I have had several successful conversations with the opening line of "What kind of knife is that?" The person's response tells me how far down the rabbit hole I can go in the ensuing discussion (or lack thereof). I am the Knife Guy at work, and have handed out a number of budget folders to guys in my Facility Service department. I have also managed to get three coworkers to start carrying fixed blades, most recently by handing an Izula 2 with Sagewood straps to my apprentice plumber (who name-checked a 940 in his interview and then showed up months later with the Bugout I offered as a counter recommendation), telling him to carry it for a while to see how he likes it.
The better story is me, struggling to load a concrete saw into the back of my van at a local rental place, hearing from the employee helping me "Is that a breacher bar?" Found a Legit Knife Guy in the wild whose experience well exceeds my own.
I look for pocket clips, belt carry, type/condition of footwear, and all manner of things as a reflex, and use the person's general demeanor (and the permissiveness of the environment) as a guide for whether to open a conversation. Always worth a shot, as I don't care if strangers think I'm a weirdo and you never know if a recommendation (usually "get a Kershaw") will be the start of someone beginning to think more about readiness, quality, value, form versus function, etc. Do the things we carry say something about us? I believe they do.
(Most people carry flea market specials around here.)
