- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
- Messages
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James, you make a great point!
It is reality that people have perceptions based on some relatively common factors, and other factors we can't know. As such, I stand firm on my position that we all have a responsibility to try and project positive perceptions, rather than inducing fear or panic.
When I first started making knives a few years ago, I carried a little edc fixed blade on my belt. This was back when I was still using eBay blanks. Here is the knife, and note that it is about 6.5 inches overall.
Third knife I ever made. Horrible geometry! Incomplete edge beveling. But I learned how to make a nicely contoured handle, and after this one I was pretty much addicted, and now finally I make my own blades.
Anyway, I carried it in the office environment I worked in, horizontally on the right side of my belt for left handed cross-draw. I always wear an undershirt (plumber's crack is so undignified), and so my outer shirt was left untucked and hung over the knife, concealing it. One day I was at a manager's desk, and she needed a piece of paper cut, and did not have anything at hand to do it. So I simply reached under my shirt and pulled this little blade out, with the characteristic click of a kydex sheath. She was so startled that she suddenly took the Lord's name in vain, and I felt terrible for having prompted such a reaction out of her.
Was there anything wrong with using this knife to cut the paper for her? No. But since then I have learned that around people I don't know, it is more effective to start by getting their attention and saying "Okay, now I don't want to startle you, so I'm letting you know I will do that for you, with the knife on my belt/in my pocket/around my neck, etc, so there's no need to get jumpy when you see it." Some people might not think that is necessary, but I think every little bit helps towards educating non-knife folks about their practical utility and usefulness, and that includes courtesy, not acting unstable, and yes, avoiding red paint splattered knives and explicitly provocative statements and imagery printed on them.
It is reality that people have perceptions based on some relatively common factors, and other factors we can't know. As such, I stand firm on my position that we all have a responsibility to try and project positive perceptions, rather than inducing fear or panic.
When I first started making knives a few years ago, I carried a little edc fixed blade on my belt. This was back when I was still using eBay blanks. Here is the knife, and note that it is about 6.5 inches overall.
Third knife I ever made. Horrible geometry! Incomplete edge beveling. But I learned how to make a nicely contoured handle, and after this one I was pretty much addicted, and now finally I make my own blades.
Anyway, I carried it in the office environment I worked in, horizontally on the right side of my belt for left handed cross-draw. I always wear an undershirt (plumber's crack is so undignified), and so my outer shirt was left untucked and hung over the knife, concealing it. One day I was at a manager's desk, and she needed a piece of paper cut, and did not have anything at hand to do it. So I simply reached under my shirt and pulled this little blade out, with the characteristic click of a kydex sheath. She was so startled that she suddenly took the Lord's name in vain, and I felt terrible for having prompted such a reaction out of her.
Was there anything wrong with using this knife to cut the paper for her? No. But since then I have learned that around people I don't know, it is more effective to start by getting their attention and saying "Okay, now I don't want to startle you, so I'm letting you know I will do that for you, with the knife on my belt/in my pocket/around my neck, etc, so there's no need to get jumpy when you see it." Some people might not think that is necessary, but I think every little bit helps towards educating non-knife folks about their practical utility and usefulness, and that includes courtesy, not acting unstable, and yes, avoiding red paint splattered knives and explicitly provocative statements and imagery printed on them.
I'm old in body but still young at heart . Or maybe just in my second childhood as my wife insists . 
.JPG)