My Knife Spooked My Co-worker

To the OP:

It is clear to me that your co-worker did not feel the least bit threatened by your knife, otherwise she would never have the courage to approach you in the first place. She sounds like the classic 'office busy-body' to me. If it wasn't your knife, it would have been some other issue--being five minutes late back from lunch, not refilling the copier, parking in the wrong spot... whatever. Sadly, some people just aren't happy unless they have something to complain about; they spend more time minding the habits of colleagues than paying attention to their own duties. I'm willing to bet that the only reason she 'tattled' on you is because of how you reacted/spoke to her. It doesn't sound there was any disciplinary action involved, so I wouldn't worry about it.

There are quite a few of these people running around where I work. I just do my best to avoid them whenever possible and try not to let them ruin my day.
 
Wolfjohn said:
My question is, am I wrong to feel this way or should I bend and leave it at home in order to pacify a Chicken Little co-worker who peels her organic grown apple with a banana while singing Kumbaya? One thing I might add is in no way is my job at risk over this issue since my blade does fall within the company's appropriate length/style for a pocket knife- I was told it was a "Harmony In The Work Place Issue". Sorry for the rant, I was a little ticked off over it...no I wasn't, damitt... I was flat pissed off...what do you guys think?:mad:
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keep taking in your edc and perhaps be a little more cautious about showing it to anyone at the office unless you're actually using it for something.
 
I have had this same thing happen to me in a public place & also in my work place. I tell them the same thing. It is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. When they say "it frightens me", i ask why. They then tell me some BS reason. I counter with, "are you also afraid of a hammer ?" They laugh & say no, silly, now THAT is a tool." I then remind them that there are MANY people in prison for killing someone with a hammer. I also remind them that they can be easily killed with a pen or a pencil or even a spoon. I then tell them that i can load a gun, put a round in the chamber, take the safety off & set it on a table---right next to a knife, a hammer, a pen, pencil & a spoon & beieve it or not, NONE of them will kill you by themselves. It takes a person to misuse any one of them to cause harm. They are ALL tools of some sort, & just because YOU don't have a need for a particular tool, does NOT mean that i don't, & we need to hold the PERSON accountable for the misuse of said tool, NOT get rid of the tool. Sometimes, for sheeple, you have to break it down to the simplest levels possible to make your point.
 
I wouldn't worry about it.You're there for a pay check,just ignore the a holes and you'll be retired some day.Every time I encountered a jerk on the job sooner or later they had an untimely demise.A matter of karma?
 
Kaizen1 said:
How about filing a harassment complaint with HR since she's pestering you over something that isn't against company policy? Otherwise, you should be able to complain about everything she does and get equal treatment, unless they want to discriminate against you.
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Brilliant. I would do this. Fight fire with fire. You would be perfectly within your rights to file a complaint. And tell them that her lack of tolerance toward a perfectly legal item is disrupting the harmony in the workplace.:D
 
My question is, am I wrong to feel this way or should I bend and leave it at home in order to pacify a Chicken Little co-worker who peels her organic grown apple with a banana while singing Kumbaya?
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Give Chicken Little a little cute folder to have at work ;) Who knows, maybe she'll come around.
 
ok Imagine using your voice loudly and being scary...... thats me.... I have a military voice and I don't yell... I project my voice.. I am also 6'2" 275 and have been known to get a little intense.

Yes - It wasn't any of her business on one hand. Yes you were not violating any of the company policies on the size of the knife. You telling her to take a jump in the lake probably pissed in her wheaties

Sheeple still have a expectation on a what a safe work environment is (even if it is all hugs and flowery and rediculous). I am a LEO and you would be amazed at how many folks are intimidated by the knives I bring in and half of them wear one on their duty belt.

The minuite that she approached you and said that knife scares me.... and you blow it off... now you are creating a hostile work environment for her right or wrong by your part. Best to avoid those people and CYA...

Too many people dont rely on knives and guns to live anymore so their unfamiliarity of them gives them fear. It is sad but the truth.

People aren't educated on the constitution anymore as well .... so people don't understand what they are losing until it is gone.
 
