Have people reacted to your knife with shock or fear?

jimnolimit said:
my polite answer for that is "because using fingernails to open a package doesn't seem to work very well". if the person acts like an ass after i was polite, then they get the impolite answer ;).
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Here I have to agree. If she was afraid of a Gerber LST, she is a hopeless case.
 
Today I use a layered approach. I carry a mini (keychain size) tool and a full size one. The Vic Midnite Manager is the size of my pinky; it has yet to scare anyone and the 1.5" blade is good enough for 90% of urban tasks. Anything the keychain gizmo can't handle is left to the Vic Spirit. The few tasks that the Spirit can't handle are left to the toolbox in the car, or to professionals.
 
I think a lot of the problems with Society in general has become so disconnected due to technology, lack of people entering the Military, the divorce rates (broken families), working hours and both parents working so the kids get raised by who knows....

I call it regression of Society in general and people are living in their own little boxes with blinders on for the most part and anything outside that little box is horrifying to them.
 
Ankerson said:
I think a lot of the problems with Society in general has become so disconnected due to technology, lack of people entering the Military, the divorce rates (broken families), working hours and both parents working so the kids get raised by who knows....

I call it regression of Society in general and people are living in their own little boxes with blinders on for the most part and anything outside that little box is horrifying to them.
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You've hit the nail on the head brother. Everyone goes to work, comes home, the family divides and goes to their own little cubicles to sit on computers & play fantasy games. Families don't eat together, work, hunt & fish together etc..

The USA has never seen violence, death or war except on TV (for the most part!). Every word must be weighed in advance for fear of violating the rules of political correctness.

Disconnected or disassociated due to technology, along with other reasons you've stated like the break-up of the core family unit and more - which I won't get on a soapbox about are IMHO setting us up for the worst possibilities in worst case scenarios. ;)
 
cziv said:
You've hit the nail on the head brother. Everyone goes to work, comes home, the family divides and goes to their own little cubicles to sit on computers & play fantasy games. Families don't eat together, work, hunt & fish together etc..

The USA has never seen violence, death or war except on TV (for the most part!). Every word must be weighed in advance for fear of violating the rules of political correctness.

Disconnected or disassociated due to technology, along with other reasons you've stated like the break-up of the core family unit and more - which I won't get on a soapbox about are IMHO setting us up for the worst possibilities in worst case scenarios. ;)
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When people spend more time with people at work and on the Social Networking sites than they do with their own families there will be problems.

People do the same routine everyday in their own little boxes moving farther away from reality in into their own fantasy worlds and get more dissociated along the way.

Society in general has broken down from the core unit and in general has gotten weaker over time.

And it seems all these people have issues.....

Guys.....

Do you think that dude or dudes that the wife/ GF complains to all the time is just a nice guy that wants to listen to all that BS that comes out of their mouths.........

Think about that one for awhile........ ;)
 
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I generally carry a folder and a fixed blade at all times. I've had a few comments here and there, but by and large, people understand that they're tools. They're only going to freak out if you start talking about carrying for self-defense or other nonsense like that. Mine are users; I use them every day, and if you ever need to cut a seat belt or anything in an emergency, they're handy things to have. The people at work now just come over whenever they need to cut something and ask to borrow my knife.

Of course, when I'm out camping or something, and I've got the 18" khuk strapped onto my pack, that's a different story.

In fact, my wife and I used an 18" HI WWII khuk to cut our cake at our wedding (not my idea, by the way).
 
I always carry a knife, except on an airplane or other illegal knife-settings. I use my knife every time I need it to avoid extra effort, or damaging my teeth or hands. In public I will be very discrete, half opening, turning my back, etc. But with friends, I flick it open or draw it with ease and any negative reactions I use as an opportunity for EDUCATION.
 
I pulled out and used my small fixed blade in the post office today to open something I was about to include in a package. No one even blinked. I'm a young guy (23) and the PO was crowded, but no problems.

To those having issues with using a knife in public; I don't think the problem lies with society or the "sheeple" as you guys so lovingly call them, but rather with you and how you're using your knife.
 
pashacavanna said:
I always carry a knife, except on an airplane or other illegal knife-settings. I use my knife every time I need it to avoid extra effort, or damaging my teeth or hands. In public I will be very discrete, half opening, turning my back, etc. But with friends, I flick it open or draw it with ease and any negative reactions I use as an opportunity for EDUCATION.
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While not being as discreet as you. The carry of an edc has saved me dental work. In the past 4 -5 yrs I cracked 2 teeth by trying to bite plastic bags, like groceries like a stubborn salad bag - whooops - plastic moves & teeth smacked each other giving me one root canal and 2 crowns (two incidents). I don't care what anyone thinks, I'm cutting my packaging open!! ;)
 
My ex girlfriend was kind of worried about me carrying my Victorinox Soldier. My current girlfriend carries one I gave her a little while back. Some people are going to look at you crazy but those people are ignorant to how useful a knife really is.
 
