My Knife Spooked My Co-worker

[Screwdriver]

Exactly. Some people HAVE to carry knives. Their job position requires it and they cannot get by without one during the day.

I carry a many different brands....today a Spyderco Military... tomorrow, maybe an Opinel #8. All will open boxes and do the job I need to do with them....but the Opinel is definitely the least scary to people that I work with.

 

[rororo64]

For me, I lie and say I have a terminal fear of box cutters due to a bad experience, and if they ask what it was then I tell them to STFU nd mind your own toe cheese

 

[freq18hz]

Understand what kind of thing?

That just because someone is using a knife, or holding a knife, doesn't mean they are imminently going to stab or attack you with it.

It's sad that people equate a knife (tool) with violence.

 

[hardheart]

ah, gotcha.

It's a very strange phenomenon. Look at your run of the mill general purpose kitchen knife, the length and width of steel, the deft way a sharp one separates flesh and bone as a matter of purpose and design, yet people exist around them with no problem. Draconian knife laws don't prohibit their sale, ownership, or mere existence. Yet a folding blade less than half the size of the most used kitchen utensil strikes such fear.

Very few knives are purpose built weapons. Despite some of our daydreams, folders are among the worst for the task. I really don't think a good boxcutter is any less dangerous or concealable, yet there is a separate classification.

 

[hammerface]

If someone ever comes to complain about knife how dangerous it is and its weapon I just shrug and say: Its tool for me. If you're concerned about weapons, I could kill you bare handed... but I love peace and I am against violence of any kind.

:thumbup: Nice!

Is it just me or are the droves of idiots on this planet spreading like wild fire? :jerkit:

 

[Folderguy]

I guess that thumb wasn't a good indicator of sarcasm hmm?

But seriously, I would point out that a box cutter is just as capable of causing injury. Then I would ask her whether she seriously believes that a folding knife is more of a threat.

What I like to do if someone gets all uptight, and it has happened more than once, is tell them when they go out driving their car that they can easily have an accident and perhaps kill several people all at once. Their responsibility to drive carefully is great. The issue isn't their car; it's the way they drive. Same with a knife, or a hammer, or even a pen. All these items can be misused. The problem is not the object, but how someone uses it. That line of argumentation has almost always persuaded them. Sometimes not, though.

 

[Hoodcanal5]

It is crazy how ignorant people can be. And yes I do believe liberals are the cause of this because the most liberal states have th most gun and weapon control. Ironic how these states also have the highest crime rates. Did you guys know that in new jersey the red ryder bb gun is illegal because it is classified as an "Assault weapon". Ridiculous.

 

[Folderguy]

Is there a reason this thread isn't being moderated better for off topic political comments?

I'm getting pretty sick of the "conservative/liberal" douche-baggery around here lately.

STFU about liberals/conservatives. It's plainly obvious that those of you who are invoking the terms, don't know enough about either to know the difference.

You're getting pretty touchy. Please don't be. (And yes, I can easily wax eloquent on the differences between the two ways of seeing the world, but I'll pass for now. )

 

[kinskibrain]

I would proudly call myself a liberal and I also love knives. To generalise over groups of people like some are doing in this thread is truly stupid and reason for a lot of bad stuff. That the first stance many here take towards someone with a different understanding of, say knives, is a confrontative and aggresive one is also dissapointing.
Personally I try to keep a low profile in my work place and don't plaster the place with my personal stuff. I concentrate on doing my job well and if someone misunderstands me, like this woman, I try to be the bigger person instead of throwing a pie back.
Once I was a bit tired and didn't think twice before pulling out a large purple Endura. I could see that it really scared some of the caretakers (i work with people) and reminded myself to never take something that big and aggresive again. I'm quite happy with a Pioneer or TK4 .
Why be small and insist on that everyone else have to understand and share YOUR values and ideas? A very egocentric perspective if you ask me.

 

[monsterdog]

OP: I'm sorry for your experience, but certain people are just irrational when it comes to these things.

An experience of my own: At work I was opening a box with my wharncliffe Spyderco Urban (2 1/4 cutting edge, non locking, bright color), our building manager walks in and asks me in all seriousness why I have a knife. He is a tough guy, rides a harley. I close the knife in a way that demonstrates its non locking, hands it to him so he can see it for himself, and he says "whoa there, I don't touch weapons!"

I just laughed and said "Its not a weapon, its a tool", then put it in my pocket. Making fun of his overreaction seemed to calm him down and he never mentioned it again. So this is what I will do from now on, make people feel silly for assuming that I have something with the intent of it being a weapon.

 

[hardheart]

Why be small and insist on that everyone else have to understand and share YOUR values and ideas? A very egocentric perspective if you ask me.

I would say the exact same thing to someone who wants to complain about what I do when it is within the limits of the law and company policy. Carrying and using a knife does not infringe on the rights of others, but berating knife users and complaining to management does.

 

[Folderguy]

I would proudly call myself a liberal and I also love knives. To generalise over groups of people like some are doing in this thread is truly stupid and reason for a lot of bad stuff. That the first stance many here take towards someone with a different understanding of, say knives, is a confrontative and aggresive one is also dissapointing.
Personally I try to keep a low profile in my work place and don't plaster the place with my personal stuff. I concentrate on doing my job well and if someone misunderstands me, like this woman, I try to be the bigger person instead of throwing a pie back.
Once I was a bit tired and didn't think twice before pulling out a large purple Endura. I could see that it really scared some of the caretakers (i work with people) and reminded myself to never take something that big and aggresive again. I'm quite happy with a Pioneer or TK4 .
Why be small and insist on that everyone else have to understand and share YOUR values and ideas? A very egocentric perspective if you ask me.

