"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Mike Robuck said:
I had to go to the social security office yesterday. They have big poster boards warning not to bring the following in: marijuana, knives, guns. Then the security guard asked me twice if I had any of those items. I left my knife at home after my wife had warned me. I also had to take a number even though I was the only one there. After I took my number, the security guard called it and told me I may proceed. :)
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Mike, not surprised...you are a well known troublemaker :D
 
r redden said:
We had the same problem before I retired SVT we hired trainees at $18 per hour and after your 6 month training it jumped to $23 plus time and a half for overtime of which we had plenty not to mention great benefits and annual raises. Most of the new hires would quit after the first month when they went into the field because it was "too hard". We didn't hire often but when we did it was hard to get on and really you had to have a bit of luck but these kids didn't care about getting a job with us because they just wouldn't do hard work regardless of pay. I know some of you may not think that's very much money but for blue collar workers in this part of the country that was incredible compensation.
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Randy, a lot of folks would love to make that kind of money....they just don't want to work for it. One thing about learning a trade is that you can take those skills anywhere and get work if you're reliable and competent.
 
SVTFreak said:
I’m with ya. I work for a great company. Hire on pay is about the same as yours and in 2 years guys can make near 40 an hour loading trailers, with health benefits and a decent 401k (I have retirement plan also but that’s gone for new hires now). But they come in with those silly degrees and think “I’m too good to load trailers”. It’s a shame to see. They’ve never had to work at all and have no idea.
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I worked in the textile business for 35 years, ran into the same thing before I retired. Most of the college recruits didn't want to be in manufacturing, they wanted to be human resource managers or some other support personnel. They didn't want to earn their "bones" with the twenty four hour a day, seven day a week grind. They washed out early and often. I was recruited out of college by Millken, Roger ran a tight ship with a structured management training program. A lot of folks said he trained 90% of the people who later became top executives in the industry over the years.
 
Went on our annual caving trip last weekend with scouts. Two of our “sister troops” come down every year and we head off to Sullivan’s cave in Indiana.(which a kid just got locked in for 60 hours about three weeks ago, no one was smart enough in his group to do a head count apparently) I had my Hess knife works tiburon on my hip. It’s my go to fix blade, 1095 steel and stacked leather handle. Once we got back to the scout hut after the trip one of the kids walked up to me and told me he had noticed I had a weapon. A weapon! Now at this time I had an axe in one hand and a hatchet in the other, the knife in my hip and two more folding knives in my pocket. He pointed at my hip and said “that thing, it’s dangerous your not allowed to carry that.”

We talked for a bit, I even looked up the BSA’s national council rules and It had nothing about fixed blades being restricted, or blade length blade length for that matter just that each camp can set rules if they choose. We weren’t camping with any Boy Scout camp, but in a privatly owned area so that wasn’t a concern. Didn’t change his mind until I asked him about kitchen knives, those are fixed blade and many are a lot bigger. Or the fact I had used this knife to cut up peppers and onions with this knife for the chili that he himself ate, and therefore it was as much a kitchen knife as a weapon. He just stared at me awkwardly. Kids these days just see something like that and there minds are trained to think it’s a weapon. How sad today has become that not even Boy Scouts are thoughtful of a good knife.
 
Guitarist I was going to 'like' your post as the content is relevant and indeed disturbing, but I couldn't as it could be misconstrued as endorsing some of the kid's p.o.v. :D I'm sure you get my drift though.

What is disturbing is that education; and it matters little which country you are talking about in this 'globalized' wonder-world; is failing to encourage initiative or critical intelligence. Far from it, it seems to be indoctrinating people into 'responses' that are deemed correct or rather, unarguable. It's a weapon, it's bad, a bad person carries a 'weapon' ergo he even may become a 'terrorist' End of thought process. Terrifying, but getting true I fear.

I need a 'safe space' from all this, I think I found it here...:D:cool:
 
Mike Robuck said:
I had to go to the social security office yesterday. They have big poster boards warning not to bring the following in: marijuana, knives, guns. Then the security guard asked me twice if I had any of those items. I left my knife at home after my wife had warned me. I also had to take a number even though I was the only one there. After I took my number, the security guard called it and told me I may proceed. :)
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Mike, I had almost the exact same experience at my Soc Sec office a couple months ago. I'm even a concealed carry license holder and asked the guard if I could come in with my pistol, concealed, and he said no way. Not even a little SAK was allowed.
 
It was surprising to me. We couldn't even find an address for the local SS office. We had to call and have it given to us. I was also told twice that if I had a cell phone I could not use it to take pictures or record anything. I also had to sign in both times with my SS number and name on a touchscreen. I hate not having a knife on me.
 
J jackknife Carl, glad to hear that is was nothing to serious. I also know how quickly one's perspective can change. I had bypass surgery at 41 years old, really gets you thinking about what's important. Fast forward 8 years later, I'm still here.

I was thinking about your statement regarding minimalism. I have more knives than I could ever carry in a year, where does it end? I do get a lot of enjoyment from pocketknives, and do enjoy acquiring them, but they are just things. I have curtailed much of my knife buying habit, focusing on bargains at flea markets, or certain customs, or perhaps the forum knives. I don't necessarily see myself reducing my collection any time soon, but I have become more selective.
 
Guitarist7.62 said:
Went on our annual caving trip last weekend with scouts. Two of our “sister troops” come down every year and we head off to Sullivan’s cave in Indiana.(which a kid just got locked in for 60 hours about three weeks ago, no one was smart enough in his group to do a head count apparently) I had my Hess knife works tiburon on my hip. It’s my go to fix blade, 1095 steel and stacked leather handle. Once we got back to the scout hut after the trip one of the kids walked up to me and told me he had noticed I had a weapon. A weapon! Now at this time I had an axe in one hand and a hatchet in the other, the knife in my hip and two more folding knives in my pocket. He pointed at my hip and said “that thing, it’s dangerous your not allowed to carry that.”

