Carried but not used

r redden said:
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.
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Well said, sir. :thumbup: :)
 
I work in a kitchen. I bring my cooking knives everyday and carry a folder or small fixed blade.
While I would only use MY chefs knife and paring knife for food prep, there are various commercial knives around for everyone to use.
When it comes to opening a package or a box, or cutting something that isn't food it's just as easy to reach for one of the restaurants knives as it is to reach for my edc.
So.. while I carry at least one small knife every day I may not have to use it. Just my 2 cents.
 
ATwistedStaple said:
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.
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Yep. There's a kitchen right next to my office that has a drawer full of knives I'd have to wear a sheath to carry. Nobody raises an eyebrow when the girls go in and use them to cut up their fruit, which is a feat in and of itself given how dull they are. But I have to make sure nobody's watching when I pull my Small Sebenza out of my pocket. Go figure! :rolleyes:
 
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I always carry a SAK or traditional slipjoint in addition to my modern folders in the city. Most of the time I just pull out the SAK for cutting stuff in public. So, while I use them, a lot of my modern folders could pass for "carried but not used" if I clean them up nicely.

Some of my knives are designed mainly for self defense and see no practical use whatsoever. For instance, my Spyderco Matriarch still has the factory edge.

My fixed blades, which I use at my ranch on road trips and general woodsbumming have much harder lives.
 
That is funny in and of itself. No one glances at the guy with a huge chef knife cutting food, but heaven forbid that you have a 3" pocket knife.
I worked for some time at a feed yard. I still carried a folder, but most of the work was done with the same knives I used for posting the deads, just because they were handy and I was not wrecking my blade on stuff that had a like of dirt and grime. I do see how the pocket knife would get less use than usual if there were others sitting out and handy.
 
Totally unrelated question for those that carry a slip joint or other knife without a clip. Am I the only one that has trouble with crap getting in them? Everything from the odd ball bits and pieces and parts that get stuffed in a pocket over the course of a day to loose change gets wedged in by the blade. It makes using them a pain when the blade is either bound up or everything comes out of the pocket with the knife.

I know, better organization, nothing else in the knife pocket, etc. It jut does not happen that way.
 
Keeping a can of compressed air nearby is handy. ;) And yeah, my EDC rides solo in my LFP. I also don't use pocket clips. No sense advertising I'm carrying, especially as I've never found it necessary to get to my knife in a hurry.
 
I have some that's been carried, but used little, and probably have a few I've carried that hasn't cut a thing.

Many knife nuts carry two or three knives just because we love the things, and not because we know we'll need three knives at once.
Then I rotate, or buy more, and something gets kicked out of pocket, and at times that may be a knife I never even got around to using.

Yes, I have WAY more knives than I need, but I think most of us here do. And if you're young or just getting started, just wait and most of you will have way more than you can use as well.
 
bld522 said:
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.
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To be honest, I had forgotten that knife was there...until I reached in to get my dinner and felt it. That's when my backpack got moved to the locker room. I still maintain that the reporting party had no business going through my backpack; but I chose not to pursue that matter because it would always come back to the fact that there was a knife in it. There had been other times that I felt somebody had been in my pack; but nothing was ever missing so I couldn't confirm it.
 
redman2006 said:
Totally unrelated question for those that carry a slip joint or other knife without a clip. Am I the only one that has trouble with crap getting in them? Everything from the odd ball bits and pieces and parts that get stuffed in a pocket over the course of a day to loose change gets wedged in by the blade. It makes using them a pain when the blade is either bound up or everything comes out of the pocket with the knife.

I know, better organization, nothing else in the knife pocket, etc. It jut does not happen that way.
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I'm a financial equipment field engineer and never have that problem. When working on ATMs, bank vaults, etc. it's in one's best interest not to carry cash. Prevents suspicion should something go missing. Not carrying cash means I never get change.

In the inside of the front flap of my tool bag I keep a large magnet in a metal tray. I've glued the fabric of the pocket it sits in to its surface creating a permanent magnetic vessel in my tool bag. That's where all the little screws, nuts, etc go.

So it's just my slippie and my keys in the front left pocket. The nicer knives ride in a leather pouch to keep them from getting scuffed up.
 
There's something to be said for keeping a knife in a leather sleeve too. For whatever reason the knife seems less intimidating to folks when it comes out of your pocket wrapped in leather. As if things in leather pouches couldn't possibly be used maliciously.
 
To me, not using it seems weird.
But then again, I like to go off the beaten path (often literally), so I can usually find some use along the way.

Heck, today I'm going to a friend's wedding, and I'll be wearing a suit and all that jazz...and two knives.
It's being held in a wooded area though, so I'll probably find some knife use today. :D

Could I get by without a knife being used in a day?
Sure, but I could also get by living on plain pasta, non-flavoured protein powder and vitamin pills...blech!

