self-defense misconceptions

puukkoman

puukkoman

Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
6,997
hey, everybody.
i'm not new, i'm returning. used to post here some years ago, but can't remember my old password or handle.

so, to the topic at hand. knives for self defense = knives getting a worse rap. what are your thoughts?

i think that, although it makes sense on some level to carry a knife to protect oneself, it's silly when you look at it from a larger perspective. the reason that guns have a bad rap in the eyes of the general public is their widespread use in perpetuating violence.

do we want to risk the same with our knives? we respect them as tools, obviously, and should we not keep that sacred? knives + violence leads to increased creeped-out-ness of non knife knuts.

peace.
 
I am not responsible for someone else's mental aberration. I am responsible for my own defense. I will carry what I can to assist me. If that means one of my knives gets some @$#%'s blood on it, too bad for him.

The more of us who carry reponsibly and let people around us understand why, the better. We have left discussions of the topic to the wienies long enough.

A knife is not my preferred weapon or reflexive choice of a defensive system. But I will not carry a folding butter knife just to reassure people who want to live in a child-proofed world.
 
Agree 100% with Esav on this one. If I'm being assaulted and I need to pull out my knife to defend myself, the last thing I'm going to worry about is the politics of using a knife for self defense. I'd hope that it would even put a positive spin on knives in the media for someone to defend themselves with a knife from some scumbag.
 
right on.
should've expected indignation.
this isn't intended as an attack. i also deal with people misunderstanding my knives and my reasons for carrying them.
i just know what bad publicity can do, and wanted to spread some awareness about where bad publicity can come from (knives used in violent ways, for example).
i don't like scumbags either, but the more often knives are used on anyone, the less socially acceptable they will become.
peace.
 
Granted, but I would want to posess an effective knife sans the ninja names and the Ranbo design that will surely sink you in court.
 
All of the weapons that work well are usually unlawful to carry concealed. The ASP baton, any fixed blade knife, handguns, etc. That's too bad. :(
 
What is the sense of retricting carry of a small folder when my Canemasters triple-grip ash crooktop with fangs is legal on board a plane? Now that's a weapon.

The problem isn't in us inadvertently frightening non-knife people. The problem is in the unrealistic perceptions of people who haven't the integrity to stand up for themselves. They're spoiled, they're scared, they're contemptible. If I must conceal my capabilities from them, I will. But I will not respect their choice as moral. Refusing to accept responsibility for their own defense is ignorant or cowardly.
 
Hey no chemcial warfare, MM :D !!!

I don't know, this discussion seems a little moot to me. I carry a knife as a tool daily and if attackt I would most certainly grab whatever is in my reach...inlcuding my knife. I don't think that I will be standing there while making a split-second decision, thinking to myself:"Oh no, not the knife, that might get me in trouble!"

I just hope I will never get into such a situation. But you know, the older I get the more I see that these situations can not entirely be avoided. At least in my life they occure very infrequently....maybe once in 5 years...but you never see them coming. Last one, that was a little too close for comfort was a case of road rage, half a year ago of an obviously insane driver against me at night on an empty road, us two being the only two cars. The other driver got out of the car and approached mine gesticulating obviously in anger. Thankfully, since no one was around, I went into reverse at full speed, turned around and left. But if he would have been not so heavy set, he probably would have gotten to my car before I would have gotten away. I admit, I was not prepared, I did not expect anything like it. He had driven in a rather erratic style before this occured, but I didn't expect him to block me off and I have no idea where his anger at me originated. It happened in a very save neighborhood on my way from work, too.

I am very disappointed that the ASP's are illegal in some places. I think they are the ideal self-defense tool. Being unskilled, I'd rather bash on somebodys arm than attempting a structural cut.
 
I think Esav is right on with his judgement. Besides, why bother pulling a knife when you can have a nice blackthorn stick already right in hand. Impact tool beats a blade. knives are great tools, but last resort in combat.
 
MelancholyMutt said:
Granted, but I would want to posess an effective knife sans the ninja names and the Ranbo design that will surely sink you in court.
Click to expand...

