Knives as gifts

T

therulebookman

Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
199
http://www.reddit.com/comments/ag419/i_gave_my_dutch_friend_a_pocketknife_for/

I don't know if anyone here goes to reddit, but I thought this was relevant here as I know there are some international posters on this forum and was curious to the opinions of the knife community on this interaction.

one response from a Dutch person was this: "It seems kind of wrong to give someone else a weapon, its like: 'here be a criminal!'." Even though the OP stated specifically that it was a tool and explained why.

I found this a bit offensive, but I'm mostly saddened that apparently a lot of Europe has bowed to fear-mongering and opines that "knives are only weapons." I think knives are tools almost exclusively, like 99.999% of the time. I hope I never use mine as a weapon.
 
I liked this exchange in the comments:

gkorjax: Oh my GOD...the horrors of EXPECTING trouble. I have a hat in my car...I EXPECT it to get cold. The horrors of being prepared.

jking1226: You wear a seatbelt, you EXPECT to get hit.

Again, folk who have never used a given tool can't be expected to understand its usefulness, especially when there's such stigma attached in metropolitan areas. Some of the UK posts were equally disheartening.

Anyway, the recipient of the gift, in the interests of being polite and a friend, should have at least accepted it, and perhaps mentioned that he might not be bold enough to carry it out and about, but that he might use it around his home. Meet yer buddy halfway, guy!
 
"I think I, like your friend, would have not used the gift. It seems kind of wrong to give someone else a weapon, its like: "here be a criminal!". You wouldn't give your friend a gun either would you? That's what its like."

Only if it's a good friend...
 
My mom, asked me what I want for Christmas, I sent her to my favorite slipjoint website and emailed her a shopping cart of models and makes that I would like. I am not a criminal, and my mommy does not think so either! :eek: Take that Europe!:D
I am sure there are many in Europe, especially in the rural areas, where they are very traditional, and carry a pocket knife around with them, just like us here. If some feel that knives are bad, it is our jobs, as a knife community to be ambassadors for this cause. Shocking sheeple and trying to prove we are tough guys that are not afraid to cut someone in self defense, would always be the wrong message, and non productive for this community. Be smart, carry your knife, understand sheeple as well as people's perceptions, and be part of the solution rather than a part of the problem.

Perception issues are more important than you realize. I enjoy laying in bed with my wife, and opening and closing my Paramilitary or my Grip, and my wife asked me not to do it around her, it makes her uneasy. She has a child hood memory that is still very real in her mind about a man who wanted to hurt her mom with a knife. She does not have an irrational fear of knives, and she even buys me knives sometimes, but I honor her request and do not play with my knife in bed. The worst thing I can do is aggravate her about my love for knives. Hope you get what I am blathering about here.
 
SnookSniper said:
"I think I, like your friend, would have not used the gift. It seems kind of wrong to give someone else a weapon, its like: "here be a criminal!". You wouldn't give your friend a gun either would you? That's what its like."

Only if it's a good friend...
Click to expand...

sure I would and in fact I have done so on more than one occasion. And knives I give those out to friends and accquainteces almost yearly it seems.
 
There are several "levels" of acceptance to guns, knives etc.
From the top where people give assault rifles to each other like they were candy boxes, to those who call a small pocket knife a weapon.

I only buy knives to people I know that can handle them.

Amazingly people get scared by my small folder that I have in my keyring when I walk around at the daycare center but they keep scissors lying about for the kids to play with.
 
cj65 said:
Take that Europe!:D
Click to expand...

I think it's a bit weird to ask mom to buy knife, but if I asked my dad I think he wouldn't question me. BUT he is "don't you already have knives" kind of person... Ahwell.

Take that America!:D
 
I have given knives of the "neutral" kind to select people and they like it.
But I wouldn't give for example some kind of ultra-aggressive karambit variant, I can understand that for people not into knives this might not be appreciated. But a traditional design such as a laguiole is appreciated by many. Actually, I'm not fond of overly SD-oriented designs myself, and that is because they tend to bore me, not because they scare me.
 
never heard of reddit, but it does not look like a place I would hang out.

That being said, knives make first class gifts. This Christmas, I have purchased knives for family, friends, and business associates.
 
cj65 said:
My mom, asked me what I want for Christmas, I sent her to my favorite slipjoint website and emailed her a shopping cart of models and makes that I would like. I am not a criminal, and my mommy does not think so either! :eek: Take that Europe!:D
I am sure there are many in Europe, especially in the rural areas, where they are very traditional, and carry a pocket knife around with them, just like us here. If some feel that knives are bad, it is our jobs, as a knife community to be ambassadors for this cause. Shocking sheeple and trying to prove we are tough guys that are not afraid to cut someone in self defense, would always be the wrong message, and non productive for this community. Be smart, carry your knife, understand sheeple as well as people's perceptions, and be part of the solution rather than a part of the problem.

Perception issues are more important than you realize. I enjoy laying in bed with my wife, and opening and closing my Paramilitary or my Grip, and my wife asked me not to do it around her, it makes her uneasy. She has a child hood memory that is still very real in her mind about a man who wanted to hurt her mom with a knife. She does not have an irrational fear of knives, and she even buys me knives sometimes, but I honor her request and do not play with my knife in bed. The worst thing I can do is aggravate her about my love for knives. Hope you get what I am blathering about here.
Click to expand...

me too. i hope i get a RAT izula for christmas. but does that make me a criminal? no. when my friends say "are you gonna kill someone with that knife?" my response is generally. " if i was gonna kill someone i would shoot em" that makes them even more scared :D. but i agree that my knives are 99.9% tools. and i never want to ever use my knife as a weapon. but if i have to that is another story.
 
A.L. said:
I think it's a bit weird to ask mom to buy knife, but if I asked my dad I think he wouldn't question me. BUT he is "don't you already have knives" kind of person... Ahwell.

Take that America!:D
Click to expand...

I know it may be weird, but mom does the Christmas shopping:o, also, I have no shame when it comes to acquiring knives. I think about skimming off my kids lunch money for knives:D.......Dad did hook me up with my Leatherman Charge a few years back. :thumbup:

Merry Christmas Europe!
 
Ok, I live in the Netherlands (I'm Dutch)...the guy who responded with the "here be a criminal" comment is an idiot.

Yes, you get them everywhere even here.

Point is you get anti-knife (or gun) retards all over the place. There's plenty of threads on this forum about american examples of it.

The guy that did that is an idiot and a simpleton and RUDE at that. What kind of person rejects a gift?

There's people like that all over the place and now we see a good example of a dutchman that's like that.

I've gifted plenty knives, no one was insulted, everyone saw this for what is was meant for, a kind gesture. Some of them don't carry gifted knife but that's their choice.
 
I gave a knife to my father this year.
I gave a knife to my best friend this year.
I gave a knife to an american guy I never met this year.
And I´m Dutch.
None of them objected, although the father and friend are Dutch and not into knives. However, they do see them as tools.
 
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