Christmas with family - "why do you always carry knives?"

CanadaKnifeGuy

CanadaKnifeGuy

Joined
Jan 27, 2019
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The setting: Christmas day - large family gathering.

A big meal, followed by lots of presents to open.

My ol' man was having difficulty carving the roast that my sister made with her crappy, dull kitchen knives.

My Spyderco Salt 2 cut through it with ease! A 3" blade length! :thumbsup:

After dinner:
Every other gift ppl were coming to me with a package that needed tape sliced, a ribbon cut or some other use of the little 1.5" sheepsfoot blade of my Alox Victorinox Electrician to get at their gift haul.

During that, I heard 3x, "Why do you always carry knives on you??"

I was like: "Have you noticed how many times I bailed ppl out today and how often it came in handy?!?!"

:confused::rolleyes::cool:
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
My reply : “Question is, why dont you?”
Or my other answer: “Why wouldnt I?”
Click to expand...
I bet they would use the same answer for both :
Question is, why dont you? Because I'd put my eye out !
Why wouldnt I. Because you'll put your eye out !

Standard Christmas time argument against carrying "deadly weapons".
But then they always end up cowering under the kitchen table begging you to protect them from Black Bart and his gang !
 
My family knows I’m a knife nut.
They were teasing me about passing around a dull knife to open presents this year.
I thought they were just yanking my chain for a laugh...until I checked the edge. It felt like a butter knife!

That sucker is wearing a fresh 17° mirror now!

I also make it a habit to gift at least one knife each Christmas. This year I gifted three. Gotta get my family up to speed. ;-)
 
When I encounter this way of thinking I remind people that throughout human history it is only very recently considered abnormal to carry a knife, and how prior to that the knife was considered a vital tool. I remind them that the development of the edged tool was one of the most important breakthroughs of all time, second only perhaps to the harnessing of fire, so much so that both of these innovations even shaped human evolution. This leads us to the logical conclusion, and the answer we should be prepared to give anyone who considers the carrying of knives to be uncivilized, that without knives there would likely be no civilization to be uncivilized in.

Luckily for me, I happen to be a country boy, and my family completely understands the reason for carrying a knife. Why, to cut things of course. In fact, I always have to make sure my blade is sharp whenever I visit my dad because he is sure to put me to the test and quick to shame me if it's not. If it by chance is not hair popping sharp he'll say something like "Boy, you need to take a file to that thing" ;). I only made that mistake once and now I'm always certain to touch up my edge before I visit. He doesn't understand my obsession however; or why I need so many, or so big, or so "fancy" knives. He does always make a point of figuring out the various locks for himself when I hand them to him though, as he holds the superstition that it is bad luck to hand someone back an opened pocket knife. The other side of my family are not knife nuts, but they often admire my folders whenever I use them at a family gathering.

I've faced a similar situation with flashlights. For some reason people find it odd to carry one at all times, which baffles me personally. The answer is easy though when someone asks you why you carry a flashlight. "Because sometimes it's dark". Hard to argue with that one.
 
"Always have, always will", always my response to these related judgemental inquiries.
 
Your EDC knife serves you well when you need a package opened. You serve your extended family well when they all need their packages opened. :p
 
This like many questions fall into the same group. “If you have to ask, I can’t explain it to you.”

I’m not one to judge. Honestly everyone paddles their own canoe through life.

I will say that if someone doesn’t carry a knife I question all of their other decisions. They just ain’t right.
 
I knew a guy who could say “If you have to ask, I can’t explain it to you” with just a look on his face and a shake of his head.

Now that I think of it. It was a valuable skill.

I Learned a lot from him but he rarely spoke. Wish there were more like him.
 
I have received that question from coworkers before, but not from my family. My dad always had a small pocket knife, and so did both of my grandfathers.

Here in Tennessee almost everyone carries a clipped-on knife of some sort, and I see many young ladies sporting a clipped-on knife.

best

mqqn
 
CanadaKnifeGuy said:
The setting: Christmas day - large family gathering.

A big meal, followed by lots of presents to open.

My ol' man was having difficulty carving the roast that my sister made with her crappy, dull kitchen knives.