Why, suppose you do use your Dork Ops knife, it just shows you are an intelligent consumer, you even had the forethought to spare your clothes the blood stains since Dork Ops knives have strategically placed blood grooves to control blood spray in covert deanimation activities... :eek: :rolleyes: What? What??? :)
 
Megalobyte said:
Why, suppose you do use your Dork Ops knife, it just shows you are an intelligent consumer, you even had the forethought to spare your clothes the blood stains since Dork Ops knives have strategically placed blood grooves to control blood spray in covert deanimation activities... :eek: :rolleyes: What? What??? :)
Click to expand...

It might be a good setup for an insanity defense.
 
Let's be honest here, many of us carry multiple knives, some of us even carry a particular knife for SD. :eek:

Basically if your not twirlin' your Bali in the Food Court of your local mall, if your not flickin' your auto open in front of a LEO in a non auto friendly state, not threatin' GS selling cookies with your 3 foot United/Gil Hibben Predilicsicator Mark 30, you have the right to carry whatever your local jurisdiction will allow.

It's a sin the the Girl Scouts of America no longer have a GSA Knife, it's a shame that a kid can't take a friggin' butter knife to school,(insert some form of patriotic music here), when I was a kid growin' up in the chemical wasteland of Central Eastern Jersey,(Woodbrige :barf: , Perthamboy :barf: , Sewaren :barf: ) you could walk down the street with a hunting knife hangin' of your belt and nobody said nothin'. Now if you have a sharp pair of nail clippers your a gang banger :rolleyes: .

Bottom line if your discreet, and only pull your Dozier Arkansas Toothpick for a true SD situation,(like when you genuinely feel your life is at risk and this is considered an equal, & appropriate response, bless you.

If your into knives to any degree than you'll probably carry the proper edged too l for the proper application. If not, when you pull out your 12" $7.99 Pakastani Emasculator foldin' Deathshead Scimitar and the person attacking you cut's himself as he removes said knife from your possesion, you'll find yourself in court on an assault with a deadly weapons charge.:rolleyes:

My knives perform a function and usually because like any good tool you get what you pay for, I like medium to higher end knives, so better knives tend to cost a little more, and in some cases have names that are a lot less threatening to the non knife carrying public.

What am i tryin' say here? If you carry a knife be responsible with it, carry a good one, unless your defending yourself always represent your knife in a positive light, and stay away from knives that have killer type names, I have a Beretta/Warren Thomas Carbon Fiber/VG10 Laminated blade Avenger, it is wickedly sharp with a single bevel grind, super light and quick, I don't carry it often because of the name,"AVENGER", I wished they would've called it the "Kitty Groomer", I can see the court transripts now, "Please read that last line back to me,"After you pulled out your 9, he yanked his Kitty Groomer out and proceeded to what?""
 
MelancholyMutt said:
Granted, but I would want to posess an effective knife sans the ninja names and the Ranbo design that will surely sink you in court.
Click to expand...

I think MM and T Erdelyi have already made the point that I'm about to. But why let that stop me? :)
As Esav says, peoples' rights get ground away if they're never used.
I think a lot of the knife phobia in the world comes from knives looking and sounding "scary". There are also knives that are designed and advertised to play up that aspect.
But you could probably kill someone more easily with a nice wedding present, like a George Tichbourne wood-handled kitchen knife in 440C. (It would at least be sharp!)
It's funny how people react to the appearance of different knives. For some reason a lot of people asked me if I could kill someone with my Spyderco Cricket! (I was always tempted to say "Yes, but there are better ways...")
But my serrated Ladybug got gasps of admiration because it had a shiny carbon fiber handle. Whatever.
I'm not an expert in knife fighting, so I don't want to give more serious recommendations. But AFAIK there's no reason why an effective self-defense knife cannot be a good utility knife and have an upstanding-citizen appearance. Very superficial things, like colorful handles and quieter locks, make a big difference in sheeple relations. (A monogrammed present from an old girlfriend is always good too, although steel handles are not ideal for SD.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top