Knife - More weapon or tool?

I carry a lot of small knives. Many of them are slipjoints so it would be fairly impractical for me to use them as weapons.

The only time I ever came close to using a knife as a weapon was when I went hiking and saw a large furry creature in the bushes. It was probably a deer but my paranoia told me it was a cougar. :eek: I took my Endura out of my back pack and carried it in my hand the rest of the hike. Nothing happened but if that cougar (or deer ;)) charged at me I would have waved that knife like a maniac. I know I can't out run a cougar so I'd no choice but to stand and fight.

I didn't plan to carry my Endura as a weapon but it was what I had on me at the time. Had I planned ahead of time and thought about cougars I would gotten some grizzly bear pepper spray.

By the way, I carried a firearm in the Army for years. I've been deployed on two "peace keeping" missions. I never had to use it in a fight but for damn sure it was still a weapon.
 
I think southbeachlaw has some great points. I'm definitely one of the first to admit that cheaper knives can do the majority of cutting jobs that I do and the jobs that I've read about on these forums. I certainly don't blame him for carrying primarily for SD either. In that circumstace, I do see his knife as a weapon for protection just as I would pepper spray or a pistol for that purpose.

I think one thing he's not considering is that just because we spend more, it doesn't make the knife more of a weapon. I buy knives for emotional reasons. I like the quality. I don't need to spend that much, but I want to. But this applies to anything, I'm positive that I can go into anyone's house and point out things that aren't absolutely necessary. As a matter of fact, most things we all buy are based on wants, not needs. The retail industry during Christmas completly depends on this fact. Our economy relies on it.

I don't buy knives for weapons, but I sure wouldn't mind using it as one if I saw a need to. In the same way that if I saw a brick or a pipe laying around under those circumstances, I would do the same.
 
When I was spending some time in the south, a friend told me the difference between "naked" and "nekkid". Intent.

I carry a small knife almost all the time and can't rationally say it's anything but a tool. On the other hand, the possibility of having to use it as a weapon is never far from the surface, in spite of slim odds and limited practicality. Go figure.
 
Depends on a lot of factors, naturally. I think most of the time people carry knives (sane people who follow laws) its as a tool, albeit a tool that can be used as a weapon. Most people who you'd think would view a knife as a weapon first, tool second don't. Case in point: Matt Axelson, one of the SEALs killed in Operation Redwing carried...a Spyderco Delica.
http://www.mattaxelson.com/album/afghanistan/hidden room2.html
 
I use my knife every single day of my life, without exception. For me it is definately a tool. I suppose that if push comes to shove, it could be used as a weapon, but that's not why I carry it.
 
It's totally a tool. A weapon is just a tool used for defense or offense, so a knife would fit that bill if needed.
To tell the truth though, it's not needed for defense very often. I've had to fend off like 3 dogs in all my years. Wooo.
Still, it WAS great for fending off dogs, and the 7 guys in their car and a truck got back in that one time, so my knives have been handy as defensive tools a few times.
MUCH more likely I'll need them for opening packages most days; heck, even cutting rope happens more often than adrenaline fueled face-offs.
So, tool always, defensive tool rarely.
 
Wow a lot of great thought I think I might have to clarify my view. To me a knife just like thousands of other objects we use is a tool. A knife is a tool designed to cut things, it is not very efficient at being used to kill things so we have developed a tremendous amount of tools that are, such as the bow and arrow and guns. Now basicly any tool can be misused as a weapon, I could kill you as easily with a hammer or an axe as I could with a knife. So to me regulating knives makes no sense...they are simply tools designed to cut things and that is all. Guns are designed to kill things, they don't have to be used to kill things but that is what they were designed to do with the sole exception of target rifles/pistols. Thus I carry a knife as a tool to cut things and a Kimber Pro carry with crimson trace hand grips as a tool to kill if need be. Although I have only ever used it for target practice.
 
