Least intimidating knife designs?

stabman said:
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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As a kid, I thought such knives including "scout knives" were toys. It wasn't until the MacGyver days that I actually purchased a SAK and I was well beyond school at that point.
 
22-rimfire said:
As a kid, I thought such knives including "scout knives" were toys. It wasn't until the MacGyver days that I actually purchased a SAK and I was well beyond school at that point.
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MacGyver was the greatest Swiss Army Knife commercial ever made.
It tricked many into thinking it was a television show. :D
 
b yond said:
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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Reminds of being in Utah. At a BBQ joint for lunch with friend. Moments later, another group comes in and sit behind us. One had a gun in a "rug", laid it on the table. Mt friend mentioned this, I turn and look, then back to talking with my friend, ignoring the gun as the people didn't seem intimidating to me.

But they noting our collective reaction, got up and quietly moved to another table, without being asked by anyone. Mind you, I HD no issues with it/them and I didn't take my friend's comments as such either.

Moral of the story, try seeing things through to the eyes of others. Not everyone is comfortable with knives outside of, say, a kitchen. Same for axes, guns, and a long list of other things.

That said, maybe in recognizing her obvious state, a calm question asking her about situation and explaining how you use it for work, household chores, whatever, you would not only calm her down, but educate her; i.e. win over someone forming against the idea of carrying a knife. In other words, look at the larger issue as well.

Lastly, know that even within a society, there can be cultural differences. Like in Asia and Middle East, showing the bottom of one's foot is insulting. As an American, born and raised, to me, personal hygiene/grooming should be done at home or in public restroom only. IMHO

YMMV

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b yond said:
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
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Sorry, but this popped into my head. :D

[video=youtube;THao56RxbGg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THao56RxbGg[/video]

[video=youtube;s3pk9CMwtN0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3pk9CMwtN0[/video]
 
GermanyChris said:
People need their safe space they always have.
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Ain't that the truth. Being in California I have to be very aware on where I pull my knife out at. Even using it in a non threatening manner, people give me looks. Of course it's not usually the case with my Delica as is with my PM2.
 
b yond said:
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.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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Her reaction may have been due to you cleaning your nails in public. I know I would've given you a horrified look! ;)
 
HyPnOtIk said:
Ain't that the truth. Being in California I have to be very aware on where I pull my knife out at. Even using it in a non threatening manner, people give me looks. Of course it's not usually the case with my Delica as is with my PM2.
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Well, it could be much worse.

Many states here in the US as well as (Lesser) Britain and many other countries have very strict knife laws, pretty much banning all but the lil' ones, like the ones I use as a toothpick!

EDCing a machete or bowie is one thing, ~3" blade folder is something else altogether.

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stabman said:
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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Common, seriously? ANY KNIFE? LOL👍

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Ronin_Jedi said:
Common, seriously? ANY KNIFE? LOL��
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Hey, I was 9 years old!
MacGyver was like Rambo, James Bond and 50 ninjas rolled into one.
I was set. :cool:
With my genuine Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, I knew from television that I could survive in the wild, make a cannon that shot bombs at bad guys from the back of a truck, and just generally save the day.

Like I said, MacGyver was the best Swiss Army Knife commercial of all time. :D
 
pinnah said:
Untitled by Pinnah, on Flickr
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Nope, sorry. Ever since I saw that movie Double Jeopardy where Ashley Judd was framed for killing her husband on a boat with an Opinel, those things terrify me. Very pointy, and the handle well suited for a stabbing grip. Clearly a murder weapon if I ever saw one. Those tweezers on the Micra look like they could deliver a nasty pinch, too.

:D
 
I really believe it depends on where you live, since a great deal of pocket folders come with a clip I have observed that where I live in middle ga a great deal of pockets that have a clip showing on the outside I have also observed that rarely ever do I go out in public and not see a gun on someone's hip, it appears where I live every man you see is at minimum packing at least a pocket knife. I am a pastor and was in a hospital waiting room yesterday notice a guy next to me had a clip and I asked him what kind of knife he had, he pulled it out was a 940 Osborne and asked me, I pulled out my para 2, wasn't long before a lady came over and joined the conversation presenting from her purse a very nice benchmade auto before it was all said and done there were 9 knives pulled out and 2 hours of conversation. Now that said if you live in upscale Atlanta and go into an upscale place wearing a black tee and cargo pants while everybody else looks Ivy League and you pull at a pm 2 your gonna get some looks, just all depends on where you are and using your head. I don't know that I have ever been anywhere I couldn't pull out my pocketknife but I live in a world where everybody has one on their person


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Despite the stereotypes about people from Oregon, it's a surprisingly knife friendly state. I can carry my Benchmade auto, no one bats an eye. I can carry my Delica, the same. I can carry my Buck 119 special(out of season, at that) and all I get is the occasional weird look. I've only had one person ever say anything about what I had on me. I was in one of those warehouse stores with my mom and had my SOG SEAL PUP on my hip and was going around with no problem. One of the guys at the sample station said something about it and I brushed it off. Keep in mind that this is coming from a 17 year old. That's more than most 30 or 40-somethings carry and I'm all good :)
 
Ronin_Jedi said:
Well, it could be much worse.

Many states here in the US as well as (Lesser) Britain and many other countries have very strict knife laws, pretty much banning all but the lil' ones, like the ones I use as a toothpick!

EDCing a machete or bowie is one thing, ~3" blade folder is something else altogether.

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Click to expand...

Yeah that's one good thing about California is the knife laws are pretty relaxed. As far as folders, we have no length limit. We just can't carry any switch blades etc.

Our gun laws are a completely different story though.
 
HyPnOtIk said:
Yeah that's one good thing about California is the knife laws are pretty relaxed. As far as folders, we have no length limit. We just can't carry any switch blades etc.

Our gun laws are a completely different story though.
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Wait until you learn the knife laws in Oregon. We can carry anything
 
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