Sheeple friendly features

Color.
few people would fear a pink blade. No matter how menacing a grind it had.
I'd say size is a close second
 
Familiarity and taboo matter most from my experience. Traditional knives with blades in the 3" range and no locks are hardly threatening to anyone, especially if it looks like something you inherited from your grandfather. On the other hand, a switchblade with a 2" blade is far worse given the mechanism involved.

If you want to carry a knife for bigger chores or for defense, don't use it for smaller stuff. Carry a small knife and add to that if you need to. Otherwise you'll be opening a box or slicing an apple with a "weapon" in most people's eyes. If it is legal regardless, then screw 'em... perhaps. Sometimes etiquette applies, too.

Please note that this classifies as "stuff you read on the internet" so I may or may not have anything to say that is of any use in your personal situation.
 
The person using it. ;)

As for the knife itself, if it isn't huge, that helps.
Also, assisted opening tends to attract the wrong sort of attention.
I've noticed that a Spyderco Military opened with two hands is more accepted than a far smaller assisted opener flipping open with a loud "Clack!"


Handle colour also seems to help in many cases, with blue looking "pretty", or yellow looking like a "safety knife."
 
I've been thinking about ordering a Assisted Barrage for EDC, because the ease of opening and coolness factor.

I'll be responsible how I'll use my knives that's for sure, but the public perception is what confuses me
maybe the shootings that have been happening lately are blurring the lines?
 
I find flippers generally are met with a "whoa wtf dude" reaction by the general public. Thumbstuds are way less threatening.
 
Wood scales will greatly reduce the number of looks you get when you use a knife in public.

People associate wood scales with their grandpa's pocketknife. Who could ever feel threatened by their grandpa's pocketknife?
 
These fit the bill for me. I bought the 556 in yellow because at the time I was working in hospitals. Nobody gave it a 2nd look. The purple Dragonfly is 'cute.'
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My sister's Squeak gets far more compliments than anything else - like the Dragonfly.
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Rappy said:
I'll be responsible how I'll use my knives that's for sure, but the public perception is what confuses me
maybe the shootings that have been happening lately are blurring the lines?
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I kindly doubt it. To say nothing of the difference between guns and knives, I'd say the blurred lines are more due to increasing urbanization and a much greater exposure to (mass) media--which when it comes to news or entertainment, include or depict knives almost exclusively as weapons. More and more, many people's only exposure to knives (outside the kitchen) comes from a movie, or a show, or a game, or a news item in which one or more people are stabbed or slashed.
My heart sinks a little when I show a knife to a friend (in his 30's) and his first instinct is to start "stabbing" the air. I'm so glad my father grew up in the woods and passed down to me an appreciation and respect for the basic utility of a good knife.
 
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Your dad grew up in the woods?
Your last name wouldn't happen to be Greystoke Would it? ;)

Seriously though, you make an excellent point.
 
I had a very interesting talk with a woman regarding the BK9 I always carry on my belt. Two aspects made her see the wisdom in carrying such a large knife: the first being that it could be used for clearing out cobwebs instead of your hand, and the second was the length and weight could be used for rescuing a child locked in a hot car since it's summer.
 
Somewhere and some time ago, I read an article by an attorney about features that might help a knife user during a jury trial. Nothing too surprising, he suggested a knife for carry be brightly colored, non-locking, not serrated, not too pointed, and without a thumb stud or other special opening feature. He is probably correct.:confused:
 
Faiaoga said:
Somewhere and some time ago, I read an article by an attorney about features that might help a knife user during a jury trial. Nothing too surprising, he suggested a knife for carry be brightly colored, non-locking, not serrated, not too pointed, and without a thumb stud or other special opening feature. He is probably correct.:confused:
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Funny, I was just commenting that I saw a knife on blade HQ called the "double homicide". However cool this knife may be I would never own it due to the name.
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Blade color is the biggest. Most people are not knife literate so a thumb flick, assisted open or switchblade firing will all have the same negative effect. To a degree, same thing goes for blade length. Handles will be in your hand so their color doesn't matter too much if your blade is shiny or black coated. The knives with the best usability to people friendliness ratio, in my opinion, are the all-orange, all-white, or all-pink Strider SnGs.
 
stabman said:
The person using it. ;)
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This.

I've used an Umnumzaan in public to help out a soccer mom at a sports authority. No gasps, no "omg that's a weapon!". It ended with her commenting on how handy having a knife was. The blade on the Zaan ain't a "sheeple friendly blade" as most would probably say. It's all about how you carry yourself and using your tools responsibly.
 
There are no rules when it comes to what scares "sheeple". It not like the "sheeple" all got together and formed a consensus regarding what they don't like about knives, or what they consider acceptable.

Ones reaction to a knife is a very individual thing. Every person is an individual, and they are capable of possessing their own individual perceptions, preconceived notions, irrational fears, and prejudices. As a result, it is impossible to predict how people will react to any given knife.

I've seen several members on this forum tell stories over the years of people having negative reactions upon seeing a Swiss Army knife, or a Spyderco Laydybug. And sometimes people have these negative reactions just seeing such knives hanging on someones keychain.

A lot of people have an irrational fear of knives, or more accurately, an irrational fear of anyone who CARRIES a knife. And therein lies the problem- irrational people are unpredictable, so there's no way to know what will freak them out.

You might choose a pink-handled slipjoint, and perhaps 99% of the population might not give it a second glance. Or, you just might find yourself in the company of someone who is extremely irrational, or who has an extreme fear of knives (or people carrying a knife) and they will panic at the sight of it.

I carry what I want. As far as I'm concerned the irrational fears of others are their problem, not my problem. Of course I can understand trying to choose a subtle, harmless looking knife if you are choosing a knife for your workplace, or somewhere else that the opinions of others might matter to you. Fortunately for me I don't have such concerns.
 
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Hi. Where I live the only knife with a 100% public acceptance is the Swiss Army Knife. This one is tolerated even by LEO/Police Officers and very rarely, in spite of a strict legislation, is questioned even in urban areas, towns and cities. Traditional slipjoints and folders are generally accepted in a rural/countryside, villages contest. Big fix blades are accepted within mountain hiking/camping scenarios. Tactical folders are generally perceived badly enough from everyone. Colour is not so important.

I have one question, since English is not my mother tongue. I see many of you use the term “Sheeple” instead of “public”. Not understanding it, I searched for a definition and found this one:

Sheeple - A derogatory word that combines the words "sheep" and "people", and is typically used by conspiracy theorists to try to describe a person whom does not believe in their conspiracy theories.

Do the knives hobbyists/experts in USA consider themselves as conspiracy theorist or is something else?
 
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