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manliness and the traditional knife
- Thread starter Student762
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Each day brings its own challenges. When I put my EDC in my pocket in the morning, I feel more prepared... resulting in more confidence. I'm guessing there are women that feel the same way.
I think you're asking the wrong group. In general those who carry a tacticool/Rambo/mall-ninja knife might answer in the affirmative. They will more likely see the knife as "making the man". Personally I think they're compensating for something. But most folks in the traditional forum are at the opposite end of the spectrum; generally more mature and secure in their self-worth, with no need for a knife to define them.
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
bonky
Gold Member
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Carrying a knife is something I've always done since I was 7 or 8 years old, and not something I give a thought about any more. It's a lot like my shoes: the only time I'm without them is when at home or when swimming. If I'm going out somewhere, they're with me. The only question when going out is which ones best suit my purpose for the day.
If I was asked this question at the age of 7 or 8, however, the answer would been a great big "YES!"
If I was asked this question at the age of 7 or 8, however, the answer would been a great big "YES!"
Yes, definitely.
Not in a "chest thumping super-macho sort of way", but in a "I'm prepared and those around me can count on me" sort of way.
There's a little joke in the family.
"Do you have your knife with you? Oh, that's silly. Can I borrow your knife."
My wife and kids won't carry their own for whatever reason. Dad (that's me) is just sort of assumed to do certain things. I fix the bikes, split the wood and such.
It's also in contrast to male friends and family members who don't carry a knife. My wife's husband (that's me) and my kid's dad (me again) see this and see that I'm the one who gets things done. I'm not saying the other men in our lives are less manly but that it's expressed differently.
I do appreciate the "it's just a tool" sentiment and agree with that entirely. But then, I typically have a day back of some sort with me and typically have a small 1st aid kit, small head lamp and full sized MT with me. It's the same way on backpacking trips with my buds. I'm typically the only one with the moleskin or the bandages or the stove that works. So yeah, I dig tools, kinves are a part of that and yes, I feel more manly in that sort way having a knife with me.
Not in a "chest thumping super-macho sort of way", but in a "I'm prepared and those around me can count on me" sort of way.
There's a little joke in the family.
"Do you have your knife with you? Oh, that's silly. Can I borrow your knife."
My wife and kids won't carry their own for whatever reason. Dad (that's me) is just sort of assumed to do certain things. I fix the bikes, split the wood and such.
It's also in contrast to male friends and family members who don't carry a knife. My wife's husband (that's me) and my kid's dad (me again) see this and see that I'm the one who gets things done. I'm not saying the other men in our lives are less manly but that it's expressed differently.
I do appreciate the "it's just a tool" sentiment and agree with that entirely. But then, I typically have a day back of some sort with me and typically have a small 1st aid kit, small head lamp and full sized MT with me. It's the same way on backpacking trips with my buds. I'm typically the only one with the moleskin or the bandages or the stove that works. So yeah, I dig tools, kinves are a part of that and yes, I feel more manly in that sort way having a knife with me.
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Based on the definition of the word "manly", then yes, actually it does make me feel that way. "having or denoting those good qualities traditionally associated with men, such as courage and strength."
One of the good qualities traditionally associated with men is being somewhat self-reliant and being able to fix things. Having tools along with me such as a pocket knife makes me feel a bit better able to fulfill that role. Whether that is a gender stereotype or not, that is the definition of the word "manly" so go blame whoever created the word.
One of the good qualities traditionally associated with men is being somewhat self-reliant and being able to fix things. Having tools along with me such as a pocket knife makes me feel a bit better able to fulfill that role. Whether that is a gender stereotype or not, that is the definition of the word "manly" so go blame whoever created the word.
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Perhaps instead of manlier or "more manly", I would say a better man for being better prepared. I don't see that as gender biased because I could easily see a woman feeling like a better woman for being better prepared as well.
I don't think the OP meant the knife is a qualifier for manhood or that the knife made the man, but I feel like I am better equipted for life, like a man (woman)(person) SHOULD be.
