Knives: Tools or Weapons?

I haven't read the rest of the replies yet so I may be repeating what's been said, but this is the internet after all.

In my mind there is absolutely no conflict with a knife being a tool and a weapon. The distinction is purely semantic; afterall both tools and weapons give us the capability to do things we cannot accomplish with our bare hands. The only difference is the object.

The only reason "we" (being the knife loving collective) have to justify knives as tools rather than weapons is rampant hoplophobia. This attitude is unfortunate.

The facts are that weapons are needed. We, the generally unpriveleged public, often require a weapon to prevent crimes upon our person. It may not happen to you and I on a regular basis, but it happens to somebody every single day.

Pierre
 
As seen in "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary:"
Click to expand...

weap-on

1. something (as a gun, knife, or club) used to injure, defeat, or destroy

2. a means of contending against another[/QUOTE]

It's true. . .almost anything (i.e., pencil, pen, ruler, rock, brick, scissors, frying pan, my wife's brownies, etc.) can be used as a "weap-on."

Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. . . For example, a sponge, a blade of grass, a womans supple. . .err. . .getting off track here !

I think you get the drift.

Certain knives are specifically made for utilitarian purposes. Whilst others are made to "injure, defeat, or destroy."

I can only relay, to you, how I use mine ~ can't speak for anyone else.

The most important part. . .to enjoy the madness ! :D
 
this might have been said before, i havnt had the time to read all of the messages

but i think that the publics view on knives is as a weapon mainly because of wrong portrayals of their use, through hollywood and 'gangster' punks, rather than the actions of proper knife enthusiasts.

sure a lot of us will use what we carry as a weapon if needed, and thats totally understandable. but when you hear stories about punks pulling knives and stabbing people for no apparant reason, the public does see all who carry knives as potential punks.

its not cos of the way we act, but the actions of those who dont really deserve the right to carry a knife, simply because they only view them as weapons.

hope that made sense,

Daniel
 
Originally posted by cockroachfarm

Take this simple test:

1. What did you use to butter your toast for breakfast this morning?
2. What do you use to peel your apple at a picnic?
3. What did you use to prepare the salad for last night's dinner?
4. What do you use to slice your favourite home-made bread?
5. What is a carved and jewelled work art?
6. What is a unique and impressive locally-made corporate gift?
7. What is your better half's favourite kitchen utensil?

(The correct answer to each question is, of course, "A knife.")
Click to expand...


For a "non-knife" person the answers might look more like this;

1. Butter knife
2. Fruit peeler
3. used my hands and tore up the lettuce
4. Bread knife
5. anything other than a knife
6. see 5
7. don't know, or see 5

Funny thing is I run into these people on a daily basis, instead of using a knife or other tool to make their lives easier they insist on doing things the hard way. Watching someone try to break a large nylon packing band with his bare hands is pretty sad, and quite entertaining at the same time. Thankfully I work in a bike shop with practical minded folks who believe in using the proper tool for the job, and when it comes to cutting things that means knives and scissors.
 
I have a short memory so this is probably touching on others posts.

I think knives are viewed as weapons because of lack of circulation. There are millions of people driving cars, so when someone gets run over in a car and dies we aren't suddenly afraid of cars. BUT not a whole lot of people carry knives around, so when they hear of a deadly incident concerning knives it frightens them because knives are only heard about in violent situations. They realize the utility of cars as tools, but they haven't experienced the many uses a knife has to offer, so their perception is tainted.

Cars are deadlier weapons than knives, but both are exceptional tools, circulation makes the difference in my eyes.

*end rant*
 
I've been reading this post with alot of interest.

Lightweight brings up a GREAT question......what percentage of the population would you you guess carries a knife ???????

Any facts, speculations, visions ;)

Brent...
:eek:
 
Non-knife people just don't understand.....:(

What is even worse, is that you can try to explain, or just talk about it, till you're blue in the face, and they STILL don't understand.

Probably the best example that can be given to these individuals that knives have tool advantages is to take away ANY and ALL knives for a week. Then see what they'll say....:D

It is plain and simple--knives are tools. Weapons only when necessary.
 
I think maybe a little more. About 30-40 percent, if you think about little keychain knives and small pocket knives (like the Case line).

But that's only my opinion. :D
 
I thought we were talking about real knives, lol. Seriously, I dunno. Of the people I know the majority own a pocket knife of some kind. However, I would bet my estimate of those that carry them is pretty close. BTW, I live in a dorm with a lot of Ag students, who tend to carry a knife more than kids from cities and suburbs.
 
Originally posted by aerius



For a "non-knife" person the answers might look more like this;

1. Butter knife
2. Fruit peeler
3. used my hands and tore up the lettuce
4. Bread knife
5. anything other than a knife
6. see 5
7. don't know, or see 5
......
Click to expand...

I knew I shouldn't have posted that list! It was an excerpt from a media release that then went on to amplify each of the possible "answers" to the questions in my "test".:rolleyes:

To date, the release in its entirety has had excellent response from the people I have shown it to - including some rabid "anti-knife, anti-gun" types. The whole point was to elicit (from people who usually say, "Why do you need a knife like THAT?") a response like "Gee, I guess I DO use a knife quite often."

Next step: taking a "non-knife" person to a knife show as my guest.
 
'cause every tool is a weapon -
if you hold it right.

this quote is taken out of context, but a useful point. shoelaces, knitting needles, hammers, nail files, bleach, rocks...

this is an excellent post peter, and very appropriate in this time when people have become afraid to discuss their knife hobbies outside of friendly forms for fear of negative associations.

there are those who think of their knives solely as weapons (insert movie knife fight, complete with switch blade sound effect) but i think the majority of knife owners think of them as tools. cudos to the scouting groups who teach responcible knife use and handling. my education came later in life.

i don't usually keep my knife within immediate reach, it is only a tool to me. one of the first things i was taught in my campus safty course was that any weapon you bring into an encounter can be taken away from you. i personally don't feel i know enough about fighting to think of my blade as a potential weapon, and i definately wouldn't want it turned back on me.
 
