Cases where you wish you could use your knife?

C

Cutlover

Joined
Jan 20, 2016
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366
I know people have used their knife for survival and necessary situations where their knife was there when they needed it, but has their been a flip side? Has there been any situation you were in where you wish you had/could use your knife but couldn't due to some potential issue?

I just thought of this when I was eating. I was in a public eating facility, and just got a banana. It was relatively young and still green, and the stems on both sides were too unripened to peel by hand without making an excessive banana juice mess and looking like a fool. I wish I could have pulled out my knife and cleanly cut the tip off, but the knife with its glorious flip noise and excessively shiny teeth-checking blade isn't too lublic friendly, and would probably raise all kinds of bad attention. I accepted my fate and pried apart my banana with my fork (turned out better than expected tbh). Didn't want to frighten the sheeple.

What are your stories?
 
Since I carry either a traditional or a SAK in addition to my Benchmade, I don't have that problem. And if they get scared of even a SAK and I am legally allowed to carry a knife there, I can care less what they think.
 
I used a Case stockman to cut up some food at a restaurant just yesterday. They had provided a serrated plastic knife that was not suitable. I didn't give it a second thought. Pretty much why I carry a pocket knife, for those times when I need to cut something and there isn't a better tool available.

What kind of knife were you carrying that you don't feel comfortable using it?
 
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I also always carry a SAK (or two!) in addition to my one-hander. One of my SAKs is small enough (Executive) to not even be seen, especially if I use the smaller pen blade (say, to cut the end of a banana). So I never have that problem, so long as the environment is knife-legal. It's not necessary to 'flip open' a knife in order to cut something, like a piece of food.

Jim
 
When I visit my kids school I am limited to just a small slipjoint. Fixed-blades and locking folders are illegal on school property k-12 under California state law. When I am helping to set up for school events like carnivals, etc, I sometimes miss having a larger, more robust knife.

In regards to the OP, it is certainly your prerogative to decide for yourself where and when you use your knife, and I would never criticize or judge you for your decisions. But I can't help but feel sad when I hear of a person refusing to use a knife, when they have a legitimate need for it, and depriving themselves of their legal right merely because they are afraid of how other people might react.

I'll bet that if you were discreet in using your knife, that not a single person would have been frightened. I believe that some knife enthusiasts assume the worst of others by assuming that they will have a negative reaction to even the most simple and mundane use of a knife. But in reality, most people wouldn't give you a second look, and couldn't care less. What's the point of carrying a knife in public if one is unwilling to use that knife in public.
 
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Work. It just doesn't seem to be appropriate to use my machete to cut foam at a corporate gig. :)
 
I almost alwasy have a knife with me, but sometimes at home I don't and in those circumstances I frequently need a knife.
 
Grab a small opinel, either a slim 6 or slim 7...

They are inexpensive, get Very sharp, disappear upright next to your wallet, easy enough to mod if you want an easy open notch or to stain the handles and are people friendly.
 
killgar said:
When I visit my kids school I am limited to just a small slipjoint. Fixed-blades and locking folders are illegal on school property k-12 under California state law. When I am helping to set up for school events like carnivals, etc, I sometimes miss having a larger, more robust knife.

In regards to the OP, it is certainly your prerogative to decide for yourself where and when you use your knife, and I would never criticize or judge you for your decisions. But I can't help but feel sad when I hear of a person refusing to use a knife, when they have a legitimate need for it, and depriving themselves of their legal right merely because they are afraid of how other people might react.

