Have people reacted to your knife with shock or fear?

stabman said:
My thought a lot of the times these threads come up (which is often), is that some people get a thrill out freaking others out.
And then they get all superior over how much more awesome they are for having scared others.:rolleyes:
I haven't had people react with all sorts of fear when iI use my knives because I do so in a responsible manner (no "ninja flicking" the knife to get a reaction).
Even when people asked why I was carrying a weapon, they weren't all freaked out, and I explained the rationale behind carrying a knife.
They didn't always seem convinced, but they didn't think I was going to gut them either.:)
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I'm with you, Stabman. I'm new to Bladeforum, but not to carrying a knife -- got my first Cub Scout knife in 1961 and have carried a pocket knife ever since. I have had this kind of reaction maybe twice in all that time. But I'm pretty discreet in how I use one. I'm not over-cautious about where or when I use a knife, but I'm not over-cautious either.

I pick a knife that is appropriate to the settings I expect to be in -- never had the least stink-eye at an Opinel for instance (used to live in the French town where they are made, BTW.) Same for a SAK. There are places I go, such as the local hospital, where pulling out a ZT 0301 would raise eyebrows, but my Blur does not.

It's not just the type of knife, either. A lot has to do with presentation. I honestly think that some of our members here draw attention to themelves -- unconsciously, perhaps, and yes I am a shrink so I'm qualified to say stuff like that -- and then are "amazed" when they get the reaction that, at some level, they fully intended.

My whole family, including some of the women, from Grandpa down to the great-grandkids, are knife carriers, and this "problem" is just not part of our regular experience. But then, we are tool-users, not knife enthusiasts, and that communicates itself.

I'm sure most folks here would say "it's just a tool", but that "knife enthusiast" part intrudes itself whether you know it or not. Hell, I'm that way about fountain pens. People tend to notice them, because I tend to be proud of them. Somehow, I call attention to them. I've never analyzed how, because I don't care. But if I can attract attention to something as banal as a pen because I think it's a neat hobby, what would expect a knife hobbyist to encounter?
 
Wow. I'm 39 years old and have been carrying a pocket knife almost daily since I was about 7 years old, except at school. But it seems like my older brother carried a pocket knife at school back in those days and only later were they banned. I remember getting a Spyderco, and subsequently Benchmade AFCK in the very early 90s. I've had lots of friends or people make jokes, but never have had anyone question why I might be carrying the oldest tool known to man. Where I grew up, pretty much every man carried a pocket knife, usually a small Case or Schrade at a minimum, and Bucks in belt pouches were de rigeur. Hell, even my mom and grandmother started carrying Sypdercos in their purses right after I got mine. I bought a former girlfriend a Camillus CUDA Mini Tanto so she'd quit stealing my full size for use as a flick toy and letter opener. But, this is Texas, after all. I've had some people kinda sketch out that I conceal carry a Kahr P380 or pepper spray when cycling by myself, but never heard much about a knife, even autos, wave-opened Emersons, ZT302, etc. And I run with a pretty left-leaning crowd, but even a good number of them own/shoot handguns.
 
Forgot to mention, until 9/11, I flew with that CUDA tanto 3.75" blade knife almost weekly for work. Only once did I ever have to check it, at Newport News Airport in VA in '99 or 2000. The security lady told me I couldn't bring it on the plane because it was "rigid". I said, 'no, it's a folder', and folded it shut to show her. She kept pointing at the serrated blade and arguing, but was calling it 'rigid'. Since she didn't know what the hell she was talking about, I made her get a supervisor to come clarify. The supervisor, also a female, explained that it was their policy not to allow serrated blades and was pretty polite about it. I remember when details first came out about 9/11 hijackers using boxcutters, I thought, "boxcutters? Why didn't they just use combat folders?" Now is a different time, obviously.
 
good story. i left my gf in the car real quick a few years ago. when i came back she asked if i owned a 9mm. i said y? she found a g26 mag in my glovebox. needless to say a few years later my wife if fine with it. she will go shooting with me from time to time. she didnt like using my delica so on our one year anniversary for a secondary gift i gave her a purple (her favorite color) lady bug. she uses it and is able to open and close it on her own.
 
Liquidm1980 said:
good story. i left my gf in the car real quick a few years ago. when i came back she asked if i owned a 9mm. i said y? she found a g26 mag in my glovebox. needless to say a few years later my wife if fine with it. she will go shooting with me from time to time. she didnt like using my delica so on our one year anniversary for a secondary gift i gave her a purple (her favorite color) lady bug. she uses it and is able to open and close it on her own.
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Wait did said GF become said wife?
 
Liquidm1980 said:
good story. i left my gf in the car real quick a few years ago. when i came back she asked if i owned a 9mm. i said y? she found a g26 mag in my glovebox. needless to say a few years later my wife if fine with it. she will go shooting with me from time to time. she didnt like using my delica so on our one year anniversary for a secondary gift i gave her a purple (her favorite color) lady bug. she uses it and is able to open and close it on her own.
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That's funny. The girl in my story is my current girlfriend actually. She's totally accepting of my new knife hobby. And I also bought her a purple lady bug. Is that the girlfriend knife?
 