I don't think the OP meant the knife is a qualifier for manhood or that the knife made the man, but I feel like I am better equipted for life, like a man (woman)(person) SHOULD be.
silenthunterstudios
Slipjoint Addict
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More masculine, no. I feel better with a knife in my pocket than without.
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Is this manly enough for ya.
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[video=youtube;g12zXlt6ySY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g12zXlt6ySY[/video]
[video=youtube;g12zXlt6ySY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g12zXlt6ySY[/video]
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And even manlier still when you find that perfect woman who has the perfect pencil sharpener!
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Yes, it does, in an old fashioned way.
When I was a little kid, my dad and my uncles were my del life hero's. This was the group of men who became known as the greatest generation. They came home from a hellacious war, some had hacked a living out of the great depression before that. Yet they were quiet unassuming men, who didn't even want to talk about their experiences during that war. They went on with their lives working as electricians, printers, watermen, mechanics, and in one case a quiet government guy who would never say anything about any of it then or later.
All these man had one thing in common to a little boys observance, they all carried a small pocket knife. We humans learn by observing our elders, and little boys learn that early. I could carry most of wha they did, a small pencil for making a note of some thing, a bandana, a book of matches, a small length of twine. But a pocket knife was that item that had to award when they thought you were ready for it. It was a got of trust by your elders, the they thought that you were ready for being entrusted with a took that you could hurt yourself with if you were careless. The greatest terror in the world was that you would let them down, so when you did nick yourself that first time, you quietly wrapped it up with that bandana and snuck a bandaid out of the medicine cabinet and laid low for a few days until the incriminating would heal dup enough to get by without being noticed.
When that day came, that your dad, or an uncle with dad's permission, granted you that pocket knife, it was much more than a gift. It was a vote of confidence from some elders that had done heroic things like fly a B-17 into combat, or wade ashore at Normandy and walk to Germany lugging an M-1, or survive a hellacious PT boat explosion in the English Channel. It was a unspoken welcome into their ranks, and you tried to live up to their expectations. You learned to act like a man by watching and emulating their behavior. Gary Cooper really said it all when he said "A man's got to do what a man's got to do." in that quiet way. You learned what you had to do, and just do it without making a big deal about it.
So if someone asked me if carrying a pocket knife makes me feel like a man, I think about the men I learned from and what they represented. My old Uncle Mike, who went through life with a face that looked like it was skinned with an ax, yet just went on hauling in crab pots and oyster tongs, or my Uncle Charlie, who got his feet wet on D-day, then made his way to Germany with a couple million other guys and then spent his quiet life running the presses at the government printing office downtown Washington D.C., and I say heck yes. That evening that dad gave me that scout knife, and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Mike, and even Uncle Sonny looked on, and shook my hand after while warning me not to cut my finger off, made me feel like I was brought into their circle. If being a man means being included in that circle, then I'm darn proud to be there. Yes, carrying a pocket knife makes me feel like a man in a very special way. It means being trusted to do the right thing by your elders. It's kind of like a welcome to a bigger world, one that has responsibilities, and a job to do. A sometimes to do that job, a small sharp knife is needed.
When I was a little kid, my dad and my uncles were my del life hero's. This was the group of men who became known as the greatest generation. They came home from a hellacious war, some had hacked a living out of the great depression before that. Yet they were quiet unassuming men, who didn't even want to talk about their experiences during that war. They went on with their lives working as electricians, printers, watermen, mechanics, and in one case a quiet government guy who would never say anything about any of it then or later.
All these man had one thing in common to a little boys observance, they all carried a small pocket knife. We humans learn by observing our elders, and little boys learn that early. I could carry most of wha they did, a small pencil for making a note of some thing, a bandana, a book of matches, a small length of twine. But a pocket knife was that item that had to award when they thought you were ready for it. It was a got of trust by your elders, the they thought that you were ready for being entrusted with a took that you could hurt yourself with if you were careless. The greatest terror in the world was that you would let them down, so when you did nick yourself that first time, you quietly wrapped it up with that bandana and snuck a bandaid out of the medicine cabinet and laid low for a few days until the incriminating would heal dup enough to get by without being noticed.
