Doh!!!

Runs With Scissors

Runs With Scissors

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
Messages
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Just yesterday I managed to pick up a BARELY used Pocket Hobbit, and have been quickly falling in love with the thing. It just...very much suits me. So I've been spending some time working on drawing the darn thing and getting it opened fast.
Spent about an hour or so working on that tonight just before dinner when my son and I decided to go to McDonalds. Being an only child, the interaction with other children there makes a world of difference for him during the winters when we're up to our waists in snow.

So, we go in there, get our food, and I'm sitting there just like any other good daddy and reading the latest issue of "Tactical Knives", gettin' a few odd looks, but no big deal.

So, my son, being ever the neat freak like his mommy takes one look at his double cheeseburger and asks me to cut it for him.

I'm really not sure what the hell came over me. I remember something very primitive in the back of my mind saying "CUT THING GOOOOODD!!!!" as my hand flashed to the Pocket hobbit on the hip, slings it open with a loud "snap" and assaults the poor, hapless hamburger with the knife held in a reverse grip. I'm tellin' Ya', them double beef patties with cheese didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell....:rolleyes:

It wasn't until after the burger was definitely severed in the most brutal, tactical way that I looked up and noted several pairs of parental eyes, carefully NOT looking at me. So, I turned a deep shade of crimson, felt like a total horses ass, slowly folded the knife under the table and put it away. undoubtedly made an idiot of myself. Not because there were children running nearby, or any safety hazards of that nature (I'm not that neanderthalic in my cognitive abilities) but that just doesn't impress the non-knife oriented kinda folks you frequently run into in places like that.

Basically I had a moment of total thoughtlessness, and used the wrong kinda knife, in the wrong kinda place.

Any of y'all ever had a moment of thoughtlessness like that? Maybe found yourself sitting bored in church, looking down and realizing that maybe you shouldn't be picking your nails with that Sifu during the sermon? Had co-workers jump back and give you "that look" when a box needed cut and you were just a little too fast for comfort whipping out that tactical wonder knife? I wanna hear about them!!:D

Sheepishly yours,
Mike
 
Well, I get this reaction with almost any knife that my parents see me with. But there was a time I used a Gerber Applegate Covert to cut something really small and their eyes were popping out of their head.:eek:
 
Great story R.W.S. Anymore, it doesn't seem to matter what sort of knife you whip out, they all get the same "look".

Once, I was at a Jersey Mike's sub shop, and the sandwich was just to damn long. An L.C.C. came out, and nearly emptied the whole place! Now personally, I think the L.C.C. is rather small, but apparently, it's not.

There are countless times if I really pick my brain..... the ATCF to remove the customer tag from my keys at the local Ford dealership, the Gunsite at the Christmas party (bad idea), the Trailmaster to perform the emergency amputation at the park, just kidding!

I always pick the wrong time to play with a knife. It's a good thing I like to be alone, because I can clear a room with the best of them.
 
I was interviewing for a job in a bakery, the y wanted me to show them how I mixed dough. I Spydie dropped my Viele open, sliced open the 50# flour bag, closed knife and reclipped with one hand in one flowing motion. She said "You are scaring me". They use a little retractable utility knife.........I don't work there...Guess I was too quick on the draw too! :D
 
one time at work my boss was trying to open a box with a screw so i whipped out my BM42 bali. He just stood there with a surprised look on his face. i then explained that half the fun is getting it open. the knife, not the box. heheh.
 
There was nothing thoughtless about what you did. You could have ised a SAK and the same thing would have happened.
 
I've gotten a few raised eyebrows while cutting meat with a CS-34LT Voyageur (the 4" tanto version) in company cafeterias. I humor myself with the idea that they were merely impressed by how easily & smoothly the job was progressing, rather than by the tools of choice. ;) When loaning it to others on occasion, I've gotten the comment on its return, "Wow, that thing is really SHARP!!" But I was also the "go to" guy when they needed something cut open.
 
Runs With Scissors,
You can be proud of yourself, your son asked you to do something and you were ready willing and able to deal with the task at hand.
I'm really not sure what the hell came over me. I remember something very primitive in the back of my mind saying "CUT THING GOOOOODD!!!!" as my hand flashed to the Pocket hobbit on the hip, slings it open with a loud "snap" and assaults the poor, hapless hamburger with the knife held in a reverse grip. I'm tellin' Ya', them double beef patties with cheese didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell....
Click to expand...
LMAO! I think we all know that feeling :D
Seriously though, what if one of the other kids asked their parent(s) to cut their burger? They would have ended up pulling it apart like some savage ape, less sophisticated than using a knife.
 
