Knife use on college campus

I work at a private university, in admin/facilities. Every one hander I've ever carried always received a "weapon" comment. A traditional never does. Trapper, stockman, laguiole, opinel, SAK. Nobody bats an eye. If they comment at all, it's usually positive.

Frank
 
I spent a lot of time on college campuses..... I never had a use for one, though. Not many opportunities for knife use on your average campus. Except for self defense. I always carried a knife suitable for SD, but was glad never to have had to use one.

But I always carried one. Or two.

Andy
 
Oh -- and one more suggestion:

I carry a normal sized kubaton -- wrapped in gutted paracord -- made out of commercially pure tungsten. One end is flat, the other isn't sharp -- but it is rounded convex with the profile of a large crayon.

Now -- you may ask: "Hey -- 'Pokes? What's with that tungsten kubaton? Why tungsten?"

And, if you do I'll reply, "How good of you to ask! -- See, in short, it's a matter of kinetic energy. Tungsten is the densest readily available, chemically inert, and non-radioactive metal. In fact it's only five percent less dense than depleted uranium -- and it's three times denser than steel. It's nearly twice as dense as lead -- and it's really frickin' hard. It's also pretty tough in commercially pure non-alloyed form (a lot of the time people alloy it with copper and nickel to make it easier to machine -- but this also makes it brittle)."

You: "Oh my!"

Me: "Yessir! Oh my indeed! If someone wanted a striking weapon disguised as a keychain I don't understand the appeal of 'that other exotic metal'..."

You: "Titanium?"

Me: "Bingo. It's nearly the same density as aluminum -- and about half that of Steel. And if you wanted to pony up for a premium material I don't know why you'd pick one with unremarkable performance for the task...it isn't like ANY of these materials aren't tough enough..."

You: Well, what's so great about Tungsten in a small striking weapon?

Me: Well -- glad you asked. See -- in this sort of tool -- we need to avoid drawing attention to it. This places the upper boundary on how big it can be. If it could be as big as I'd want there'd be no reason to use tungsten -- but as it stands there is no way to make it bigger than a large pen without drawing attention to it. You want the surprise advantage on bad-guys, and you want it to slip below the radars of anyone who would disarm you. But, you still want something as heavy as you can move around quickly. Whatever you are carrying -- no kubaton will be so heavy that it will be noticeably slower..."

You: "...but, a tungsten kubaton is going to be almost three tines the mass of a similar steel one."

Me: "Precisely. And if you cold-cock someone with three steel kubatons you STILL are not doing as much damage as you would with one Tungsten kubaton..."

You: "Now -- how do you justify THAT claim?"

Me: "See -- that's also pretty simple when you think about it. There is another constraint that we are playing with in a kubaton -- we don't want any surface of it to be SHARP."

You: "Yeah, I suppose that is true. You do not want something that has a sharp edge because you don't want it to OBVIOUSLY be a weapon. Sharpened cutting surfaces make it into an entirely different sort of object as far as the law is concerned. It would also be a lot more difficult to carry in your pocket without a sheath."

Me: "Yeah. We are limited in how much kinetic energy we can concentrate in a single point via altering the geometry of the contact surface; but, we can increase the energy by upping the mass of the striking object."

You: "Ow..."

Me: "Yeah. Buy a piece of scrap tungsten off Ebay and play around with it a bit. Good clean fun."
 
edcrefiner, this is an interesting topic. I myself attend Cal State San Marcos. I carry a knife every day. I often try to bring my more un-intimidating blades like a Kershaw groove, but most times I carry larger knives like a BM 710, or spyderco Barong. as far as use on campus I've had to use my knife several times and no one has ever acted scared or called campus police. I think that as long as you are seen using it as a tool and then putting it away no one will freak out. It's if you bring out a knife and wave it around for everyone to see that people will freak out. also I see a lot of people carrying knives on campus. I often see Striders, and zero tolerance, so larger knives, and no one seems to mind.
 
I just graduated from the University of Louisville and their policy is that "deadly weapons" are prohibited and any knife other than an "ordinary pocket knife" is considered a deadly weapon. I always thought this was incredibly vaque, but figured that since my knife had a pocket clip, it would be pretty hard for them to argue that it wasn't a pocket knife.

I carried my Tenacious with me every day and never had any problems using it anywhere. Almost all my friends carry and use 3"+ folders on campus with no problems.

Once, a girl in class needed to open the a plastic clamshell package and asked if anyone had scissors. I told her that I had a knife she could use. She seemed a little nervous about cutting herself and asked if I could open it for her. I pulled the knife out slowly, opened it slowly, cut carefully, and put it away. The professor and students saw me and never blinked an eye.
 
