Because I might have to kill someone...

[Little claw]

The monologue by James Mattis on "Good Reason" got me thinking:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=128979

When people ask you why you carry a knife or "that kind of knife" or "a mean looking deadly weapon penis substitute", we naturally want to give them an honest, informative and convincing answer, being civilised, responsible and law abiding tool users.

Unforunately, some of these people are not actually asking you 'why?'. They are telling you in an indirect (cowardly?) way that they don't think you should be carrying that knife and demanding that you justify yourself. No matter what you say, however well you articulate it, that person is thinking... "because you might have to kill someone"

So why not say that?

Its not true (mostly), but it shows that you know roughly what they're really asking, and that you're onto their potential prejudice. Its also a bit of an ice-breaker and once you've dealt with it and laughed it off, they may listen to your real reasons more openly.

What do you all think?

Obviously, I'm aiming this at people who carry for utility rather than self defence.

(I wouldn't recommend say this to a LEO, either, they may be compelled to take you seriously)

Dom

 

[boobar]

I am a person who carries a knife for utility 99.9% and I have yet to be asked by someone why I carry a knife. All of my friends and family know that I carry and I am the first one they come to when there is a cutting task that needs done. I have been carrying a knife for so long that if I am without it for a day I feel naked.

I say if someone asks you why you carry a knife and you think that they are trying to get you to justify your reason, politely tell them to PISS OFF.

 

[Gollnick]

Two reasons:

First, I have, in all these years, used a knife in self-defense only once and then just to brandish it. I've never actually cut anyone with my knife. But, I have used it for utility purposes perhaps a 100,000 times. Statistically, I carry my knife for utilitarian purposes.

Second, what you say today in one context can come back years later in a different context, especially remarks such as, "Because I might have to kill someone." That's the sort of remark that people remember. So, three years from now, your ex-spouse turns up dead, stabbed repeatedly, under mysterious circumstances. You're an obvious suspect. So, the police start asking around about you. And when they ask your neighbor if you've ever talked about or mentioned anything about violence or anything, his answer is, "Well, there was this one time a couple years ago when I asked him about why he carries that huge, frightful knife of his, and his response was -- I'll never forget this remark -- "Because I might have to KILL someone!"

Let's say that you do have to kill someone in legitimate self-defense. Two of the factors that makes the legal difference between "guilty of murder," and "innocent by reason of self-defense," are motive and premeditation. The prosecutor is going to try to find some way, any way, to convince the jury that you were planning to kill someone, that you wanted to kill someone. And when that neighbor of yours sits on that stand, hand on the Bible, and recounts in his own words that remark of yours, that could go along way toward accomplishing that goal.

 

[Roadrunner]

I usually get ask why I carry so many . I just say that they're all used for different purposes. On the original subject, I would have to know someone well to respond with that. I think it could function less as an icebreaker as a percieved threat to someone who doesn't understand the knifeknut's mentality. When I'm questioned about my knives that way, I emphasize their utility aspect. And usually end up opening a package or cutting a string eventually for the person who asked. I still end up with a 'reputation' as a knife-toting wierdo sometimes; I just say I like being wierd. Normal is boring and usually dumb too. I fall into the knife-using-sharpening elite portion of the population with you all and I like it .

 

[SamuraiDave]

I tell them that "a big knife can do the job of a small knife, but a small knife cannot always do the job of a big knife, and you never know what might happen. You might need a bigger knife than this."

Nobody has ever replied with "Like what?" or "Give me an example.", however I have had to sharpen 4-5 other people's pincels before a test due to our classrooms having +$10,000 of computer equipment, but no pincel sharpener.

 

[bquinlan]

When people ask me why I carry such a big knife (Camillus CUDA Maxx Bowie) I tell them that I got tired of sawing my way around the outside of a bagel. That seems to amuse most people enough that they are no longer intimidated and can begin to see the knife as a tool.

--Bob Q

 

[DarkReazon]

I work in an office environment where there are quite a few sheeple. Luckily there are a few people who carry knives as EDC tools here as well. When some jackass asks me why I carry a knife to open coffee bags or boxes, or envelopes or to cut cable ties or other suitable tasks I reply, "because its useful. ". Almost invariably they will reply "you don't NEED a knife to do that!". To this I usually reply, "Well, you don't NEED a fork either, but it beats eating with your hands, don't it?".

