Random encounters with fellow knife nuts

Maybe it's a regional thing or because of the type of people I work and socialize with primarily, but I run into people who are into knives all the time... A lot of fellow coworkers of mine in EMS, Fire, LEO, and military are into knives. Some carry cheap, no-name knives and don't know much about them. But a good percentage are into knives, carry nice brands (Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw, etc), and will strike up conversations on knives with you. Every time I see a knife clipped to someone's pocket--be it a patient in the back of the ambulance, ER nurse I'm giving report to, all of the other EMS/Fire/LEO I'm on a scene with, etc--I generally ask what it is and if I can see it. From there the conversation continues. I have coworkers that produce their own knives for personal use and also to sell locally. I have several friends and coworkers who are really into knives and we literally start talking about them every time we see each other. I can think of at least four separate conversations I've had about knives with different people at work and at home in the last two days. To me, it's a normal everyday conversational topic.
 
One of my co-workers who is above my pay grade had been mentioning how he wanted a Microtech Halo, but I figured it was just a rich guy wanting Jack Bauer's knife, or whatever.
But then the other day he stops by my desk and busts out one of these...

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So I showed him my Ritter Grip scales from Igorded that I recently scored. Now I have at least one other guy at the office who knows about high quality knives
 
I do have a coworker who owns 2 ZTs, a 0303 and a 0450, so we chat about knives often. I will take credit for getting him into higher end blades as he saw several of mine and asked for recommendations. He's been eying my Manixs lately...it's only a matter of time before he's spyder bitten.
 
Almost everybody I work with carries a knife, only a dozen or so of my co workers are real knife nuts though. Working for a knife manufacturer puts you in touch with a lot of people with similar interests, but surprisingly a lot of employees are ambivalent toward knives.
 
Love to read these stories! To bad it is kind of frowned on carrying a knife where I live... I still carry one :) at least one..
 
I was peeling an Orange one day with my Spyderco pm, and a colleague asks to have a look- turns out he collects knives.
We get talking, and I ask to see his collection.
Turns out to be a bunch of cheap stuff- fantasy knives, swords and f aux tactical stuff.

Another colleague walked past with a smirk one day and showed me his "score".
A marked down Gerber Bear Grylls folder, which was to be added to his collection.

Not a long conversation there.:rolleyes:
 
I've run into quite a few "knife guys" depending on how you define the term. One company man I worked with had a Sebenza 21 and a Hinderer that I couldn't identify with him. Another had a 940 with the tip broken off (I was actually impressed at how high up he had broken the blade). I've also run into a few guys with some really beat up Griptilians. And then there are the guys who see my BM or Spydercos and proudly show me their S&W or Gerber.
 
I work with a guy whose son works for Benchmade... now he's got a pretty nice collection dating back to Pacific Cutlery. He typically carries a Kershaw Scallion and his wife a 940 Osborne.
 
Every day all over the Bay Area I run into people "with their clips showing". Yesterday at one of the number of Whole Foods stores I call on, both the beer buyer (CS Voyager)
and the tap room manager (ZT 0561) EDCd nice knives. I mentioned knives and our theirs popped to show me.

I see a lot of pocket clips around Oakland, Berkeley and the whole SF Bay Area.
 
Met a friend of a friend a few years ago who asked me about the knife I was carrying. She promptly went out and bought a benchmade and now has a few Kershaws and a custom knife or two.
 
I always see pocket clips, but I tend to look at the person and judge whether or not it's even worth it to ask them about it.
Like I said, more often than not, the visible pocket clip is attached to a Husky folding box cutter in the pocket..... :rolleyes:
You can imagine, the conversation pretty much ends at that point lol
 
I've seen some Benchmade and Spyderco clips in people's pockets from time to time, or Kershaw. But I haven't gotten the chance to talk to anyone about them. One day I'll run into someone ready to talk it up about knives.
 
Aaand no such luck for me really but i love the topic although i once saw some guy carrying what appeared to be a sebenza 21 but with the clip inwards and the knife hanging right out...did not really feel like a chat
 
Old man Silas said:
Aaand no such luck for me really but i love the topic although i once saw some guy carrying what appeared to be a sebenza 21 but with the clip inwards and the knife hanging right out...did not really feel like a chat
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hey, when you spend that much on a knife, gotta show it off, right?? :D
 
I had a company sponsored cookout today. I yanked out my Spyderco Pac Salt black blade to cut up some sausage with and a guy from corp asks "What kind of knife is that?" I said Spyderco and he yanks out a Tenacious and says "someone told me me when I first started here I had to get a Spyderco" I was amazed because usually it is Benchmade and then $10 cheapos I see on co workers
 
I've run into a couple of knowledgeable knife guys here in GA. As luck would have it, they're both Strider users. One was a park ranger up at Amicalola Falls SP. I was going through a wilderness survival course and he pulled out his Strider fixed blade for the fire making part of the course. He actually spent a few minutes talking about the importance of having a good knife with you in the wilderness and talked about blade steels and grinds for a short time.

The other encounter was with a store clerk at Clyde Armory in Bogart, GA. I was in there a couple of months ago trolling for Emersons and ZTs when he came over to help. I noticed the Strider clip in his pocket and he pulled out a lego SmF. I had an SnG-CC that day so we talked and compared Striders. I did end up leaving the armory with a new ZT 550, though.
 
billym said:
Every day all over the Bay Area I run into people "with their clips showing". Yesterday at one of the number of Whole Foods stores I call on, both the beer buyer (CS Voyager)
and the tap room manager (ZT 0561) EDCd nice knives. I mentioned knives and our theirs popped to show me.

I see a lot of pocket clips around Oakland, Berkeley and the whole SF Bay Area.
Click to expand...

Really? I live in the bay area and have seen exactly zero knife clips, let alone anything half decent. I guess I don't hang around whole foods enough :P.

I did know a guy at work that carried what appeared to be a Kershaw wild turkey, but no pocket clip on that one.
 
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