I thought Tightwad's reply was great, too. As well as amny others.

I'd even take Tightwad's theory back further in time:

Throughout the ages, any animal that was a predator usually had sharp teeth, and sharp claws. Man and other animals learned that those sharp teeth and claws equated to bloody death. Man finally figured out how to imitate this by making blades, first from stones, then from metals. So, at the DNA level, IMHO, our instincts tell us that sharp objects = predator.
 
Shard, I hear this myth about "you'll only get it taken away" all the time. If it was so easy to just "take away" someone's weapon, then it'd be done all the time and everyone would soon revert to empty hand - after all, fights would take forever with people just taking each other's weapons all day long.

Think about this:
a five year old is no threat to an adult man. None. Not even close.

Give that five year old a kitchen knife, and now you've got to worry about him.

Now think about giving an adult a knife, and tell me that someone will just casually take it away.

Pierre
 
Rubber Ducky,

Good points. Why carry a gun when you can just borrow your enemy's? :D

Can you imagine, if that myth was true, two sides showing up for battle, skilled in taking away the other guys' guns from intensive training, only to find that both sides have no weapons? They just stand there, staring at each other, with no idea of what to do....
;)
 
Viet Cong Equipment captured
2 BARs
5 U.S. M-1 rifles
8 U.S. M-1 carbines
1 5 U.S. M-2 carbine
3 flare pistols
2 U.S. Thompson submachine guns
1 82 mm mortar sight

The above list is what was COLLECTED after ONE battle in the Vietnam War. So now we should ban weapons from the military? No, you and I both know that is foolish. Also, your enemy either has a weapon already or such an advantage that you be in a world a hurt regardless. The only people whose weapons were taken away 1)shouldn’t have drawn it out too early (or at all) 2) Didn’t really plan on using it. (“OH, OH, he not scared away by my unloaded gun. Now what do I do?”)

This goes along with the basic idea of never half @$$ing anything. Here is a quote from Gen. (USAF-Ret) Richard E. Hawley:
"Violence only leads to more violence."

This one is so stupid you usually have to be the president of an Ivy League
university to say it. Here's the truth, which you know in your heads and
hearts already: Ineffective, unfocused violence leads to more violence.
Limp, panicky, half-measures lead to more violence. However, complete,
fully-thought-through, professional, well- executed violence never leads
to more violence because, you see, afterwards, the other guys are all dead.
That's right, dead. Not "on trial," not "reeducated," not "nurtured back
into the bosom of love." Dead. D-E-Well, you get the idea.
Click to expand...

Can your weapon be taken from you? OF COURSE! But only if you let it be taken. (see, you are already in a fight... “Oh, I don‘t want you, I just want your knife...SUCKER!”)

Your weapon will only be taken from you? Tell that to the Marines.

One more thing (topic change/rant mode on), for everyone here saying they don’t use knives as weapons, I have no problem with them not being weapons TO YOU. But when you say you would NEVER use your knife as a weapon (either because “it‘s a tool” or “I have no training”) when someone is trying to kill you and rape you in no particular order (Boys, you too!!), what are you going to DO? BENT OVER?!?!?!

I will fight bare handed, with my knife, with my back up knife, with my keychain SAK if need be, if THAT don’t work, I’ll use my flashlight, my shoe, my TEETH, spit on him, pee on him*, Hell, I’ll even take off my wristwatch and whip him to death if I have too! If (and I‘ll damn well make it the biggest IF I can) go down, I’ll go down fighting!
*(ladies this is good advice)

I am a reformed pacifist. Without ever being attacked, I came to realize a man unwilling to fight for his rights (life, liberty, etc...) is not much of a man. (Ladies, please adapt the phrase to your liking.) We call those who freak out because of our knives “sheeple” on this forum. To me, those who value not there lives are what I call “sheep.” (proudly since 1995)

Rant mode off. My apologizes to those I KNOW I offended, but I felt this needed to be stated.
To the moderators, please, fell free to email me if you felt I am too hard on some of our fellow forumites.
 
Originally posted by Clint Simpson
Without ever being attacked, I came to realize a man unwilling to fight for his rights (life, liberty, etc...) is not much of a man.
Click to expand...

Your remark is overly broad. I grew up among the Amish. They are pacifists. They are not cowards.
 
I haven't taken the time to read all the post's but these are my thoughts as a LEO and Knife and Gun lover:

Q: Is a knife a tool or a weapon?

A: A knife is a tool. Just as a hammer is a tool, a pencil, a garbage bag, and any, And I do mean any household item. With time anything can be used as a Weapon.

I carry a knife and a gun. Both are tools I use to accomplish diferent tasks in my job. I want to be prepared for any situation that comes up. Someone in a eariler post that I read said as a example a blade of grass couldn't be used as a weapon. I beg to differ, I'd bet I could kill with somthing as simple as a blade of grass if it came to it, shove it down the throat and choke them to death, I've seen worse.
 
something i thought about

a majority of us here say a knife is a tool right ? and thats simply because we find them useful in our everyday lives, and not as self defense weapons

but a majority of the public sees knives as weapons. does that mean the main use they see for knives, is as a weapon. meaning those who say knives are weapons are those who would use it as one, rather than as a tool.

sorry what i said wasnt as concise as it should have been, but i think you can understand me

Daniel
 
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