Knives with Wooden Handles

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neilioli

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Jul 29, 2014
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Hello,

This is a thread for fun. I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't seem to figure out.

I have observed through my extensive time spent looking at knives that people (including me) find knives with wooden handles to be less threatening. Get a knife with a metal handle or G10 scales, and it kinda looks threatening. However, if you get the same knife with a wooden handle the knife doesn't look threatening at all, and people will feel less threatened by it if you happen to pull it out in front of them. Don't know why, but it does.

Anyone know why this is? This phenomenon has been bouncing through my mind like a ping-pong ball for a few days now.
 
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Perception is really odd.. It's the exact same thing going with guns; the AR-15 is far more "scary looking" then the ruger mini 14, and is deemed far more dangerous.... Except that they shoot the same bullets, at the same rate, and can do the same damage.

Likewise, people see the scary black hardware, and think automatically the knife is more dangerous. I think a big part of it is the media.. What was the last movie you saw where the elite operator pulls out a opinel and kills people? They pull out the black, sleek knives and guns, and that is what people have ingrained in their mind as a killing weapon. People easily get wrapped up in the looks, forgetting the hardware behind it...
 
Cant say I've ever scared anyone with my knives, heck, I've pulled out an all black manix at Walmart and nobody cared. I was doing refrigeration repairs there, and I was using my knife for all sorts of stuff.

It's only scary if you think it is...
 
Like Divine_Madcat said, a big part of it is media portrayal. I also think it has to do with what is traditionally seen as a cutting tool. When people see a wood or bone handle, it brings up images of "grandpa's pocketknife," which people know is not a weapon. Now if it's on a big ol' fixed blade, they're still likely to see it as weapon and be intimidated by it - just not quite as much as if it were a blacked-out, serrated tacticool fixed blade.

Of course, all bets seem to be off if it's a kid holding a knife, no matter how small, blunt-ended, or traditional it may be. People just seem to lose their shit at the very thought of a kid at school with a 2" slipjoint in his backpack. Because all people under 18 are unstable maniacs ready to snap at any moment, right? :rolleyes:
 
It's all about perceptions. I've found that a bright G-10 handle, safety orange or perhaps fire red, combined with a satin blade (never a black blade) conveys that the knife is an emergency or public safety tool and not a weapon - add a similarly-colored or bright green sheath with a white cross first aid/safety symbol or the word RESCUE on it and peolpe won't give it a second though.
 
neilioli said:
Hello,

This is a thread for fun. I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't seem to figure out.

I have observed through my extensive time spent looking at knives that people (including me) find knives with wooden handles to less threatening.

Anyone know why this is? This phenomenon has been bouncing through my mind like a ping-pong ball for a few days now.
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Why do you find them less threatening? Beats me. I got an idea. How about you tell us why you think they are less threatening. It's a jumping off point. I'm crazy with my ideas that way.
 
amg137 said:
Like Divine_Madcat said, a big part of it is media portrayal. I also think it has to do with what is traditionally seen as a cutting tool. When people see a wood or bone handle, it brings up images of "grandpa's pocketknife," which people know is not a weapon. Now if it's on a big ol' fixed blade, they're still likely to see it as weapon and be intimidated by it - just not quite as much as if it were a blacked-out, serrated tacticool fixed blade.

Of course, all bets seem to be off if it's a kid holding a knife, no matter how small, blunt-ended, or traditional it may be. People just seem to lose their shit at the very thought of a kid at school with a 2" slipjoint in his backpack. Because all people under 18 are unstable maniacs ready to snap at any moment, right? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I remember once, in 7th grade, I was on my way back from Scouts and remembered I left my homework binder at school. I forgot that I had my multi-tool in my back pocket and security lost their scheisse . . . as if I would murder them all with my dull 2" multi-tool blade or maybe gouge their eyes out with the corkscrew, instead of using it to open bottles and cut my fingernails. It really amazed me, how such a harmless tool could cause people to freak out so much.

marcinek said:
Why do you find them less threatening? Beats me. I got an idea. How about you tell us why you think they are less threatening. It's a jumping off point. I'm crazy with my ideas that way.
Click to expand...

I have no idea, I just seem to find knives less threatening if they have wooden handles. I can't really figure out why.
 
neilioli said:
It really amazed me, how such a harmless tool could cause people to freak out so much.



I have no idea, I just seem to find knives less threatening if they have wooden blades. I can't really figure out why.
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Again...if you feel the same way...what is so confusing?
 
And really, son, if you are going to reply to someones post, please do it in a post that appears after their post.
 
neilioli said:
I'm just confused as to why people (including me) assume that knives with wooden handles are less threatening.
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Son, if you are confused about why you think something, we cannot help.

shrug.gif
 
I actually think the kid is on to something here.

It's not about the wood, per se. It's about the overall design and yes, some knives are designed to be scarier looking.

Three quick observations... I guy I know who worked as an EMT explained to me why he and others preferred Spydercos with wild, scary looking blade shapes. He said they are often first on the scene with no police back up and potentially hostile onlookers. A scary looking knife clipped in a visible place helps as a deterrent.

One of the first locking "tactical" utility knives was the Spanish Navaja. Good wikiepedia article on it. A part of the fear projection was the ratcheting sound of the lock up. The sound of today's tacticals are a part of the same thing.

The Buck 110 has enjoyed "bad boy" status since the 60s and 70s when it was quickly adopted as the favored knife among biker gangs. The extreme California clip point is more of an idealized vision of the combination fighting/hunting "bowies". It certainly isn't the best for dressing dear (many of Buck's top deer knives have correctly moved to more functional drop points. It certainly isn't about keeping warranty costs down as they frequently bust at the very tip. Still, it's their most popular model. Did you see Longmire on Monday? Ending shot is of a Buck 110 deep in a man's chest.

What can we say? Scary sells. I'm sure the Longmire episode will sell more Buck 110's than any add Buck ran this year.

Anyway, wood looks more traditional and is more reminiscent of kitchen knives (the most frequently used in knife attacks, iirc) and traditional pocket knives. So yes, as a rule, wood is less scary but more generally scary is a part of the whole design and it's there to sell knives.
 
pinnah said:
Did you see Longmire on Monday? Ending shot is of a Buck 110
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I saw it and all I could think was how did he get that knife out and open that quickly. Before he rolled the guy over I wondered if he had pulled out a fixed blade.

Well I also thought that it was the exact knife I would expect him to be carrying.
 
The wood handles make them look more like kitchen knives. People are familiar with kitchen knives. Their mental association is with cooking, which is a normal behavior that regular people do.

When they see knives that look like they are designed for combat, their mental association is with movie portrayals of combat, or action movies with fantasy violence, and they think of stabbing and blood gushing, not making a salad.

If they see a multi-blade slip joint or a Swiss Army Knife, they think of grandpa, or boy scouts, or camping out, or MacGyver. It's all about image, perception, mental associations with images or memories, and PR.

That's why.
 
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