Have you ever handed over your blade to help a stranger?

C

Cutting_Edge_DNA

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Oct 31, 2015
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Just thinking about a kid who was struggling to open up a shrink wrapped pallet. I was waiting for the warehouse manager to sign my paperwork and stood there staring at him as he battled the endless layers of shrink wrap and packing tape.
I flipped out my Razor sharp Timberland Simba and handed it to the boy and told him to be careful. His face lit up and he absolutely gutted the pallet in a matter of minutes. He handed the knife back to me and said "that was fast". Little did he know that was the most work my knife had seen in weeks.

I aint going to lie it felt good to help the boy out.
 
I usually carry a beater knife to loan out, especially to guys at work. Most people are not knife people and don't know how to treat a blade properly IMO
 
No. Nor do I usually scramble to offer help. First I see what the knife would be used for. If I'm comfortable with the task I'd then offer to DO IT FOR THEM.

Unless I was carrying my Gerber Paraframe (which I found in the street--someone actually DID that to me!!) in which case I'd slip it to them with a $20 to keep it.
 
That's cool OP, you may have just recruited a new knife collector with that gesture. :thumbup:
 
A guy at work recently asked to borrow my knife. I said no. I then gave him a new utility knife and told him to keep it on him while working. (I'm a manager in manufacturing)
 
I buy Victorinox classics at TSA bulk sales, and when I see someone struggling to open something, I'll hand them the little SAK and when they are done I tell them to keep it for a coin. So far, it's gone well with all of them giving me whatever coin is in their pocket. There was a lady at the local gun show that always had a big box of SAK's from TSA, and classic's were 2 dollars apiece if you bought five of them more. SAK classics are the Giddeons Bibble of knives.
 
Duh - just realized that I didn't answer the question... No - I wouldn't - I'd probably ask what he needs it for and maybe I would do it for him..
 
That was very cool of you -and it is fortunate that the kid didn't do the standard whole-arm-wrist-flick that every non-knife-dude I have ever handed my knife to has pulled. I have been horrified by that behavior enough times to just quit handing over a knife, ever.
 
I am hesitant to loan a knife to a friend. I would never loan it to a stranger. If the circumstances were right I would possibly offer to use my knife. I suffered through a similar incident earlier this year with a salesman who was struggling to open a pallet. I stood there patiently and watched.
 
I'm a millwright and usually carry a maxpedition pos flipper while on the factory floor. I keep it razor sharp and loan it to whoever needs it. If they snapped the blade in half I'd only be out 20 bucks. Surprisingly its held up very well.

Mike
 
I always loan out my knives. Setting up my sister's wedding in Sept, I brought my PM2, delica and dragonfly. The delica and dragonfly were bouncing around from person to person all night, and ended up on the table with all the other supplies/tools. No problem whatsoever. They're knives I bought for cutting 'stuff.' I'd rather someone else use it than just sit in my pocket… Seems silly, but so does spending a fortune on a single knife. :D

I was at Whole foods not too long ago, and I bought a case of that kombucha tea. The guy at the register had to open the box to scan one of the bottles…. So I handed him my PM2, smiling. He was hesitant initially, but grabbed it and sliced that box open. Lol.

A lady that works for my parents was breaking down some boxes the other day…..with a pair of scissors. Nope, I gave her my Delica for about 45 minutes. I don't need to supervise people, they're just knives. Like a pair of boots, I hate them when they're brand new. They need to be broken in and beat to hell before I like 'em. :D
 
I spend half of my time in a big city, and half in a remote ranch in the mountains. In the city, most folks don't react well to knives and I'd rather not show one unless I personally need to use it. At the ranch and the little village near by, everybody carries a big fixed blade or SAK/multitool.
 
I am probably overly sentimental about my knives. I don't like lending them out.

It's about a 50/50 chance they either cut themselves, damage the knife, or do something stupid with it.

Yes I have lent them out.
 
I've learned not to when I got a PM2 back with a missing tip because they decided that after using it to cut the zip ties (stated reason for asking for the knife) the person also decided that it could serve double-duty as a screwdriver to assemble the cage that was in the package.
 
It's a double edged sword, pun intended:D

On one hand Jesus said "lend a man knife and he will cut once, teach him to carry it EDC and he will always be prepared!":D

On the other hand, give a stranger knife and he decidedes to go postal and start stabbing and cutting inocent people, now you are part of murder/terrorist conspiracy and liable for damages!:mad:

So to answer OP no I don't lend knives to strangers ever!!!!!
But I do lend cheap small beaters to family and friends:rolleyes:
 
I worry, in our current times, of a stranger suing me for cutting themselves with a knife I gave them. Unless I know the person, I offer to help them with my knife in my control. If they express an interest, I'll happily show them my knife and explain its features...maybe even let them hold it...but the cutting work gets done by someone who knows how to handle the knife.

I only cut myself with my own knives once in a while ;)
 
Strangers? No. Never.

I would never lend a knife to anyone if I did not know their level of personal responsibility, maturity, and knowledge of how to safely handle a knife.

Handing over a sharp knife to a complete stranger to do whatever they want to do seems like a really bad idea to me.

And even if it appears obvious what they intend to do with it, once you hand it over and it's in their possession, THEY have control of it, and are free to do whatever they want with it. After all, what are you going to do if you see them start doing something stupid, dangerous, or potentially destructive with your knife? Are you going to grab a sharp knife out of someones hand?

I don't carry an extra knife to lend out to people. Just like I don't carry an extra cell phone to lend out. If people cannot be bothered to carry their own knife, I'm not going to carry one around for them. Nor am I going to maintain a "loaner" knife and keep it sharp just to lend it out to others so they can possibly ruin the edge, and then I have to fix it.

Here's an interesting little story about lending a knife to a stranger- As a teenager, a friend of mine was fishing off a pier. There was another teen fishing nearby. This other teen asked my friend if he could borrow his knife. My friend, being a nice guy, handed over his knife. After the guy cut what he wanted to cut, he said to my friend "Thanks for the knife", closed the knife, and put it in his pocket. He STOLE my friends knife. And what could my friend do? There were no cops around. And even if there had been, my friend had no way to prove it was his knife. It would be his word against the other guys. And my friend wasn't a tough guy, he wasn't going to fight the guy to try and get his knife back.

The moral of that story is- Not everybody in this world is an honest, trustworthy, upstanding person. And sometimes when you lend out your stuff, you may not get it back. My friend was minus one knife, but he had learned a valuable lesson.

What would you do if you lent your knife (perhaps a nice knife) to a total stranger, and they decided to keep it? Could you prove that it's yours? There are certainly lots of unethical people in this world. And you can't tell who they are just by looking at them.
 
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Comeuppance said:
I've learned not to when I got a PM2 back with a missing tip because they decided that after using it to cut the zip ties (stated reason for asking for the knife) the person also decided that it could serve double-duty as a screwdriver to assemble the cage that was in the package.
Click to expand...

My PM2 came back intact, but had some blood stains on it. Guy dropped it and it landed point first on his thigh. Luckily his jeans absorbed most of it, so not a serious injury, but I'll admit to a certain guilty relief that it hit him and not the pavement. ;)
 
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