Have people reacted to your knife with shock or fear?

[Poez]

I know what you mean, just about everyone carried a knife of some kind..

Year, and in 15th century in a European medieval town you could pretty much expect any man not to go to the street without his sword, or dagger, or a heavy stick…. These were the times! So what the men came to – weaklings!
If seriously, there are so many people in this forum considering a knife primary a "self-defence" weapon, that I am actually gradually shifting my own personal attitude towards people showing their knives in public. Though I have not seen many, I must say. Sometimes I suspect I am the only one with a knife in a pocket. But if I ever see one up close to me or any of my family, particularly somewhere in enclosed space, in public transport or in a movie theatre – I will most likely watch him quite closely until he returns it back to the pocket or moves far enough… You just never now what is in his head – what if he just waits for a pretence to show his self-defence skills…
I do not trust even dogs I do not know. Why should I trust some strangers with knives? Give me one reason. But do not tell me about tools – probably 30 % of topics on this forum alone are about how good the particular knife is for stabbing and cutting people…

 

[cziv]

Have people reacted to your knife with shock or fear?

With fear and loathing of course - until they see me use my blades. Then filled with awe and wonder they usually ask me - "how do you do that?"

 

[Ankerson]

Year, and in 15th century in a European medieval town you could pretty much expect any man not to go to the street without his sword, or dagger, or a heavy stick…. These were the times! So what the men came to – weaklings!
If seriously, there are so many people in this forum considering a knife primary a "self-defence" weapon, that I am actually gradually shifting my own personal attitude towards people showing their knives in public. Though I have not seen many, I must say. Sometimes I suspect I am the only one with the knife in a pocket. But if I ever see one up close to me or any of my family, particularly somewhere in enclosed space, in public transport or in a movie theatre – I will most likely watch him quite closely until he returns it back to the pocket or moves far enough… You just never now what is in his head – what if he just waits for a pretence to show his self-defence skills…
I do not trust even dogs I do not know. Why should I trust some strangers with knives? Give me one reason. But do not tell me about tools – probably 30 % of topics on this forum are about how good the particular knife is for stabbing and cutting people…

I don't trust anyone either personally, and I also keep an eye on someone using a knife etc, you just never know these days about people, heck we have 12 YO kids killing each other with guns....

I would trust a dog before I would most people.... I am not talking about physical harm either, I don't worry about that because I would just stomp their head into the pavement if they threaten me, don't need a knife for that, what I am worried about is everyone has an agenda these days of some kind so it seems...

A knife is a tool to me, not a weapon, at least not a primary one anyway, I would take a broomstick over any 3 to 4" folder and most FB....

 

[Poez]

.... I would take a broomstick over any 3 to 4" folder and most FB....

Absolutely! That is why that kind of fixation on knives for a weapon upsets me a bit. Thus I do not really support people complayning about bystanders reacting... How do they to know you do not have that unhealthy interest...
It is good we still have some people with brain working... So when they see a man with knife - they take notice. "If a guy looks dangerous - he may be dangerous" (c)

 

[Ankerson]

Absolutely! That is why that kind of fixation on knives for a weapon upsets me a bit. Thus I do not really support people complayning about bystanders reacting... How do they to know you do not have that unhealthy interest...
It is good we still have some people with brain working... So when they see a man with knife - they take notice. "If a guy looks dangerous - he may be dangerous" (c)

Lets just say the SD crowd isn't doing all of us any favors for the most part in the eyes of the general public.

Those who are pushing that stuff are only serving their own pockets selling an idea (Fantasy) that will likely NEVER happen to the mass majority of people.

While the idea might sell knives, that's good for the ones who sell them, videos and other stuff..... Hollywood helps sell that stuff also.

 

[XanRa]

So much I want to say... Can't put it Into words...

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Isn't that the truth...When I was growing up, if you had to cut something, and asked someone to borrow their knife, they'd look at you and ask "where's yours?" and more than likely tell you no!

LOL that's exactly what my Dad would say.

 

[Ankerson]

If you're spooking the herd with your antics, you've failed as a knife owner and should probably leave your knife at home until you've learned to:

• Read your surroundings, and act accordingly.
  
  
• Carry and use (or not use) a tool that's appropriate to those surroundings. A large, threatening "tacitical" folder is overkill 99.9% of the time, and the 0.1% of the time that it is appropriate probably happens only in your mall-ninja dreams. If you must carry a knife for use around people, choose something small and non-intimidating, and use it as quietly and discretely as possible, or not at all. I don't like that idea any more than you do, but that's the reality of our culture these days.
  
  
• Grow up, stop acting like a selfish juvenile idiot, and accept that, like it or not, most people see knives as weapons, and view those who carry them as potential assailants.

Those "sheeple" may be "sad, frightened, weak and brainwashed" or however some of you label them while preening about how faux-tough or enlightened you imagine yourselves to be, but collectively, they have the power to severely curtail our knife privileges, just as they have in many other countries. Thanks, but I'd rather not have to give my up my EDC tools because a few posers feel like flashing their dicks in public.

