interest in knives not logical, not rational...

U

utmts4me

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Aug 3, 2001
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I have been told on two seperate occasions by people who I consider to be serious people, that there is something special, something compelling, something unusual when you handle gold. Not gold jewelry, but gold coins or bars. There seems to be some sort of natural human attraction to it, almost on a sub-conscious level. We have theorized that perhaps because gold has meant power and wealth for such a HUGE percentage of human history that even for someone today seeing or handling gold for the first time, there is still some sort of Pavlovian dog thing that happens. Something at an unconscious level for sure.

These comments have always floated around in the back of my mind when I think about my interest in knives. It really is not a logical, rational or emotional thing. It reminds me of the reaction I've had described to me in relation to gold. And it occurs to me that, like gold, for a HUGE percentage of human history, edged tools/weapons meant survival and power. And like gold, even though in our modern lives gold and knives are not front and center parts of our lives any longer, knives still elicite a response from some of us on a sub-conscious level that is very compelling and is difficult to explain in logical terms that feels to me satisfactory.

What do you think?
 
I'll have to pop open a Bass Ale and ponder this one. Is this really Golok in disguise? :)
 
Our interest in knives is more instinct than anything else. Modern man has not been around very long but in that time we have developed tools for cutting and as such knives were born. We are not the only animals to use cutting tools but we are the only ones to actually and consciously create them. Man is a hunter and also as such he thinks of way to provide food and shelter. A knife is naturally a tool for such tasks.

Our affinity for tools and knives in particular stem from our most primitive thought processes. Gold only came around recently (speaking in terms of how long man has been here) and when we see gold we think power. He with the most gold is the most powerful and you will find the most powerful surround themselves with an army of men with knives.
 
Yep.

I see knives as the one of the true universal tools. Every culture, geographical grouping, etc. has a version of a knife. It's one of the things that we all have in common.

Never Pet a Burnin' Dog.
 
I think Mike T. hit the nail square on the head with that explanation. It was basically what I was going to say only not so eloquently.:p
 
Interesting topic and responses.

It seems clear that these feelings about knives are disappearing over time though, at least among urban people in first-world countries. Maybe because we are getting further and further removed from situations where having a knife means the difference between life or death.

It also seems clear that these feelings are more pronounced in some people than in others, this forum being an obvious example. I used to have the sneaking suspicion that I was a wingnut for feeling very uncomfortable without a knife in my pocket. Now I know that I'm a wingnut, but there are at least a few thousand other people who are too...;)

Good stuff.
 
From the beginning of time, I would bet man has drooled over the latest and greatest in tools and weapons. Its instinct. Look at people at a show of military hardware stand in awe. Knives and guns are just tools for utility, sport, defense. Collecting examples you love is nothing new.
 
of "primative" power where gold is the symbol of "civilized" power. Gold is worth something beacause we say it is. The Indians knew about gold in the Black Hills but they didn't care. You couldn't make a fish hook or an arrowhead out of it. But a knife has a million uses. To my mind it seems as though the more "civilized" one is the more he relies on gold to pay for his protection. While the more "barbaric" of us rely on our wits and a sharp knife or a stout club. An honest working man wont blink when you pull out a knife to cut packing tape or whatever. The average cubicle dweller on the other hand sees the knife as dangerous. A weapon. They fear the man that still has a little Wild in him. The man who hasn't been completely tamed. The man who relies on himself has less need of the cubicle and the rules that pertain to the paper trail. That independance, that touch of the Wild that hasn't been bred out of us, makes us dangerous to their ordered existance. Not by virtue of our actions, (we obey the rules) but by our nature (we don't NEED the rules). I will now cut my rant short. Hey, it's only my two bits anyway.