First, as others have already stated, make sure you know the , State, community and Campus laws/ordinances/policies. Then, decide if you are willing to risk the consequences of ignoring them.
My recommendation is that you DON'T ignore them.
If knives are allowed, then you should be fine as long as you carry and use it responsibly. Don't act in a way that will draw negative attention to yourself, such as being disrespectful, belligerent , cocky, etc. And, definitely don't brandish the knife in a threatening or careless way.
I worked on a college campus for 10 years and never had any problem with students or staff carrying knives. The biggest blade issue that I consistently saw, was that of over-tired design students cutting themselves with xacto knives while working late night on projects (don't let your finger over lap the straight edge!).
I have three children in college and all three carry knives (One son carries an Emerson, the other carries a Griptilian, and my daughter carries a Byrd Robin. )
Enjoy college....and remember to STUDY :-)
 
Worried? SAK
Did your research? Whatever you can.

No matter what, use it slowly and responsibly. Unless you're being attacked, then have it at that SOB.
 
well first of all, like in most deskjob type situations, youre not going to use your knife much, if at all. and by no means pull your knife out for light tasks you can do with your hand etc., young girls do not want to see this.

the campus laws at iowa state are identical to iowas state law: 5" or less blade length. its all individual
 
thanks for the replies.

Does the Boker Subcom with a black coated blade (not sure what material) look intimidating or scary? I intend to use that as a primary blade for utility due to its robust blade.
 
TwitchyBlade said:
I know at my university there are a lot of people who carry knives. In my law enforcement class alone I saw atleast 10 people walk by with one clipped in their pants. One guy I talked to actually carried a 5.11 Journeyman, another carried a Kershaw Cyclone. Another I noticed carried a Smith and Wesson cheapo.
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In Illinois, any knife with a blade that is 3" long or over can be classed as a "weapon" if there is intent to use it as one. Even a shorter blade can be classified this way, given intent.

Schools usually list their policy in the student handbook, and some state colleges in Illinois specifically ban weapons on campus.
 
Best advice is definitely stick to a SAK or a non-threatening looking lock blade under 3 inches. I go to school in Mass and the people around here can be pretty nuts about carrying a knife. Be responsible and discrete and don't carry anything with "combat" in the name, like an emerson CQC.
 
I carry my usual three knives every day I'm on campus. I've used my CS Pocket Bushman to cut loose threads off of the cuff of my jeans in the middle of a crowded classroom and didn't have anyone bat an eye. You just have to open your knife gently and without any show, accomplish the task at hand, and return it to your pocket. ;)
 
I used to carry all the time at college. I used it plenty of time in the electrical labs, physics labs and so on where it was really needed and I think pretty much everyone knew I had it on me and went to me when they needed stuff opening.

In other classes such as my drafting they had in the agreement to take the course that a pocket knife was a deadly weapon and contraband and should not be carried. I just made sure I didn't have it clipped to my pocket in that class. Of course it leads to the interesting question how where you supposed to sharpen your drafting pencils at the correct angles to create the right line width and shape.

The vast majority of people didn't think twice about it other than one lecturer who pouted because my knife was much larger and handier than her's.

Actually now I looked back I have a Kershaw Leek clipped to my pocket on the photograph when I got the student of the year award. Some strict anti-weapon policy there.
 
I also carry on campus. I try to be non-threatening but some people are still knife shy. What can you do?
 
stabman said:
:confused:
What does that have to do with having a pocket-knife?
Weird post.
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i think it has a lot to do with carrying a knife, unfortunetly.

people love to overeact when bad things happen. as if banning guns, knives, will somehow alter the mentality of one who is determined to do damage. likewise, some people could walk around fully strapped and would be no danger to anyone, ever.

if i had gone to college, i would of made sure no one ever knew what knives i had, and would of openly used a nice small traditional.
 
I think a lot of it depends on which UC school you're going to exactly. I go to UC Irvine, where there is virtually no violent crime, so no one really cares about knives. I've flicked knives in boring lectures, and no one's looked twice (not recommending doing this, just my experience). I'd be nuts to do the same at UC Los Angeles, though.
 
i carried a BM710 all 4 years of college, no problem

really depends on what you use it for

if you whip it out like an idiot and try to be badass or something you're going to #1. look like an idiot and #2. get in trouble

i used mine for opening packages, cutting threads on my shirt, and peeling apples for the most part
 
My school's knife law is the same as the state of Arkansas' knife law. You can carry any knife as long as it isnt intended to be used as a weapon. Last I checked that was the real law. But I usually use my SAK on campus in public.
 
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