Someone's reaction to my EDC

faramir said:
She likes you :D She wouldn't be picking up that deadly weapon otherwise ;)
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Well, she's very sweet, and very cute, but she's also very under 18, so don't get any ideas.

I just thought of another weird reaction to my knife carrying. We have a customer, probably our best customer (at least once a weeK) whom I've known for 4 years. I showed him my MT Scarab, and he said "wow, that's one hell of a weapon". Now, I know for a fact that when this guy walks in to my store, he's CCWs a .38 Airweight in his pocket. So he's no sheeple. Maybe because he's consciensous about defense he thinks of a knife as a weapon, not a tool, but it still struck me as a strange reaction from him.

I got a similar "weapon" reaction from my new boss. And this guy's a retired (or Reservist maybe) Air Force Master Sergeant (E7), who was assigned to Security Police.



One of my favorite reactions was from a girl in a school project group who called me a "hick" for carrying a knife. To me a "hick" knife would be a Buck 110 or something (no offense to 110 carriers)...not a $150 balisong.
 
I am always amazed at how people get ideas into their minds and believe their ideas exist in reality when it is culture, not fact, that shapes what is right and wrong, good and bad. Reality can't seem to compete with the perceptions of us stuffed up, fallible humans.

Slightly off topic but still relevant, when I went to high school here in Australia in the 60's, most high schools had a army cadet unit. At my high school we also had a armoury full of well maintained and functional 303 rifles and even automatic bren guns. The school even had its own rifle range on the school grounds. We used 22 barrels in some of the 303 rifles regularly on this rifle range. Weapons practice at a larger rifle range was normal for high school students in the cadets. As a cadet, I remember firing everything from 22's, 303's, SLR's, bren guns, owen sub-machine guns. I was doing this from 13 years of age. This was as a member of the army cadets at a high school in an inner suburb of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia - a country that is now anti-guns and knives. I don't even think the present generation of Australians would believe that something like what I described was a possibility. It would be beyond their imagination and belief. Yet it was accepted as normal in my youth in Australia. Now you pull out a 3 inch pocket knife to cut an apple in Australia and you are viewed as having the potential to be a homicidal maniac. In fact, it is possible you could be arrested. Simply amazing. Who is right and who is wrong. I give up. I'm just bewildered. :confused: By the way, if you live in Brisbane, the high school was Balmoral Heights S.H.S.
 
I just ran into this last night at work. It doesn't happen often but when it does boy does it torque me off! I was using my BM-710 to open up some food packaging and the woman who sits beside me said (in a somewhat contemptuous tone) "Why do you carry that thing anyway?" I was completely dumbfounded, since I was in the process of using it to open up a FREAKING POPCORN BAG at the time in question, but I digress. Seriously, what activity performed with a knife is less threatening than food prep? This was especially shocking coming from this woman since she's used my EDC to cut up her lunch before and even commented how useful it was at the time. Granted, I was carrying something different that day, I think it was my Para-military, but still! A knife's a knife for crying out loud! :rolleyes: One more for the clueless sheeple ranks.
 
A few weeks ago while visiting a friend of mine, I pulled out my Victorinox Recruit to open a bottle of beer. Another guy and his girlfriend are watching. My friend asks if he can see the knife, so I pass it over to him... He opens the large blade examines it. The other guy asks me, "Do you sharpen that?" I nod.... Just as my friend closes the large blade on his index finger and cuts himself (not badly, but it bled).

So the guy's girlfriend starts telling me that sharp knives are dangerous and I shouldn't keep mine so sharp so things like that don't happen! :eek:

I listened to her rant for a minute or so, and said, "Knives don't cut people. People cut people." and smiled sweetly.

... which was bad, because I then found out she's VERY anti-gun... but that's another story. ;)
 
'Scuse me while I whip this out! .... Aayyyhh!





When a visitor considered my small folding knife dangerous in the house one day, I went into the kitchen and produced a 12" cooking knife. Oh, that's OK, I guess ...

