Have you had a stranger comment on Your Knife?

I live in San Diego, where it's legal to openly carry a fixed-blade. Here are four stories of strangers commenting on my knife.

One evening I was walking out of a convenience store and there was a kid maybe 12 years old hanging around the parking lot selling candy bars from a box (for his school, church, whatever). I was impressed by how assertive the kid was as he wasn't the least bit shy about talking to strangers. After I declined to buy any candy he sees the fixed-blade hanging on my belt and asks "Is that a knife?", I said "Yeah", he asked "Why do you carry a knife?", I smiled at him and without skipping a beat I answered "In case I run out of bullets". His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open, and he stood there in silent shock as I climbed onto my motorcycle, fired it up and rode away. I guess I was feeling a bit like a wise-ass that evening.

One evening, as I was standing in a Taco Bell waiting for my take-out order to be finished, a middle-aged guy waiting next to me saw my fixed-blade hanging upside-down from my belt in a kydex sheath. He said "Excuse me", I looked over and he asked "What keeps the knife from falling out of the sheath?", and I responded by briefly explaining how a kydex sheath works. He was satisfied with my answer and that was the end of he conversation.

On one recent occasion I was sitting on my bike in a parking lot when a guy passing by saw my fixed-blade hanging from my belt. He stopped, and in a very friendly manner he proceeded to tell me that it was illegal and that if a cop saw it I would be arrested. I know my local knife laws like I know my name and address so I politely and briefly explained that both my knife and how I was carrying it were completely legal. But he insisted that I was wrong and that I was breaking the law, etc, etc. He seemed like a nice guy, like he was genuinely concerned for me. So I just smiled and thanked him for his concern, then I rode away.

One day I visited a Home Depot store. I was openly carrying a fixed-blade in a back-pocket sheath. I parked my bike in front of the store among the barbecues and potted plants. There was an empty cop car parked in front of the store very near where I parked. When I left the store there were two cops sitting in the car. As I was getting ready to leave the two cops got out of the car and the senior cop said "Excuse me sir, can I talk to you for a moment?". He then proceeded to tell me that he noticed the bottom of my jacket was covering my knife and that technically that made it "concealed" (I got warm while shopping and unzipped my jacket, unintentionally causing the bottom to cover the knife handle). But this was just a friendly warning, the cop indicated that he didn't care about the knife but that he didn't want me to get into trouble if some other cop saw it. I thanked him for the heads-up, zipped-up my jacket to expose the knife again, they got back into their car and we went our separate ways. He never asked to see my ID or took possession of the knife or asked me why I was carrying it.

I really like that last story, and never miss an opportunity to tell it as I like to share stories about positive interactions with cool cops. :)
 
I was carrying my 5.11 C.U.B. Master karambit at work one night(for giggles mainly, I'd just got it and felt like taking it with me). Guy saw the ring, knew exactly what it was, then explained that he worked for 5.11.
 
I used to carry a Cold Steel Leatherneck Tanto on my belt before I got a folder big enough to replace it (I prefer large knives since I live in the mountains and never know when I'll need one), and, living in a small tourist town, it got a lot of attention. One time a little kid stared at it for a good minute then looked up at his mom and said "mommy He's got a knife!", I just grinned. :)
Another time an elderly man in Chik-Fil-A asked me what kind of knife it was, and after I told him said he liked it. I've had a dude ask me if I'm going into the jungle, and a guy tell me that I might want to quit wearing it because it was illegal (this was after they got rid of blade laws, I guess he hadn't heard), and a young Krogers cashier asked me if it was a KA-BAR. ._.
 
I actually work in a knife store so when people come in that know what they're talking about I'll usually get compliments on my carry that day (usually Spyderco). It's nice to be in an environment where you're bound to run into at least a couple people with similar interests to myself.
 
A coworker once commented on my Leek. "That's a really expensive knife, isn't it."
"Not really."

In the summer, I have a weekend gig driving a shuttle bus for a place that rents inner tubes for floating on the river. If the tubers have rafted their tubes together with rope or twine, I have to separate them in order to load the bus. A tuber once commented on my Kershaw One Ton: "Now that's a knoife."
 
I work with mostly women and I can't count how many times I've heard "That's a big knife!" when opening a Delica, a Victorinox Recruit and Soldier, Case medium stockman, and lastly my Meerkat. I held up the blade of the Meerkat beside my pinky finger showing the commenter it wasn't nearly as long and said "Really?!?"
Had a guy I was talking to at my house last week notice the Para 2 in my pocket and ask me if it was a Spyderco. We proceded to have a great conversation about knives.
 
My openly carried EDC knives are a pair of 3/4 Kabars (125x models), aka "shorties". I also carry a pair of Buck 484s and a BK11 in my pockets.