I was recently at a family wedding and was back-stage with the cast and crew while bridesmaids, groomsmen etc. were putting the final touches on their "costumes". One of the bridesmaids found that she had not removed a tag from her dress and asked if anyone had a knife. Being the chivalrous, male, knifeknut, I "whipped out" the large Sebenza I was carrying in my tuxedo. She jumped back and I was met with gasps and several negative comments such as "why do you need a knife like that" and "why do you need a knife that big" These comments came from males and females alike. I now carry smaller knives on such occasions in addition to a "tactical"
 
Anything can cause the sheeple reaction.

I was in a meeting and in a rather heated discussion with a colleague. I pulled out my Leatherman Micra and used the scissors to cut a string on my pants that was annoying me.

A woman in the meeting said, "There's no reason to pull out a weapon!"

I just pointed at the Micra, said "Scissors" and put it away.

Dean
 
I had bought a TV at the local wholesale place and noticed that it wasnt going to fit in my car in the box without thiking I pulled out my Spyderco Police and started cutting the box open the guy that was helping me went into a mild state of shock and said WOW!!! I've cut up food with my cammilus arclight in the middle of a Lubys, and cleaned my finger nails with a mirage in a mall. The sheeple dont care what you use they only see a weapon............
 
Two things...

1. Size makes a difference. If you don't have to pull out a 3"+ blade where a 2" blade will do (and you have one), then use the smaller blade. I make a point of carrying my smaller folders most places where I'm likely to be in close quarters with sheeple.

2. If you don't absolutely have to open it one handed (i.e. if your other hand is free) then don't! I find the sheeple don't react as dramatically if you use two hands to open your knife even when you don't have to... Over-all if you move slowly, you don't evoke as much of a reaction as when you demonstrate how quickly you can do it...

Of course even following the above guidelines, some people will react. There isn't much you can do about it.
 
I'm always pulling stuff like that. Because I'm not guilty of any wrongdoing - no apologies as if I was. Also, if I'm not behaving in an anti-social way, any nervousness dissapates on it's own. Soon enough, someone unprepared needs something else cut and needs to ask a favor...

My dad has Runs With Scissors beat however. One average day working at the hardware store, a customer asks my dad about the DMT stones they sell. My dad offers to demonstrate. After a few passes on the DMT stone, my dad takes hold of the customer by his wrist shaves a section of the customer's forearm with the previously dull blade. After realizing what had just truly transpired, the cusomer bought a bench stone. Some guys can get away with stuff because of their mannerism and comportment. The rest of us would be up on assult charges.
 
I doubt it would matter much.
My mom always ask me why am I toting two folding knifes in addition to a multitool. I replied that I like carrying them around.
I truly do.
But in the eyes of non-knive people. All they see a knife is a weapon. They've been indoctrinated by TV and movies to think all knives that are not in a drawer in the kitchen are bad.
They should think for a second. If we ban all knifes, where would we be now? We'll probably try to hunt like cavemen with rocks and not very successful. Same argument could be put forth for guns.
I believe that people who misuse knives (ie robbery, assault) are evil, not the knife.
On a rather curious note, there are plenty of criminals who kill people with their cars (ie high-speed chases) and somehow the law don't ban cars... or how about people who kill others with ropes, or how about people who kill others with bare hands. Why don't they ban the use of all hands then?
 
Let's come right out and say it: people are stupid. It's not the Pocket Hobbit that hurt anyone, it's the bad attitude on the part of deliberately ignorant people.

The same people, who cringe at the sight of my small Sebenza, tell me that my new cane, a Cold Steel City Stick, is beautiful. You tell me, which is the deadlier weapon? Solid steel knob on a 36" fiberglas shaft vs. a blade under 3".

I'll tell you what we have to ban, it's legislative incompetence, pandering, and good-old fashioned stupidity.
 
Well said...
So tell me. you have a 3 foot blunt weapon and people think it's beautiful, but they go nuts on a 3" blade?
 
My Momma used to literally pat me down before I went to school, from about the 4th grade till graduation, cause I carried what the school system considered a 'weapon'. Yeah, I know that kids have used them as such and that "they really arnt needed in that situation", but if you carry every minute of every day outside of class it is kinda hard to break the habit.

I have a confession to make.

I walk lopsided if I dont have a knife in both pockets. Honestly, I NEED them there! It is a hazard to my health if I dont.
 
calyth, I understand people don't always know about each others' special interests, but I would think some physical facts are obvious. The City Stick is pretty good-looking. Sort of like I should be carrying it to the opera!

i can imagine the reactions I'd get to my Vaquero Grande or my LUDT. Although, I was using the Vaquero Grande one day to clear some vines overgrowing the trail, and a young girl came by on the way home from school, and didn't even blink. Just said hi! and skipped on past. Of course, it was easier to get by for all the vines I had just cleared ...

It's not the worst ... I also have a Crawford Survival Staff. I carry the lower portion, 3' long, with a Push Pick for a t-handle. It's a war hammer! I could destroy property with this thing, let alone people. But they see an old man limping along, and they don't flinch.

