Have people reacted to your knife with shock or fear?

i carry an orange military when i bartend and a friend spotted it when he came in one night and asked "why are you carrying a knife?", i replied with "i always carry a knife, never know when you will need it". and by that answer i did not mean in a self defense scenario, i meant in a utility sense.
 
On one end of the spectrum we have people who quietly carry and carefully deploy their knife to perform the required job. The other end of the spectrum is the mall ninjas who insist that everyone refer to their knives as tactical weapons and attract as much attention as they possibly can while showing off their fearsome weapons and using them at every opportunity whether truly needed or not.
 
salguod said:
Exactly! I don't cut up my food with my EDC in a fancy restaurant. Loudly ninja flicking a large blade open is sure to get you attention. Larger blades and “tactical black” blades or anything that looks military is bound to cause a reaction. Do you HAVE to do that? Couldn’t you slowly and quietly open a small unobtrusive blade to cut your sandwich? Couldn’t you have asked Subway to cut it for you in the first place? Why would you want to get mayo all over your good folder?
Backpacking or camping would be a different thing. Nobody looks askance when you pull out a blade on the trail. Unless of course, you loudly snap open a 7 inch tactical black blade to clean your fingernails. Nobody ever sweats a Dragonfly that is opened quietly and used unobtrusively. Even off the trail in a public place, you will get no reaction if you are low key.
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Wasn't there a time in this country when you could walk into a saloon and lay your big musket against the bar and order a shot of whiskey? :) Now I gotta slowly open my 3.5 inch blade underneath the table when I want to split my sandwich with my girlfriend in an Arby's.
 
jbmonkey, I'm not suggesting that you give up your knife and join the PC crowd. But I agree with TX180SX. Take your knife out discreetly, open it quietly, use it, and put it away. Don’t display it anymore than what is necessary to complete your task. Don’t continue to play with it. You don't need to Ninja Snap or Spider Drop it open. You don’t need to wave and snap your butterfly knife open. These types of threat displays jeopardize our right to carry.
Your knife is a tool, so use it as a tool; not as a threat display. People are reasonably suspicious of people who wave large, black coated, tactical style knives around in public. I know I am. But nobody is afraid of a Dragonfly or a SAK if it is used in a calm, responsible manner. And if all you have is your big tactical knife and you need to cut your sandwich, go ahead and do it. As a former Marine, I have pulled out a Ka-Bar in public when that was all I had. But try to be discreet and polite. Smile and greet anyone who notices. Make an effort to look friendly and non-threatening. Don’t sneer at people who appear frightened.
You have a right to use your knife in public. People have a right to take their children out in public and not feel threatened. If you respect the rights of others, they will respect yours. A little courtesy goes a long way.
 
GalantEdge wrote: On one end of the spectrum we have people who quietly carry and carefully deploy their knife to perform the required job. The other end of the spectrum is the mall ninjas who insist that everyone refer to their knives as tactical weapons and attract as much attention as they possibly can while showing off their fearsome weapons and using them at every opportunity whether truly needed or not.

My reply: Word!
 
I'm pretty discreet when using knives in public , but when I have something that needs cutting , well...I cut it. If it offends someone , too bad. I'm not worried about what other people think. I opened a Kabar dozier to cut a sandwich in a donut shop and 2 LEO's came in and walked right past me , seen me , and didn't even blink.

As far as having someone freak out when I pull out a knife , it's never happened to me. I've seen some raised eye-brows , but that's about it. I'm on the alert when a stranger opens a knife also , so it's no different the other way around. People who know me are never surprised as they know I'm a knife enthusiast and user.

IMO, people who over-react to seeing a knife used for working tasks have issues and are insecure. They're the ones that are usually borrowing a knife when they need one but refuse to carry one themselves. I've met more of them than more like us unfortunately.
 
For me, it's pretty simple: I only carry non-threatening looking knives. Plus, I always have a SAK classic on my keychain -- nobody bats an eyelash when I cut things with it. The problem here is two-fold: People overreacting to us knife-folk using our knives in public, and us knife-folk using too much knife for the job. Do you really need a 5-inch, teflon-coated partially serrated one-hand opening folder to cut a bit a string? I know, some of you only carry 1 knife, and that's all that you have on you. Try carrying something a little more discreet with your usual EDC.

Side note: And where are you all eating your steaks where the knives or so dull or the steaks are so tough, you must use your EDC?
 
jbmonkey said:
Salguod, Sir you have the wrong attitude, imho. knife and gun owners shouldn't have to dance all around weak people and their prejudiced non logical fears. it's this thinking that got us where we are today with both knives and guns. afraid to carry and use(knives only obviously) them.

this is exactly what the anti-gun and anti-knife crowd wants. us voluntarily using and carrying them less to appease a bunch of naive, weak, and sad people...who are afraid of tools. it's a sad world we live in today.
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+1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
salguod said:
jbmonkey, I'm not suggesting that you give up your knife and join the PC crowd. But I agree with TX180SX. Take your knife out discreetly, open it quietly, use it, and put it away. Don’t display it anymore than what is necessary to complete your task. Don’t continue to play with it. You don't need to Ninja Snap or Spider Drop it open. You don’t need to wave and snap your butterfly knife open. These types of threat displays jeopardize our right to carry.
Your knife is a tool, so use it as a tool; not as a threat display. People are reasonably suspicious of people who wave large, black coated, tactical style knives around in public. I know I am. But nobody is afraid of a Dragonfly or a SAK if it is used in a calm, responsible manner. And if all you have is your big tactical knife and you need to cut your sandwich, go ahead and do it. As a former Marine, I have pulled out a Ka-Bar in public when that was all I had. But try to be discreet and polite. Smile and greet anyone who notices. Make an effort to look friendly and non-threatening. Don’t sneer at people who appear frightened.
You have a right to use your knife in public. People have a right to take their children out in public and not feel threatened. If you respect the rights of others, they will respect yours. A little courtesy goes a long way.
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that doesn't describe me at all. i have zero interest in showing off or ninja snapping open any knife. i don't need to, and no one would notice anyways.

