My Knife Spooked My Co-worker

freq18hz said:
You can say whatever you want, maybe in your state the laws or different.

The fact is, most people respond irrationally to the display of a knife. If you are going to continue to argue this, I urge you to use the search function and read the multitudes of threads on this subject where people have freaked out at the sight of a knife. Knife laws are getting more strict every day, and most companies have a zero tolerance policy for knives. You can't even fly with nail clippers.

You can argue all you want/shoot the messenger, but facts are facts.
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1. Nope, I do not live in CA, and yes the laws here are different.
2. I don't really need to search, I've been posting here for close to a decade. I posted about an experience with a leatherman wave myself
3. The OP's knife is legal and his workplace does not have a zero tolerance policy since he did not lose his job.

We don't have any hard facts about how the public views knives, particularly since it varies by location. Where I live, if you see a pickup parked on the side of the highway, anywhere, there's a good chance the driver is hunting. If not, then he's working on an inland rig, tending to livestock, or similar. Obviously, knives are not an agent of fear around here for most people.
 
Fair enough. Around here, people freak out.

I recently took my swayback jack out of my pocket, and opened it with the nail nick to remove a brown spot of my apple at work. A co-worker saw me do it and remarked "Are you sure that knives are allowed at work? You should be careful."
 
freq18hz said:
Fair enough. Around here, people freak out.

I recently took my swayback jack out of my pocket, and opened it with the nail nick to remove a brown spot of my apple at work. A co-worker saw me do it and remarked "Are you sure that knives are allowed at work? You should be careful."
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Guess I ain't gonna move to San Francisco.:p
 
freq18hz said:
Fair enough. Around here, people freak out.

I recently took my swayback jack out of my pocket, and opened it with the nail nick to remove a brown spot of my apple at work. A co-worker saw me do it and remarked "Are you sure that knives are allowed at work? You should be careful."
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We have to be careful how we generalize. My last office job (in Walnut Creek) had no problem with my knives. Co-workers started to ask when I'd get a new knife and if they could see it.

This was from a recent get together we had at a busy sushi restaurant in Hayward:

SSPX0839.jpg


The Bay Area isn't the problem. Some people will be afraid, likely because of Hollywood, and others won't be.
 
As a knife carrier I also have to occasionally deal with people bothered by mine. However, I don't necessarily like all these liberal and "sheeple" bashing. Just because they don't share the virtue of EDCing a knife doesn't make them evil.

I hear complaints all the time that in the old days it was ok to carry knives, and that every man with pants on had a knife. What people often forget is in those days they mostly carried what we call "traditional" knives today. When you whip up that pretty Stockman with stag scales or that cute red Swiss Army Knife, few people (even today) will think of it as a weapon. Somewhere along the way the trend turned into "tactical" knives often marketed as a weapon. Can you really blame people for thinking that a particular knife is a weapon if the manufacturer specifically markets it as a tactical instrument?

The fact to the matter is a knife can be used as a very effective weapon capable of doing great harm, much more harm than a pencil. Ask a cop if you don't believe that it can be dangerous. As such it's not prudent to whip it out without being mindful of your surroundings.

The right attitude goes a long way. Some people would say "it's my right, I don't need to be nice about it". Well, you don't need to be a jerk about it either. An employer has the right to restrict what you can or can not carry at work. A guy with an unpleasant attitude can push the employer to ban knives because it's easier to do that than deal directly with the person. That guy would be doing the rest of us a huge disfavor because now a whole group of people becomes conditioned by their employer to think of a knife as a weapon.

In short: keep carrying, but be nice and smart about it.
 
freq18hz said:
If you don't think that the average non-knife person would consider the Traveler as a weaponized looking knife, I think you need to re-aqquaint yourself with reality.
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If it's this knife, yep, most people would consider it a weapon, IMHO.

Traveler.jpg
 
yeah wow...that and people are really annoying with blade carry stuff. I got stopped by the cops because someone called them saying that I had a gun. It was a CRKT triumph neck. 2.5" blade...really a handgun???? People are obnoxious with their ignorance and fear.
 