A definite lack of intellectual acuity. The kids have more sense than their parents. They haven't been whipped into shape by the herd instinct yet.
 
H.I. Midwestern Sales Manager
Click to expand...
-- is that H.I. Himalayan Imports?

No wonder you walk lopsided, with one of those knives in your pocket!! What kind of pocket holds one of those knives, though??

I carried knives in school before it was a real big deal, but I was one of the few who did. And those of us who did were more like geeks than gangstas.

How times do change.
 
Guess times certainly have changed. I graduated in '93 and at the time I graduated I ALWAYS carried a knife, even in school. Usually a Swiss Tinker, ocassionally a Delica, even carried a Cold Steel "Mini-pal" on a piece of para-cord, and it was never an issue. I had one teacher ask what I was wearing on my neck one day, and simply roll his eyes when I showed him. It was a pretty regular thing for me to use them right in front of a teacher. They knew me, they knew I had no intention of ever using a knife to hurt someone. I got in my share of fights as a kid, but they knew damn good and well, I'd never pull a knife. They actually knew me as a student. Now we have such insipid concepts overrun by "Zero Tolerance"
Although I'm sure the same teachers are still there, and probably "look the other way" from time to time.

When I was in woodshop, I brought in a couple of knives with about a twelve inch blade to put handles on. When I was bored or between projects I would bring in a dozen knives or so, and spend the day sharpening them (a regular dream those water stones were)

To further explain my perspective, I'm by no means even a tiny bit inclined to carry smaller knives that I have no interest in to appease the sheeple. As I type this in the back of my mind I'm trying to figure out a way to carry a Spyderco Perrin and a REKAT Hobit Warrior on a more frequent basis. I'm very much a believer in carrying what YOU want to. The other day I carried my Commander, Spyderco Perrin, Tops scalpel, MOD Scorpion, and a SERE 2K. the Perrin was open carry a couple times. Had someone asked why I had them I would have been the same, polite person I always am and explained that I carry them all because I like knives, and because I can. I'm currently carrying my Hobbit quite openly on my hip. Now, that being said.....

I don't feel that we, as a knife community are going to get anywhere by unabashedly cramming our own ideals down societies throat. The fact is that they aren't used to alot of what we are, as knife enthusiasts, So people are bound to find what we often times like to be a bit shocking at times. Kinda like how we'd feel watching some guy we've never met pull out a Becker Machete from concealment to cut a sandwich. People just flat out aren't used to what we are alot of times. If we want to make things better, we should try our best to explain our own perspectives in a calm, rational, soft spoken manner. Not apologizing for your way of life, but more like explaining WHY you have chosen your way. Yeah, I'm as aware as anyone that this crap with reasoning with the unreasonable gets focking old, but it's still a better long range alternative than deliberately scaring the sh!t out of them.

Although I do appreciate Mr. Rappaports suggestions regarding smaller knives, and two hand opening, that is not what I am willing to practice for myself. Any knife I carry, could very well be called upon to save my life. Not necessarily from an attack, but from a crashed airplane, overturned boat, car accident, etc. Yes, very dramatic, highly improbable, but it's the things we underestimate or don't consider that come around to bite us in the ass. In said situation, being the coward that I am, I'm likely to be scared outta my mind. and running off of pure adrenaline induced instinct. When on autopilot that way, I want my autopilot programmed to extract my knife and use it NOW, not sorting through mixed signals of how to best aquire a cutting implement. Remember hearing about the Miami shoot-out, where they found the FBI agents picking up empty brass during a shootout? same concept. I'm not saying Mr. Rappaport is wrong in his suggestions, maybe he's a hell of alot more conscientious than I am, maybe he's got a SIFU tucked into his waistband the last couple years that he hasn't mentioned to us. Could be any of a million reasons, that I could wholeheartedly respect, it's just not always for me. So, for me, I am going to continue carrying my big, potentially scary knives, and accessing them one handed as a deeply ingrained habit. Obviously, if I'm cutting frayed shoelaces for the neighbors child in front of the mailboxes, loose threads in a big crowd right before a friends wedding, etc. there is a need for discretion, I'll either open the knife with one hand DISCREETLY, or play nicely and use two hands, But for my way of life, such instances are very much the acception rather than the rule.

Regarding my actions at the restaurant, that is what embarassed me, was that instead of being more discreet, I whipped that thing out with all the aplomb of Conan The Barbarian grabbing a broadsword. I COULD HAVE and SHOULD HAVE been more subtle, is the bottom line FOR THAT INSTANCE. In retrospect, considering the overall scale of things, I would STILL rather make an ass of myself in front of the sheeple, than politely fumble for a knife when in a time of dire need due to some profoundly bred sense of political correctness.

I'm actually glad I started this thread. I've gotten answers that have been thought provoking, and enlightening, as well as just plain friggin' hilarious. With a couple of just plain nauseating incidents.

Thanks for the input!
 
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