When that day came, that your dad, or an uncle with dad's permission, granted you that pocket knife, it was much more than a gift. It was a vote of confidence from some elders that had done heroic things like fly a B-17 into combat, or wade ashore at Normandy and walk to Germany lugging an M-1, or survive a hellacious PT boat explosion in the English Channel. It was a unspoken welcome into their ranks, and you tried to live up to their expectations. You learned to act like a man by watching and emulating their behavior. Gary Cooper really said it all when he said "A man's got to do what a man's got to do." in that quiet way. You learned what you had to do, and just do it without making a big deal about it.
So if someone asked me if carrying a pocket knife makes me feel like a man, I think about the men I learned from and what they represented. My old Uncle Mike, who went through life with a face that looked like it was skinned with an ax, yet just went on hauling in crab pots and oyster tongs, or my Uncle Charlie, who got his feet wet on D-day, then made his way to Germany with a couple million other guys and then spent his quiet life running the presses at the government printing office downtown Washington D.C., and I say heck yes. That evening that dad gave me that scout knife, and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Mike, and even Uncle Sonny looked on, and shook my hand after while warning me not to cut my finger off, made me feel like I was brought into their circle. If being a man means being included in that circle, then I'm darn proud to be there. Yes, carrying a pocket knife makes me feel like a man in a very special way. It means being trusted to do the right thing by your elders. It's kind of like a welcome to a bigger world, one that has responsibilities, and a job to do. A sometimes to do that job, a small sharp knife is needed.
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arizonaranchman
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I'd call it a sense of completeness/preparedness. Being ready for the day, having the tools I may need to get through it... An ink pen, wrist-watch, nail clippers, single-AA battery LED flashlight, pocket knife, the old battered Leatherman that's been on my belt for 20 years, the old silver dollar I've carried for about 20 yrs also. My pocket knife is very much a part of me and my day's kit that I carry and feel naked without. When I get out of bed it drops into my pocket and stays there til I go to bed that night.
This is fairly representative of what I roll out the door with on most days - I'm virtually never without at least these items.
This is fairly representative of what I roll out the door with on most days - I'm virtually never without at least these items.
r8shell
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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How big is this knife? Picture could be deceiving.
The penny is just really, really big
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I would imagine that the OP was looking for something more along the lines of Carl's response in post #33 which was well said. I too felt like I had become a man when my father first let me borrow his knife as a wee'un. I've carried a small one on and off ever since and find I really miss it when I'm not carrying one. I'm sure it's psychological by now as much as for the utility value.
That being said, the Young Offender institutions throughout Scotland are full of wee lads who thought carrying a knife would make them more of a man.
Context is everything in this regard. I asked my wife what she thought and she just replied;
"Don't be an eejit"
That being said, the Young Offender institutions throughout Scotland are full of wee lads who thought carrying a knife would make them more of a man.
Context is everything in this regard. I asked my wife what she thought and she just replied;
"Don't be an eejit"
arizonaranchman
Gold Member
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I would imagine that the OP was looking for something more along the lines of Carl's response in post #33 which was well said. I too felt like I had become a man when my father first let me borrow his knife as a wee'un. I've carried a small one on and off ever since and find I really miss it when I'm not carrying one. I'm sure it's psychological by now as much as for the utility value.
That being said, the Young Offender institutions throughout Scotland are full of wee lads who thought carrying a knife would make them more of a man.
Context is everything in this regard. I asked my wife what she thought and she just replied;
"Don't be an eejit"
Yes, as usual Carl nailed it perfectly. I know exactly what he's referring to. My admiration for the generation he refers to is enormous. I have sincere doubts as to whether this current generation could do what they did. My hat's off to them.
My Grandpa Elmer's (1912-1987) old well-worn Case 6232... This is an earlier Case XX from what I can tell (someone correct me if you know?), so I'm guessing this was in his pocket in the 1940's-50's.