Frank
 
Originally posted by Mike990
From the beginning of time, I would bet man has drooled over the latest and greatest in tools and weapons. Its instinct.
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Yup, absolutely. There is a very good reason why people have this fascination. Some women have this interest, of course, but mainly men. I have had discussions with female friends who complain in a joking way about this behavior in men. My standard argument is that we can't help it. For hundreds of thousands of years, our species has survived by being deeply interested in tools, weapons, gadgets, how they perform, how they can be inproved, how they can be used in new ways, etc.
 
It's an associative thing with me. My happiest times have been out in the bush, letting my eyes rest on a landscape. Listen to and feeling nature to stay alive. Carrying a knife always means I'm taking part of that experience with me every day.

I'm hearing the term evolutionary psychology around a lot these days. I'm always happy when traditional scientists are endorsing ideas that the alternative movements have accepted for years - that we have a deep collective racial memory. Surely our deepest memory is that time when we realised that we could make our own claw. That moment when we transformed from prey to predator. Knives are our first technology - even before fire.
 
Gee! I don't get that feeling of power; but I just feel more confident with a knife in my pocket or hanging from my belt when I'm out in the field! Not that I intend to use it on the wild hordes, but I may want to slice an apple or sharpen a stick!
I have a compelling attraction to knives, not because of their use as a tool or weapon, but for their feel, beauty & craftsmanship, sort of like gold. I am always amazed how a plain old hunk of steel can be transformed into a 'work of art', whether it be a simple slip joint or a fancy fixed blade! My EDC is a small Schrade 3-bladed slip joint & I marvel that after almost 40 years, it's still doing it's job of slicing fruit, cardboard, tape, sharpening sticks, etc. & still looking good!
Just my take on why I find knives interesting & appreciated.
 
Originally posted by misque
I think Mike T. hit the nail square on the head with that explanation. It was basically what I was going to say only not so eloquently.:p
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Mike, where did you read that? :D :p :D
 
Although I agree that man's fascination with knives is instinctual after thousands of years of use. I would have to say that it is this very instinct that makes that fascination 100% logical and rational. Gold's value is an artificial value, whereas a knife's value ultimately is in it's use as a tool.

After writing all that I realize I'm full of crap because there is no way I can logicaly and rationally justify buying more knives. So don't ask anymore silly questions, I NEED more knives!:p :D
 
Gold's value is an artificial value, whereas a knife's value ultimately is in it's use as a tool.
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Gold's value is based on three things:

First, gold is uniquely valuable as a tool.

Gold has unique physical and chemical properties that are quite valuable. Gold does not oxidize under natural conditions. In fact, if you want to make gold oxide, you have set up a pretty elaborate process. We often complain about rust on knives. There are several threads about preventing rust that are active right now. One way to prevent rust would be to gold-plate you knife's blade.

Gold is highly electrically conductive. So is silver, even more so, in fact. But silver oxidizes. This is why electrical contacts that must be high-reliability are gold plated.

Gold catalyst of many chemical reactions. There are certain chemical reactions used to make desirable products that won't take place without the presence of gold.

Yes, there are many industrial appications in which gold is an invaluable tool.

Second, gold is quite rare and a very limited commodity. I once saw an estimate that if all of the gold in the world were gathered and made into a single bar, it would be about the size of a football field and only a little over one foot thick. That may sound like a lot, but it's really not much, and much of the gold in the world is really not readily accessible.

And, finally, no practical way has been found to make gold. So, that football-field-sized-one-foot-thick bar is all we've got of this very useful material.

The simple law of supply and demand kicks in. The supply is small and getting smaller every day. The demand is high and getting higher every day.
 
That's all true Gollnick, so one could say that in the relative rescent history of the world gold has developed a real value based on it's use. But until someone hands me an adjustable lightsabre I will still have a need for and have an instinctual connection to, blades.;)

You're always very informative Gollnick.:)
 
What do you mean that knives are not front and center in our lives any more.They are the most usefull weapon & tool I have.
 
Humans use tools for their own advantage. I'm sure that they do have their preferences. Some like cars, some like a sewing machines, some like the microwave, and we just like knives. It just not feasible for them to collect too much of them. ;)
 
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