Locked out on a balcony

Krissig12 said:
The only thing subjective about this is whether or not the individual is personally willing to misuse their knives. With few exceptions, knives are ONLY DESIGNED FOR CUTTING. If its called a "knife", it was made to cut things, simple as that. That why the damn things have edges.....
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Can't say I agree that ALL knives are "ONLY DESIGNED FOR CUTTING", but that's ok, we don't need to agree, and I don't need to convince you that I am right and you are wrong. :)

(By the way, "putty knives" are called "knives", but they're used to spread putty, not cut things. But if sharpened, I'm sure they could be. ;) )

CAN they be used for other things? Yes of course. No one is saying you can't. I'm certainly not. The only thing I want to put an end to is this nonsense that using your knife to get off a balcony is "common sense use". With their responses, some people in this thread are implying that that is actually one of the main tasks it was designed to perform and is one of the reasons everyone carries them to begin with. The people who suggest this then have the audacity to use this warped sense of knife purpose as the basis of their insane argument that others shouldn't even carry knives because they "aren't willing to use them", as if not wanting to pry doors means you are somehow not using your knife correctly.
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I agree with this^ %100. Outside of dire circumstances, I have several knives that I would NEVER pry with. But that doesn't mean they don't get used, or that they are useless, or that I should be scorned because I won't pry with them.

Of course, going back to the OP's original hypothetical, it's certainly possible that some knife maker might make a$1000 knife specifically for prying as well as cutting. So for a knife like that, prying might very well be "common sense use", if that's a use that the maker intended. And I'm sure I've seen such knives before. Maybe not with a price tag of $1000, but definitely knives suitable for some amount of prying.

I am not the one advocating for some sort of knife purism where no one is allowed to use their knives for what they want. The exact opposite is true. Why you cannot see that baffles me.
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Ease up, there's no reason to get upset over any of this. My post was not directed at you. If it had been I would have addressed you specifically by name, or quoted you (like I just did), that's how I post. My post was merely a commentary of the subject of what constitutes "misuse", and who gets to define what that is. This is a topic that comes up every now and then, and I chose this opportunity to share my thoughts on the subject. There is nothing here to be won or lost, it's not necessary to change anyone's mind, everyone is entitled to their opinions. :)
 
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The terms "misuse" and "abuse" have been thrown around this thread injudiciously. It's possible that no one beside myself cares, but just in case:

The two can be used synonymously, but there is generally a difference at least of degree between them, and often of intended meaning.

To "misuse" is "to use incorrectly". For example, if you take a screwdriver and try to use it to paint a picture, you are misusing it; the screwdriver is not designed for painting, and will not do a good job when pressed into that service, but neither the paint, the picture, nor the screwdriver will be damaged as a result of your action.

To "abuse" is "to use excessively or damagingly". For example, if you take a screwdriver and try to use it to pry up a manhole cover, you are abusing it; although a screwdriver can often be used to pry up small objects, a manhole cover is much too large for an average screwdriver and you are likely to end up with a bent, damaged screwdriver and an unmoved manhole by the time you give up.
 
tower2 said:
The terms "misuse" and "abuse" have been thrown around this thread injudiciously. It's possible that no one beside myself cares, but just in case:

The two can be used synonymously, but there is generally a difference at least of degree between them, and often of intended meaning.

To "misuse" is "to use incorrectly". For example, if you take a screwdriver and try to use it to paint a picture, you are misusing it; the screwdriver is not designed for painting, and will not do a good job when pressed into that service, but neither the paint, the picture, nor the screwdriver will be damaged as a result of your action.

To "abuse" is "to use excessively or damagingly". For example, if you take a screwdriver and try to use it to pry up a manhole cover, you are abusing it; although a screwdriver can often be used to pry up small objects, a manhole cover is much too large for an average screwdriver and you are likely to end up with a bent, damaged screwdriver and an unmoved manhole by the time you give up.
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DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!

Your definitions are exactly right. However, some of your explainations and examples are off. Painting is definitely misusing a screwdriver, and in THIS particular situation you are correct that it wouldnt cause harm to any of the objects in play. However, some types of misuse COULD result in damage. Prying with that same screwdriver would be one example. You are using it as a prybar instead of using it to drive screws so by definition it would be misuse of the object and at the same time could cause damage.

But it is different from abuse because as you said, abuse means to "use excessively or damagingly", as in using it beyond its limits but within its given role. For example, cuttng concrete with a William Henry is not "misuse" by definition because you are still attempting to use the edge of the blade to render something asunder, however it is by no means within the limits of the knife. So it is considered abusive. Make sense?
 
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If I am carrying a $1000 knife I can clearly afford to buy another one. If it's in my pocket the sucker is a user!!!
 
Heh, I was just thinking that earlier today. I figure between my Leatherman Squirt PS4, Spyderco PM2 and just sheer brute force I can make my way through most wooden doors without much damage to myself or any of my equipment, but the door may not make it. If it's a rather expensive door and I can get in trouble for breaking it, best option would be to try to make lockpicks out of stuff, or more realistically, try to take the door off its hinges without any damage to it.
 
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