Had my first "non knife" guy moment.

I would step back too, I don't know you or if you practice good knife safety. Why would I trust you do when MOST PEOPLE DON'T? I'm no stranger to sharps either, I carry a spyderco navaja that can probably split an atom. But you ain't me, I ain't a mind reader, and I like to NOT bleed.
 
I guess I'm the oddball then, when I hear or see a knife, I am instantly drawn to it. I attribute it to my disease.

Except the karambit and bali twirlers and flippers. I been to enough shows to see buckets of blood coming out of those guys, so I give them a wide berth.

Other than that, if a person has thier knife under control when it comes out, here I come........"Hey, what's there.....?!?!?"

Moose
 
Moosez45 said:
I guess I'm the oddball then, when I hear or see a knife, I am instantly drawn to it. I attribute it to my disease.

Except the karambit and bali twirlers and flippers. I been to enough shows to see buckets of blood coming out of those guys, so I give them a wide berth.

Other than that, if a person has thier knife under control when it comes out, here I come........"Hey, what's there.....?!?!?"

Moose
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I'm the same way , I guess the days where everyman had a knife in his pocket are long gone. Sad really...
 
The clerk may not have acted unreasonably. Stepping back a few feet to provide another person enough room to work with an edged tool is wise.

If the clerk over-reacted, I've found that the best way to minimize sheeple reactions is to carry a reasonably non-intimidating blade (a SAK is a great choice; 3" folders with non-black handles are also wise) and open it in a slow, controlled manner. This is very unlikely to scare someone.
 
Oakengroves said:
I've found that the best way to minimize sheeple reactions is to carry a reasonably non-intimidating blade (a SAK is a great choice; 3" folders with non-black handles are also wise) and open it in a slow, controlled manner. This is very unlikely to scare someone.
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I've found that is the best way to baby someone. But I'd rather deal with adults.
 
I've never had an issue like that, but normally don't pull a knife out in public. Only time I have was in the local post office, i was shipping a package and the guy had mentioned stuffing some bubble wrap in the box to make my amplifier a bit tighter in it. He said hmmmm where are the scissors. I said I got it, and took out my sebenza. He didn't seem to even be phased, just continued to help as i cut what i needed.
 
The box probably looked like someone had played football with it because the last guy who tried to open it didn't have a knife... ;)

In the past, I've been known to pull out knives and "wrist flick" them open in front of "non-knife" people. I normally do this BECAUSE I know they don't normally carry a knife, and I'm curious to see their reaction. Even some of my closer friends typically step back or startle a bit. Sometimes it's even followed by "HOLY SH#&!!"

If in public or around a stranger, I typically make a less dramatic spectacle of my knife's deployment.

That said, as someone to carries a knife (sometimes multiple) every day of my life, as well as designing and making them, if a stranger flicked out a knife in front of me, I'd likely give them some space. Even if I asked for the thing.
Who knows how coordinated they are? Maybe in their excitement to show me how cool and sharp their fancy knife is, they might slip, or lose their grip and send it flying towards my person? Maybe they get extremely paranoid when people are standing over their shoulder, and I don't want them to slip and cut themself, or myself.

There's a number of plausible scenarios other than "this guy must either hate knives, or he's really intimidated by them..."
 
I think I would have stepped back too. Just because I'm a responsible knife user doesn't mean everyone else is, that kind of thinking could backfire big time. Some people are nutjobs and some others are just plain clumsy, either way there's no reason not to be a little cautious.

As for the whole "you should have opened it slowly with two hands" or "carry a knife specifically to use around the sheeple" ideas, well I have mixed thoughts on those. In a way, yes that will help you avoid negative reactions to the fact that you carry a knife but on the other hand it also puts the image in peoples heads that the only knives that aren't scary are the tiny little non-locking ones, and then the next time someone flicks out a bigger knife they're going to be all the more scared of it. The more you concede to their way of thinking the more they'll think their way is right. I hate to bring it up but just look at the UK's knife laws now, you can carry a little slipjoint knife no problem, afterall that's all the knife you should really need as a tool right? But bigger locking knives must be weapons so you can't carry those.

Now I'm not saying people should just not care and flick out their large (possibly) intimidating knives without some discretion but to go to such lengths as to not open a one handed knife in the convenient way it was designed to be opened or to even carry a "sheeple friendly" knife just to use in public? To me that's just like saying the non-knife people are right and none of us should carry anything more than a SAK.
 
