Least intimidating knife designs?

For most of my life, I lived in and around Washington D.C. and carried a knife everywhere. These two have passed into many of the secure government buildings like the old Commerce building where the National Aquarium was, all the buildings of the Smithsonian Museum complexes, The national Gallery Of Art, The Treasury building, The old F.B. I. building tour, and most historical landmarks. They never got a second look. Yet they took care of any cutting I had to do.

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Knifeoholic said:
Folder or fixed? I don't think either of these would scare anyone... :D

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I don't know. That top certainly looks intimidating to me!!! A real nice Bowie-like Bear Killer ya got there.

Sorta like my ZT-9
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So be careful, the US TSA likely will confiscate it if trying to board a plane with it.(humor)

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Opinels, SAKs and slipjoint fit well in rural areas, I've seen a lot of them these days in the Pyrinees

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Traditional looks are always non-alarming to most people

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Also size is key, because even though it is "tactical black" and has a pocket clip, nobody raises an eyebrow to this little guy

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knifedepot said:
Even though you know you shouldn't care what people think when you whip out your Benchmade Bedlam or Cold Steel G10 Espada (XL of course) in public, sometimes it's hard not to feel like you're scaring all the non-knife people in the room.

For those who want a knife that won't make people look twice, what do you think are the least intimidating knife designs?

Obviously smaller knives like the Spyderco Bug or SOG Micron aren't intimidating but I'm thinking more in terms of design like the Kershaw Scallion or Opinel.
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Knives are tools which come in various sizes to address different tasks. It is not the knife that is scary, it is your comportment. Pull out a machete size knife to trim a trail and no one will care. Pull the same knife out and start swing it around a highrise office and you may get a different reaction. It is not the knife. If people react to your bahavior then it's time to take a good look at yourself in the mirror.

n2s
 
I carry a small traditional to do the things my big knife doesn't need to do.

 
I've got your stealth machine right here . . . second from the top . . . just bellow that big green monster.

Truth be told that is all about ninety percent of the people reading this needs as EDC in the city . . .
but
I must admit it isn't all that much fun though some days when I'm in a certain Zen state of mind I really like it.



PS: I wonder if they would let you on plane with it.
 
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I think the handle color makes it appear more tool than weapon.

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not2sharp said:
Knives are tools which come in various sizes to address different tasks. It is not the knife that is scary, it is your comportment. Pull out a machete size knife to trim a trail and no one will care. Pull the same knife out and start swing it around a highrise office and you may get a different reaction. It is not the knife. If people react to your bahavior then it's time to take a good look at yourself in the mirror.

n2s
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Well put. One of the least intimidating types of knives is the "comically oversized XXXL mega folder stabinator," in my opinion. You would think they're intimidating, but the comportment of many who carry these makes people the opposite of intimidated.

I like the stories where people say, "I whipped out my XXXXL Stabinator at the family picnic, and my grandma just shook her head. Typical "sheeple," completely intimidated. Afraid of a knife."

Grams wasn't intimidated. Gramps fought in the war. And they had 6 kids, and were happily married for 53 years before he passed. He didn't need a huge knife in his pocket.
 
For those who want a knife that won't make people look twice, what do you think are the least intimidating knife designs?
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Well it just so happens I was caught in a similar tactical situation just this morning.
I was on normal reconnaissance in the dentist’s office when . . .
I spotted it !
THEN
SUDDENLY
and simultaneously, coming up from behind was one of their operatives.
What to do ? Without thinking; relying on my training and habit . . .
I pulled my Swiss Army Midnite Minichamp, deployed the scissors and trimmed the thread I had spotted earlier protruding from the back of my friend’s waiting room chair (I’ve known the Dentist for thirty years) . He takes care of me; I want to do what I can for him.
Snip !
And it was all over as quickly as it had begun.

Result . . . zero mental trauma to civilians that were caught in the room when it all went down.

EVEN THOUGH . . . I had the brand new Spyderco Paramilitary 2 on me . . .
IN DLC BLACK COATED BLADE NO LESS ! ! ! !