Great post! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

As for me, in my experience, these are considered to be friendly knives, and most will be ok with them (quite short blades, between 2 1/4" and 2 3/4" long):

This one is questionable, due to the blade length (a bit over 3"):

Some I won't carry/show to most:

 

[Apec]

For me, a 4.5" blade is medium and barely acceptable if I intend to use it "tactically".

Yep. 4-5" blade is medium. Had some uninformed individual tell me my BM Nimravus was a "Rambo knife."

4.5" blade, 9.45" OAL. Yeah sure, most of the Rambo designs had a blade length roughly greater than the OAL of mine.

Willing to bet he never actually watched any of the Rambo films.

 

[Scott Neelan]

I would proudly call myself a liberal and I also love knives. To generalise over groups of people like some are doing in this thread is truly stupid and reason for a lot of bad stuff. That the first stance many here take towards someone with a different understanding of, say knives, is a confrontative and aggresive one is also dissapointing.
Personally I try to keep a low profile in my work place and don't plaster the place with my personal stuff. I concentrate on doing my job well and if someone misunderstands me, like this woman, I try to be the bigger person instead of throwing a pie back.
Once I was a bit tired and didn't think twice before pulling out a large purple Endura. I could see that it really scared some of the caretakers (i work with people) and reminded myself to never take something that big and aggresive again. I'm quite happy with a Pioneer or TK4 .
Why be small and insist on that everyone else have to understand and share YOUR values and ideas? A very egocentric perspective if you ask me.

:thumbup:

 

[yuldeli]

It's a very strange phenomenon. Look at your run of the mill general purpose kitchen knife, the length and width of steel, the deft way a sharp one separates flesh and bone as a matter of purpose and design, yet people exist around them with no problem.

Thanks to human ingenuity we no longer have to subject others to the dangers of kitchen knives. I don't know about you, but I feel safer already!

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/6716/new-point-knives-a-safer-kitchen-knife.html

 

[Wolfjohn]

Agreed.

As for the op, showing off your knife at the workplace to a coworker IMO is a dumb thing to do. For one your not at work, which will catch peoples eye. This is your coworkers business IMO. Second, being all up and mighty about it serves no one including yourself. I think the mature thing to do would talk to your boss and see if another edc blade could be used. No offense but a large tactical blade to cut open a box? Give me a break. Use the right tool for the job and you won't have any problems. It's not about your rights it's about not being a dope

You lost me on the part about the box...where did that come from ? Give you a break eh?... pretty judgemental for someone who wasn't even there and doesn't even ask what my "job" really is...and you need to research just what an Emerson Traveler size is~ the knife is not a machete, and it's about the same size of a lot of frequently carried knives........ I hope you're never picked to be on someone's jury.....they'd be doomed instantly.

 

[KennyB]

This thread reminds me of talking to one of my friends over his holiday break.

He's enrolled in a culinary course in a program called "Job Corps". I don't know what the entire deal with the program is, but suffice it to say a lot of the people are there for vocational training as their only choice not to go to jail. So there is a particular vibe amongst the student body, and it's a hostile one.

So anyway, he was talking to me about the way they sharpen their knives up there because he knows I would be interested, and so we get to some point of the conversation where I say, "Hey, you want to borrow this pocket knife for a while and see how it works?"

It turns out that they can't even have a pocket knife at this school, or anything that could be a "weapon", yet he spends day in and day out working with very sharp, large kitchen knives.

Can't make that kind of stuff up.

Most people around my area are really comfortable around knives. They don't just automatically assume they're a weapon, and even when they do they don't automatically assume your intent is to do them harm. I was donating plasma once and had a 6" fixed blade concealed horizontally across the front of my hip. The phlebotomist saw the butt of the knife sticking out from my jacket and had a big goofy grin on his face and said something like, "You going to stick me, Kenny?" I was really confused and ask him what he's talking about, and he points at my knife sticking out. I just say whoops, put it back under the jacket, and he says, "So, why do you have that?" I reply, "Well, it sure helps when I need to cut things, and I figure it won't hurt to have around just in case." So he nods, finishes up, and then before I leave he's out on a smoke break, he goes, "You want to see what I have just in case?" and pulls out a nice little 9MM and shows it to me right out there in the parking lot in front of his employees and the world, and no one even bats an eye.

Flash forward to Thanksgiving dinner in Seattle every year, and I always get comments like, "...go ask Kenny, he probably has a 12" bowie on him," when someone needs something cut.

 

[DoctaD]

You lost me on the part about the box...where did that come from ? Give you a break eh?... pretty judgemental for someone who wasn't even there and doesn't even ask what my "job" really is...and you need to research just what an Emerson Traveler size is~ the knife is not a machete, and it's about the same size of a lot of frequently carried knives........ I hope you're never picked to be on someone's jury.....they'd be doomed instantly.

:thumbup:

It seems that you have a lot of people that want to pass judgement on you this week, eh?

 

[whetrock]

I guess I live in a "hick" part of the world but I've never gotten any flack for carrying a knife.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

:thumbup:

It seems that you have a lot of people that want to pass judgement on you this week, eh?

Or on that stupid coworker... I think WolfJohn did nothing wrong.