I have mixed feelings when it comes to peoples perceptions of my knives. On one hand, I openly carry a fixed-blade out in public (urban San Diego). It's black, has a black belt sheath, and it has a 5" blade. And I don't give a rats ass if people don't like it or are scared by the sight of it hanging from my belt. It's legal to carry fixed-blades openly in California, I have reasons for carrying it, so I carry it. I've been openly carrying a fixed-blade for many years now and no one has ever said a negative word to me about it. If there have been any negative reactions, I wouldn't know, because I don't look for negative reactions and generally ignore other people.

On the other hand, depending on where I am, I might be very discreet in how I use a knife, or IF I use a knife. I also carry a folder (3.5" blade), and I use this for most cutting tasks in public.

Here are a few scenarios to show how I might act differently with knives in public-

1. If I just finished shopping at Costo (that's a membership warehouse store if anyone doesn't know) and stopped outside at the "food court" for some lunch. There are a lot of tables there, and there are often a lot of people/families/women/children around. In a situation like that, with women and kids sitting at tables next to me, I would likely NOT pull out any knife to cut anything. The way I see it, it's not absolutely necessary for me to cut something right then and there. If I needed to cut something (like to open the package of something I just bought), then I would find a more discreet place, or take it to my car to do the cutting. Being surrounded by women and children is not the best time to pull out a knife in my opinion.

2. If I were in the parking lot of a hardware store or auto parts store, I wouldn't hesitate to pull out any knife I was carrying to cut something. I assume that people visiting such stores should be able to handle the sight of a man cutting something with a knife. And if they can't, then I consider that to be their problem, not mine.

Now while it's certainly possible for people to react negatively at Costo because of the mere sight of my fixed-blade hanging in it's sheath, I personally see a big difference between a knife "at rest" (clipped to a pocket, carried in a sheath), and a knife "in action" (in ones hand, blade exposed). In my amateur psychiatric opinion, people are more likely to get scared of a knife "in action" than one that is "at rest". So I don't worry about people seeing my fixed-blade when it's hanging from my belt in it's sheath.
 
I'm a knife person and I would probably step back if I were close to you in that situation. Not because I think you are going to stab me but because it's just something that was drilled into me as a kid. Don't pull out and use a knife while people are within cutting distance and move away if someone else is using a knife in case they slip. Cub scout/Boy scout blood circle. Around strangers it just kicks in again, I have no idea how competent they are.
 
killgar said:
Wow. Just wow.

Let's see, the clerk has been called stupid, illogical, lame, a wimp, and a "typical feminized generation Z wimp". And his entire childhood has been psychoanalyzed. And what exactly did the clerk do that was so wrong? Did he run and get the manager? Did he call 911 to report a man with a knife? Did he demand that the OP put away his "weapon"? Did he drop to his knees and beg "Please don't kill me?" Did he say "Whoa, what are you a serial killer?" No, apparently he didn't or I assume the OP would have included that in his story. Did the clerk do ANYTHING that had a negative effect on the OP or endangered the OP's knife rights in any way? Not that I have heard.

And for the sake of clarity, the OP never mentioned the age of the clerk. It's interesting that some people just assume that he was young. As if all young people possess some inherent personality flaw that makes them inferior and deserving of criticism.

I've been on this forum for over ten years now, and here are a few observations I have made during that time-

1. Some knife enthusiasts are just plain arrogant. Their basic attitude is "I carry a knife, that makes me better, smarter, superior, than everyone who doesn't. And anyone who doesn't carry a knife or likes knives as much as I do is a stupid idiot who deserves to be ridiculed at every opportunity".

2. Some knife enthusiasts have very "thin skin" and have a persecution complex. They expect people to react negatively to their knives and they look for those negative reactions. And of course, when knife enthusiasts look hard enough for negative reactions, they WILL find them, even if they aren't there, even if they are only in their imagination.

A number of times on this forum I have seen members say something like "I can't stand these sheeple. I was out in public today and some guy was staring at the knife on my belt/clipped to my pocket/in my hand. What's with these people. What an idiot. You'd think he'd never seen a knife before". Of course it didn't occur to the knife enthusiast that maybe the guy wasn't staring, maybe he was admiring, or maybe he was trying to figure out what brand or model it was. Which I'm sure is something that many on this forum have done when they have seen someone else with a knife out in public.

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And to some knife enthusiasts, everyone looks like "sheeple".

I wonder if anyone sees the double standard at play here? In my opinion, assuming that people are "sheeple", criticizing them, and questioning their intelligence simply because they don't share our interest in knives, is just as bad as people who think all knives are weapons and everyone who carries one is a serial killer.

