manliness and the traditional knife

Manly isn't the word that comes to mind. Equipped is probably what I'd use. I feel naked without certain things on me and these are typically what help get me through the day: keys, wallet, phone, light, pens and usable knife.
 
I guess manly is not the word I would use, but a traditional knife makes me feel more rugged...and nostalgic. I love bringing it with me when I am harvesting in my garden. Reminds me of what is real.
 
Ok, so I was on a supermarket run with my father in law; he wanted a case of canned beans that were on sale (and could only buy a case, per the sale offer). Problem was that they were sold as two case bundles--thick plastic held the two cases together. He assumed the deal was for the whole thing... Anyway, at check out, he said he wanted just one case. The two women and the manager started clawing at the thick plastic, and the manager started poking it with a pen to get through it. Knowing that I had a blade, my father in law looked at me shaking his head and smiling... I asked them to step back (politely) and opened my gec #23 liner lock and took care of business. The manager was taken aback a little, saying "that's a big blade"... All I said was, it's ok, it gets the job done. So, I didn't feel more manly, but I felt like a well-prepared adult surrounded by people playing at getting their job done.
 
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Reflecting on what jackknife wrote, it brings me great pride in seeing my father, uncles and friends using the knives I bought them, which were not expensive but were good knives, and saying thank you from time to time when they use them in my presence. Everything from scraping wires and battery terminals to cleaning their fingernails or slicing something for a sandwich. Not in that order I would like to add. My father and his brothers and my other uncles and older friends are hard workers, and they talk about their laziness. These men are not lazy, and hold their forebears in awe, the tough old men that came before them. I see a pattern here, I hope I fall into the new class some day. I still have a good time sitting with them at my fathers shop after hours on a Friday, a good brew and a couple jokes, and old stories I've heard a million times before. Heck, I've been adding a few of my own. I feel good sitting in this company with family, and I guess that their appreciation for a good tool, and the inclusion with my family and friends, makes me feel blessed to be counted as a son, nephew, cousin, friend and compatriot of these men.
 
I can't say that a knife alone makes me feel more manly. My overall experiences in life have made me what I am. As a boy back in the '70s, at least for me, getting my very own first pocketknife was kind of a rite of passage. It signaled that I was ready to take on the responsibility and was trusted to safely carry and use a sharp and potentially dangerous object.

These days, I feel very uncomfortable if I can't carry a knife, but not because being without one makes me feel any less manly. I simply feel potentially unprepared if I should need something cut, especially if an emergency arises. I also don't define carrying a traditional as being more manly than carrying a modern folder. Either can help you be more prepared for any unforeseen tasks during the day. I carry and use both, although lately I've been enjoying traditionals a little more. And I tend to frequent this traditional forum more than the others.

IMO, feeling 'manly' is something you either have within you or you don't. If you don't already feel it and own it within yourself, no object that you carry will ever bolster it. And being 'manly' isn't really about how big someone is or how macho they act. It often happens that in life, when it comes down to doing the right things, showing inner strength and resolve, and also during many emergencies, many times the men who display the most fortitude are the ones we'd least expect.

Carrying a good knife simply allows me to feel more prepared. Plus, I really like good knives.

Jim
 
This has to be one of the funnest threads that I've seen in this forum in quite a while. Got me a laugh or two. Loved that pencil thing. Very Freudian. :)
 
Too many philosophers here in BF :eek:

I think what OP meant by "manliness" in general term is having that feeling of confidence to take on whatever challenge a life brings at you.

More tools you have, more options for you to take on those tasks, and a knife is just one of many tools...so yeah.

And as opposed to modern tactical knives which is designed for quick&easy opening (by easily flicking a thumbstud or a flipper with one finger), traditional knives offer somewhat older or original ways of operating their mechanisms, which can be impractical compared to modern tactical knives...being two-handed opening and such.

I think he's talking about the similar feeling you get when you operate a manual car over an automatic. Or at least somewhat like that.

He also meant a day's worth of "manliness", not the whole life up until now that made the MEN you guys are today! :D
 
I think equipped or prepared more accurately describes how it makes me feel to have a traditional knife in my pocket, but it is certainly a different feeling than carrying a modern folder though I more frequently carry both. I consider modern folders to be more of a tool whereas traditionals bring with them the element of nostalgia and all those sentiments that go with it. For instance when I carry a Barlow I think back to my grade school days when I carried my cheapo Imperial Saw Cut Delrin Barlow knife I bought at a general store in my pocket everywhere I went - school, church, hunting & fishing and unforfunately sometimes even the swimming hole. It definitely made me feel like a man before I became one and I suppose some of that magic they bring never fades away.
 
