Public knife experiment

Navyblu said:
Cold steel voyager, right?
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Sure looks like it (new style medium Voyager, specifically). :thumbup:

I agree with those above who say most people probably don't even notice a pocket clip (and part of a handle in many cases), nor do they necessarily even register what they're seeing if they do happen to notice it.
 
Sullie said:
Canada is a pretty big Country...but you seem to have us figured out from these 5 posts.

Seems to be a lot of negative reactions to knives in the USA as well based on all the knife reaction threads....
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Don't get me wrong, I love Canada. I lived in Detroit for the first half of my life and enjoyed manny a trip to Canada to play hockey and just to visit and found the land, people and culture all to be GREAT! The thing I love the most is the fact that a big city such as Toronto can be soo clean however the restrictive gun laws and what sounds like restrictive knife laws even just are not for me. I currently live in southwest Arizona and as I said be it carrying open or blatantly concealed (concealing a full sized glock on my 165# frame) I only get a sideways stair about once a year. So again, I like Canada but I'm going to stay here where I can protect myself and my loved ones without being looked at like a criminal.
 
All good man, sorry I got a little defensive. There is a lot of misinformation that gets passed on but you are right, there are more restrictions.
 
Richpoolboy said:
I like Canada but I'm going to stay here where I can protect myself and my loved ones without being looked at like a criminal.
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All this not being able to carry my knives openly, makes me sad. I must have some 25,000 worth in my collection, and I'm really only able to carry without worry, the slip joints. Sure I carry the Spyderco's and Benchmades etc. but if I was in the wrong place at the right time, I take a chance of the knife being confiscated or charged for some obscure reason.
 
Y'all move on down here to SW VA. I'll leave the porch light on for ya. If you're not toting a folder clipped in your pocket down here, you're not from here (I'm not originally). It's a way of life here, and something I appreciate as a knife guy. It's probably also why folks tend to mind their manners here. :)
 
I carried a 4 inch fixed blade when I used to go turkey hunting and after one really tiring day I got back to town rather late (930ish) and went in my local Kroger to get some milk and breakfast rolls, not one person mentioned the knife on my hip, I got home and visited the facility and instant knew exactly why nobody mentioned the knife,,,,,, I still had on my full camoflage gear including the face "grease paint"!!
 
i live in bc and always carry my folders clipped in pocket for all to see , never had a problem .
mostly carrying to and from work (allways have a good reason to back up your choice of tool ).
ive met and spoken with a few cops and ive been told its really down to the cop your dealing with and how you present yourself .
allthough carrying in a place that is licensed to sell liquor is a BIG no no so ive been told .
 
That's right he hhmoore. People see knives now days as nothing but a weapon never as a tool. I live in a small town in Arkansas and teachers and students alike carry a pocket Knife. As long as your not flashing it around they don't care. That's because they see it as a tool unless you use it otherwise
 
jill jackson said:
The general public is not very familiar with knives that clip in pockets and may not have even thought it was a knife. I look for knives when out, on people and very rarely see one clipped in a pocket and when I see something on the belt, or clipped very often it turns out to be a phone, or marker or something else besides a knife. That and the fact that most people don't tend to stare at strangers too long, may be why no one seemed to notice.
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Excellent points Jill, and I considered a few of them when I came back from the trip. I'm old enough to remember when all you might see was a black leather Buck folder stuck to a belt. Now some folk look like a telephone line repairman with all their little gadgets around their waist. I was thinking that a sheathed folder on a belt would hardly warrant a second glance from the public these days. 95% of what I see on belts today are phone cases, so yes, I believe that people are acclimating to objects on belts at a higher rate these days. Around here anyway. I live in a moderately rural western province and a 110 was quite common. But the days of cowboy boots and hats are dying out here. The small towns are also dying and the cities are expanding. I went to the same city yesterday with same folder in chest pocket. No one said boo about it, once again.
 
Poez said:
Well, I think it makes sense to check what the local laws say before going for a public knife experiment. Nothing wrong with this one, I guess, it went pretty well. Just want to mention that as far as I know in Canada they have got that point about knives not being allowed in some public places/gatherings, like schools, churches, pubs.... probably amusement parks. I do not know what they say about stores and malls. I guess it will be OK anyway as long as nobody sees it (while it would not be concealed) and you make no trouble.
So I am not trying to make a point or anything, just my two cents.
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That's pretty much how I run with all this. Normally I do not want to cause any waves and carry discretely. Why bring any negative attention. Uncommon sense tells me that I should not carry a knife into a church, school, etc. My curiosity is satiated and I'll go back to more discrete carry. I simply do not carry in some locations.
 