My Spyderco Salt 2 cut through it with ease! A 3" blade length! :thumbsup:

After dinner:
Every other gift ppl were coming to me with a package that needed tape sliced, a ribbon cut or some other use of the little 1.5" sheepsfoot blade of my Alox Victorinox Electrician to get at their gift haul.

During that, I heard 3x, "Why do you always carry knives on you??"

I was like: "Have you noticed how many times I bailed ppl out today and how often it came in handy?!?!"

:confused::rolleyes::cool:
Click to expand...
I've carried a sheath knife since the early 60's , even as a kid in school. Totally illegal today. All my life, got asked why carry? Family, friends, bosses etc. I had the impression these people are nervous in the presence of what is perceived by mainstream as 'a weapon.' I gave the question thought and have replied, "A knife is a symbol of a lifestyle I believe in." Meaning self-sufficiency etc. If you end up isolated - voluntarily or in a plane car crash into the wilds, the single most important item to have is a knife. So to me the knife is a symbol of this. I explain, "You wear a tie, why? I think it is a symbol of your lifestyle, class , shows who your peers are, serves as an identification, helps others decide if they want to sit next to you on the bus etc. The tie is important to you, and you would be offended to be asked or told to remove it. Yet the tie serves no functional purpose whatever. My knife means the same to me, only it is not just a useless symbol, it is functional." We are all nervous around those who are not of our tribe. I do not want others to feel afraid being around me because I carry. I am not a bad-ass. My hope would be help people feel at ease, understand about symbols, lifestyle choices.In my view part of 'feeling safe,' involves hanging with people who understand the world we live in. If I look around for a seat, I might spot the guy in leathers and a blade at his side. I sit next to him and ask, "You been stringing steel?" I know he understands I'm asking if he has been trapping furs. If I add, how I just caught a wolf, I know this guy is not going to scream for security and have me arrested or burn my house down. I know this guy knows PETA stands for "People for the eating of tasty animals." We got stuff in common, feel comfortable around each other. I wonder if this has to do with how we dress, how we present ourselves in public. Guy wears a tie, I'm nervous, scared, he might be a lawyer. I'm gonna plead the 5th.
 
milesofalaska said:
I've carried a sheath knife since the early 60's , even as a kid in school. Totally illegal today. All my life, got asked why carry? Family, friends, bosses etc. I had the impression these people are nervous in the presence of what is perceived by mainstream as 'a weapon.' I gave the question thought and have replied, "A knife is a symbol of a lifestyle I believe in." Meaning self-sufficiency etc. If you end up isolated - voluntarily or in a plane car crash into the wilds, the single most important item to have is a knife. So to me the knife is a symbol of this. I explain, "You wear a tie, why? I think it is a symbol of your lifestyle, class , shows who your peers are, serves as an identification, helps others decide if they want to sit next to you on the bus etc. The tie is important to you, and you would be offended to be asked or told to remove it. Yet the tie serves no functional purpose whatever. My knife means the same to me, only it is not just a useless symbol, it is functional." We are all nervous around those who are not of our tribe. I do not want others to feel afraid being around me because I carry. I am not a bad-ass. My hope would be help people feel at ease, understand about symbols, lifestyle choices.In my view part of 'feeling safe,' involves hanging with people who understand the world we live in. If I look around for a seat, I might spot the guy in leathers and a blade at his side. I sit next to him and ask, "You been stringing steel?" I know he understands I'm asking if he has been trapping furs. If I add, how I just caught a wolf, I know this guy is not going to scream for security and have me arrested or burn my house down. I know this guy knows PETA stands for "People for the eating of tasty animals." We got stuff in common, feel comfortable around each other. I wonder if this has to do with how we dress, how we present ourselves in public. Guy wears a tie, I'm nervous, scared, he might be a lawyer. I'm gonna plead the 5th.
Click to expand...

I'm going to commit this paragraph to memory.
Well said.:thumbsup:
 
Folks who ask that question don't want an answer. They're questioning the existence of the knife.

I don't have fur, so I wear a coat and a hat. I can't see in the dark like a cat, so I carry a flashlight.

Those are a couple of concepts that people accept with no problem at all.

I don't have claws or fangs, so I carry a knife.

Here now is a problem... because the only reason the wolf has fangs and claws is to kill sheep.

Guess they don't want me roaming around prepared to kill sheep.

Wait until I tell them I pack the gun because I can't throw rocks that far.
 
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