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I don't get a sense of anything when carrying a knife or two or three with me. I do get a sense of satisfaction when I've run across a situation that requires cutting or in the case of a mliti-tool a situation that requires fixing and I'm able to resolve the situation. I think manliness is a sense that all men should have about themselves and they should not need a prop to project/prove their manliness.

As to the gals of this forum who were left out of this thread, I'd say they're pretty tough across the board what with deliveries and the like.
 
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If manly means prepared for the day, then yes. I feel kind of naked without a knife. To go along with jackknife's comment, one of the carry pieces of traditional manliness is a pocket knife. I was given a pocketknife by my Uncle when it was deemed I was man enough (responsible and trustworthy enough) to handle it safely. When I was a kid, most men carried a pocket knife and a handkerchief. It was just what a man carried with him.
IMHO, a man is to provide, protect, and fix what's broken. Hard to do that sometimes without a good knife at hand. Slice up an apple for your toddler? You need a knife. Open a box or clamshell for your spouse? You need a knife. First aid or general fixit chores or making a campfire for the family to enjoy? A knife sure does come in handy. Skinning some game you killed? You better believe you need a knife. Does carrying a knife make you a man? Nah. Anyone can carry a knife. A knife is part of the gear I carry as a man. A man is made of courage, honor, and serving others. But a pocket knife makes it a bit easier to get the job done.
 
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As the great Jamaican philosopher Bob Marley stated in a song, "I am I". End Quote. You either have it or you don't. If you don't have it, no amount of tools, knives, weapons or what have you are going to give it you. If you do have it, you don't worry about whether or not you have it. And you'll generally come through in pretty good shape. Real men don't worry about being manly.
 
Well... not more manly, but complete and equiped. If I carry no knife, I just feel naked and strange and somehow wrong to me.

It´s strange I know.
 
I keep saying I got my first knife when I was seven. How did I get my first knife? I bought it. Where did I get the money? I earned it.

If my brother and I wanted spending money we sweated for it. Nailing subfloor to joists. Placing drain tile around foundations. Painting ironite on the cinderblock—phew!

Was I doing a man’s work? Even at seven I wasn’t that stupid. But I was among men, learning a man’s work. Learning manhood from the ground up.

The knife was not the issue. I had a Stanley knife in my bags every day. A knife was no more manly than a hammer or a framing square.

I bought and carried a pocket knife because that’s what the men did. Not much different than, when I toe nailed studs, I did what the men did.
 
Student762 said:
When you carry a traditional knife do you feel just a little bit more manly?
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Indeed I do. In the same way that driving a sedan is more manly than driving a jacked-up, kitted out 4x4 with 9-foot tires. In the same way that hunting with a walnut-stock lever-action Marlin is more manly than hunting with an assault rifle. In the same way that wearing well-worn Sears work shoes is more manly than wearing $900 Cobra-skin cowboy boots with chrome-plated spurs. In the same way that quietly enjoying a cold bottle of beer on the patio is more manly than running around from bar to bar, waving your trendy, craft-beer IPA in everyone's face. In the same way that reading a good book or listening to the ball game on the radio is more manly than watching some reality show on your 97" flatscreen TV. In the same way that living in a modest, paid-for, three-bedroom house is more manly than living in a McMansion that's leveraged to the hilt.

Traditionals. It's a mind-set. :grumpy:

YMMV.

-- Mark
 
dma1965 said:
Sorry...I just have to say it:

Part of this quote has been moved offline
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Close... That's a 6375 Stockman!
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mnblade said:
Indeed I do. In the same way that driving a sedan is more manly than driving a jacked-up, kitted out 4x4 with 9-foot tires. In the same way that hunting with a walnut-stock lever-action Marlin is more manly than hunting with an assault rifle. In the same way that wearing well-worn Sears work shoes is more manly than wearing $900 Cobra-skin cowboy boots with chrome-plated spurs. In the same way that quietly enjoying a cold bottle of beer on the patio is more manly than running around from bar to bar, waving your trendy, craft-beer IPA in everyone's face <NO CARRIER>
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You had me till you got to the IPA bit...

Speaking of IPA, I feel more manly/prepared with the Micra riding shotgun. Note the cap lifter.

EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
I suspected I should have nipped the innuendo at the first post. I thought you guys could handle it (and most of you did, thanks). My bad. A few posts have been removed or edited for being obviously inappropriate.
 
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pinnah said:
You had me till you got to the IPA bit...
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Nothing wrong with a good beer of any kind. Just don't make a scene about it, guys.

Kind of like Vince Lombardi once said to a player who scored a TD and was show-boating a bit: "When you go into the end zone, act like you've been there before." ;-)

-- Mark
 
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