I don't think the knife community is well served by an us-versus-them mentality. I don't think we benefit by condemning people simply because they don't display the same interest/love/worship of knives that we have. But I know, it's just so much fun, and makes one feel so damn superior, to label people, call them stupid, and proclaim how much smarter we are than them.

Just my humble opinions.
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I appreciate this tirade.
 
aquaman67 said:
...He looked at the taped up box and started looking around. I asked if he needed a knife and he said yes.

I flipped open my Benchmade 300SSN (yes, mine flips open with no wrist) and started cutting the tape.

The sales guy literally took 4 steps back. He didn't step forward again until the knife was back in my pocket.

I wonder what he was thinking.
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Safety/blood circle if he was a boy scout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_circle
It may have also been plain old common sense caution. He has no way of knowing if you're a mall ninja or an mature tool user.

As far as NKP goes, it depends on the individual. Snapping out a blade can be intimidating for most NKP and screams "immature yahoo" to a good chunk of the tool using population.
 
aquaman67 said:
I asked if that was the only one he had and he said it was. I said I wanted to look at it and wanted a discount. He looked at the taped up box and started looking around. I asked if he needed a knife and he said yes.

I flipped open my Benchmade 300SSN (yes, mine flips open with no wrist) and started cutting the tape.

The sales guy literally took 4 steps back. He didn't step forward again until the knife was back in my pocket.

I wonder what he was thinking.
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I get the feeling from the reaction you describe that he wasn't actually expecting you to produce a knife after you asked him if he needed one. He may have just thought you were making casual conversation.
 
I'm a knives person and a martial art practitioner. I would step away from my wife in the kitchen if she is cutting things not on the cutting board. LOL.
 
aquaman67 said:
I asked if that was the only one he had and he said it was. I said I wanted to look at it and wanted a discount. He looked at the taped up box and started looking around. I asked if he needed a knife and he said yes.

I flipped open my Benchmade 300SSN (yes, mine flips open with no wrist) and started cutting the tape.

The sales guy literally took 4 steps back. He didn't step forward again until the knife was back in my pocket.
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The proper response in such a situation is "Well you said you needed a knife."
 
My dad had to open a box with his new chair in it at work and he flipped out his Kershaw and his friend backed up quick! Haha
 
Way back when I was still a mechanic in a shop all the other mechanics knew I always had a sharp Kershaw knife and also had a loaner knife for those needing and not having a knife. I had a far east version of a wood handled lockback that was my loaner, sharp but not 1 I would cry over if it got damaged knowing whoever broke/damaged it would replace it as soon as possible when the tool trucks rolled in.
 
jkulysses said:
I learned real fast with my ZT and Kershaw speedsafe knives to just open them two handed and slowly so people don't freak out. I don't like attention drawn to me either and my ZT's in particular make a nice solid thunk sound when they get flicked open and that sound alone seems to freak people out lol. It just seems kind of dramatic and unnecessary to be flicking knives open in public places especially inside stores at least in my opinion anyway.
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I don't own one but like the looks of the ZT 0561. I think it would be fun to own, but also think it'd be terrible in public. The ZT looks beefy and tactical by itself, but throw in some flipper deployed blade, and I could absolutely understand someone being surprised at Subway if a guy pulled this knife out and flicked it open to cut his sub.

I think it's possible to both not give a rat's ass what people think and be respectful at the same time. The average person is going to refer to any flipper or most any assisted knife as a "switchblade" or "automatic" knife because of movies and TV. That applies whether a Leek or a Hinderer. I was thinking to myself the other day that if you lined up 10 random MEN and deployed 3 different branded flippers and asked them what these knives are called, 1 out of 10 could answer flipper correctly. I'd say 3 to 5 out of 10 would call it an automatic. The remaining 4 men I didn't care enough to think of how they would answer. 10 random women and the responses would all be either switchblade or automatic. 9 out of 10 responses from women to the question if these knives are legal to carry would be "No". Just my SWAG--scientific wild ass guess. :D

I'm not saying not to carry your 0561 in public, but it can be opened and used in a manner not to draw attention to oneself. I find most people that pull out their knives and put on a show deploying them around total strangers are usually seeking attention. I know it takes the fun out of actually getting to take your knife out of your pocket and use it for a change, but it won't hurt for just that one time to open it with two hands or slowly riding the thumbstuds. When you get back in the car, flip the hell out of it. Give it some hate flips. This isn't bowing down to the sheeple, it's just a measure to be discreet. I prefer the grayman concept over drawing attention. Just my POV and to each his own.
 
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