Question for everyone

S

serator

Joined
Dec 15, 1999
Messages
71
Is it wrong to use your knive as an intimidation tool? The only reason that I am asking is that a friend of mine recently got into "a little argument". As soon as the other guy saw my friend's Benchmade clipped to his back pocket, he backed out. Now my buddie takes his knive where ever he goes. And I think that he does this purely as an intimidation tool and nothing else. Any advice???
Thanks-
Serator
 
And if anybody ever calls his bluff? Then what? It would seem to me that he would be in a world of hurt or worse. I would strongly urge him to give up the practice.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
Arlington, Virginia

 
Many people carry knives for various reasons. Most carry more for utility or defense than anything else. If your friend is carrying strictly for intimidation reasons than I would be inclined to say, Yes, it is wrong.
Strictly speaking, no weapon or tool should be carried for intimidation purposes.
Sooner or later it will come back and bite him in the A$$, esp if he makes a point of displaying it.

------------------
The vague and tenuous hope that GOD is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the conscience of millions.

*A. W. Tozer

2 Cor 5:10



[This message has been edited by Scarman (edited 16 December 1999).]
 
Hugh is spot on. If you Talk the Talk, be prepared to Walk the Walk.

I only carry tools, myself.

------------------
James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
Just for the record: My friend didnt intentionally show his knife to the guy. He had his shirt tucked in and it was plainly visible.
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with letting a BG assume that you aren't an easy target because you have a knife. On the other hand, if your friend now expects that his knife will intimidate any and all who might hassle/threaten him, he is in for a rude awakening some day.

Dave

------------------
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of More Knives



[This message has been edited by dsvirsky (edited 17 December 1999).]
 
I have said this before. There is what I call the Crocodile Dundee Effect, remember, "Now, this is a knife", and the BGs run off. More likely, they would have pulled a wondernine and wasted him, but a whole raft of kids got the idea that things worked that way. Folks, that movie was a comic fantasy! When you draw a weapon or show a weapon, you have escalated to deadly force, and you had better be prepared to deal with it at that level, because sure as Hell some BG will be! And even if you do prevail and survive the use of the deadly force, you then face the legal consequences of the act. You may well be charged with a crime and, even if not, you will most likely be sued by the other guy or his heirs, so you had best bve damned certain that you had NO other choices but to escalate. I am not a lawyer, but that is what lawyers have told me of carrying a weapon.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
Arlington, Virginia

 
From your post it sounds like your friend now carries a knife for intimidation value alone. I too carry a knife everywhere I go but displaying or flashing a weapon is asking for trouble and sooner or later you`ll find it.Now,if some BG happens to see my pocket clip and knows it for what it is and lets me pass by unmolested so much the better.

------------------
Gordon
St.Louis,MO.
Imagine what we could do if we thought we could not fail
 
Serator,
It sounds like this guy was intimidated by a pocket clip, and your friend never had to draw it, it could have been a pager. That's not intimidation to me.
 
PhiL, in a sense, is right (although there aren't too many pagers with clips like that); If he didn't take it out to scare the guy, he did nothing wrong. Others have addressed the "walk the walk..." factor, and I agree with them as well. In another (unrelated I think) thread, someone mentioned the legal terminology for flashing the knife to scare people. I believe they referred to it as "brandishing a weapon", or something along those lines. Was it Marion? If he does actually wave it around to scare people, I suppose that would be illegal. Is there anything MORALLY wrong with it? I personally don't think so, as long as he leaves the good guys alone. I would like to say what the rest of you have said, just in case: HE MAY END UP ASKING FOR TROUBLE.

Howie
 
Just curious.... in what kind of potentially violent confrontation does one turn his/her back on the threat unless he/she is taking flight ?

------------------
BrianWE
ICQ #21525343


 
Never carry any "weapon" that you are not prepared to use. If you do it will only give you a false sense of security and in the long run someone will take it from you and stick it up your a**.
 
Flashing a knife is a good way to get to see muzzle flash. It's a foolish practice in the world we live in.
 
May I carry a "tool" that I am prepared to use, should it be needed, in my pocket, with a clip, and not intimidate anyone? That's all I do every day. Does anyone have a problem with that?

 
RRRIIIIGHT, I believe Brian brought up my question, if the knife was clipped in his REAR pocket, how then did the agressor (don't know enough to call him a BG here guys
wink.gif
) notice that your friend had a knife at all?
But I digress. My personal thought on this issue is this: For an individual with a strong survival instinct, a no.2 pencil will work as well as any other (non firing) weapon one could carry (conealed, EASILY
wink.gif
). But for those whom lack this instinct, only a locked and loaded Mini-Gun would provide any help. You can usually see this quality in the eyes, or maybe I'm just a knuckle dragger that would rather crush some wanna be BG with my bare hands, than have to deal with the legal implications of waving a knife at him to back him down.

Thus endeth the sermon.
 
In Oregon, I can use deadly force against you, including a gun, if I reasonably belive that you have

1) A means to cause me a great bodily injury.

2) An opportunity to do so faster than I can reasonably escape.

3) The intent to do so, and to do so immediately.

Openly displaying a knife (and a knife is not concealed in Oregon if any portion of it, even just the pocket clip, is visible) opens the first gate.

Means is also the simpliest of these three conditions to establish. Opportunity can be debated and intent is certainly open to interpretation. But, "I saw that he had a knife," is an undisputable statement of fact.



------------------
Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.4cs.net/~gollnick
 
This is intresting. I carry my knife either in my front pocket (clip exposed) or in a Rip-Off case on my belt. Either way, most people seem to think it's a really small cell phone! Maybe they're inimidated that I can call 911 for help if they attack me!
wink.gif


~Mitch

 
When I first started carrying a knife I was all too eager to show it off. Now I'm a little wiser. I've only used a knife for indimidation once and I have no plans to use it for that purpose again. I was waiting to use an ATM one evening and it was me and three ruffians. They were laughing and making jokes about how easy it would be to rip someone off at these machines. I'm 6'2" but outnumbered and actually a little concerned. I casually pulled out my MT SOCOM, snapped it open, cleaned my nails, and closed all in a heartbeat. The punks noticed and got real quiet. I made my transaction and left. End of story. I'm glad I had my knife, but as it's been said here before, it's a dangerous thing to carry a knife for intimidation. What if you really have to use it? I carry a knife because it's a tool and I love 'em. Everything else is a fringe benefit.

------------------
"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
 
As in the case of firearms, when you draw your knife -- and you are drawing it to use it and for no other reason -- you have the option not to use it if the aggressor takes flight, backs down, or otherwise stops aggressing. (Is "aggressing" a word?)

That is the only instance in which you should be using an implement to "intimidate." Intimidation should be incidental rather than deliberate.

The larger issue, however, is this: If carrying a weapon of any kind, for any reason, causes you to "walk heavy" (as one gun columnist put it) or behave differently than you normally would, you lack the mental and emotional maturity necessary to carry said weapon.

Razor

------------------
AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.



[This message has been edited by Razoredj (edited 17 December 1999).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top