Carried but not used

[redman2006]

I am suprised by something. I have been browsing the ads for a new zt. The number of ads in general (not just zt) that mention "carried but never cut anything" astonish me.

This is not meant to be a jab at anyone, but it just seems impossible to do this. Every single day I NEED a knife. It may be cutting down a box, opening packaging, butchering our rabbits and chickens, cutting hay strings, working on small fix it items at home and work, camping, working in the garden, and so on, but every single day my knife comes out of my pocket and gets used.

How can people get by with a knife in their pocket and never use it.

I don't use my folder for kitchen tasks, and I don't make up work for it just to have it out. I also understand collecting with no intention to use it. I just don't know how anyone can not use a knife they have on them.

Anyway, I am just curious if anyone ever noticed it and thought it odd.

 

[bpeezer]

I carry with full intention of using every day, and rarely find the need. I only used my knife twice this week, once to cut a sample and once to open a box. I don't have rabbits/chickens/hay at home, and the majority of my work is either with computers or people (neither of which require cutting )

 

[cbach8tw]

Yes I have also noticed, I think there are collectors who want the knife, then, for some reason they decide not to hold onto it or even not use it as you suggested, so they put it back up for sale. Catch and release. Or they hold onto them and intend to use them in the future, but they are just staying in storage unused and finally the person decides to let them go.

 

[singularity35]

Not all people use knives the same way...everybody's way that works for them is the right way...

 

[jackknife]

Something my old man once told me stuck in my head. Ihad asked him when I was a little kid, why he carried such a small pocket knife. He had an old Case peanut that was his only pocket knife. He told me that a pocket knife is something that is carried a lot, but used very little. Looking at modern life in suburban/urban surroundings, that's true. Very few of us make a living skinning buffalo or fighting off invading Chinese paratroopers. The vast majority of people go through their life carrying no knife at all, yet there are no mass deaths along the highway or sidewalks. Life in the 21st century doesn't require much knife.

But because we are the afflicted and obsessed, the knife knuts that we are, we look for excuses to use our cult worship item whenever we can. We obsess over how sharp it it, or how strong the lock is, or what wonder steel of the month it's made out of. The horrid truth in the light of day is, 99% of us could get by very nicely with a Victorinox classic on our keyring and nothing else. Since the Vic classic is the most mass produced pocket knife on earth, millions of people do just that.

But then, they aren't knife knuts!

 

[hhmoore]

I carry with full intention of using every day, and rarely find the need. I only used my knife twice this week, once to cut a sample and once to open a box. I don't have rabbits/chickens/hay at home, and the majority of my work is either with computers or people (neither of which require cutting )

I'm envious - I work with people, and think an unfortunate number of them need to be cut.
()

 

[Gadt]

I always carry more than one knife. Usually out if the two the older one gets used and the newer one is a back up. So for example if i have a new zt on me it might not get used, and then if I decide to sell it... Not used

 

[redman2006]

Jackknifed,
I agree with you about what I could get by with, but I could not get by with nothing. I also think that more people need knives and just don't carry them. The reason I say that is the number of times I get asked every single day, "do you have a knife?"

I work in an urban environment, and even taking out the animals at home, my knife is out of my pocket daily. I prefer a beefy folder, but I could get by with the little Qeen 3 blade that was my grandfather's everyday knife.

Like I said, it is not a jab at anyone, I am just surprised that people do not need and use them daily.

I am not a knife nut, or at least I have not admitted to the addiction yet. I do like a quality knife, but for years I carried only my little skyline and had nothing else but a buck vanguard for hunting, my grandfathers little Queen and my kitchen knives.

 

[redman2006]

Gadt,
I guess I get that. My pockets are full of too much else to have more than one on my person at a time.

How do you know if you like it if you do not use it?

 

[bld522]

I carry with full intention of using every day, and rarely find the need. I only used my knife twice this week, once to cut a sample and once to open a box. I don't have rabbits/chickens/hay at home, and the majority of my work is either with computers or people (neither of which require cutting )

This^^^. Furthermore, people like me who work in offices normally have access to multiple cutting instruments such as scissors and letter openers. As a result, the need to use a pocket knife to accomplish the cutting tasks I'm required to perform is minimal. In fact, I carry an EDC and a Leatherman Micra every day. My Micra sees far more use than my EDC does. And when I feel the need to pick up something heavier than my Micra, it's just as easy to pull a pair of office shears out of my drawer than it is to pull my EDC out of my pocket. Last but not least, even though my scissors are far more lethal than any of the lightweight EDCs I might be carrying, I never have to worry about looking over my shoulder to see who's watching when I use them. So why do I even bother carrying an EDC, you may ask? That's simple. I like knives.

 

[redman2006]

bld,
That sent a girl at work to the hospital the other day. She was trying to open something with a set of scissors used as a knife. It slipped and her hand ran across the blade. When I asked why she did not use a knife, her answer, "I did not have one, and I could not find you."

To each their own, but having worked as everything from a file clerk to a guide at one time or another, I just can not think of a time when I could have carried a knife for more than a day or two without the need to use it.

One thing I have noticed in a couple of places that I worked, it was taboo to actually use a knife. People would get all worked up over someone having and using a knife. There were no rules about it, but just a social taboo. Even people that carried a pocket knife would rather use a scissors in an awkward way than have the stigma of being "the guy with a knife."

