I usually get a pretty positive response to my knives, but then again I don't go out of my way to frighten people ("and _this_ is how I'd use this knife to take off someone's head..")
How to get non-knife people to see the light? I don't know. Familiarity works well for some. I always leave some folding knives on the coffee table, so when people come over to watch TV they usually end up playing with one of them. With every person who leaves my apartment newly educated on how to close an integral lock, a liner lock, a rolling lock, etc., I feel like I have contributed to the good fight. Most of my friends have either gotten or want to get knives of their own, if anything just to shut me up about how neat they are. My roommate is dying to get her own sebenza and has branded me an "evil, bad, bad bunny" for introducing her to CR knives. My other roommate won't leave the Endura alone, so I may get him his own for Christmas.
The main "bad" reactions to knives I've seen are fear and disgust.
Fear -- these are the people who just plain don't know anything about knives, and don't like them because they don't know how to use them and are afraid they will injure themselves. These people refuse to use knives as either tools or weapons, or as anything really. I mean, didn't some greasy hoodlum once use a folding knife in a movie to cut someone's throat? That could spontaneously happen to you, but only if you acknowledge that knives exist!
Once properly educated, though, they usually go, "Hey, that didn't blow up in my hand, and it's kinda neat!" I can deal with this type of non-knife person behavior better than:
Disgust -- I usually run into this from people who are waaaaay into MA, and who view guns and knives as being the tools of weak, evil, sneaky, inferior people who do not have enough courage to face a group of attacking thugs with only the "flying hyena of death" technique and a pure heart. To them, knives are primarily weapons, and they don't like to associate with weapons because they view them as a dishonorable cop-out (side note: sorry, but as a 5'0" woman I will take any freakin' advantage I can get if I'm cornered)... Any suggestions on how to deal with these people, I haven't a clue...
When I run into someone who is irrationally averse to shiny sharp objects it's always a disappointment. I brought a beautiful new 15" Ang Khola into work with me the other day and showed it around the office. All the ladies and gents oohed and aahed and said, "pretty!" -- all except for one guy, who said, "I'm not into weapons" and refused to even touch it.
I tried to explain that no, see, this is a piece of lovely artwork that I can also use to clear blackberry vines, mountain apple limbs and banana trees with, but he just wasn't having it. Guess I failed there.
On the other hand, one takes what one can get. After playing with the BM mel pardue letter opener
most of my friends are no longer afraid of "evil switchblades". And a whole bunch of people in my office now know the correct, safe way to sheath/unsheath a khukuri, should they ever need to(?)!
The good fight, eh?