I dunno. Maybe it's like when you see a woman in a bikini walking on a city street. It's so much sexier looking than when she's on the beach in the same getup. Well, maybe there's better comparisons, but I can't think of one at the moment.
 
BuckyKatt said:
A few weeks ago while visiting a friend of mine, I pulled out my Victorinox Recruit to open a bottle of beer. Another guy and his girlfriend are watching. My friend asks if he can see the knife, so I pass it over to him... He opens the large blade examines it. The other guy asks me, "Do you sharpen that?" I nod.... Just as my friend closes the large blade on his index finger and cuts himself (not badly, but it bled).

So the guy's girlfriend starts telling me that sharp knives are dangerous and I shouldn't keep mine so sharp so things like that don't happen! :eek:

I listened to her rant for a minute or so, and said, "Knives don't cut people. People cut people." and smiled sweetly.

... which was bad, because I then found out she's VERY anti-gun... but that's another story. ;)
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Sounds like she needs a boyfriend with a higher I.Q.?
 
The Last Confederate said:
Sounds like she needs a boyfriend with a higher I.Q.?
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Sounds like she might have trouble getting a boyfriend with a higher IQ! :)
 
ROFL, a guy at work wanted to see my little Hoffritz and handed me his knife to look at (Case 3 blade wtih yellow bolsters). I said "Careful you don't cut yourself, it's sharp." "Snap." "Don't tell me. You just cut yourself!" "Yeah, I had my finger in the way." (fortunately, the spring is pretty worn so it doesn't close with much force so it was just a superficial slit that hardly bled) I swear, people are eager to do exactly what you tell them not to! ^0^

As for people's reactions, I don't think knife people always help their own image all that much. Maybe you and I consider a knife to be a tool, and I wouldn't think anything of a guy wandering around with a small sebbie and a leatherman on his belt (especially if in jeans or work clothes... might be a repairman, roofer, carpenter, carpet layer or whatever), though I would wonder why anyone would tote a large bowie around in the middle of a large city (no bears to skin or trees to chop). I do wonder about some of the people on this board who are constantly asking about tactical / fighting knives, sword canes, etc. who obviously seem to have something on their mind other than historical curiosity, camping, making or collecting.

I mean, I even understand those who want a particular knife just to admire the artistry or workmanship (like holding a Mont Blanc pen or a hand made tanto with a fascinating hamon, or a beautiful hand made table etc.) But there are those who just seem to want the biggest bad-assed wicked looking knife in fhe valley so they can intimidate their friends, or as a magic talisman to create an illusion of personal safety. Just who is it that buys those shirken (throwing stars), sai and those knives that look like they were made for gutting aliens? Urban ninja? Some of these people do make me uneasy because they ARE thinking of knives as weapons rather than an all-round utility tool.
 
My cousin is the District Attorney back home.
At a party for my fiance (now wife) one of my relatives saw me pull out a Spyderco Ladybug to open a gift box.
Her eyes bugged out and she looked at my cousin the DA.
"He can't have that here. He shouldn't have that anywhere."
DA looks back and says, "Then should I have this?" As he pulls out his Endura.

Made my weekend. :D
 
Planterz said:
Well, she's very sweet, and very cute, but she's also very under 18, so don't get any ideas.
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Umm, serious condition ... but she'll grow out of it, i'm sure :D

I agree with what some folks pointed out - i might comment on a knife as well, but in joking manner and/or admiration, if i like it. Perhaps more people out there do that thanyou'd expect, making you believe that they're sheeple who are afraid of knivesand yet they carry a loaded handgun with them all the time ?
 