Knives are the bacon that makes life non-boring. :thumbup:
 
Do I believe it for one second? Not really. I try to be as accurate as possible. So when I say I carried something I will usually say exactly what I cut with it. But I think human nature is to represent something you are trying to sell in the most positive light possible to maximize return. I however operated differently. I try to be as brutal as possible in my selling descriptions so that if anything the buyer is pleasantly surprised. But there is a HUGE amount of BS in many peoples selling descriptions. The best are the guys who say a knife is like new in the box but has been sharpened. Really? All knives are sharpened. But if you mean you have a new knife that you personally as a customer have sharpened yourself that makes a knife the exact opposite of like new. Can anything be done about it? No not really. Aside from ignoring every person who embellishes their for sale threads its sorta impossible. I would just urge anyone looking at used (like new) knives insist on good pictures. Because even if the seller is representing honestly your description of "mint" or "like New" can be different from another person. Detailed pictures allow you to evaluate the knife on your own standards.
 
redman2006 said:
Totally unrelated question for those that carry a slip joint or other knife without a clip. Am I the only one that has trouble with crap getting in them? Everything from the odd ball bits and pieces and parts that get stuffed in a pocket over the course of a day to loose change gets wedged in by the blade. It makes using them a pain when the blade is either bound up or everything comes out of the pocket with the knife.

I know, better organization, nothing else in the knife pocket, etc. It jut does not happen that way.
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Perhaps a leather pouch like these?
http://www.knivesshipfree.com/sheat...ather-pocketslip-pocket-knife-pouch-standard/

I am thinking of making a simple one from some scrap leather we have around here. My wife's sewing machine is supposed to handle thin leather. Most of my pocket knives are inexpensive but I am thinking of getting a GEC for my birthday and would probably want to protect it a bit more.

I personally don't like pocket clips. They scratch things I brush up against.
 
My workplace is what some other forum members might consider "a liberal environment", in a negative connotation. I work as a massage therapist at a wellness center. And yet, nobody minds, including the owners, when I use my knife for various cutting chores, such as cutting plastic strapping, breaking down boxes, opening packages, etc. I usually use a Spyderco of some sort for these things, though I've also used a CRK or a Benchmade. I've also used my Swisstool Spirit to adjust or tighten the screws on my massage table, snip copper wire, etc. Yes, those duties can and do come up at a wellness center. I'm known as the knife guy, but not in a negative way. In fact, if someone else hasn't done those things, I'm often asked if I could use my knife to cut whatever needs cutting. For some of these chores, a Victorinox Classic alone would be insufficient for me.

My dad was a blue collar worker his whole life, and his pocketknives were not only carried, but used hard. I think the average lifespan of any of his knives was maybe a few years. Then he'd go out and get another one. He wasn't faithful about the knife model, either. His knife patterns included scout, 2-blade jack, mariner's knife w/marlin spike, celluloid-handled pen knife, Buck 110, etc. He couldn't have used a Classic or a peanut, because his fingers were so thick and calloused from a lifetime of outdoor work, he wouldn't have been able to open them. As it is, he was just able to use some of his knives. I'm sure his 110 was a lot easier for his hands.

Jim
 
I carry a knife in my pocket.

I also carry a small Maxpedition EDC bag whither I goest. In the EDC bag is another knife, a Camillus Sizzle. It has never been used to this day. Also in the EDC is a small flashlight and a Leatherman Wingman. Also not used yet. The stuff is in there if I need it though... heck, it might even get used today.

So if I pulled the LM and the Sizzle and decided to sell them, they would be "carried but never used" in my description. They're not avoided, just not called upon for duty yet. Just like the BIC lighter that's in there with 'em. :)
 
Urban folk always assume everyone in the world's day consists of sitting in an office all day then getting Starbucks. Some of us actually use our tools for a living.
 
As mentioned before, whether they're going to get used that day or not, we carry them just in case. I carry a flashlight just in case. I carry spare batteries just in case. I carry a multitool just in case. I carry a little pry bar just in case. The philosophy of EDC is largely based off of just in case.

Nothing against any of the guys who have become to be known at work as "knife guy", I just wouldn't be able to stand people constantly coming to me asking me to cut this and that for them like children. At some point, I'd have to ask them since they need one so often, why can't they carry their own?

To answer the original question about the sale ads, there are some ads that are dishonest. Some items sell quick, but do your best to research the item, ask plenty of questions, and research the seller too.
 
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Rum. Monkey. said:
Urban folk always assume everyone in the world's day consists of sitting in an office all day then getting Starbucks. Some of us actually use our tools for a living.
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No, you assume urban folk always assume everyone in the world's day consists of sitting in an office all day then getting Starbucks. Some of us urban folks know better than that.
 
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