courtesy works both ways, right? unless being verbally or physically threatened, no one should have the right to complain or demand someone carrying or using a legal tool within the laws, shouldn't be able to. only because...wait for it..... cause they don't like it, and it scares them, and that type of tool looks scary. how sad and pitiful is that?

that aside....i still think the let's not offend anyone attitude is the wrong attitude and feeds the anti-knife and gun crowd into thinking they are winning, and likely they are since a good chunk here fear upsetting anyone.

i respect all opinions though and i appreciate you taking your time to discuss this futher with me. also thank you for your valuable military service to our country.
 
I'll go a step further, there are also a few different generations of knife owners commenting here.

I'd be willing to bet that the older knife owners are more likely to have a small sharp slip joint folder and are less likely to use it in public unless all other options are defeated.

Then we have the middle age knife collector who has likely just come up with the coin for his/her first custom or popular knife and have no compunctions about using their new pride and joy in public for whatever may need cutting.

Then waaaaaay at the bottom...











We have a few of the younger crowd that may or may not fit the high dollar retail establishment martial artist that flicks out the new blade at all opportunities.



As long as none of these folks are breaking the law we should let them enjoy their knives and do whatever it is they would like with them.

I'll promote personal liberty over someone being offended.

Just my 2¢.
 
I can never really know how someone is going to react to seeing a knife, whether it's a peanut or something larger. I no longer worry about it; if it's legal, it's legal. If I need it, I use it. If someone doesn't like it, that's just too bad, it won't HURT them just SEEING a knife being used in a responsible manner.

Andy
 
I suppose it is because I am older, 6'2" / 300lbs, and look like a biker, that I have never been challenged for using a knife in public. The knife performs it's function and then disappears, matter of factually, back into my pocket or sheath. To my way of thinking, the public remains paranoid because they are not exposed to the peaceful and purposeful uses of a knife very often. I will not contribute to the 'pussification' of the public at large by curtailing my use of a knife...but that is just me. ;)
 
A.P.F. said:
I suppose it is because I am older, 6'2" / 300lbs, and look like a biker, that I have never been challenged for using a knife in public. The knife performs it's function and then disappears, matter of factually, back into my pocket or sheath. To my way of thinking, the public remains paranoid because they are not exposed to the peaceful and purposeful uses of a knife very often. I will not contribute to the 'pussification' of the public at large by curtailing my use of a knife...but that is just me. ;)
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well said :)
 
A.P.F. said:
I suppose it is because I am older, 6'2" / 300lbs, and look like a biker, that I have never been challenged for using a knife in public. The knife performs it's function and then disappears, matter of factually, back into my pocket or sheath. To my way of thinking, the public remains paranoid because they are not exposed to the peaceful and purposeful uses of a knife very often. I will not contribute to the 'pussification' of the public at large by curtailing my use of a knife...but that is just me. ;)
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They aren't exposed to non peaceful use of knives either in real life....
 
My nearest little town still has a "whittlin' bench" a small shelter over a park bench where men set, whittle and trade knives..Right on main street..How many of your towns still have that ;) Up til a few years ago every park bench you went by had a pile of cedar shavings under it..
 
Kentucky said:
My nearest little town still has a "whittlin' bench" a small shelter over a park bench where men set, whittle and trade knives..Right on main street..How many of your towns still have that ;) Up til a few years ago every park bench you went by had a pile of cedar shavings under it..
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Sounds a lot like the area were I grew up..

Heck I carried a Buck 110 on my belt to HS for 2 years and NEVER had a problem and this was in MD.

Times have certainly changed for the worse in the past 30 years..
 
Thats for sure..We always carried knives to school. No one cared, teacher would even borrow them sometimes..Ive went to school with all my hunting gear in the truck, wearing full camo with my knife because I was going hunting after school..No one gave me a second look...Lots of us did that..Half the trucks in the parking lot had compound bows hanging in the back glass..
Its a shame, common sense is becoming less and less common..
Ankerson said:
Sounds a lot like the area were I grew up..

Heck I carried a Buck 110 on my belt to HS for 2 years and NEVER had a problem and this was in MD.

Times have certainly changed for the worse in the past 30 years..
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Kentucky said:
Thats for sure..We always carried knives to school. No one cared, teacher would even borrow them sometimes..Ive went to school with all my hunting gear in the truck, wearing full camo with my knife because I was going hunting after school..No one gave me a second look...Lots of us did that..Half the trucks in the parking lot had compound bows hanging in the back glass..
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Yep same here, a lot of us guys did and nobody cared or even bothered to give us a 2nd look.

Then we have today, kids getting arrested for bringing SAK's to school.

Talk about regression of society.....
 
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