"When a Tool Becomes a Weapon"

I have 3 or 4 mice in my shop. Last night, 2 of them got into a 15 gallon RubberMaid trashcan that I had recently emptied. They were rummaging around in there, jumping up the sides in attempt to get out. Knowing that many people are afraid of mice, my instincts as a MAN guided my hand to my side, where my BARK RIVER NORTHSTAR, it's heart beating in anticipation of being called upon AS A WEAPON, awaited my call. It's pointy tip stabbed and slashed, licking at the frightened fur of each of the scurrying scum. Finally, with a slash that would make Braveheart himself proud, Barkie bit deeply into the flesh of one of the riotous rodents. With a smooth stroke by the MAN behind the KNIFE, the creature was halved, its screaming ebbing with the beating of its heart. The other mutinous mouse was "eaten" by Barkie in similar fashion. With warm blood dripping from his lustful lips, Barkie's satiation and orgasmic contentment was ceased when his MASTER washed him with HOT water and soap!

My tool, my weapon, my killing fields of gray.

By Stretch
 
VTguy said:
my knifes are tools... my kimber's a weapon and livin' here in a sensable state I don't need a permit to carry either on me :D:D
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Consider yourself one of the few.
I am damn glad I can get a permit to carry.
I lived in Cal-E-Fornia for 26 years. Just buying a gun there was getting tough. <oved to Oklahoma in 2002, first thing I did was get the CCW permit.
Then I bought a $1,000.00 Kimber so I could leave my Series 70 Colt Combat Commander at home. It rusts if ya look at it cross-eyed.:eek:
 
I'm surprised how many people here seem to be almost afraid to admit that they might consider their a knife as a weapon. Certainly there are other tools to save your backside but I'm surprised how many people are so fast to say there knife is a tool, that is a tool not for fighting situations.
 
Pointed said:
Since the only country in the world you can actually carry a handgun for self defence is the US and even there it is getting more

That's interesting. I didn't know that.
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Where you from boy?
In over 30 states in the U.S. a Concealed Weapon License can be gotten by those with a clean back ground check. And most states are reciprocating their licenses. So my Oklahoma license is good in 30 states currently. In 2003 when I first got it, it was only good in 13 states.
So since I currently carry 2 guns every day, my knives are just tools. Yup, I carry more than one knife and more than one gun, cause you just never know. I also carry 2 flash lights. Massad Ayoob once said, "One is none, and two is one." I carry two of every thing because of such words.
 
It's a tool to me. I'm not really trained to use a knife as a weapon, and I'm a chef, so a knife for me is like a hammer or saw to a carpenter.
 
Rich357 said:
I'm surprised how many people here seem to be almost afraid to admit that they might consider their a knife as a weapon. Certainly there are other tools to save your backside but I'm surprised how many people are so fast to say there knife is a tool, that is a tool not for fighting situations.
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I don't think most of us are "afraid" of saying that we might consider our knife a weapon. . . I think it's more that many of us just don't. When I buy a knife, consideration of it's applicability as a weapon generally doesn't come into it at all. The two knives I currently EDC are a Spyerdco Salt 1 and a SAK Farmer. Neither of which are good choices for use as a weapon (if you aren't familiar with it, the Salt 1 has a fairly rounded tip, making it a very inefficient stabbing weapon). I will soon be replacing my Salt with a Graham Brothers Razel, which has *no* stabbing point at all.

The chances of being in a situation where you'd need to pull a knife for self defense is very rare. The number of cases where it would be advisable are extremely rare.

Considering that I don't live in a war zone, I see no reason to carry a knife-as-weapon. In fact, I doubt that I will ever use a knife as a weapon. now, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't use a knife as a weapon of last resort, if the circumstances required it. In an emergency, you use anything that will do what you need. But since the chances of needing a knife for a weapon are so low, I'm not going to spend a lot of time worrying about it, nor am I going to go out of my way to gear up for something that will most likely never happy.
 
A tool, no question about it...... same as a firearm.

Most anything, including the two "tools" mentioned above... can be used as a weapon. Whether it be of agression or self defense depends on the circumstances of the situation. ;)

Just my .02.....
 
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