And the FACT that I had made only probably four cuts with it and was simply dying to bust that puppy out and open the gates of hell its self . . . while cutting that thread . . .
I was a goooboy and only used as much fire power as I needed to bring the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

On some levels I am not all that proud of how I did it but what I did and who I did it for out weighs any personal embarrassment or regret I may, in the future, have to endure.

 
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I like Opinels as a work knife these days. A #8 is not very intimidating and yet has a fairly large blade.
 
Trapper, Stockman, Congress, Canoe Patterns, the maker(s) really don't matter.

Why to do the Swiss get so much of an advantage in the "Least Intimidating" field? I've always felt that Case knives were designed to be heartwarming, like something your grandparents would have had (mine didn't, but still), versus those boring old red plastic designs. SAK's are great, but they get boring, in my opinion. The new SAK's are not bad knives by any means, but they are so industrial now, to much automation takes the soul out of these knives.
 
Apologies if this is off-topic...

I once had a woman act scared at the sight of my knife. I was a mechanic at the time and it was just some generic beater modern folder. I was sitting in the waiting room of a OB doc's office cleaning my nails next to my pregnant wife. This woman noticed my knife and grabbed onto her husband's arm and he looked at her, looked at me, and gave her the "it's OK, chill out" pat on the hand.
Was I in the wrong? No.
Was she? I don't know. I think she over-reacted unnecessarily. I wasn't being threatening, and the mere sight of a tool I used every day scared her.

I don't see how I should be expected to change my behavior for her peace of mind. In fact, I wonder if changing our behavior for the peace of mind of those who are unnecessarily intimidated or scared by the presence of our tools is in some ways an admission of some imaginary wrong-doing.

It isn't a weapon until it's used as a weapon, and we shouldn't be acting like it's a weapon when it isn't.

It's not like I was cleaning my nails with the front sight of my .45.

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Not trying to defend the woman, but I don't think it is a good idea to bring a knife to an OB doc's office where the customers are women and most of them might be pregnant. You know many pregnant women tend to become more sensitive, do you? Plus, cleaning nails with a knife in front of people in a public place like that??
 
In my collection my SAK and my small insingo are the least intimidating designs... at least nowone have raised an eyebrow when I have used them in public.
 
It is generally not the knife. It's where and how you use it.

B yond, cleaning your nails with a knife in a doctor's office is kind of disgusting. Maybe it wasn't the knife at all? :D I had a friend who would clip his finger and toe nails in my apartment years ago. I usually had nail clippers lying around, but he never once picked his "litter" up and I didn't even own a vacuum cleaner at the time. Bugged the hell out of me.... My solution, get a vacuum cleaner.
 
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22-rimfire said:
It is generally not the knife. It's where and how you use it.

B yond, cleaning your nails with a knife in a doctor's office is kind of disgusting. Maybe it wasn't the knife at all? :D I had a friend who would clip his finger and toe nails in my apartment years ago. I usually had nail clippers lying around, but he never once picked his "litter" up and I didn't even own a vacuum cleaner at the time. Bugged the hell out of me.... My solution, get a vacuum cleaner.
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That's the bulk of it right there; it's called manners. Theres a time and place for everything and a doctors office is not a place to clean your nails with a pocket knife.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Why to do the Swiss get so much of an advantage in the "Least Intimidating" field? I've always felt that Case knives were designed to be heartwarming, like something your grandparents would have had (mine didn't, but still), versus those boring old red plastic designs. SAK's are great, but they get boring, in my opinion.
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I grew up in the days of MacGyver.
A Swiss Army Knife was the total opposite of boring...it was THE knife every kid wanted.
It was tactical, ninja and survival knife all rolled into one!
If you had a real one rather than the flood of Chinese copies, you were the hero of the playground, seriously.

When I got my original, real Victorinox with all the same tools as MacGyver had, well, you could put any other knife in front of me and I would have shoved it aside. :)
 
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