Frustrated handing friends/family your knives

mauser9 said:
Good policy in never lending a knife. Ya know they will screw it up by prying or something else stupid. Have found that non knife and not gun people tend to be boring as hell.
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I lend a pocket prybar out to these people, cause usually they do not need something cut! I never have to question if a tip will hold up again.

Lucky to have good family who won't abuse knives, or put 'em in the dishwasher... my girlfriend cares about a knife only as far as a cutting tool, gave her a comp locked Sage 5 and she two hand opens it, I'm always trying to go "Hey, see the hole? Just go like this... *FLICK*" and she says "NOOO, I can't do it!". But the fact that she can easily maintain M4 speaks to both her as a knife-caretaker and Spyderco's M4/DLC coating. The first thing she did when I gave it to her was remove the oil coating, lol.

Occasionally if I lend something out to my mom, she will maybe try to close a liner-lock like a slipjoint, and I'll be like "NONONO" but she's learning. Gave her the collar-lock Opinel in Walnut for Christmas and she loves that. No nicks or cuts yet.

I showed some knives off to some co-workers of my girlfriend after I heard 'em discussing laws, erroniously saying the length of the palm is the legal length. I told 'em, no legal length for anything not auto, bali, or D/E, and then showed them my UTX-70 to show them an example of a doubly-illegal knife, both cause of its edge and action. That one knocks it out of the park, men and women alike enjoy it, and it's so tiny, even they were admitting that it's insane how something like that is banned.

I like to show folks with an interest.
 
Their reaction is my reaction when someone shows me shoes, purses, golf clubs and bowling balls,. If you want to jerk a reaction tell them how much you paid for your knife 🤣
 
The last time I showed someone a couple of the knives I was carrying, it was my brother-in-law and his mother. The first question was "Why do you need such a big knife?". My response was "To cut things with". I wish I had taken a photo of their faces. That's when I promised myself that my knives would never leave my pocket unless there was something that needed to be cut.

Same with my watches. My hobbies are for my enjoyment, and no one else's.
 
This is going to sound worse than it is, but here goes. I simply do not care about the opinions of others when it comes to my knives. Certainly not enough to show them off. Occasionally a friend will ask to see a knife he does not recognize and we might chat a bit (you know, like "new knife?" "Yeah, got it a couple of weeks ago" "Nice") and that's about it.

My interests are not the same all the way up and down as them and I certainly do not want to hear any more blather about the newest iPhone.

We have plenty of other subjects to talk about rather than to hurt one another's feelings because they're not keenly interested in the others hobbies.
 
Some time back "I offered" to showcase my knives to my brother in law, & he was like "wow, but why?", & believe me it hurt😭 But last week to my surprise, he came back with a fake Japanese kitchen knife, & was excited about having a cool looking knife for his garden, BBQs etc, I told him that thing WILL break. Anyway, yesterday I gifted him one of my own, his reaction was PRICELESS as I was cutting through that paper, he was like a kid(he's 45+). So all in all i'm happy that he ended up appreciating a decent fixed blade.
 
John Phillips said:
Alright, does anyone else get frustrated when you hand a friend/family member an amazing knife to look at or use and they kindly say “that’s nice” and quickly hand it back to you?

I handed my brother one of my grail knives, Rockstead Hizen DLC, he glanced at it, didn’t even try to open and close it and handed it right back with a haphazard “nice”. Total viewing time, about 6 seconds. Same response when I handed him my CKF Evo 2.0. Dude, can you please stop and appreciate the craftsmanship, the extreme tolerances achieved, the design, the crazy 100% flawless mirrored DLC blade, anything?????

I don’t expect others to be knife nerds/addicts like I am but I’ll stop and stare to appreciate a really nice sports car in a parking lot even though I don’t know all the details that make it so special. Does it go A to B like a Camry, yep, is it in another universe comparison wise, YES!!! How about just a little more appreciation!!!!! Just a smidge please, LOL.

Who’s got a similar story and do wish almost wish you didn’t show it at all given the response you received? What was the knife?
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The same thing could be said about many things including kittens and puppies. Some people for some unknown reason aren't into them.