Likewise, when people ask why I carry a "weapon" (referring to my SERE 2K) I usually say something snide like "I don't carry weapons. I have, however, carried a knife since I was 6 years old. In the 18 years that have followed, I like to think I have become MORE responsible, not less. Perhaps your experiences are different."

I see where you're coming from, but I think Gollnick summed it up nicely.


Shaun.

 

[black mariah]

I don't currently carry a knife everywhere, but I'm hardly ever without my Leatherman. I'm also never without a truss rod wrench, a pair of earplugs, and a couple of allen wrenches. Why? Because they're TOOLS that I use on a constant basis. Anyone that sees a knife as something more than a tool seriously needs to quit watching so many movies.

 

[Little claw]

Some good points raised, especially:

Originally posted by Gollnick
what you say today in one context can come back years later in a different context

I hadn't considered this consequence. The operative word here is 'context'. I'll be interested to find out how likely or easy it is to lose such context in the scenario described.

Originally posted by boobar
I am a person who carries a knife for utility 99.9% and I have yet to be asked by someone why I carry a knife. All of my friends and family know that I carry and I am the first one they come to when there is a cutting task that needs done. I have been carrying a knife for so long that if I am without it for a day I feel naked.

I say if someone asks you why you carry a knife and you think that they are trying to get you to justify your reason, politely tell them to PISS OFF.

Personal experience varies due to many factors. I get asked, or avoided, virtually every time I whip it out in front of someone. I even have resistance from members of my family, and this is my point. They ask a question, but they're too busy telling you why you're wrong to listen to the answer. That's why I thought something that gives them a jolt might help open their ears. Its all very well telling them to piss off, but that's not doing me, or knife users as a whole, any favours.

In our pre packaged buy one get one free consumer society, we delegate all our well being and sustenance to multinational commercial entities who don't have our best interests at heart, and we think this is normal. Knowing that we're right isn't an excuse to say 'screw you'. Being better informed and equipped carries a responsibility to represent that condition in a positive light, doesn't it? Otherwise sheer weight of uninformed opinion will gradually erode us to a nub of 'quirky extremists'.

To me, a knife is empowering, not in a martial sense, but in a utilitarian one. I seeked to communicate this by giving the lie to their unspoken opinions. I realise there are drawbacks to the line I've chosenand I need to consider it more carefully. Perhaps be selective in how its applied. Maybe answer their pointless question with some other pointless question, like "how much money have you got?" "Why are you wearing clothes?" etc... open a dialog based on their answers.

Dom

 

[DarkReazon]

Little Claw,

My contribution for when a nitwit asks...

Q: "Why do you have a knife like that?"

A: "Because I'm a real live, walking talking adult, capable of handling a knife responsibly. Plus, my dentist told me to stop trying to open packages with my teeth. Now go wet your bed elsewhere, and 'think about the children' while you're at it."

OR

In the same vein as your "get asked a stupid question, ask a stupid question theme"...

Q: "Why do you have a knife like THAT?"

A: "Cutting things. Like rope, and packages, and, oh yes, vampires. That's why it has serrations, because vampire skin is VERY tough..."




Regards,

Shaun.

 

[mlawson]

I get asked from time to time about my knives as well but normaly only when ive opened one. I carry at least 3 knifes whenever awake now and 2 will be the highspeed low drag knives we all love and another will be a case saw belly. When around people i am not used to being around i use the saw belly so as not to whip out a "tactical" folder. If they do ask me about my bigger knives i normaly say "big envelopes". The fact remains that some people will never understand that true protection is created by yourself. These people that think it is rediculess are for the most part the same people that are victims and the first ones to cry out when they need protecting. The book "On Killing" puts it very well in saying that there are three kinds of people, sheep, sheep dogs that protect, and wolves that prey on the sheep.

 

[mumbleypeg]

I always find peoples reaction to edged tools interesting. If someone sees the knife I happen to be carrying on any given day it is usually because something needs to be cut. Some of my carry knives provoke nothing more than "oh thats cute" comments. My Lime green mini-griptilian rarley provokes a word. My Emerson mini CQC7A gets a lot of reaction. It has the same size blade as the mini-grip. Of course nobody questions me with an 8" chefs knife or a cleaver in my hand. This is not because I'm a threat but in the context of a kitchen knives are taken for granted.