I would probably be a lot better off with a Leatherman as a daily carry. I am always looking for a set of pliers and wearing one on my belt would not fit well where I work.

Like I said, it is not a jab at anyone. I just can't imagine having a knife in my pocket for more than a day or two and not actually needing it.

 

[bld522]

bld,
That sent a girl at work to the hospital the other day. She was trying to open something with a set of scissors used as a knife. It slipped and her hand ran across the blade. When I asked why she did not use a knife, her answer, "I did not have one, and I could not find you.

Good Lord! Was she gripping the blade and not the handle? That's about the only way I could conceive of something like that happening. I've been using scissors to open boxes and the like for 40 plus years and I've never come close to cutting myself with them . . . not even once! Anyway, thanks for making my argument for me:

One thing I have noticed in a couple of places that I worked, it was taboo to actually use a knife. People would get all worked up over someone having and using a knife. There were no rules about it, but just a social taboo. Even people that carried a pocket knife would rather use a scissors in an awkward way than have the stigma of being "the guy with a knife."

I, for one, don't own a knife that's more important to me than keeping my job. YMMV.

 

[redman2006]

I am still not sure how she managed it, but yes, she had them open all the way and had her hand around the blade and opposite handle if that makes sense. Of course this may mean that she should not have a knife either. LOL

I did not mean that it was against the rules to have a knife, but a couple of places you would get odd looks if you were the guy with a knife. It is the same way a lot of folder knife guys look at the guy with a fixed blade rather than a folder, if that makes any sense.

 

[hhmoore]

It might merely be taboo in some places; but, in a growing number of workplaces, there ARE rules. They don't necessarily specify knives - but knives would generally be included under the umbrella of "weapons". Before anybody jumps down my throat, I'm not saying knives ARE weapons...I'm saying they are seen that way. I got into trouble once for having a knife in my backpack, in our lockerroom, when I was 3 floors away (my question about why the reporting party was rummaging through my backpack got squashed, which I found even more offensive). Oddly enough, just about every unit had a larger knife in their respective kitchens (or stuck in a drawer). Had they had any reason to want me gone, they could - and no doubt WOULD - have used that situation to make it happen.

 

[B.F.U]

I've noticed the prevalence as well. My need for a knife varies wildly, mostly by if I'm at school/in the city or at home/camp/work.

 

[bld522]

I am still not sure how she managed it, but yes, she had them open all the way and had her hand around the blade and opposite handle if that makes sense. Of course this may mean that she should not have a knife either. LOL

Unbelievable. That girl has no business going anywhere near an object with a sharp edge. I hope it taught her a lesson without costing her her dexterity.

 

[powernoodle]

For many of us, we carry a knife just in case. Mr. Carl is spot on about the Classic being sufficient for most people, and that's probably true of me as well. But the "what ifs" come into play, like this. I don't ever want to be in a "wish I had my knife" situation and not have it on me.

So it is quite possible for someone to carry a knife everyday and use it little or never. "Never" is also the same amount of usage that a non-existent knife gets used by a guy who never carries one, and that describes most people. Give that some thought.

 

[bld522]

It might merely be taboo in some places; but, in a growing number of workplaces, there ARE rules. They don't necessarily specify knives - but knives would generally be included under the umbrella of "weapons". Before anybody jumps down my throat, I'm not saying knives ARE weapons...I'm saying they are seen that way. I got into trouble once for having a knife in my backpack, in our lockerroom, when I was 3 floors away (my question about why the reporting party was rummaging through my backpack got squashed, which I found even more offensive). Oddly enough, just about every unit had a larger knife in their respective kitchens (or stuck in a drawer). Had they had any reason to want me gone, they could - and no doubt WOULD - have used that situation to make it happen.

Look. The bottom line is you only want to have to visit your HR department once . . . the day you're hired. Subsequent visits may not go nearly so well for you.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

 

[r redden]

I love knives and have many. I carry everyday a modern folder usually a PM2 or a Blur I also always have a Stocckman or other traditional knife in my pocket. I am retired and disabled and seldom have an opportunity to use my knives except for the traditionals I use for whittling and that is almost everyday. I also carry a S&W .380 everywhere I go and never use it but if I do need to cut or shoot someone or something I will be prepared. Knives truly give me pleasure from the look to the feel I have and will always carry and accumulate them. I also love the interaction here on BF and if it wasn't for my love of knives I would never have found my way to this wonderful place to share with others our common passion.

 

[ATwistedStaple]

I, for one, don't own a knife that's more important to me than keeping my job. YMMV.

We don't generally have this problem in Texas. One of the few times I'm glad of the cultural differences here.

I did once work in an office which forbid the carry of a knife, but like you I could get away with a little multitool. When it got to the point where my boss's boss would come borrow it from me to open stuff I just went ahead and started carrying a knife anyway. Always made sure it was non-threatening. Never ran into any trouble.

It might be a lesson to folks in self assessment. If you're the go-to on projects or emergencies you can likely bend the rules a bit and carry a reasonable knife, but don't flash it around. If you're tardy, call out more than twice a year and are only approached by your boss when you're being reprimanded you probably ought not carry one. Would be a good time to evaluate your work ethic or current career choice as well.