I've been carrying a Kershaw Leek for a couple years now. At first the assisted opening was cool to show off to anyone and everyone, but I soon after started opening it behind my back so I didn't freak anyone out
 
Ankerson said:
There is a lot of truth to that...

Even if they do need a cut something there are other tools available like scissors and utility knives, box cutters ect that people use.
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Or they ask us knife-carrying folk to cut it for them :D
 
I have a feeling like most people react somewhat negatively to "tactical" knives (or those with "tactical" features like aggressive shapes, blacked-out blades, and assisted openers) because such a knife wouldn't seem to have been designed with sandwich cutting or fruit-peeling in mind. That said I am aware that marketing has as much of a distorting effect in the cutlery world as anywhere else and most "tactical" knives do end up as sandwich cutters and fruit-peelers.

Traditionally-styled pocket knives, fixed or folding, tend to draw more admiration (at best) or otherwise go completely unnoticed, than extremetacticalurbanspecialoperations knives, and, for my part, I find them to do most every day tasks better than competing "modern" designs with their thin blades. I've never gotten a second look with my Victorinox Soldier, even in the most knife-unfriendly city I know (NYC). Do I need a superstealthultra knife? No. Most everyone else doesn't either, which is why I suspect such designs attract negative emotions from knife and non-knife people alike.
 
I've had people start breathing hard when using the small blade on my Victorinox Huntsman, so any knife use in public is now as discreet as possible.

I once dropped my Emerson on the street and somebody picked it up. I watched him pick it up and thought it was a piece of electrical cable (half opened, all black) and he looked at it with a great deal of curiosity. When I realized what it was, I went over and said "that's mine," and held my hand out. He handed it back to me. I then put my finger to my lips and went "shhh" and smiled. He laughed and walked away.
 
I recently bought a new battery for my phone that turned out not to work well and it did not fit in my phone properly, it had to be pried out of the phone. When I went back to the store to see if maybe they gave me the wrong battery I broke out my Tenacious just to pop out the battery, I though the salesman was going to run to the back room and lock himself in a closet. I told him to take it easy, pocketed the knife and continued with my transaction. It is surprising at times to see how people will react.
 
I opened something for my son in a store not too long ago.
The check-out clerk asked me, "Are those things legal?"
I was using a Case Peanut. :p
 
Upon taking out my knife to open up some boxes (literally 100 of them) my coworkers first words were,"Woah, thats some contraband!" which obviously there are my reasons why thats an odd thing to say, but first that came to mind was that our supervisor was the one who told me to bring a knife, and preferably my box with my others for loaners for that coworkers to borrow. :D Idiots are everywhere, even though I did later find out that he is way into watch collecting which is cool as hell, and has a nice set of Shun kitchen knives (me too) That just made his initial reaction even more confusing to me.
 
While some see my Benchmade 551 as "scary" and I DO open it one handed, I don't flick it out, I gently push the stud until fully open. I feel that there are people who are scared of knives and I respect that, my mother happens to be one of them, but I don't feel that people need to throw out negative comments about carrying a knife. While I may disagree with what they say, I'll defend to the death their right to say it. Just my 2 cents.
 
ono724 said:
Or they ask us knife-carrying folk to cut it for them :D
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Yeah, the ones who know I always carry a knife do ask me to cut stuff for them. :)

I do try and draw attention when I use a knife though.

I was in Wal-Mart awhile back right as you walk in and they had a display up of Coffee, but to get what I wanted I had to open a case so I used my knife I had on me. It was one of my AD-10's, but I palmed it and opened it while walking over so nobody really noticed it, cut the thick plastic quick and pocketed the knife.
 
Sometimes. But they always know that I'm going to pull one out before I do, since usually some asks something like "Does anyone have a knife?" and I answer affirmative. Most of the time people want to "see" my knife, which, for whatever reason, always involves them wanting to hold it too.

One time I the sweet little old lady took a step back when I pulled out my BM 943 to open a box that she asked me to. She said that she wasn't scared of me or the knife though, she was just afraid that she would somehow cut herself when I put the knife down to pull out the contents of the box. Made me laugh.
 
Ankerson said:
Nope because I never pull it out unless I need it at WORK...

I don't use my folders on food..... EVER....... I don't look for reasons to use my knives.... They get plenty of use....

I carry concealed and they stay that way in public.
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Why do you carry it in public if your not gonna use it?
 
Only once that I can remember. Ironically it was at a shooting range. I pulled out my spyderco para to open a super taped up box of ammo and while I did this I noticed the guy next to me with a look olf supreme shock and horror as he was reloading a magazine for his glock. It dawned on me then, normal people don't fear knives.....they fear a knife not in their own hand.



Where I live people carry knives and typically no one notices when you use a knife to open a box or normal fare stuff...even if ninja flicked open.
 
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