I'm a bit surprised. I live in The Netherlands (you know, Holland, gay marriage, abortion, cannabis wellfare state). I work in a company specializing in environmental technology.
I never had any flak about carrying a knife into the office or in the field, and I like showing my newest aquisitions, even the bigger ones, to a few select colleagues. I do not care too much about who might be seeing this. If some box needs to be opened I have a small knife that I can loan. If somebody suggests that one of those pieces of steel could be used to hurt someone I just mention that a 12 inch shifting spanner or 4 cell maglite would be my weapon of choice and not one of those friendly pocketknives. The effect seems to be that slowly more of my coworkers are starting to carry small inexpensive pocketknives. (I sell them at low but reasonable profits)
So why do people in the USA with their very generous (I do not use the word liberal as that has different meanings on both sides of the pond) weapon laws get spooked over a pocket knife that I can carry at work without problems.
(The answer cannot be, I hope, that I do not only bring the knife but homemade cookies as well)
 
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Habbekuk said:
So why do people in the USA with their very generous (I do not use the word liberal as that has different meanings on both sides of the pond) weapon laws get spooked over a pocket knife that I can carry at work without problems.
(The answer cannot be, I hope, that I do not only bring the knife but homemade cookies as well)
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Well, you never know. Seriously, bringing along something to the office for everybody to enjoy (e.g. cakes etc.) is a good way of making people more 'knife-friendly' if that same thing lends itself to being cut by a knife. The perception that a knife is a tool then follows naturally, without the need for education.
 
Next time tell her to go make you a sandwich! ..... I didn't just say that... Is my wife anywhere close? Nevermind I was never here. :D
 
thejamppa said:
Liberals... They say people are free and have rights... except own and carry fire arms and sharp objectives. Carrying knife properly helps alot in these situations and one reason I don't flick knife open in public nor use assist openers in public. In woods, who cares if I scare squirrel or two.

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.
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I am a liberal, and I would mind what you say considering you are showing very poor deduction skills by linking liberal with some one whining over a knife.

Perhaps the lady had a bad experience with a knife, perhaps she's just plain bitchy, perhaps she even voted McCain...

Now unless the majority of the company feels the opposite way, I think her request to not have knives on company ground as an employee is MORE then within her rights. While the OP may not be a threat to her, someone else who may not be so sane may take that knife away and use it against others.

@Chopstick to knife "analogy".
While yes a knife can be used as a weapon, just as chop sticks can. While both can end lives, a knife can be used by anyone to hurt or kill others while a chopstick remains harmless in the hands of 99% of people.
 
Luis G. said:
I am a liberal, and I would mind what you say considering you are showing very poor deduction skills by linking liberal with some one whining over a knife.

Perhaps the lady had a bad experience with a knife, perhaps she's just plain bitchy, perhaps she even voted McCain...

Now unless the majority of the company feels the opposite way, I think her request to not have knives on company ground as an employee is MORE then within her rights. While the OP may not be a threat to her, someone else who may not be so sane may take that knife away and use it against others.

@Chopstick to knife "analogy".
While yes a knife can be used as a weapon, just as chop sticks can. While both can end lives, a knife can be used by anyone to hurt or kill others while a chopstick remains harmless in the hands of 99% of people.
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Yup, you are a liberal....
 
I think context is important in such situations. While I also like to show my knives to some of my coworkers, I take care to do so in as "private" a place as I can(say, not in the break room or near customers).

You know what spooked me yesterday? A coworker playing with his box cutter, with no boxes in sight to cut. It does seem a bit threatening sometimes to see someone with a tool who could have no possible need of such tool at the time.

That said, were someone to barge in on my private sharing, I would find it a bit rude. However, if said person genuinely believes that you are a threat, I would make the effort to dispel such thoughts, tiresome as it is. Because I would find that someone with the "fear bug" is much more dangerous than someone calmly cutting an apple with a ridiculously oversized knife.

It's worth the effort to make some plans in dealing with such situations with a bit of tact, especially if you don't want that Sebenza or XM-18 confiscated:thumbup:.
 
Everytime one of these discussions comes up, I remember the knife scene in Dr. Zhivago, where that guy on the armored train is quizzing the good Dr. about the knife he has in his kfs set.

At the time, the conversation had a Slave/ Slave-Master tone to it, making it seem particularly outlandish.

Now, we're living it.
 
That's why I always have my SAK on me. If I need to cut something, 99% of the time, my SAK will do fine. No one has accused me of it being a weapon yet, and if they did, I would remind them that it has a corkscrew, tweezers, and a toothpick on it, its obviously a tool, and its completely legal in San Antonio. San Antonio does have city laws against locking knives (which are rarely enforced), which could cause problems if push came to shove at work. I'd say carry something PC in addition to the traveler, let her complain about that and look ridiculous.

Oh, and as tempting as it would be to draw her out into a debate about a knife being a tool, she won't argue logically, and you probably won't get anywhere. Better to start being extremely nice to her, all the time. She won't know what you're up to, and it'll drive her crazy trying to find out what it is:D
 
I work for one of the most liberal companies on the planet. Amazingly, most think my knives are cool. I had one person make a big deal over one (a srm710 of all things). I pointed to one of our chefs who was using an 8" knife and said "this knife would do far less damage than that one." She said "hmmm, guess you're right." No more issues here.
 
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