I've never had anyone blink an eye over carrying a knife on me,even a fixed blade.I have had people ask me if I had a knife on me many times to cut something for them.I think that's funny,it happened just today when a lady was trying to open a clam pack in a Wal greens parking lot.It's just a tool.
 
What a great thread. I learned a lot about using my knife in public. I must be doing something right because I've done it many times and haven't gotten many looks. But there were some useful suggestions here, especially this:

salguod said:
But when you encounter someone who seems to be nervous about your knife, you could at least smile and give them a greeting or a gentle word.
So use your knife in public, but try not to be ostentatious about it. Take it out quietly, use it, and then put it away. No ninja flicks, flourishes, etc. And the next time someone gives you a look that says, “Eek! A big scary knife!” smile and reply with “Good Morning” or “Didn’t mean to cause alarm, just cutting my sandwich.” That is so much better than sneering and saying, “Screw you bitch, I have a right to carry a knife in public.”
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From now own, I will open my EDCs with two hands in public. I will cover part of the blade with my hand so it looks smaller (and we're talking most often about a Spyderco Sage, 2.95" total blade length on mine, for example, but I just ordered a Para2 so it will be more necessary with that one). I will be completely natural, like nothing is out of the ordinary, just as salguod and others suggested, which I think I do already.

If I can add to this thread, when discussing one's knives with a surprised member of the public, I think we would be well-served to refer to them as my POCKETknife, and not just as a "knife." As in, "Why do you carry that KNIFE?" :eek: "Oh, my pocketknife? I didn't mean to startle you. :) I was just cutting my sandwich. Don't you use knives much bigger than this in the kitchen every day?"

Or is that last sentence unnecessarily provocative?
 
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You could also mention (politely of course) that your Sage is no longer than most paring knives used in the kitchen. I just did a quick search on the Knifecenter site and most of the paring knives were 3-4" long.

Ric
 
I was at work on Wednesday night, this past Wednesday night, driving a garbage truck 3am, downtown Toronto. Now I meet with another truck some days on our break outside a convenience store in a slightly rough part of town, I know its a bad idea, but where else can we park 2 garbage trucks for 30 minutes and not get ticketed or complaints? besides there is 4 of us wieghing in around 900lbs total..... and we are garbage men. Now, crack heads and beggers are pretty common, usually looking for change or smokes and I hate them. Wednesday we were visited by one of our regulars, African American woman, about 55, 5'3", gray short filthy dreadlocks, wearing rags and she doesn't have any fingers past her first knuckles. She smells of death and is smoking old cigarette butts from the ground. She really bugs me becasue she wont take no for an answer, she will visit each person in the group twice and mumble something with her hand out, then she will stand 4 or 5 feet away and then come back 5 minutes later, she wont give up. Well, Wednesday she snuck up on me, I didn't see her coming, I was eating the apple from my lunch with my Opinel (which I got on Monday), she practically brushes up against me she is so close before she saw the knife, she starts giggling and slowly backs away until she is 20 feet away and then turns and leaves, we haven't seen her since. I am going to carry my Opinel every day.
 
I am not sure I have ever noticed such a reaction from my knives. Most people that see mine react with productive questions and genuine interest.

Perhaps this has something to do with how, what and where I use.
 
Co-worker said to me "There is no reason for a knife that large in a bar. Someone could get hurt." I was opening glassware packages with an endura... Friend commented "Oh wow, didn't know Jim Bowie over here was packing, he's got this." while opening a printer box with a stretch. Manager told me not to carry my knife at work at a retail store cause it "was unprofessional". I don't make a big deal about my knives, I dont even flick em, but some people just see a weapon. It is what it is.
 
I had a younger coworker that was legitimately against any sort of knife in the workplace. I had to cut some tape and decided not to pull the para2 or even the smaller flash 1 out of consideration of a crowd (larger crowds = more chance of a freakout). Instead I got out my 1" leatherman multi-tool blade to do the task. This guy freaked out and kept inquiring on whether or not it was a knife... and that it was definitely a weapon and we all could get fired because I had a weapon. I politely insisted that it was a tool and the blade is only 1" long. Nevertheless he got so worked up that if management overheard from outside or something they would think I brought a machete to work not a 1" slipjoint multi-tool. He continued to insist on the dangers of bringing this sort of item to work even if everything was done safely. According to his words of wisdom,a multi-tool is only a weapon that sometimes could be useful in utility tasks :confused:. I think he got so worked up that he lost sight of what he was talking about.

To make matters worse, a coworker asked to borrow my leatherman to cut some items on his own project and his warnings got even worse.

Although I am a younger guy myself, but I feel that the notion of a blade being a weapon is negatively being ingrained into to the newer generations. The scary thing about this guy's little episode was that he geniunely believed what he was saying. It seemed that he legitimately felt that he needed to warn us so we wouldn't get fired or something even though upper management seems to be curious and even impressed with my use of multi-tools. Anyway, that guy is a good coworker for the most part and I guess I am glad he tried to warn me for my own benefit as ridiculous as it may be...
 
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