Yeah, the truth of the matter is most see knives that same as they do guns, as weapons.

Anything other than a kitchen knife is a weapon in their eyes and flashing them around like macho idiots doesn't help at all, all it does is hurt those of us you do use our knives as tools.

We all know how much they love their new toy, but the general public likely won't take to their new toy as well.

Hollywood isn't helping us either, knives are used as weapons 99.9% of the time and the general public watches movies and TV so when they see some wannabe Rambo flashing their knife around trying to look cool they just might worry about it. They are out there, I have seen them with my own eyes and just shake my head, and it's in public.

If people use their knives with respect to others and in the proper way people might still react today.

The whole it's legal and I can do whatever I want attitude will just end up hurting all of us in the end when those sheeple get laws passed like in some other countries.

The whole it's their problem not mine is completely wrong, it's everyones problem.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Snipped...



The whole it's their problem not mine is completely wrong, it's everyones problem.

I respectfully disagree. What's next screwdrivers? Hammers? Either spend the time to educate those that may be afraid or don't but lets not think for a second that hiding in the shadows and not speaking out for your liberties is the correct answer. A fellow veteran commented earlier, I too spent over a decade serving the USA and I will not kowtow to the ignorant to save or support their peace of mind. I'm not defending obviously poor decisions but I will also not advocate placating the misinformed.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

 

[Ankerson]

I respectfully disagree. What's next screwdrivers? Hammers? Either spend the time to educate those that may be afraid or don't but lets not think for a second that hiding in the shadows and not speaking out for your liberties is the correct answer. A fellow veteran commented earlier, I too spent over a decade serving the USA and I will not kowtow to the ignorant to save or support their peace of mind. I'm not defending obviously poor decisions but I will also not advocate placating the misinformed.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I was also in the Military during the Cold War so i know what you are saying.

Times have changed, Society has changed and not for the better IMO.

So we have the responsibility to use our tools properly if we want to keep using them in the future.

Educating people, well that could be good, but that won't happen very quickly, it never does because the negatives always have more effect than the positives, that's just the way Society is.

Things have regressed to the point that it will be a long road back to the days of 30 years ago, if we ever get back there.

So yeah it's everyones problem, or it sure as heck will be if certian types get their way and all we are left with are 1.5" slip joints.

Throwing it in peoples faces isn't the way to get the point across in a positive way.

The whole what's next argument doesn't work either because there will be what's next and then next after that if they get their way in the end.

It only takes a few idiots to ruin it for everyone, but it takes Countless Millions of people to get it back....

There is always and always will be that 10% that ruin things for the 90%.

That's just the way it is...

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Ankerson, while I agree with your assessment I do not agree with your method of preservation or recovery. That's the beauty of having an opinion on a public forum however

 

[jbmonkey]

How are their thoughts non logical and even if so it doesn't make then weak. Yes knives are a tool, but they are also a weapon. There are stabbings everyday commonly with knives. It is logical to get scared o knives you perceive them as a weapon. Although I agree we shouldn't have to avoid using our knives in public it isn't fair to call them weak and nonlogical.

really where do you live? cause i live close enough to a major city to get their lcoal news broadcast and i can't remember a stabbing ever in public. not saying it never ever happens, but i am saying stabbings are super rare in public places. maybe not where you live though, i guess?

i think it is fair. it's non-logical and weak to fear a tool that is legal and being used legally. saying it isn't is like saying a man carrying and using a 12v powerdrill doing standard powerdrill work with it, is something to be feared of.

when it isn't being used to do any crime or attack or even threaten someone, there is no reason to fear it. fearing it is pretty weak and illogical.

i appreciate your point of view though, i just do not agree with it.

 

[TX180SX]

the way i see it, I won't ever flick or act like a "mall ninja" as you all call em in public, don't ever plan on stabbing someone, so I'll carry whatever is within the guidelines of the law, and i will use it in public without any hesitation. If the sheeple ever get the balls to ask me about it, i don't mind answering a few questions. One thing I will not do, is cower to their fears.

 

[salguod]

I think we are all talking past one another, so let me try again. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use your knife in public lest you scare others. What I am saying is that a little courtesy goes a long way toward preventing others from being scared. A little courtesy goes a long way toward preserving our right to carry. On the other hand, rude, threatening, and boorish behavior is a huge threat to our right to carry. Yes, we have a right to carry. But other people have a right to roam our public spaces without fear. So how about a “Salute” of some sort?
As a young lieutenant in the USMC, I was taught that it is always permissible and proper to salute a civilian to let them know that you are not a threat. When I was visibly armed, I often gave nervous looking civilians a salute. Obviously, such a salute has nothing to do with rank. It has everything to do with courtesy. The hand salute mimics the motion of a knight raising his visor to identify himself. A sword salute lowers the sword to a non-attacking position. A gun or cannon salute discharges the weapon so people know there is no threat, etc. I am NOT suggesting that you do any of the above salutes in public! 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.”
I would suggest that a little courtesy would go a long way toward preserving our right to carry. On the other hand, if people are afraid to go out in public with their children, they will start drafting legislation.