I'll bet that if you were discreet in using your knife, that not a single person would have been frightened. I believe that some knife enthusiasts assume the worst of others by assuming that they will have a negative reaction to even the most simple and mundane use of a knife. But in reality, most people wouldn't give you a second look, and couldn't care less. What's the point of carrying a knife in public if one is unwilling to use that knife in public.
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Same here about the schools. However the knifes in the cafeteria even sharp ones show that there could be exceptions to that rule. Even saw another parent cutting a cake with a huge fixed knife, nobody called the cops. Could they have? Maybe we are just too rural here and in some bigger city everybody would have run out of the school screaming? :-)
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Same here about the schools. However the knifes in the cafeteria even sharp ones show that there could be exceptions to that rule. Even saw another parent cutting a cake with a huge fixed knife, nobody called the cops. Could they have? Maybe we are just too rural here and in some bigger city everybody would have run out of the school screaming? :-)
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There are exceptions in the law for school personnel. And I doubt that anyone would care if a parent brought a kitchen knife to cut a cake. If I truly felt the need for a larger knife while preparing for a school function, I'm sure I could get permission from the principal, which is also another exception in the law. But I never really felt that need, I just prefer a more robust knife ;).
 
I find that I can use a medium size folder discretely most places by the way I hold it and place what I need to cut. Every knife use doesn't have to resemble a cutting contest, or even to open the blade all the way.
 
Every time I do work inside a court house...... but I usually get permission to bring it inside and bypass the metal detectors.
 
I carry the same knife or two every day and use it when needed. I do not brandish my tools and am sure if a reasonable person sees me using my knife responsibly, they should have no problem. If the person has an unreasonable fear of a pocket knife then I do not concern myself with their thoughts or opinions.
 
This type of situation is exactly why I became a 2 knife EDC person. I will typically carry something like my XM-24 or ZT0630 but will also carry a CRK Inkosi or ZT0450CF with me. If the situation is not right for the bigger knife I do not hesitate to go for the smaller folder to take care of the situation. No matter the situation though you will eventually run in to someone who will be freaked out by a Case Peanut.
 
jc57 said:
I used a Case stockman to cut up some food a restaurant just yesterday. They had provided a serrated plastic knife that was not suitable. I didn't give it a second thought. Pretty much why I carry a pocket knife, for those times when I need to cut something and there isn't a better tool available.

What kind of knife were you carrying that you don't feel comfortable using it?
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Well, the location was a college eating facility, and the knife is a 3.75" recurve tactical folder, so yeah :/ I use it all the time in my dorm, my roommates don't care, but in a place with hundreds of people? Too risky

Makes me wish I had a SAK with me, seems like a smart idea
 
killgar said:
When I visit my kids school I am limited to just a small slipjoint. Fixed-blades and locking folders are illegal on school property k-12 under California state law. When I am helping to set up for school events like carnivals, etc, I sometimes miss having a larger, more robust knife.

In regards to the OP, it is certainly your prerogative to decide for yourself where and when you use your knife, and I would never criticize or judge you for your decisions. But I can't help but feel sad when I hear of a person refusing to use a knife, when they have a legitimate need for it, and depriving themselves of their legal right merely because they are afraid of how other people might react.

I'll bet that if you were discreet in using your knife, that not a single person would have been frightened. I believe that some knife enthusiasts assume the worst of others by assuming that they will have a negative reaction to even the most simple and mundane use of a knife. But in reality, most people wouldn't give you a second look, and couldn't care less. What's the point of carrying a knife in public if one is unwilling to use that knife in public.
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I tried to see it from the other sheeple's perspective: If I was eating in a public dorm area (restaurant type of place) and I saw someone pull out a 3.75" recurve tactical blade, it would seem kind of out of place, especially for just cutting a banana (though it would have been nice). Probably just me though, idk lol
 
Cutlover said:
Well, the location was a college eating facility, and the knife is a 3.75" recurve tactical folder, so yeah :/ I use it all the time in my dorm, my roommates don't care, but in a place with hundreds of people? Too risky

Makes me wish I had a SAK with me, seems like a smart idea
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Yeah, just start carrying a slipjoint or small locking traditional. I always carry a second knife for additional tool selection and to avoid raising blood pressures unnecessarily.
 
I'll use my knife wherever I want. If it's legal to carry, I'll use it. Scared sheeple be damned. Although I often have the opposite situation arise, where I'll find another method to open a package or whatever to preserve my edge.
 
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