G. Scott H. said:
Sure looks like it (new style medium Voyager, specifically). :thumbup:

I agree with those above who say most people probably don't even notice a pocket clip (and part of a handle in many cases), nor do they necessarily even register what they're seeing if they do happen to notice it.
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Large clip. I have the large and XL clips and tantos. I'm unsure yet whether to carry the XL's as they are like freakin' machetes. The four inchers just feel natural to me in every aspect. I also appreciate the dark clip and low in pocket carry. I like to keep it low key normally.
 
The Logical One said:
Most people don't notice those things unless they intentionally try to look for it. And usually the person carrying whatever it is they're carrying (knife or gun) are the ones being all paranoid thinking everybody is staring at their knife or gun. I remembered the first few times I CCW'd after graduating the police academy.

Everywhere I went I thought people were staring at me because I was printing or they were able to see my holster. The fact was... nobody noticed and they were most likely not even staring at me.
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Paranoid? IMHO if your paranoid, your probably doing something you should not be doing. I am however prudent, meaning I pay attention to my surroundings, I'm alert to what's going on around me and yes I do look people in the eyes if I see they are carrying to see what type of reaction I get and 99.9% of the time it's a smile and a nod. That .01% that's carrying and staring at the floor are the ones you need to keep an eye out for :)
 
dc50 said:
All this not being able to carry my knives openly, makes me sad. I must have some 25,000 worth in my collection, and I'm really only able to carry without worry, the slip joints.
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What are you talking about?
I openly carry all the time.
At work.
On the bus.
When I was at university, there too...and I used them too. In class even. NO ONE CARED.
I met some fellow knife knuts at a Tim Horton's here in Windsor, and we had a machete on the table! As well as a karambit, a Superhawk, and other assorted knives.
You know what happened? A guy came over and asked to borrow a knife to pry a lid off of something.

No cops.
No gasps of "AHHHHH!!!!"
Nothing.

I wear my knives to the movies, to the library...everywhere.

You can carry them to public gatherings because they are tools.
Even the folders with 4 or 5 inch blades.

Gah, the ideas people who live here have of the country bug me more than the misconceptions of foreigners.
 
upnorth said:
Uncommon sense tells me that I should not carry a knife into a church, school, etc.
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If I get dragged to church, I have a knife there too.
Jesus said to get a sword (and sell your cloak to get one if need be); He ain't gonna mind my pocket-knife. :)

And amusement parks? Yep, I have a knife there too.
Six Flags? Check.
Marineland? Check.

Skylon Tower at Niagara falls, Maid of the Mist boat ride, tunnels under the falls, butterfly conservatory...why the hell should anyone care about my knife?
Short answer: they don't.
 
I live in a town where if I'm NOT carrying a knife, folks think I'm strange. I went to the movies the other day with my Puukko hanging off my hip in a dangler sheath. If they would have called me in for that, they would have discovered my LM Wave on my belt, SAK in my coat pocket and LM Squirt on my keychain. My kids bring SAKs to school and I did a knife making demo last year for them(grade 1 thru 7)
 
I lived in the Toronto area from 1972-1978 and again from 1987 to present, and have pretty much always carried a folder of some sort and never had issues. The only place I may not carry a "regular" 3" folder is into night clubs. In those cases a lot of times I'll carry a small Victorinox Alox Classic in my camera pouch or in pocket, and have never had issues.
I've asked several times for clarification from several police friends I have and they've all said the same thing. Blade length isn't really an issue, it's your intent. If stopped and you can justify that it's just a tool then you're usually ok. Tell them it's for self defense and you'll likely run into issues. Your appearance can also be a factor. That said, carrying around one of my 3"+ fixed blades is overkill for most of my everyday needs so I never carry them on my person but in my backpack. I EDC my PM2 or ZT0566 everyday, clipped in front right pocket, with no issues. It's actually a cop friend that first got me into ZTs. He convinced me to get a ZT0200 while at a local knife retailer, which I did. It was too big/heavy for my tastes so I exchanged it a week later at the same retailer for a ZT0350.
 
Appearance and age makes a difference.
Normal looking guy in his late 30's to 50's having a beer with a folder = no problem (unless he's doing something else which criminal).
Underage drinking teenager with a cheap knock-off folder is going to have some major explaining to do.
 
I carry my knives clipped to my pocket everyday in calgary and no one gives a second look....
 
stabman said:
If I get dragged to church, I have a knife there too.
Jesus said to get a sword (and sell your cloak to get one if need be); He ain't gonna mind my pocket-knife. :)

And amusement parks? Yep, I have a knife there too.
Six Flags? Check.
Marineland? Check.

Skylon Tower at Niagara falls, Maid of the Mist boat ride, tunnels under the falls, butterfly conservatory...why the hell should anyone care about my knife?
Short answer: they don't.
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You bet staby. Sometimes I am just tired and don't put a lot of thought into a reply, it's just another hobby or part of other hobbies to me. The church thing was not really something that I would sweat, a school however is totally different, or a government building with higher level security. I just wing it and it's more casual than up tight most of the time.
 
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