I'm 46, and I've been carrying and using knives in public for most of my life. For several years it was a Buck 110 in a belt sheath. I've also been carrying folders clipped to my pocket for well over a decade. And I've been openly carrying a fixed-blade for over a decade in urban San Diego. And I've never had any negative responses from anyone, neither citizens, business owners, or cops.
If I need to use a knife in public, I consider my surroundings first, and consider just how much I really need to use a knife. This takes about a half-second of thought. If I feel that it is appropriate to use whatever knife I'm carrying, then I use it, like a normal person would use a knife. When in public, or around people you don't know, it only makes sense to consider your surroundings before pulling out a knife.
I think if a person appears to be a "normal", sane, rational person, and they are using their knife for a normal purpose, that the vast majority of people would not be frightened, including non-knife people. I think that most of the general public would look very differently on someone who pulls out a knife to cut an apple, or cut some twine to secure a load to their car, then they would a person who is talking gibberish, staring crazily at them, and licking their knife. I believe that if you act like a "normal" person, you'll be treated like a "normal" person.
And since people are inclined to not be confrontational and mind their own business, that makes them less likely to voice any objections or criticisms of you carrying or using a knife in public.
Of course there are people out there who are irrational in their fear of knives and the people who carry them. But that's life. There will always be irrational people. I don't live my life or make my decisions to try and satisfy other peoples irrationality. The simple fact is- you can't satisfy irrational people, because they are irrational.
As far as the social aspect of this topic, I don't do "social media", I don't wear knife related apparel, I don't start talking to strangers I see carrying knives, and I don't go around starting knife-related conversations. I'm not saying those things are bad, they just aren't me. If I want to talk knives I come here. I might talk knives with people in person depending on the person, the setting, and whether or not I have other things to do.
I don't feel the need to be "THE KNIFE GUY" when I'm among other people. I don't feel the need to draw attention to the fact that I carry a knife, that I like knives, and that I am someone who recognizes and appreciates the value of carrying a cutting tool. And I don't feel the need to preach the value of knives to others or lecture them on how silly it is to be afraid of knives, or how unprepared people are who don't carry knives. A knife is a tool I carry, it's not my identity, or how I define myself,. Nor is it my mission in life to convert others and make them "knife people".
