Another funny sheep story. Lady calls cops on me for chopping branches with machete.

Maybe the lady thought it was an ar-15 assault machete.......

I forgot to take my camp knife off my belt when i left the trail once, and stopped at the gas station.
The entire time i was pumping gas, the couple pumping gas at the pump behind me were staring me down the whole time.
The were middle age to slightly older. The man pumping gas and women in the passenger seat never took their eyes off me the entire time. I thought were would start baaaaaaaaaaaa'ing at me any moment.
 
I cannot help wondering what your neighbor would say if she took a trip to Samoa (where I was a Peace Corps volunteer) and saw school children trimming grass next to their homes using sharp "bush knives". Of course. I lived in a Samoan family before there was television, zombie mania and newspaper discussion of Slender Man. Sadly, Samoa at the time was not "developed" and did not have all the benefits of Western "civilization". :D










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Blade Junky said:
The point I was trying to make in my previous post is that we're being so sensitive to other peoples reactions that we're really hurting ourselves. If people don't see us using our tools in the way they were intended to be used and being used responsibly, of course they're going to overreact. So the cops were called, as long as its legal, what does it matter? The cop reacted appropriately and I'm willing to bet the little old lady was watching the interaction and might be more careful before calling again. Using a certain knife just because you don't want to scare someone is doing nothing to make knives more acceptable.
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I might disagree a bit. Or I might just be focusing on one sentence and misunderstanding. The OP was likely perfectly "correct" in his demeanor and this was a win, yay. I just think that *any* responsible knife usage will make them more acceptable, including picking a less scary knife. "Scary" knives aren't bad either, used responsibly. Many paths to the same goal. grasshopper.
 
Faiaoga said:
I cannot help wondering what your neighbor would say if she took a trip to Samoa (where I was a Peace Corps volunteer) and saw school children trimming grass next to their homes using sharp "bush knives". Of course. I lived in a Samoan family before there was television, zombie mania and newspaper discussion of Slender Man. Sadly, Samoa at the time was not "developed" and did not have all the benefits of Western "civilization". :D
"
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They're actually discussing Slender Man in the newspaper these days? I love a good Slender Man myth but it hardly seems newsworthy.. O_o
 
Douglas Thor said:
I forgot to take my camp knife off my belt when i left the trail once, and stopped at the gas station.
The entire time i was pumping gas, the couple pumping gas at the pump behind me were staring me down the whole time.
The were middle age to slightly older. The man pumping gas and women in the passenger seat never took their eyes off me the entire time. I thought were would start baaaaaaaaaaaa'ing at me any moment.
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Similar thing happened to me once... So I stared back and yelled "you never seen a disabled young man with a cane before or what?!?!" They departed quickly and, dare I say... sheepishly.
 
Where in somebody's mind would the thought that you need a fishing license to carry a knife come from?
 
Wanimator said:
Where in somebody's mind would the thought that you need a fishing license to carry a knife come from?
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Hey listen, never underestimate the confusion and misconceptions that ignorant* people have.

Hell, even police aren't immune. I had an officer see me use my Cryo II at a restaurant one time. Officer comes up to my table after he'd seen me deploy the knife to cut through a sandwich. "Son, is that a switchblade? You know those are illegal, right? Auto opening like that? Better hope you have a concealed weapons permit!" I gave him a chuckle, like I thought he was joking. But he had on his Serious Police Business face. So, I took the polite knife-owner route: "Officer, I DO have a conceal carry license, but to the best of my understanding of the knife laws in Florida, this does not quality as an auto-open knife and it's not illegal in this state to own it. Here, check it out!" He took it, looked it over, saw "Kershaw" on it, and he dropped the Serious Police Business face and was like "Hey, this is awesome!" Then he told me that he was happy to meet a citizen who'd actually bothered reading up on the statutes. Then we actually ended up talking knives for a bit, and he said as soon as his shift was over, he was on his way to get one for himself. I'd actually offered it to him at the end, but he said that it was against department policy to accept gifts, which I (as a defense contractor) understood. Shook his hand, wished him well, and sent another newly informed knife guy out into the world.

As a police officer, I hope he picked out something nice. I can only imagine all of the uses a law enforcement officer could have for a good knife.







*Not used in an insulting manner here, but to mean "person who doesn't know what they don't know"
 
RedLynx said:
They're actually discussing Slender Man in the newspaper these days? I love a good Slender Man myth but it hardly seems newsworthy.. O_o
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Not as funny as you think, recently some kid or kids stabbed some other kid(or kids), and then claimed they did it cause "Slender Man told them to". That's why Slender Man has been in the news.
 
DShiflet said:
Not as funny as you think, recently some kid or kids stabbed some other kid(or kids), and then claimed they did it cause "Slender Man told them to". That's why Slender Man has been in the news.
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Well damn... whatever happened to the usual "God (or The Devil) made told me to?" Kids...
 
Good thing I have my fishing license for carrying my "Hello Kitty" machete and my knife license for my stringer of bluegills....thought I was in trouble there until I got my universal hallpass from the G.Ur.D.L (Grannies Urban Defense League.) All kidding aside, I suppose its better to have watchful neighbors that might be meddlesome on occasion than not.
 
DShiflet said:
Not as funny as you think, recently some kid or kids stabbed some other kid(or kids), and then claimed they did it cause "Slender Man told them to". That's why Slender Man has been in the news.
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The number of creepypastas relating to him are only going to grow now. So much for their originality...

RedLynx said:
Well damn... whatever happened to the usual "God (or The Devil) made told me to?" Kids...
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Slender Man isn't a religious symbol, so he's not considered offensive to individuals of the atheist persuasion.
 
I think the problem may also be that people are unfamiliar with some types of bladed tools. Here in northern Italy if I was caught with a traditional billhook in the car, and maybe some other woodworking tool, and I was going to or coming from the countryside, there would probably be no problems, if I could explain what I was doing. Instead, if it was the centre of the city, and I was carring a black bladed cold steel machete in my car, it would be trouble.
Maybe a tramontina, stained and consumed by hard work, in a cardboard transport sheath, would look less menacing than a black katana machete in a black cordura sheath, or even a big kitchen knife (it seems to be the preferred killing tools nowadays).

I remember just one time when I felt frowned: it was in a zoo, I took out a traditional friction folder with a blade maybe too big, a 4" one, too peel an apple for my daughter, and I saw another man slightly pushing his sons away and giving me a disapproving look. I quickly finished my work and put the knife away, to avoid trouble. It was unpleasant.
 
Douglas Thor said:
Gerber Big Rock camp knife.
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Cool, I think I have that knife unless they make a bigger version, mine has a blade about 4" long. It's a pretty nifty one, for Gerber (and not nearly as big as I was picturing based on the reaction of the people in the story, sheesh).
 
RedLynx said:
Cool, I think I have that knife unless they make a bigger version, mine has a blade about 4" long. It's a pretty nifty one, for Gerber (and not nearly as big as I was picturing based on the reaction of the people in the story, sheesh).
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Same one. 4 inch blade roughly. It was right on my belt, facing the people. Maybe they thought it was a gun or something since the sheath is kinda pointy. I hate people like that, i really do. Im surprised they didnt call 911 on me and cry.
 
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