We talked for a bit, I even looked up the BSA’s national council rules and It had nothing about fixed blades being restricted, or blade length blade length for that matter just that each camp can set rules if they choose. We weren’t camping with any Boy Scout camp, but in a privatly owned area so that wasn’t a concern. Didn’t change his mind until I asked him about kitchen knives, those are fixed blade and many are a lot bigger. Or the fact I had used this knife to cut up peppers and onions with this knife for the chili that he himself ate, and therefore it was as much a kitchen knife as a weapon. He just stared at me awkwardly. Kids these days just see something like that and there minds are trained to think it’s a weapon. How sad today has become that not even Boy Scouts are thoughtful of a good knife.
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Will Power said:
Guitarist I was going to 'like' your post as the content is relevant and indeed disturbing, but I couldn't as it could be misconstrued as endorsing some of the kid's p.o.v. :D I'm sure you get my drift though.

What is disturbing is that education; and it matters little which country you are talking about in this 'globalized' wonder-world; is failing to encourage initiative or critical intelligence. Far from it, it seems to be indoctrinating people into 'responses' that are deemed correct or rather, unarguable. It's a weapon, it's bad, a bad person carries a 'weapon' ergo he even may become a 'terrorist' End of thought process. Terrifying, but getting true I fear.

I need a 'safe space' from all this, I think I found it here...:D:cool:
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Guitarist first Kudos to you for donating your time to those scouts. Will I agree with you this situation really goes to show how far out of touch with reality people have become in this world of political correctness we live in. In my eyes it's a shame when a boy can't relate to a knife's purpose on an outdoor adventure like a Boy Scout caving trip. Instead of seeing it as an invaluable tool he can only relate to it as a weapon This boys perception of the knife is not the kids fault it's the parents. I know that at my age I sometimes can't understand some of the "progressive ideas" of the day but it seems to me that it would be much better for your child to see a knife as a tool instead of a weapon.
 
r redden said:
Guitarist first Kudos to you for donating your time to those scouts. Will I agree with you this situation really goes to show how far out of touch with reality people have become in this world of political correctness we live in. In my eyes it's a shame when a boy can't relate to a knife's purpose on an outdoor adventure like a Boy Scout caving trip. Instead of seeing it as an invaluable tool he can only relate to it as a weapon This boys perception of the knife is not the kids fault it's the parents. I know that at my age I sometimes can't understand some of the "progressive ideas" of the day but it seems to me that it would be much better for your child to see a knife as a tool instead of a weapon.
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I don't associate this kind of attitude with any particular political viewpoint. I've met folks from 'right-wing' ranchers to 'commie-pinko' artists who understand what a useful tool a knife is. I think the problem is a generation of kids who have no experience using any kind of tool besides their smart-phones.
 
r8shell said:
I don't associate this kind of attitude with any particular political viewpoint. I've met folks from 'right-wing' ranchers to 'commie-pinko' artists who understand what a useful tool a knife is. I think the problem is a generation of kids who have no experience using any kind of tool besides their smart-phones.
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What? :confused: Rachel my statement had absolutely nothing to do with politics I used the term "political correctness" to mean in our quest not to offend anyone. This is the context I've heard this phrase used for years You read my post wrong or we have different ideas on what politically correct means.
. Here is the first line copied and pasted from Wikipedia under political correctness.
The term political correctness (adjectivally: politically correct; commonly abbreviated to PC or P.C.) is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society
 
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r redden said:
What? :confused: Rachel my statement had absolutely nothing to do with politics I used the term "political correctness" to mean in our quest not to offend anyone. This is the context I've heard this phrase used for years You read my post wrong or we have different ideas on what politically correct means.
. Here is the first line copied and pasted from Wikipedia under political correctness.
The term political correctness (adjectivally: politically correct; commonly abbreviated to PC or P.C.) is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society
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No offense taken or intended. I've just been over-sensitized to reading "political correctness" being used sarcastically to imply "liberal snowflakes are offended by everything"...

:eek: Wait a minute...did I just trigger myself into proving a stereotype ?!? :p:D

Back to the subject at hand: Those darn Millennial kids wouldn't know a tool if they saw MacGuyver using one, and I miss the days when every kid in elementary school carried a pocketknife! (in fact, matt-knives were required supplies for my high school art classes)
 
r8shell said:
No offense taken or intended. I've just been over-sensitized to reading "political correctness" being used sarcastically to imply "liberal snowflakes are offended by everything"...

:eek: Wait a minute...did I just trigger myself into proving a stereotype ?!? :p:D

Back to the subject at hand: Those darn Millennial kids wouldn't know a tool if they saw MacGuyver using one, and I miss the days when every kid in elementary school carried a pocketknife! (in fact, matt-knives were required supplies for my high school art classes)
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careful there, don't tar us all with the same brush
 
r8shell said:
I don't associate this kind of attitude with any particular political viewpoint. I've met folks from 'right-wing' ranchers to 'commie-pinko' artists who understand what a useful tool a knife is. I think the problem is a generation of kids who have no experience using any kind of tool besides their smart-phones.
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Have to agree totally with this!

And not just the kids, but the parents I see are just as bad. There's at least two generations now that can't operate without their magic box that tells them where they are, and were to go. Basic map reading let alone any sense of direction or common sense is vanishing from the landscape.

American is being turned into a nanny state, with the nanny being the smart phone. A knife? Perish the thought!!!
 
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