My BIL was going on and on about his Gerber something or another he had at home so I handed him my CRK, he handed it back without opening it and said "nice". So I understand your pain.
 
John Phillips said:
Alright, does anyone else get frustrated when you hand a friend/family member an amazing knife to look at or use and they kindly say “that’s nice” and quickly hand it back to you?

I handed my brother one of my grail knives, Rockstead Hizen DLC, he glanced at it, didn’t even try to open and close it and handed it right back with a haphazard “nice”. Total viewing time, about 6 seconds. Same response when I handed him my CKF Evo 2.0. Dude, can you please stop and appreciate the craftsmanship, the extreme tolerances achieved, the design, the crazy 100% flawless mirrored DLC blade, anything?????
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Why would you do that?

Okay, picture this: you own a bicycle shop. A customer comes in. Do you immediately go up to them and show them a 5,000 dollar bike, peppering them with all the special language known to bike enthusiasts and bike mechanics, and expect them to swoon over your awesome inventory? Or do you wait to see what they're in your shop for so you can tailor your approach to their specific needs and their knowledge level?

Now imagine you're just a regular cyclist who doesn't own a shop. You ride your bike to work and obnoxiously show off all your gear to your co-workers who aren't interested in bicycles the same way you are and who wouldn't know the difference between a 300 dollar bike and a 3,000 dollar bike. You for some reason expect them to respond with what you would feel to be an appropriate level of reverence.

Your co-workers would probably hate you. Why would you do that to yourself? Why would you put others through that? There's a proper time and place for these things. Your normal average person probably has no knowledge of or enthusiasm towards your own personal interests.

John Phillips said:
I don’t expect others to be knife nerds/addicts like I am but I’ll stop and stare to appreciate a really nice sports car in a parking lot even though I don’t know all the details that make it so special. Does it go A to B like a Camry, yep, is it in another universe comparison wise, YES!!! How about just a little more appreciation!!!!! Just a smidge please, LOL.

Who’s got a similar story and do wish almost wish you didn’t show it at all given the response you received? What was the knife?
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I think you understand what you're doing but you don't want to acknowledge it.

To most people, a knife is just some varying level of useful vs frightening, and that's basically all they care to know. You can't just always expect other people to see things in a same or similar way to you.
 
I actually had something like this happen, just remembered it. So, I try to be very helpful around my fiance's family, it is important to me that I am seen well. I am always offering to help with what I can. Had my Leatherman rejected the other day because the man dating my mother-in-law did not think that my Phillips screwdriver was indeed a Phillips screwdriver. That ain't about appreciation, though. The guy is like Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, very snooty and "above you", if you are a man who he thinks he can sort of get over on.

I cut the top off of their Christmas tree this year when the top was unaccommodating of their angel (RAT 2!), I cut and processed two trees worth of lemons for everyone to enjoy lemon curd... so I come over there, and the FIL has a new pocket knife. He hands it to me, and it reminds me of one of the first knives I got which was a $15 Chinese Amazon no-name clasp-lock bowie of about 6" length. It is still an impressive knife (mine, with the clasp), but I have no illusions about its quality. He calls it "The Murder Weapon" becaues of it's roughly 5 inch blade. I admire the wooden scales as I like that, even on a cheap knife, and hand it back to him with good words. I have one like that.

I had just gotten my first PM2, and was like "Uhh, you ever hear of Spyderco?" and this guy is just so dismissive, man, I wish I could convey his tone through text, it's like Comic Book Guy. Evidently, he had not heard of it and did not think highly of this one. It was only a few weeks later, during a reveal of how much one of these costs, did he begin to think "Ohh, maybe the kid's carrying a real tool".

I feel a lil awkward saying this, because it's like what, did I expect him to jump up and down over it? No, of course not, the guy is just generally dismissive. Like with the screwdriver. He was not wanting a bigger tool, he saw me say "I've got a multitool" and was like "Oh, great!" and I open it up, hand him the LM, and he looks at the bit... and was like "Yeeeahhhh... I think I'll be getting a screwdriver from my garage...". That isn't the way I would say it, if I were him.
 
