NEED HELP!!!!!(Tips and suggestions for army knife-lecture)

Bobber

Bobber

Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
1,174
Hey guys, I`m off to a course to become a platoon chief in the Norwegian Home Guard..
One of our tasks during this thing is holding a ten minute lecture on a topic you love...
I LOVE KNIVES!!!!
What I need your help for is suggestions on things to talk about with a class AND keep their attention.
(So please no edge-geometry and sharpeningdevises)

This has to be basic knife/knife-use cind of lecture, for a bunch of weekend-warriors and my instructors..

I really need your help here, because I`m actually afraid of making it to technical and boring....
Thanks in advance...

Simon (Srgt Norwegian Home Guard)
 
Last edited:
Not easy when you are a knife-nut to "Stupid it down for the non-believers, hehe....
 
Hi Simon!
My personal recommendation would be to talk about a part of knives you're actually interested in, I find that if a person is genuinely interested in what he's talking about that person will sound more interesting and the words will flow a little better.

This might seem kinda Counterintuitive but I'm not going to suggest a topic, im going to suggest that you talk about what makes you interested in knives, why you find them useful, what you do with them...I honestly can't speak a speech I've written before hand, IMO you shouldn't write one in the first place, a set of talking points? Sure! Just as long as its just guide lines and your not trying to write down exactly what your going to say....this is just what works for me...well yeah, hope it helps!!

-niner

Oh and before the speech, put any papers you'll be using in the speech in an envelope, then when your about to start the seminar ask if any one has a knife you could use (then you'll see if there any fellow knife nuts haha)
 
Maybe you could give them a "Knife Sharpening 101" talk. Even if some of them are experienced sharpeners, they will probably pick up some tips... :cool:

TedP
 
Tell them that Rambo was a fictional character, that knife is a tool: so it should be suitable for performing everyday tastks, be easy to carry and safe to use.
So then discuss good options...
 
Good ones all of you, I`ll deffinetly talk about why I often prefer a big knife over an axe, and why I always have a three knife system..(They always hassle me when I carry
multiple knives....)

Keep`em comming boys and girls..
 
1. Sharpening/maintenance/care

2. Safety / Common Knife-related injuries and first aid treatments

3. Proper use, proper knife-fit (to the hand, to the task at hand, etc.), how to avoid abuse/damage, carrying options

4. Advantages/disadvantages to various steels, handle-materials, shapes, weights, designs
 
Safety is most important issue, but it is often seen as boring. So:

"Be careful. Blood is hard to clean up and can cause non-stainless steel blades to rust. Also, stitches are hard to explain to the Captain."

Blood draws flies in Summer.

Draw cuts vs. stabbing in absence of guard on knife (as with puukko). See also first point.

Cutting away from body parts. See also first point.

How unhappy their significant other will be if they return from field exercise missing body part. See also first point.

How unhappy you will be if you have to telephone their significant other to explain that they are coming home missing said parts.

Gory pictures are good. Some have been posted here at BF over the years.

Good luck.
 
Actually I think the whole point of such a lecture is to give people an idea about selecting and caring for their blades. You do not need to go into too much detail but they are definitely a part of it. It should not be some fantasy lecture about knife fighting or something like that. Knives are tools and that is what the lecture should focus on.

Part A: Selecting the right knife for the job.
- Size
- Handle
- Thick vs thin stock
- Hollow grind, flat grind, convex grind
- Selecting the right edge Angle
- Stainless vs Carbon

Part B: Caring for a knife
- Sharpening vs maintaining the edge
- Dealing with moisture, rust
- Storage
 
Good suggestions all off you, please keep it comming, I've got the ideas rolling now...
 
Bobber said:
Not easy when you are a knife-nut to "Stupid it down for the non-believers, hehe....
Click to expand...

Here's some food for thought.

Have bail out jokes. IE for all the main focal points, have common media hype references to throw in to make it witty or catchy... I don't know an easier way to explain it but for example:

"This Chris Reeves Umnumzaan (I know umwhowhat?)... Yea, ANYWAY!!! this little piece of knife here costs $450.00 and people line up for em... "

1: It's enlightening. 2: You're not taking yourself or your lecture too seriously. 3: You're educating them in the sense they now know from that sentence it's very highly regarded. Know what I mean? Keep it light hearted and serious to boot.
 
How about listing a bunch of things that knives can be used for. It seems obvious to us but to everyday non knife people they will be amazed when they realize how much they took knives for granted and just how much our society depended on, and still does on knives.
Naturally an emphasis on uses that benefit or are necessary for your daily jobs is helpful.

Now the butcher may be doing his job where he won't be seen, but the job does need to be done.There are lots of things getting done every day with one type or another cutting implement but most don't think about it. Getting too specific isn't really needed here.

Joe
 
Last edited:
Bumping this, to see if anyone has some new input or ideas...
Just a couple of days left now---
 
test to see if their knife can hold their weight :D,

well you could go over what uses a person can use a knife for in the field.
grooming, maintenance, bushcraft, survival, techniques, & the odd and weird things that knives aren't intended for but we us them anyway like a pry bar n screw driver
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top