 

[the rat]

A few years back my sisters boyfriend came to visit the family and dad asked if he carried a pocket knife. He said no and dad kinda told him if he wasn't man enough to carry a pocket knife he wasn't man enough to date his daughter. If someone asks me why I carry a knife I ask them why they wear shoes.

 

[ben317]

So we have the responsibility to use our tools properly if we want to keep using them in the future.

I use my knife responsibility and I feel that I am reasonably courteous to the sensitivities of people around me. But I really have a problem with the whole line of thinking that if a few people love to go flash their knives around then we've gotta take the right away from the other 95% of people who don't. There will ALWAYS be that small percentage that loves to scare people and wave it around. And I think that a free society is one that says that the risk of allowing a knife in the hands of that 5% is worth paying for the freedom of the other 95% to carry it. If knife guys are going to help propagate that line of thinking and preach on knife forums about how those guys are going to cause us to lose the privilege then we might as well give up the fight right now. You cannot prevent a small percentage of people from using their tools unwisely or harmfully. And I don't place the majority of the blame on those irresponsible guys for the loss of knife rights either. I place more of the blame on the idea that we have to restrict 95% of the population to prevent the behavior of 5% of the people. They will ALWAYS be able to find that 1 idiot and use him as a means to justify robbing the rest of us of the right.

 

[Big philly 1]

Happend to me to. I was goin out with a a girl. everything was goin good, till i gave her a hug and she felt my sig on my hip. she asked what was that hard thing on my side, i told her its a pistol and that i protect myself 24/7, not waiting for the Police. she told me that she wouldnt go out with me if i had my gun, so I said ok said thnaks for the date and left. never talked to her agian. then i used my crkt m16-04 one time to cut a rope and the guy next to me bout pissed his pants. WTF is thta. i said a TOOL. he said it looks like a weapon and that its dangerouse. I told him "its only dangerous in your hand". because you dont know how to use it. (( unnecessary )) Oh by the way, If a cop didnt see it, then you didnt break the law.

Esv. I apologise for my in apropriate laguage. I thought it would atumatically bleep it out.

 

[timberweasel]

I think we are all talking past one another, so let me try again. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use your knife in public lest you scare others. What I am saying is that a little courtesy goes a long way toward preventing others from being scared. A little courtesy goes a long way toward preserving our right to carry. On the other hand, rude, threatening, and boorish behavior is a huge threat to our right to carry. Yes, we have a right to carry. But other people have a right to roam our public spaces without fear. So how about a “Salute” of some sort?
As a young lieutenant in the USMC, I was taught that it is always permissible and proper to salute a civilian to let them know that you are not a threat. When I was visibly armed, I often gave nervous looking civilians a salute. Obviously, such a salute has nothing to do with rank. It has everything to do with courtesy. The hand salute mimics the motion of a knight raising his visor to identify himself. A sword salute lowers the sword to a non-attacking position. A gun or cannon salute discharges the weapon so people know there is no threat, etc. I am NOT suggesting that you do any of the above salutes in public! 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.”
I would suggest that a little courtesy would go a long way toward preserving our right to carry. On the other hand, if people are afraid to go out in public with their children, they will start drafting legislation.

I like this post. And I apologise for reading you wrong on a previous post... mea culpa. You obviously have a much deeper understanding of the situation... :thumbup:

 

[GallantEdge]

really where do you live? cause i live close enough to a major city to get their lcoal news broadcast and i can't remember a stabbing ever in public. not saying it never ever happens, but i am saying stabbings are super rare in public places. maybe not where you live though, i guess?

Really? Where I live, knife wounds are pretty normal occurrences. The police and fire dept. will probably respond to at least one call tonight. This type of thing happens so often here that it is no longer newsworthy. Knife victims aren't even reported unless it results in a fatality. I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood but there are places only a couple of miles away that I would never go at night.

 

[Ankerson]

I use my knife responsibility and I feel that I am reasonably courteous to the sensitivities of people around me. But I really have a problem with the whole line of thinking that if a few people love to go flash their knives around then we've gotta take the right away from the other 95% of people who don't. There will ALWAYS be that small percentage that loves to scare people and wave it around. And I think that a free society is one that says that the risk of allowing a knife in the hands of that 5% is worth paying for the freedom of the other 95% to carry it. If knife guys are going to help propagate that line of thinking and preach on knife forums about how those guys are going to cause us to lose the privilege then we might as well give up the fight right now. You cannot prevent a small percentage of people from using their tools unwisely or harmfully. And I don't place the majority of the blame on those irresponsible guys for the loss of knife rights either. I place more of the blame on the idea that we have to restrict 95% of the population to prevent the behavior of 5% of the people. They will ALWAYS be able to find that 1 idiot and use him as a means to justify robbing the rest of us of the right.

That's exactly my point, all it takes is a few idiots to mess it up for the rest of us.

And they will and do make the laws that restrict the 90% because of the 10%, happens all the time.

Why do you think we have the laws the way they are now?

It's not because of the 90%, it's that 10% that are idiots.

That's just the way things work and that won't change because that 10% will always be there to screw things up....