Fried Liver Attack or Bitty Bitey Baby Birdie) so they can get a good close look, and see how the handle feels, etc.

And almost without fail, nearly every single non-knife person I do this with, after they have taken the knife out of the sheath and had a look, will pause before resheathing the knife, look at it pondersously for a few seconds, and then, to my undying bemusement, will turn the knife so it is oriented upside down to the sheath, before trying to reinsert it. Meaning the edge is facing the wrong way. It's so predictable for me now, that I know it's coming, and am ready to quickly interject a "hold on there!'. It actually surprises me the one or two out of ten times when someone doesn't do this.
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They are either non-knife persons, or perhaps samurais who wear their katana swords edge-up 🤷
 
Can't say I've never done this but the shape knife is usually reflected in the sheath & is normally obvious enough to insert the blade properly.

If it's not, the spine of the knife always faces forward and the edge backwards when the sheath is attached to the belt.

The only exception to this would be for double-edged daggers which generally can be inserted into their sheaths either way (whether the dagger has a false edge or not).
 
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I don't think it's a good idea or a responsible habit to be handing people knives when you don't know whether or not they have any knowledge or experience with them, or if you know for a fact that they don't have any.

If you for some reason need to do this on a regular basis, then I have a suggestion. Stand next to them. Side by side, so that you are both facing the same direction. Then take out your knife and show it to them, so that you can both look at it at the same time. This will allow you to point out certain details at your own pace, so that they can fully appreciate those details. If they are not knife people, then they probably would've failed to notice these things if you just handed them the knife. Don't hand the knife to them unless they specifically ask for that. And always tell them "It's sharp. Be careful.". And it might be a good idea for you to take a step back at this point. Just in case.
 
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this is something i m used to see at flea market, knife is allways inserted the wrong way in the sheath!
 
Yes , this seems to be normal , also when they are looking at a multi-bladed folder or multi-tool they always seem to want to open everything at once 😩 .
 
Culprit99 said:
There’s a whole generation now who grew up playing with smartphones and tablets instead of shape-sorters and blocks.

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Not to get too far off topic, but this has sure been on my mind lately.

What will this world look like when nobody has any real world problem solving skills anymore. Can't read a map, never been to a library, no need to study or hunt down information about ones interests anymore. Car will tell you when the fuel is low, how many miles you have, and exactly where the nearest fuel station is. Don't have to run errands, deal with people, keep track of cash and change or write checks. Deposits, withdraws, balancing accounts, not necessary. Have a spare tire, know how to put it down or sleep on the side of the road. That feeling of having to figure difficult situations out here and now, or deal with the immediate consequences.

This idea has been haunting me lately. I've become, my father, and darn if he wasn't right. lol
 
scorpnsnake said:
Not to get too far off topic, but this has sure been on my mind lately.

What will this world look like when nobody has any real world problem solving skills anymore. Can't read a map, never been to a library, no need to study or hunt down information about ones interests anymore. Car will tell you when the fuel is low, how many miles you have, and exactly where the nearest fuel station is. Don't have to run errands, deal with people, keep track of cash and change or write checks. Deposits, withdraws, balancing accounts, not necessary. Have a spare tire, know how to put it down or sleep on the side of the road. That feeling of having to figure difficult situations out here and now, or deal with the immediate consequences.

This idea has been haunting me lately. I've become, my father, and darn if he wasn't right. lol
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It will look like today since few people I meet these days have any troubleshooting/problem solving skills and already fail at the tasks you have listed. The advent of the always connected cell phone has made it worse, but it's been there for decades now. I first noticed it 20+ years ago when I started meeting younger people who could not make simple estimates, height, distance, fast estimate of sums, etc.
 
I was blessed with the gift of approximation. I can, without measuring, and without fail, give you the incorrect size of anything. :)
 
I frequently sell knives at gun shows, and have learned to be ever-vigilant when someone removes a knife from its sheath. [I've had a few sheaths destroyed, or at least critically injured, by folks who insert the knife backwards.... 🫣 ]
 
SharpBits said:
It will look like today since few people I meet these days have any troubleshooting/problem solving skills and already fail at the tasks you have listed. The advent of the always connected cell phone has made it worse, but it's been there for decades now. I first noticed it 20+ years ago when I started meeting younger people who could not make simple estimates, height, distance, fast estimate of sums, etc.
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