Do you talk to strangers?

yea i ask every time i see one ! its kind of a game try to tell what it is be for you ask and it some times shocks people when you ask them and get it right before they pull it out. but most people i've asked have to look at the name on it before they can tell you and that always SHOCKS me that someone would carry a folder and not even know what it is
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While I generally don't strike up conversations w/ strangers regarding knives (or little else here in NYC), if there is a legitimate social context I'll ask. The UPS guy who delivered to the building I used to work in carried a Gerber EZ-out & we talked knives a couple of times. I've spotted interesting clips here & there from time to time, but mentioning it would have been inappropriate.

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"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance" (Celtic Proverb)
AKTI# A000107
 
Do you talk to strangers? only if they are stranger than me
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yeah, i always ask, i'm fairly outgoing.

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a cat almost always blinks when hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer, if he sees it coming, that is.
Cats, The Other White Meat.{courtesy of VG}
life's tough, get a helmet.
A few of my Knives
russ aka BladeZealot
 
Most of the time, I wear a tie for work, so any knife I carry is deep in my pocket. One day, I got an after hours service call, so I took off from home in my normal attire. I arrived at the customer site, hadn't been in the room for more than 5-10 minutes, and one of the employees made me. He walk up and asked, "what type of Benchmade is that clipped in your pocket". I have worked off and on with him for a couple of years in the past, and didn't have a clue to his interests until he spotted my BM812. Now when we cross paths because of work, there is always a little blade talk involved.

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"Some days you're the dog, and some days you're the hydrant"
 
Well...there you go.
In Kentucky it has always been important to carry a nice pocket knife. If you saw a clip and asked about it, you would most likely have a good conversation with another knife lover.
The South--Big difference in attitudes regarding knives and guns.
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Will
 
Well lessee....total strangers rank into the category that I want to figure them out a bit before I divulge our mututal interests if I happen to spot a clip. I may not want to encourage conversation with some characters. Since they're usually wearing it strong side front pocket I can see most of the clip and yes its fun to guess. On the other hand if I happen to be having some type of commerce or discussion with said clip wearer I may ask if he/she enjoys their blade. So far this has lead me to nothing but good relations from all. I now have an insurance agent that stops by to talk blades, a fed ex driver that brings blades to show me on his break now and again. Done some tradin too..even more fun. Though I'm only into good production blades these guys/gals know I could be wearing most anything. As far as strangers go I usually don't divulge...now once I talk to them a bit they may not be strangers any longer...but that doesn't mean I'm sharing hardware with them necessarily. Some are kinda taken aback when you not only guess they're carrying but have a pretty good idea of what it is....I tell them what do they expect..its like wearing a flag as far as I'm concerned...even after talking to them most never notice the bm710 or even the sifu I carry iwb. I just usually pull out the little 2blade case and till them I like good blades too.
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Here in Medford, lots of guys carry knives. It's a medium sized town where, when you pass someone on the street, you offer a friendly hello. Eye contact comes easy. Conversation comes easy, so yes I usually do ask what they have when I see a clip, and we usually trade for a moment and share an anecdote. If I'm carrying a custom that day, the pleasure's mine. You don't see many handmades carried here in Medford...

 
I note clips on people's pockets (and other unusual bulges indicating possible "tools.") but I won't ask folks about it.

Interesting enough, I was walking and minding my own business when I noticed a guy looking at my clip. He came up (and I immediately became cautious) and asked whether I was carrying a Spyderco. "Yup" I said. He then pulled out an unusual lefty Spyderco Wegner (or was that a Goddard?) and proudly said that only a few of those were made and he has one. He then let me handled his knife (which made him very happy.) I thanked him for sharing his pride and joy and he merrily went on his way.

sing
AKTI #A000356
 
I'm an outgoing and easygoing person and I love to meet new people. But I used to live in NYC (grew up there, moved away for all the right reasons), so I also have a healthy sense of respect for people's privacy. In general, I'll ask about a knife if the context gives me any excuse to start a conversation. Knife or no knife I'll find that excuse if the stranger is a woman! I've been wearing a clip (IWB hidden a lot by belt) for years and I can't recall anyone asking me about it except at a knife show.
 
I do, and have met some nice people that way. I've had a couple of people ask me what I was carrying, and I've asked a couple. Funny though, I don't see as many clips as I'd think down here in Tejas. Most must be carrying those 5 1/2" fixed blades the law allows....
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Brandon
 
Sometimes I ask strangers about their clipped knives; it depends on the situation. If we're in a really public place, I wouldn't want to make them feel uncomfortable by asking them to pull out a knife in front of people.

It's a mixed bag... A couple of months ago, I asked a guy at a party if I could see the knife he had clipped to his jeans. He showed it to me, but it was a POS knock-off.

I then showed him a couple of classy Spydercos I was carrying, expecting him to be impressed. Instead, he just scoffed my knives and asked how much they cost. When I told him, he responded by telling me how I was crazy to spend that much on a knife, etc..

There's really no way you can explain in a couple of minutes why a particular knife is higher quality and why higher quality equals higher price, so I just shrugged and wandered away. It's weird how some people carry knives, but they're not at all what you would call a "knife knut"; a knife to them is probably as boring and meaningless as something like a screwdriver is to me.

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Cerulean

"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off." - J.K.M.

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 03-02-2001).]
 
Depends. If I'm at a gun show, feed store, hardware store, or someplace where it might be acceptable to talk about and take out a knife then "maybe".

But in line at a restaurant or at the office, NO WAY!

But I never ever give my knife to someone I don't know personally, and know well.

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Stay back! or I'll...OUCH...cut myself.
 
Stranger than what? Isn't it all relative?

I don't usually see a lot of other people with clips around here in MA. not many people feel comfortable enough here to wear openly. i feel their pain.

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Sean

If you find you must throw something at me, please make it a custom.

"May your blade chip and shatter"- Dune Fremen fighting saying
 
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