I don't recall being asked why I carry. I have been asked why I like knives or why I have a specific knife.

Without wanting to get too metaphysical; The things we speak have an uncany ability to come true.

 

[knifedaddy84]

Originally posted by Little claw
Maybe answer their pointless question with some other pointless question, like "how much money have you got?" "Why are you wearing clothes?" etc... open a dialog based on their answers.

Some great comebacks on this thread! I've said on occasion that I carry a knife as a "lifestyle choice" or for "religious purposes" (I use it religiously but there are religions that require men to wear knives).

The political correctness mandates that are being shoved down our throats make it a crime to offend anyone these days so it's time we turn it to our advantage!

 

[The Deacon]

Only recall being asked something like that once. Was getting dressed to go to a wedding, as I'm putting my knife in my pocket, my G/F looks at me and says "what do you need that for today?", I answer, "you never know", she kind of glares at me, but it's her friends wedding, and she knows I don't really enjoy going to weddings, so she just lets the matter drop. Sevice ends, everyone walks out of the church, everyone gets handed a little bag of rice on the way out. Cute little things, squares of some kind of fine, but virually indestructible, netting folded around the rice, then bunched together at the top and closed with a ribbon and a pretty bow. Problem is, the kids who made them up tied a real knot in the ribbon before they made the bow. Nobody can untie them. Me and one other fellow who happened to have a knife suddenly became the heroes of the hour. G/F never said a word, but six months later, when we had yet another wedding to attend she did say "don't forget to bring your knife".

 

[Muss]

When ask, I just smile.

 

[spartan_ajax]

I hate it when I am asked that question!

I took out my Strider GB and heard a man gasp! "Why the hell do you need a knife?" and "Why do you have such a big knife"?

I don't even answer I just cut away and then replace it into my pocket with a smile.

My other most hated question is....

"Do you have a knife?" or "could I borrow your knife?"

I tend to think that people without knives are not humans they are trapped into believing society does everything for them.

My knife is utility first defense a way second but my knife in my pocket reminds me I came from a cave and hunted and killed food, a long time ago...

 

[cpirtle]

My general reply to any unprovoked question regarding my personal choices in life is generally - "mind your own fu**ing business pinhead".

That usually shuts them up pretty quick.

 

[J&J13]

Regarding the use of tact: (hmmm, root word of "tactics"?) Generally good to apply, because people don't like to be backed up against a wall and have their shortcomings pointed out to them. In order to avoid getting an already scared animal all the more tightly wound, you talk nice to it. If they hear what they expect to hear, they'll go away, ego intact, to bother somebody else. Draw your lines where you like.

As for the more logical approach, my guess is that "truth" is subjective, depending on the users' viewpoint. To us, it's an inanimate object, a tool. To them, it's a symbol of bad and pain and cry and loss, etc, the same as those naughty "assault weapons." Consider the source.

 

[FrankDL]

I just calmly look them straight in the eyes and tell them in a robotic voice, "Because the voices tell me to!"
Funny...they never ask me it ever again.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I usually answer with a facial expression that says "since you're as dumb as a post, I'll explain this using itty bitty words that won't confuse you"

Then I drop down to their level (visually) and use a soft, kind yet rather patronizing tone of voice and tell them "well...I kinda need to carry this knife so I can cut things with it, you know...kinda like general utility stuff that some of us do" Then I give instances of cutting boxes for people, bringing food in, opening baby formula for purty young mothers, etc.

To this they usually blush a little and reply "oh...."

For the few folks who have ever seen me "wave" open a right and left hand folder simultaneously and grin maniacally, I generally just shrug my shoulders an' give 'em a silly a$$ grin, then modestly say, "ah, it's just simple goofing around, with no real purpose served" Then I start babbling about the latest slipjoint, or fillet knife I can't live without and they pretty much acknowledge that I'm a little bit different, but one helluva nice guy. (such acts have only transpired in front of friends and people I know pretty well, and usually upon request)

Course when my father asked why the hell I was carrying a REKAT Sifu I told him the primary reason was because I couldn't find a bigger one.

With most folks I would avoid any remark pertaining to self defense, or the vague "just in case..." responses since they often tend to strike a rather hoplophobic nerve that makes their brains automatically shut down to all logic and reasoning.