It's my experience that most people are so removed from manual work and "times of old" these days, that the thought of carrying a pocket knife seems odd to them.
And the media is doing their best to make sure that people are scared $hitless of knives that a person can carry "covertly"! Sure, a Strider folder will freak people out way more than a small SAK, but some people still can't understand that a knife can be used as a tool and a weapon in the same way a screwdriver can!
I have lost count of the times people have commented negatively on my knives! Most of my coworkers have whined about them, but only until they needed something cut, then the whining stopped!
My (otherwise very sweet) mother-in-law once looked totally frightened at my Fällkniven F1 and said something like "Good lord, that is a terrible weapon!" I smiled, went into the kitchen and got my 10" carving knife, placed it next to the F1 and asked her "why is that a weapon if this is a kitchen knife?" She actually thought about it for a while and admitted she wasn't thinking about what she said, it just got out as a natural thing!
Last time she was here, my Anso dagger was sitting at the coffee table. She picked it up, looked at it and said "Nice! I bet that cost you, eh?" :D

yuzuha,
I think you've got a point! Flashing the biggest, baddest and most "made for cutting up your abdomen and ripping your intestines to bits" knife, doesn't help our cause!
Besides, I get a good laugh every time someone asks me to borrow my knife expecting something wild - and I hand them my SAK Recruit!
One of my shooting buddies did that yesterday. He just stared at the SAK and asked me if that was all I was carrying! I say "yep, that's it"!
He just shook his head and said the guy standing next to me, "Better put Bo out of his misery, he's not doing too well!" :eek:

Bo
 
The Porcupine said:
Besides, I get a good laugh every time someone asks me to borrow my knife expecting something wild - and I hand them my SAK Recruit!
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I only have a couple of utiltiy knives, but I do leave my SOG X42 autoclip and BM 910HS at home (I kind of like that fake tanto point for box cutting and such)... thought I'd compare them, but can't decide which I like better. Think the SOG has a nicer shape and is easier to open and close, but like the BM's M2 steel better than the SOG's BG42 (though BG42 is interesting compared to other stainless... my brother was a welder/machinist and drug home bits of O1, D2, A2 and all kinds of different stainless steels, so it sort of fascinates me how iron can have so many different properties depending on the impurities and heat treatment).
 
I've been carrying a Superknife (I'm poor) on the outside of my Fatboy for about 6 months now with no comments. Then again, the fact that I have this clipped above it might confuse/distract people too much for them to say anything.
 
Carthage said:
My cousin is the District Attorney back home.
At a party for my fiance (now wife) one of my relatives saw me pull out a Spyderco Ladybug to open a gift box.
Her eyes bugged out and she looked at my cousin the DA.
"He can't have that here. He shouldn't have that anywhere."
DA looks back and says, "Then should I have this?" As he pulls out his Endura.

Made my weekend. :D
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:D :D :D

That really make my day!!!
I've been thru all that crap and more.... Ending up using a Leatherman Juice now to save myself the constant ribbing and explanations. But I still carry the Spydie G-10 Police as a back-up (just don't use it when there's people around...).

I like you and your cousin already!!

Sean
 
By far, the most obnoxious reaction to my EDC was, "Does that make you feel like a man?" :rolleyes: Nevermind the fact that I was cutting a rope some idiot tied too tightly. :rolleyes:

Next time I get that line, my reply is going to be, "Only when I kill a bear with it."
 
I live in the EXTEMELY KNIFE UNFRIENDLY northeast....and I have consistenly gotten the "you can't have that, it's a concealed weapon" comment for even the tiniest of folders, like a Victorinox Classic or a Robeson 3-1/8" long wharncliffe pen with a 2" blade.....sheeple....sheesh....

And the interesting thing about the gun comments is....I think that guns are actually more socially acceptable than knives.....I learned a long time ago to NEVER bring up my knife collecting hobby with sheeple...even though I collect only antique pocket knives that are true working knives like barlows and stockmen and whittlers.....no folding hunters or straight knives, nothing even remotely tactical.....

And yet I have heard people at upscale gatherings discuss handgune ownership and target shooting....but if I showed them some of my barlows, they would think I'm some kind of insane mass murderer.

It could be that guns are seen as "legitimate" weapons, whereas knives (all knives) are "hoodlum" weapons....I just don't know.
 
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