So you're happily surprised to find out that someone EDCs a knife...

My point about talking about quality was the concern of the possible lock failure. If you felt the lock was unsafe, would you mention something about it? How would you talk about it?
 
I find myself being nice most of the time. I mean the plus is that if the person carries a knife, thats one more person in the world that won't look at you funny for carrying a knife. Obviously if they're going to be smug about how much more expensive my knife is I might not be as friendly anymore.
 
This is a great post--probably we've all been there but never thought much about it. Maybe the best approach would be to say something like 'that's a good design [which being a knockoff, it probably is] but one of these days you should think about upgrading to a U.S. or Japanese made model that will hold up better under stress."

I'm hesitant to criticize someone for carrying a $10 knife, since I am irrational in the other direction. Usually I carry two knives, a medium size folder and a small sheeple-friendly William Henry. Together they cost me close to $1000, which admittedly is crazy since I'm certainly not a wealthy guy. The good news is that I almost never have lost a knife...
 
Most of the people I know who carry knives are carrying knives I gave them, e.g., Kabar Doziers, Byrd Meadowlark, Frost moras, etc.
 
I have pointed out unsafe knives to the people using them. I have seen someone jab his hand with a cheap Pakistani knife that was dull. I gave him my knife to finis cutting with and he was impressed with it's sharpness. I told him "you get what you pay for". Sometimes that is all that needs to be said.
 
I'm usually too stunned that someone besides me is carrying a knife, so I usually don't say much. If they ask, I'll talk to them more (or if they're abusing it or are being unsafe) but making a big deal out of knives in public is generally not a good idea.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to tell someone their lock was unsafe. I would rather be rude than have them cut their fingers off. Then they'll yell at me anyway because I'm supposed to know about knives and stop them from cutting their fingers off!
 
Not trying to jack your thread, but is t really that uncommon to see other people carrying knives? Where I'm at in Indiana many carry a knife like a wallet or keys.

In regards to junk knives... I have to admit I owned a few flea-market bargains in years past and feel for those who think they are carrying gold. However most of my buddies get stary-eyed with those same flea market pos knives. Most of them can't tell the difference anyway.

I'm no car nut, but I have friends who are passionate about cars and think my auto decisions are junk, but they don't fault me for not being as passionate and knowledgeable as them. In my eyes it still gets me from point A to point B. To them if it has a blade and "kinda" cuts well, then it's a knife. Who cares who makes it or how much it costs.

From my view its all about perspective.

-K
 
younggun21 said:
Not trying to jack your thread, but is t really that uncommon to see other people carrying knives? Where I'm at in Indiana many carry a knife like a wallet or keys.
Click to expand...

Yes, for some of us, it is pretty rare.


Who cares who makes it or how much it costs.

From my view its all about perspective.

-K
Click to expand...


As I said in the original post, I wasn't referring to quality in terms of "mine is better than yours". I was referring to a knife that may have lock failure because it was so poorly made.
 
Great thread:thumbup:. Most reasonable and realistic thread I've read in a while. Usually I have to "read" a person to see if they are interested enough in knives to want to see what I'm carrying. Before I drift off into name brands, I'll start with the OP's question.

If I see someone stabbing stuff with their folder I'll tell them to watch their hands and to treat every folder as if it were a slip-joint. After that it just depends on their response. If the person is actually grateful for my concern, they might let me take a look at it. After that it's all knife talk.

If they respond rudely, such as,"yeah, yeah, and what the hell would you know," then I can see where whipping out the $200.00 and up knife would pop in along with a little blade steel slap in the face (theirs being "surgical stainless" and mine being some form of tool steel ie. S30V or D2). Actually happened at work a while back. The guy looked so stunned at my knowledge of knives that he was speechless and actually got along better with me after that. Older journeyman don't seem to think us electrical apprentices know anything except where the tool room is :rolleyes:.
 