John Phillips said:
Alright, does anyone else get frustrated when you hand a friend/family member an amazing knife to look at or use and they kindly say “that’s nice” and quickly hand it back to you?

I handed my brother one of my grail knives, Rockstead Hizen DLC, he glanced at it, didn’t even try to open and close it and handed it right back with a haphazard “nice”. Total viewing time, about 6 seconds. Same response when I handed him my CKF Evo 2.0. Dude, can you please stop and appreciate the craftsmanship, the extreme tolerances achieved, the design, the crazy 100% flawless mirrored DLC blade, anything?????

I don’t expect others to be knife nerds/addicts like I am but I’ll stop and stare to appreciate a really nice sports car in a parking lot even though I don’t know all the details that make it so special. Does it go A to B like a Camry, yep, is it in another universe comparison wise, YES!!! How about just a little more appreciation!!!!! Just a smidge please, LOL.

Who’s got a similar story and do wish almost wish you didn’t show it at all given the response you received? What was the knife?
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That sounds exactly like everyone I know. I don't even bother. But, I hate the deal when I'd show a friend my knife and they pull out a twenty dollar flea market special and say, oh yeah I got one just like it!
 
Nope, doesn't bother me in the least.

What DOES bother me is when co-workers ask to look at (not use) a knife I am carrying because they think it looks cool... And then they proceed to drop it.

Like my Pro-Tech titanium Malibu, or my Spyderco Slysz Bowie, or my Hogue Mini-RSK, or my Spyderco M4 Para 3, or my Massdrop Keen. :mad:

One of these days I'll learn better.
 
No. My collections are for me. As others have shown, you never know what turns someone on.
I collect anvils as well. I've got 15 of them; some antique collectables, some modern.

This is my front gate that I made. Had just a couple comments over the years, but the only one I remember was "is that an anchor on your front gate?"
pXb1gFj.jpg
 
HopalongCassidy said:
No. My collections are for me. As others have shown, you never know what turns someone on.
I collect anvils as well. I've got 15 of them; some antique collectables, some modern.

This is my front gate that I made. Had just a couple comments over the years, but the only one I remember was "is that an anchor on your front gate?"
pXb1gFj.jpg
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Beautiful work!😎
 
I don't volunteer my interest in knives to others, nor do I think less of people who lack appreciation for knives.

But I do get a strong sense of satisfaction, and validation, when a non-knife person I know needs something cut, and when they ask if anyone has something to cut with, I step up, produce my knife, and do the cutting for them.

It's quite satisfying when someone is trying, and failing to cut something open with their house/car key, and I say "Let me see it", pull out my knife, slice right through it, and hand it back to them.
 
killgar said:
I don't volunteer my interest in knives to others, nor do I think less of people who lack appreciation for knives.

But I do get a strong sense of satisfaction, and validation, when a non-knife person I know needs something cut, and when they ask if anyone has something to cut with, I step up, produce my knife, and do the cutting for them.

It's quite satisfying when someone is trying, and failing to cut something open with their house/car key, and I say "Let me see it", pull out my knife, slice right through it, and hand it back to them.
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LOL. This happened just the other day after shopping a Trader Joes. We had just got back to the truck and the wife was frantically trying to get into a bag of potato chips with her teeth. She's "starving"; says to me " you got your knife?" Without getting up, I whip out my little cross draw fixed blade (Horsewright) Gordo, and the crisis was over.

She says "that was quick!" Probably the nicest thing she has ever said about any of my knives.
 
I had an employee ask to see my new knife I just got in. I handed it to him and he instantly grabbed a cardboard box and started cutting through it to see how sharp it was. He still does not understand why I was so mad.
 
The only knives I show family members are the ones I make myself. Most seem very interested and appreciative of the beauty and the work that goes into it.

If they don't then I just take them as "not a knife" person. It has never bothered me or hurt my feelings. Everyone doesn't love knives...
 
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