First Negative Sheeple Reaction

Meanwhile, during a meeting at my office (I work-study at my school), the same co-worker (chick) who interviewed me, got bored, saw clip on pocket (ParaMilitary) pulled it out to see what it was, nodded and put it back
 
tacticaloperator said:
Well, my fellow knife enthusiasts, I'm happy I'm not alone on this. I wanted to share a bad experience of mine but I was too embarrased :o . Now, after reading this, let me tell you:
I work in a production line of a high-tech company (a major one). Each worker has its own tool box with everything he needs to do the job. We have to open many nylon bags & cardboard boxes during the day. I usually carry in the left pocket of my shop coat my Spyderco UK knife because I simply can't without it; it is so useful :D ! Once I was warned not to use it on the production line, so I keep it most of the time in my pocket. I lost (or someone stole) a box cutter I had in my tool box so I used my UK knife & lef it on the tool box while working. My boss saw it :eek: & confiscate it, called me to his office :mad: & suspended me until next week for using what he called "a slaughtering tool"! (please forgive my poor translation of his words) :barf: .
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That is nuts. I can understand why people are afraid of knives, they are seldom carried and usually associated with crime/delinquents. However, they should remove their head from there blow hole and use some rational. Sorry to hear about your story, was pretty pathetic.
 
tka1 said:
Ain't that the truth! There are times I've told people my Chris Reeve Mountaineer I was "about $50" because they would never understand (only certain types of people), and I still get a weird look like "you spent $50 for a knife?" Haha. I wonder what would happen if I told the truth! Does anybody else sometimes downplay the cost of a good knife to avoid having to explain why they can be expensive sometimes?
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IDK, I like knives of all types pretty much, but can't see spending $300 on a knife, just can't. While I like many different types of knives, I would only buy knives that were useful and didn't cost $$$. This is now though, $100 is my limit, past that and it seems a little pointless. I can understand the different materials making a difference, but it comes down to use for me. A $300 straight blade will cut x material just as well as that $30, depending on what x material is, but hopefully you get my point. If you collected knives like stamps or cookies jars, that is another story.
 
My parents r pretty understanding. I was at the local knife shop a couple of weeks ago with my dad and I was looking at the kershaw Spec Bump (granted that would scare alot of ppl i know just cause of its size! wait till i get the offset :D ) anyway, i opened it infront of my dad, and he said "I know that it isnt a switchblade, but that sure does open fast." I had to laugh. Give him credit though, he knows the diference between a switch and an AO. My mom, who doesnt really understand why i like knives so much, thought that the AO kershaw chive was cute! I think ive taught them well! :D
 
What I don't get is..... if you've worked with someone for awhile, gotten to know them a bit, then see them pull out a knife to use for some mundane chore..... why would you get uneasy, or even go so far as to freak out in front of them? It's the same person you've known for awhile. I don't get it.

(Then again, I'm not a member of the sheeple community).
 
Monocrom, they aren't reacting to the person, circumstances, or specific knife. They are reacting to a symbol, a tool of incomprehensible and unappeasable forces. They have conditioned themselves to flinch at a picture of a knife, let alone an actual blade.
 
The more we adapt ourselves to the spineless, the metrosexuals, the sheeple, the more they become the norm. They need to adapt to us, not the other way around.

cheers
 
I'm not referring specifically to anyone here, but I find it ironic that some people who are outraged by negative reactions from other people to their knives react the exact same way when they see someone carrying a gun in a holster.
 
Huh?

Which people who are outraged by negative reactions from other people to their knives react the exact same way when they see someone carrying a gun in a holster?

Of course, a gun, holstered or otherwise, is a weapon. A knife is not necessarily a weapon, and in many of these stories, is nothing like a weapon in its presentation or appearance or use.

Even so, where does the opportunity for this outrage arise? I can't remember the last time I saw anyone but a police officer with a holstered handgun.
 