Most of the comments I have received have been on the order of....

"Is that legal?" usually either in reference to open carry of the knives or the size of the knives (5-1/4" in a max 5.5" state)

"Why do you carry 2 knives?"

"You're about to loose your knife." when hilt strap is open. This is because the hard plastic sheaths that Kabar supplies with certain models have 3 retention mechanisms - a hilt strap, an over the guard strap and a pair of extruded knobs that extend over the upper and lower guards and I don't always snap the hilt strap. I just use the situation to demo the multiple retention options of the sheaths.

"Are those Kabars?" Usually they are referring to full size 1219C2s from WW2 rather than the brand. I like to say - "Yes, but...".

And the only questions I ever get from LEOs are the occasional "Why 2?" and the curiosity Q "What are they?" as many of them seem to have never seen the Kraton handled all black shorties.
 
Twice when I used to carry clipped. Once, a younger veteran at a plant saw my Ritter Mini Grip clipped to my pocket and asked if it was a Benchmade. I'd seen him carry a Grip or Mini Grip several times before. He said he was going to bring a Benchmade auto he got in Iraq for me to check out but never did.

Second time I was getting some coffee in a plant and guy asked if that was a Sebenza in my pocket which it was. We talked briefly about high end knives and turned out he was a CRK and Strider owner.
 
I was in an Apple Store in Pennsylvania this fall. The associate helping me suddenly said, "Is that an M390 Paramilitary 2 you have there?" I replied, "Why yes it is. It's my daily work knife." We then proceeded to have an enjoyable conversation about knives. He pulled out his phone to show me photos of his extensive high end collection. It was cool. I told him that this was the first time I can recall meeting another enthusiast in the wild, so to speak. He asked if it would be okay to take a photo of my knife in pocket to send to a buddy. I said sure and his friend also correctly identified my knife based on what showed when clipped in my jeans. Good times.
 
I carry a Strider and get a lot of inquiries about it when I shop at places like Triple Aught Design, REI and especially at gun shops and gun shows. The pocket clip is the giveaway.
 
I usually get comments at the local steak house. I was eating at the bar and the nice young lady bar tender asked "so what's with bringing your own knife?" I picked up the knife they gave me and said "it is much better than cutting my steak with this", I think I had a sebenza that day. Another time a couple across the bar, the gentleman asked me what knife I was using and I explained about my Bradford Guardian3. He took out his BM 915 and his girlfriend or wife had a Mini Grip. I took out my 550 and handed it over. He said he had heard of ZT and was considering getting one.
 
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craytab said:
I usually get comments at the local steak house. I was eating at the bar and the nice young lady bar tender asked "so what's with bringing your own knife?" I picked up the knife they gave me and said "it is much better than cutting my steak with this", I think I had a sebenza that day. Another time a couple across the bar, the gentleman asked me what knife I was using and I explained about my Bradford Guardian3. He took out his BM 915 and his girlfriend or wife had a Mini Grip. I took out my 550 and handed it over. He said he had heard of ZT and was considering getting one.
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Do you cut it on the glass plate? Did that once on a sebenza.. ouch.

Now I'll awkwardly hold the steak up little with a fork an slice the steak thin...
 
HwangJino said:
Do you cut it on the glass plate? Did that once on a sebenza.. ouch.

Now I'll awkwardly hold the steak up little with a fork an slice the steak thin...
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I think the plate is ceramic but yes. I keep it sharp enough and the meat is tender enough that I don't need to push down. Just slice right through it. I also enjoy the touch up after. Nothing like using a sharp knife and making a sharp knife sharper.
 
Never in a good way. The last time was when I got a box of Christmas cookies at work and got a little too excited and whipped out my 301 to open it and my cube neighbor squealed "WTF is that" when I popped it open. He is e-Navy so it surprised me that it freaked him out so bad. I usually carry something a little smaller (Brous Bionic Auto, BM 940-1 or ZT 0770cf) that disappears in my slacks but it was during jeans days over the Holidays and I pulled it out without thinking. I bought an anodized blue deep carry clip for it so it would not be as noticeable in my jeans but I should have known better...
 
craytab said:
I think the plate is ceramic but yes. I keep it sharp enough and the meat is tender enough that I don't need to push down. Just slice right through it. I also enjoy the touch up after. Nothing like using a sharp knife and making a sharp knife sharper.
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Nice nice.

Usually I make my own steaks at home since I picky with the rareness. I like it bloody, so naturally it's tender. Sometimes I eat it off the chopping board and might not make it to the plate.
 
As I was being shaken down like an inmate going into my local V.A. Hospital for an appointment
One of the cops was really excited about my SMF GG. He wanted to check it out before I had to take it back to my car.
 
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