SAK in Blended movie - other movies that portray a knife as a tool and not a weapon?

Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
168
Over the weekend i saw the movie "Blended" starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It was a decent enough movie, but not as good as Godzilla (double feature) :tyrannosaurus:

In one scene, one of Drew Barrymores characters kids has a helmet stuck on his head because the strap is broken. Adam says "one of the benefits of working at a sporting goods store: a swiss army knife" and proceeds to pull out his SAK (was too quick to identfiy), and cuts the strap so the kid could take the helmet off.

It got me thinking, what other movies and shows have portrayed a knife in a good light, as a tool to get a job done, and not a weapon.

Im sure this thread has been done before, MacGyver and SAKs immediately comes to mind, so i apologize in advance, but thought it would be fun to have this discussion again in May, 2014 :)
 
Well, The Saint (Val Kilmer grade B movie) featured a knife that the main character used that was very much a tool. It had a knife blade, and it folded open so that the Saint could access some tools inside, like lockpicks. I feel like I've seen other movies where knives were seen more as tools rather than weapons, but I'm drawing a blank right now.
 
Big Ass Spider!

The exterminator in this movie uses a knife several times to cut the big ass spider's web.
 
Will Smith uses his Benchmade Auto Stryker to cut himself free from the spring trap the zombies set up in "I Am Legend".

Sly Stallone uses his Spyderco Endura in "Daylight" to cut himself free of a harness.
 
There was a film staring Antony hopkins .I don't remember what it was called .but Antony Hopkins was in a plane crash in the wilds with is wife's bit on the side :D .he uses a traditional looking lock knife throughout the film .his wife had given it to him for is birthday .dose anybody know the name of the film ?
 
Over the weekend i saw the movie "Blended" starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It was a decent enough movie, but not as good as Godzilla (double feature) :tyrannosaurus:

In one scene, one of Drew Barrymores characters kids has a helmet stuck on his head because the strap is broken. Adam says "one of the benefits of working at a sporting goods store: a swiss army knife" and proceeds to pull out his SAK (was too quick to identfiy), and cuts the strap so the kid could take the helmet off.

It got me thinking, what other movies and shows have portrayed a knife in a good light, as a tool to get a job done, and not a weapon.

Im sure this thread has been done before, MacGyver and SAKs immediately comes to mind, so i apologize in advance, but thought it would be fun to have this discussion again in May, 2014 :)

That is a confusing mindset. Nothing wrong with seeing and using a knife as a weapon.. No reason for a bad light there.
As you say.. It is a tool, tools wing used to get a job done. The job I require done is being able to defend myself, and where I work, a knife is the best tool for that job.

Is there really a mindset where using and carrying a knife for defense is bad...?
 
That is a confusing mindset. Nothing wrong with seeing and using a knife as a weapon.. No reason for a bad light there.
As you say.. It is a tool, tools wing used to get a job done. The job I require done is being able to defend myself, and where I work, a knife is the best tool for that job.

Is there really a mindset where using and carrying a knife for defense is bad...?

I don't think they meant to say that a knife as a weapon is bad, but there are consequences to that being all they are seen as being used for and seeing a knife used for utility (compared to being used for violence) is a rare thing in movies.

For me there are two potential issues. The first is that I don't want someones first thought to a pocket knife to be "weapon!". Pocket knives have a lot of uses and self defense is way far down there on the list but often first in peoples minds and that effects legislation and my rights.

The second issue is that people who do think of using a knife for protection often have zero training. They just get a big knife because it's easy and think they are good to go. They aren't.
 
I don't think they meant to say that a knife as a weapon is bad, but there are consequences to that being all they are seen as being used for and seeing a knife used for utility (compared to being used for violence) is a rare thing in movies.

For me there are two potential issues. The first is that I don't want someones first thought to a pocket knife to be "weapon!". Pocket knives have a lot of uses and self defense is way far down there on the list but often first in peoples minds and that effects legislation and my rights.

The second issue is that people who do think of using a knife for protection often have zero training. They just get a big knife because it's easy and think they are good to go. They aren't.

Exactly Styg. I wasnt saying that a knife is not a viable self defense tool by any means. I do not like how so many movies have portrayed knives as having one use- to kill. More people get their opinions from what they see on the tube, causing them to assume that the guy carrying a 2.5" bladed Buck Squire has nothing but murder on his mind. Perhaps he just needs to cut a helmet off a kid... this is the kind of application that people are too quick to forget because 75% of the time they see a knife outside the kitchen it is used to hurt people, good or bad.
 
That is a confusing mindset. Nothing wrong with seeing and using a knife as a weapon.. No reason for a bad light there.
As you say.. It is a tool, tools wing used to get a job done. The job I require done is being able to defend myself, and where I work, a knife is the best tool for that job.

Is there really a mindset where using and carrying a knife for defense is bad...?

Yes.

Actually there is a mindset where knives are bad period.




Not here though.
 
Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In one scene Indy pulls out a pocket knife out of his pocket so that he can free Marion Ravenwood who was tied up by the Nazis. Of course, he ends up leaving her there so they won't come looking for them.. ;)
 
Do TV shows count? If so, House has used a knife a couple of times for non weapon uses, Elliot Spencer on Leverage used a folder for non-weapon uses a couple of times as well as using a machete for actual trail clearing, and I know Captain Cragen on Law & Order SVU once pulled out a folder for some mundane use. And of course there's plenty of knife use on NCIS, both offensive and mundane.
 
Last edited:
The Boondock Saints. When the brothers were selecting their gear Murphy went with a First Blood Part 2 style of knife, but it wound up being used for cutting rope when they got tangled up.

Predators is another example. Merc guy with the shotgun was using his knife for clearing jungle underbrush along the path.
 
Back
Top