In mixed company....



Kershaw Wild Turkey -- Too fancy loooking to spook anyone, but it's what I would use to open up grandma's medicine bottle.
ESEE Izula (stripped, with custom leather pocket sheath) -- Just doesn't look that threatening and is too small/discreet to really be noticed, not going to draw a lot of "Oh" and "Awe" when a knife is needed to make a quick cut, looks like a "work knife"
ESEE 3 -- Has a glass breaking pommel, pretty large... I think this one is liable to draw some stares even though I haven't experienced that when carrying it on walks and such.

I usually always have the Kershaw and alternate between the Izula and 3. If I'm going for a walk or somewhere just in my car, I'll take the 3. If I'm going to go somewhere a little bit more social with any people at all I'll take the Izula, and if I'm going to be really concerned about it then the Kershaw is my failsafe "This won't offend anyone" knife.
 
I pretty much only use traditional slipjoints for daily tasks, though I usually am also carrying a larger folder (flipper, AO, or big thumbstud one handed open). That big folder is pretty much just there for emergencies where the quick access, and big blade are important. Not usually the case when I'm cutting an apple, or opening a package. :/

I don't think I consciously considered the "audience" when making that decision - but I'm sure it is an unconscious factor. I like both modern and traditional knives - and I am a big proponent of using the right tool for the job. Sometimes "right" is a technical consideration, and sometimes a psychological/social one.
 
I do think about the PC factor of knives because I've always carried one but the latest (a battered SOG Flash 2 that I was given) just screams tacticool with its cameo scales and black blade. I do like it though... thinking of replacing it with a black/plain Griptilian for the same functionality but maybe trying my hand at some hardwood scales for a better general public acceptance factor.
 
Charlie_K said:
I never considered political correctness with regard to my EDC. I'm a reminder that things aren't nice, and they have no right to feel comfortable at the sight of others.
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^^ this, when my 0300 comes out of the pocket, people are always more fascinated than scared anyways :cool:
 
I care less and less these days about frightening the sheeple. Obviously, I'm not looking to scare people or create confrontation, but in AZ, everything is legal. The older I get (and I'm not very old), the less I care about the ignorant opinions and fragile feelings of people looking for excuses to be offended and outraged. Still, I prefer to use my SAK or traditional pocket knife over anything else I might carry, but that's because I feel silly whipping out a big blade for something small, which most every-day cutting tasks are.
 
I don't give a rats hind end about being PC. If I need to cut something I'll whip out my ZT0350, let the sweet AO do it's thing with a loud clack, perform the necessary task and put it away without batting an eye. I also carry a leatherman but I buy knives with flippers and sometimes AO because they open quickly and easily with one hand and close and get put away almost as quick. I can only remember one occasion where someone was wiered out by my knife, I calmly and politely told them it's just a knife and to get over themselves. Mind you though this wasn't a total stranger.
 
Greetings!

I work in a very restrictive environment with a very small blade length limit. Even so, I do not take anything out in front of others.
When I'm off/away from work, I use what you'd call a "PG" or maybe "PG 13" at most. Due to the nature of the suburbia/city I live in, I use them discreetly and follow the blade length limit of the area.
I thought this was a very insightful comment; "Sometimes "right" is a technical consideration, and sometimes a psychological/social one." Where I live and work, the later is the determining factor...
 
bigghoss said:
I don't give a rats hind end about being PC. If I need to cut something I'll whip out my ZT0350, let the sweet AO do it's thing with a loud clack, perform the necessary task and put it away without batting an eye. I also carry a leatherman but I buy knives with flippers and sometimes AO because they open quickly and easily with one hand and close and get put away almost as quick. I can only remember one occasion where someone was wiered out by my knife, I calmly and politely told them it's just a knife and to get over themselves. Mind you though this wasn't a total stranger.
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Amen.


Myself? Nope. Not one bit. I dont really care what others think. If you ask me, people are too paranoid. Everyone is so scared of everyone. It drives me nuts!
One day, It will be illegal to wear brown or dark green in public, because you'll "blend in too much you must be planning something."
Today, waiting in a sitting area to get my hair cut. I cut my fingernail with my Adamas.
Walmart, the mall, movie theater, dont care.
I have a knife. Big deal.
 
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I only care about what people around me think, when it's people that I need to get along with for some reason.

For instance, I've got a client whose views on most topics make me want to beat him to death with a brick, but his business pays for a lot of my toys. So I nod along and keep my mouth shut.
 
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