Oops, almost forgot what happens if the conversation goes good. The lowest possible brands that I'll mention if their price range is $30.00 and under is Gerber and Buck. I'll also mention that if they are willing to spend just $10.00 more, they could have a spyderco native from wally world.

I'll mention locks and pros and cons to them as well.
 
It all depends on the situation. Usually I don't really say anything when somebody whips out a cheapie.

I've only had one situation I can think of where somebody found out I liked knives and proudly presented a frost knockoff and asked me what I thought of that. The guy was a jerk so I told him it was worthless. I'm not sure what I would have done if he was a decent guy.

On the other hand, just sharing knowledge is good. When I met my roommate, he carried a hunk-o-junk Gerber paraframe. After seeing some of my stuff, he has a Benchmade and a couple of Kershaws.
 
kjbenner said:
On the other hand, just sharing knowledge is good. When I met my roommate, he carried a hunk-o-junk Gerber paraframe. After seeing some of my stuff, he has a Benchmade and a couple of Kershaws.
Click to expand...

I see you "saved" your roomate and showed him the light :D. 9 times out of 10 I'll just say, "nice knife ya got there," and just go on about my business.
 
Kaizen1 said:
My point about talking about quality was the concern of the possible lock failure. If you felt the lock was unsafe, would you mention something about it? How would you talk about it?
Click to expand...

lolwut? :jerkit: no... its not up to me to worry about the safety of somebody else''s knife (that I'm not even using)... :rolleyes: just because you think its low quality doesn't mean the lock is gonna fail... the only knife I've ever had that had a lock failure problem was a spyderco Lum tanto... so should I go mention what a dangerous POS knife it was to everybody that I see with a spyderco? or should I just put a vid on youtube (again)???? lol... :p
 
I just know that what they EDC isn't probably the "best of the best" out there, and that's enough for me, besides I respect their choice and freedom to have made such a choice, which in the end it means that I say very little, like "there's always something better out there" or I say nothing at all about their EDC knife. Certainly I don't congratulate them, as I think that that would be hypocritical of me.

Best,

Edalb
 
It basically depends on what they use the knife for, and how is the relationship. If SD ever enters into the equation, educating on better steel / design is important. If only for daily cutting, it doesn't really matter, and I might talk about how to sharpen properly, etc.

By sharpening, they'll find out the cheapies are not up to it, and will be willing to learn more ..

By relationship, as someone mentioned, if he's a jerk, there's no point educating him .. let him learn the hard lesson :D
 
Assuming I see a guy/gal whipping out his/her knife and I spot danger due to possible lock failure (don't ask me how, I'm padding out the initial scenario here) then I personally will TRY to inform the guy/gal.

However I always start off by asking initially if he/she wouldn't mind me giving some advice. Whatever happens next depends on his/her answer. I have adviced people regarding other issues (piled foundation driving and design for tall buildings) that I was not a part of. The result was a safer foundation for buildings and reduced (not nil, hey I'm in a 3rd world country here!) accident rate. I think the end justifies the means somewhat in this case. Even if I get told off as a smart alec then so be it, I have satisfied my own principles.
 
It's pretty uncommon where I live to see people carrying a knife.

Regardless, I would never insult someone elses taste or choice of purchase.
 
Well, no, I usually wouldn't call someone's EDC a piece of crap, even if it was. I would, though, point out that it's good to see someone carrying a knife when it's needed, and might toss out some random recommendations for "prettier" (but actually just overall better quality) knives "just in case you're interested." Most often, though, just showing what I'm carrying works to inspire some "Wow, that's a lot nicer than mine, how much did that cost?" reactions, and after that, it's easier to discuss the matter in more detail.
 
ahgar said:
I'm getting to the point where i don't care what kind of knife they carry as long as they have some type of sharp steel on there person. I'm constantly amazed by the young guys that hire on here and don't carry any knife at all. I've carried a knife everyday of my life since i was little and i haven't been little in a looooooonng time.
Click to expand...

That works for me too . . .
Good. bad or indifferent, first you have to carry a blade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top