I was flying shortly after 9/11/01 (got upgraded to first class) I was being served the meal. Typical cloth vs paper, nice china and then came the silverware, Spoon, Fork and a plastic knife vs a butter knife.
I called the attendant over and said (we had built a rapport) I said, "Is this for real ?" pointing at the plastic knife. She said, " Well you know with what happened"
I said, " Jen, I served 14 years in the Military I hold 2 black belts in disciplines focused on killing or maiming, The fork is a far more dangerous weapon in the hands of someone who understands weapons than the bread knife you guys really need to get your sheet together" she agreed.
I suppose she or anyone who overheard could have become (insert West Coast adjective) but instead common sense prevailed.
Has the entire Country gone nuts?
We are being "invaded" from the South and West. Our ports security is a joke.
But, God help the guy at work with the "scarey" pocket knife.:eek:
:rolleyes:
 
Folderguy said:
If it's this knife, yep, most people would consider it a weapon, IMHO.

Traveler.jpg
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Not quite as intimidating as my super karambit though ;-)

But yes, serrations+black+tip=weapon for most people. I personally see something that would work great for rope.
 
If it's legal where the OP carries it and his company doesn't have a policy then what's the issue? Some woman being butt hurt because he carries a legal knife in his pocket? I don't get it.

People do crap that I don't like all the time. I don't get sideways about it and neither should she IMO. Besides, who cares what she thinks?
 
Anyone ever see what a pen, pencil or handle of a spoon does when rammed into an eye all the way ? It ain't pretty & usually causes death. This is acommon occurence everyday in prisons across the country. I'm just sayin'. It has become ridiculous. Also, has anyone ever challenged the fact that a Law cannot be superceeded by a company policy, if said knife is legal in that state ? Federal law superceeds State Law, but since when does company policy have any legal standing ?
 
TwinStick said:
Also, has anyone ever challenged the fact that a Law cannot be superceeded by a company policy, if said knife is legal in that state ? Federal law superceeds State Law, but since when does company policy have any legal standing ?
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In a way it can.
It's legal to have long hair as a male, but it's legal for a company to refuse to hire you due to it.
Same with visible tatoos; company image and all.
No one's forcing you to be at work, right?
Free country sometimes means you're free to go seek work elsewhere...or deal with the rules, assinine as they may be.
 
stabman said:
In a way it can.
It's legal to have long hair as a male, but it's legal for a company to refuse to hire you due to it.
Same with visible tatoos; company image and all.
No one's forcing you to be at work, right?
Free country sometimes means you're free to go seek work elsewhere...or deal with the rules, assinine as they may be.
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Umm...where are you living?

I'm not saying that in practice that isn't done, but I was under the impression that it was actually illegal to discriminate against people for reasons like that.
 
Apec said:
That's the old variant, but it still looks very similar. I think the OP's talking about the newer US made Emerson Traveler - PE, waved and G10 scales.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=818611
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Those are cool looking knives, to be sure. And definitely more "friendly looking" but even so, while it doesn't look weaponish to me, I've seen fellows get antsy over a 2 1/2" CRKT Ripple, calling it a switchblade. Not surprised that a skittish type might tug on someone's chain for those knives.
 
Joben said:
Umm...where are you living?

I'm not saying that in practice that isn't done, but I was under the impression that it was actually illegal to discriminate against people for reasons like that.
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Really? In the US it's illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and age. It's also illegal to discriminate disabled people if a reasonable accomodation can be made. Hair and tattoos, however, aren't protected categories. Employers can prohibit you from carrying a gun, a knife, or even a mere cell phone, just like you can prohibit anyone in your home from carrying anything you don't approve of.
 
Federal employees have to have knives with blades 2.45-inches or less. I had a female employee (they almost are always female) see me with a 4-inch CS Voyager years ago. I knew she was going to say something to the boss because of her reaction, so the next day I brought in my 3-incher. When I got the call from my boss the next morning, she asked to see my knife, so I showed her. I didn't say it was the knife I had the preceding day, but amazingly, she asked me not to carry it any more because, technically, it was a little longer than permitted and because it had upset the other employee.