It is no surprise people are concerned about knives:
* We live in a society where children kill each other, and adults kill children.
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Always have.
* People kill their fellow workers on a regular basis.
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Nothing new there.
* There are violent gangs.
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Always have been.
* There is a lot of crime - the prisons are filled.
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Curiously, incarceration rates correlate rather poorly with crime rates, particularly violent crime rates.
* The media makes sure we know about all of it. They do it because, we, the public are fascinated by it.
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Especially that latter bit. There'd be no coverage if there were not a market for it. Again, though, this is nothing new. People have been fascinated by stories of violence for thousands of years.
* We also seem to have a fascination with watching people terrorizing and harming each other so it is always in the media conditioning us.
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See above. Note that violent crime rates in the United States are very near historical lows, yet people are seemingly as frightened as they have ever been. (Now, why might that be?)
* We live in a society where knives are not commonly needed in daily lives by most people - except to cut their food (most people have scissors, box cutters around, etc.).
* Getting cut by a blade seems scarier than getting shot by a gun. Kind of like getting attacked by a shark is more frightening than falling off a cliff.
* People are not used to seeing other people with knives.
* The knives have become associated more as weapons than tools.
* Some of the knives are designed to look especially dangerous, Rambo-like, etc.
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These last points seem especially pertinent. People fear what they are not familiar with, and most people in the industrialized world today are not familiar with knives in settings other than the kitchen. All we can do is educate, recruit, and lobby our elected officials.
 
Personally, I like the wide-eyed look on their faces when they see and hear the big blade fly out. For added effect, I roll it back and forth just a little so the blade will catch the light!! At that point, I proceed to use it as the tool it was intended to be with a grin of satisfaction on my face, and that is that!

PanMan
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Monocrom, they aren't reacting to the person, circumstances, or specific knife. They are reacting to a symbol, a tool of incomprehensible and unappeasable forces. They have conditioned themselves to flinch at a picture of a knife, let alone an actual blade.
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Unfortunately, I believe you are correct. :(
 
People are really weird about knives, and you really can't tell who feels freaked out by simply seeing a tool in use by the person's appearance. And the knife in question doesn't have to be an assisted-opener or even a big knife. Once when using the tiny scissors on a Victorinox Classic SAK, a woman saw my cutting the paper and said loudly, "I'll have you know that is a deadly weapon! What are you doing carrying something like that?!"

Other people say stuff like, "Guys who carry knives get shot by guys who carry guns." (you can even hear this in the new Tarantino film). It's usually said by people who don't know the first thing about knives (or even guns) in the first place. Besides, I use my knife as a tool.
Jim
 
Forgot to mention, I've known a lot of martial arts people who freak out or act stupid around knives. Which is weird, because lots of martial artists consider themselves misunderstood by non-practitioners.
Jim
 
Americans have become "soft". People who still live somewhat primitive lives (like many of our enemies) don't flinch at the sight of a pocketknife. They likely had to kill the last chicken their family had for dinner. How did we become so wussy so fast? Being detached from the natural world. Our grandparents grew up on the farm. Todays "Twenty-something" office pukes grew up in Suburbia. Life may become hard again. Most of these people will shrivel up and die. Having to fight to survive is not within their makeup.
 
Without knives life woudl suck, they are soo useful, I couldn't do half the things I do without a knife, they are excellent for hobbyists.
 
The Dogman said:
How did we become so wussy so fast? Being detached from the natural world. Our grandparents grew up on the farm. Todays "Twenty-something" office pukes grew up in Suburbia.
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I grew up in New York City. When we moved to suburbia, I was delighted to get out in the fields and the woods.

Once I was on my own, I used to get to the Bronx Zoo as often as I could. I was astonished at how many people would walk inside the animal houses and flinch and complain at the smell. Some of them clearly had no idea what it was coming from.

One day in the Lion House in the old Central Park Zoo, I heard a shriek from the other end and looked to see that some people had been leaning over the fence and talking too much. The lion got irritated, got up, and walked away -- spraying them first. They knew where that smell came from. :p
 
James Y said:
People are really weird about knives, and you really can't tell who feels freaked out by simply seeing a tool in use by the person's appearance. And the knife in question doesn't have to be an assisted-opener or even a big knife. Once when using the tiny scissors on a Victorinox Classic SAK, a woman saw my cutting the paper and said loudly, "I'll have you know that is a deadly weapon! What are you doing carrying something like that?!"
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I hope you shouted back something like, "Hey, it's a pair of tiny folding scissors. What are you some sort of paranoid nut?"

Then watch her instantly back down from fear of everyone else around actually thinking she is one. :D
 
tka1 said:
Ain't that the truth! There are times I've told people my Chris Reeve Mountaineer I was "about $50" because they would never understand (only certain types of people), and I still get a weird look like "you spent $50 for a knife?" Haha. I wonder what would happen if I told the truth! Does anybody else sometimes downplay the cost of a good knife to avoid having to explain why they can be expensive sometimes?
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Hah! Are you kidding me? I have to justify to my girlfriend the--vastly rounded-down--cost of my current small collection of knives to my girlfriend.

I suppose it's much the same, only magnified, to anyone who owns more knives, and any man who appreciates/owns more tools than he 'needs.'
 
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