So... why (not) carry a knife?

V

Voodoosix

Joined
Jun 6, 2011
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127
Im sure most "knife people" have been asked this at one point or another- usually as a follow up to the question "anybody have a knife?", but i just had another experience that speaks for itself as to one of the many reason i carry one.

i work fabricating steel into parts for various applications and many of the machines used to form these parts will remove body parts without flinching if they just happen to be in the way. yesterday i was trying to straighten a part out that was damaged and in a freak split second the part came unsecured in the machine and caught my glove, which in turn yanked my hand into harms way.

i was able to stop the machine but not before the glove was twisted up and pinning my hand inside the machinery. i knew one finger was hurt but wasnt sure how badly as all i could see from my vantage point was blood on the glove. i couldnt reach the reverse button to back the machine off and no one answered my calls for help.

so... i reached for my knife and cut the glove away to extract my hand. having the knife on me didnt save me from injury but it prevented me from being pinned with my hand in a machine for 30 minutes- the reason no one answered was that everyone had just gone to lunch and i was alone (didnt realize this till i was free).

this is now the second time in a year that ive had to pull a knife to TCB when there was no one else able to help. the other time was after a motorcycle crash i was the only person on scene with a knife to cut up a tie down strap to fashion a sling for a broken collar bone,... and it was my collar bone!

so my Al Mar SLB and Victorinox Cadet have secure spots in my collection and my reply when people ask me why i carry a knife is- "why do you not carry one, instead asking to barrow mine?"
 
Sounds gruesome. In any case, here's a relevant thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ST-to-pry-open-the-car-door-after-an-accident

That seems like a pretty good reason to have a knife. In my case, I carry mine around because it just makes day to day living easier, and just in case of an emergency, like what you or threefeathers there went through. Also, self defense, though I do practice enough common sense to stay out of situations that would necessitate it.
 
When I was growing up in the deep south a hunnerd years ago, there was something wrong with you if you didn't carry one.

Glad yours was handy and hope your hand will heal up nicely.

The moral of the story is "Carry what you think you'll need rather than what other people think you should carry".
 
The human race didn't survive hundreds of thousands of years without knives or fire. While it's true that modern convenience has made immediate access to these essential tools less necessary than they were even a few decades ago, they're not useless (not by a long shot) and are still convenient to have on hand.

And of course, having the right tool can save lives. Or, at least, save the day, if only in some small way.
 
When I was kid, my dad grounded me because I took off on my favourite horse with just a cheap SAK clone and spent a couple of days in the nearby mountains. He wasn't pissed off because I'd left without permission, he was angry because I hadn't taken a proper knife. :)

To be completely honest, the main reason why I carry knives and tools is because I like them. I believe in being prepared but I also admit that enjoy putting together first aid kits, picking out knives and flashlights, etc. and I also like it when I get to "save the day" with one of my gadgets. I probably could do without a knife on most days, but I'd rather have it on that rare occasion when I do need it. Same goes for all the other stuff I carry. I only needed the needle and suture in my FAK once, but boy was I glad to have it!

This is one of the best replies to the "Why do you carry a knife?" questions (I'm sorry I didn't get to meet the author):

"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off. The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place. I wear a wristwatch whether or not I have an appointment to keep, and I carry a pen and/or pencil because I am a literate person whether or not I have a specific writing task ahead of me, and I carry a knife because I am a human and not an ape.

A knife comes in handy for all sorts of random tasks that involve separating matter. Like cutting a string, or making a sandwich, or opening a package. It can also come in handy in an emergency, which need not involve a human assailant, and emergencies are by their nature unforeseen, so one should carry a knife all the time.

And in a perfect world where nobody needed a weapon, I'd probably carry a slightly larger knife, because it wouldn't scare people."

-- James K. Mattis
 
What surprises me most are "knife guys" who don't have their knives on them. I know he gets a lot of flack but I like when nutnfancy does his knife checks and people don't have them. I know a bunch of dudes who love to talk about knives but when I ask what they got on them I get a blank stare.
 
Out of curiosity, why are you wearing gloves around a machine with rotating parts? Granted, I don't work in a machine shop, but I refuse to wear gloves of substance (i.e anything but nitrile) when I'm working on fans, pulleys and other various hand crushers and finger grabbers. That goes for rings, or anything loose that could get caught (a tie, baggy sweater etc).

You are fortunate that you had your knife on you though! Cool story.
 
Franciscomv said:
"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off. The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place. I wear a wristwatch whether or not I have an appointment to keep, and I carry a pen and/or pencil because I am a literate person whether or not I have a specific writing task ahead of me, and I carry a knife because I am a human and not an ape.
Click to expand...
LOL. I catch sh*t from people at work if I DON'T have a knife, a pen and pad, and some way to track time. I get those 'contractor' notepads for free every time I hit up a wholesaler. Every where I go, I have a pen, paper, flashlight, knife and watch (or cellular phone). My carhart pants have a perfect pocket for notepad and pen as well as a good flashlight pocket. My knife I keep on my belt.
 
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