As I left, I did a double take and came back into her office. "Just one more thing," I said, "did you know Barbara has a pair of scissors with 7-inch blades? I'd appreciate it if you could speak to her about it as she carries them around with her and opens packages with them. It makes me a bit skittish. Do you think you could speak to her?" My boss wasn't very amused, but I told her that while I wasn't serious, many things can be weapons, and the only thing that keeps them from being weapons aren't laws, but intent. I didn't wait for an answer, but I hope she got the message.

I frankly don't like working with women. I worked with the media and was the only guy in the office. I didn't have to, but I grabbed tripods and reflectors, even cameras, and the women didn't carry a thing. Even light things. They walked outside the hall with their high-heel shoes while interviews were being held and reeked havoc with the sound levels, insisted on looking through the camera view finders in public areas to make sure other people weren't in the shot and other screwy things. (And guess who was requested more often by the media!) And while that may have been construed by my boss as a compliment, it actually worked against me.

Anyway, I continued to carry a 4-inch Voyager for a few more days that week, then I got ticked and began carrying my 5-incher. And when they needed their packages opened, I let them worry about it. Even with a 5-inch blade, they still had longer blades on their scissors!

SpydercoNative_2.jpg


Here are smaller scissors next to my little Spyderco Native. If my
secretary went nuts, I'd certainly be outgunned...figuratively, especially
if she separated them and came after me with both parts!

.
 
Absolutely true that people tend to freak out more about certain types of knives (sadly, the kind of knives that I prefer). And unfortunately, the law doesn't necessarily mean you have a RIGHT to carry a knife wherever you desire within the state, just that it's not considered against the law, and you can't get cited by a law enforcement officer except under certain circumstances. I'm happy that CO state law allows 3.5", although naturally knives, even butter knives, are not allowed on school grounds (I thought that was just the school rules, but it turns out it's actually state legislation).

A+ to the flight attendant story pointing out that forks (or even a spoon) can be a deadly weapon, not to mention those scissors. Wow, scissors can be downright scary!

Sad truth is that perception is everything. People find knives scary, mainly because they're ignorant, and don't even see many other items at all threatening, even though they are more potent weapons. How about the blade off of a paper cutter? Or a cord from your computer--perfectly effective as a garrote. There are all kinds of things in the normal working environment that would be far more lethal than a tiny pocket knife.

I think that's far more obvious with guns than anything else. People tend to freak out about handguns that look tacticool more than a bolt action rifle or shotgun with a beautiful wood stock. But the shotgun will be far more deadly at close range, and any decent hunter can kill you from very far away with a bolt-action rifle. It takes a skilled shooter to be as dangerous with the kinds of guns that garner most of the attention.

It does pay to know your rules and regs, but honestly, if the company policy and laws do not forbid me to carry a knife, I'm going to carry and use a knife. I do think that the policy of explaining, in excruciating detail, how much more efficient and safer a good knife is than the various alternatives, and how it's important to pay for quality in ALL of your tools can really matter, can really serve your purposes more than telling them it's not their business (however true that may be). Boring people to tears does wonders for making obnoxious people ignore your knives.
 
It is suprising how ignorant some people can be. At school my science teacher was a Navy seal and carried an Emerson cqc. Well we had what are essentially retard handlers so that mentally retarded kids could be in class. Well one day one of the handlers saw my teacher pull out his knife andopen a box. She asked what it was for and he simply replyed that it was for cutting tape. Well she called down the principal and asked him to tell my teacher not to bring the knife to school anymore because it scared her. Now my principal was your typical dheeple liberal and came up to my teacher and asked can you please not take the knife to school anymore. My teacher responded by flicking out his knife and said that he had tenure and he wansen't going to have his rights taken away by a worthless liberal hippie nutjob. Classic.
 
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