Stabby? Seriously?

Mistwalker

Mistwalker

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A person at a local store saw me cleaning my finger nails with my KE Bushie after work day before yesterday. They asked what knife and who made it, so I showed them and told them. The first thing they said when I handed it to them was "Ooooh, stabby, I like that". I like it very much too, but stabby? I have heard this term used a lot by video reviewers about other styles of knives, but this worries me on a couple of levels. First off the term stabbing, while mostly associated with fighting, has more than one implication. I "stab" my survival and tactical knives into rotten logs to pry off hunks of punk for fire starting or to look for grubs for fish bait. Doing this with a knife with no guard could be hazardous to the inexperienced. Secondly, I take exception to the negative connotation being applied to bushcraft knives. If the word stabby is going to be such an awesome buzz word for reviewers, I really wish they would limit it to describing knives that at least pretend or allude to being design for survival or combat, and keep their darker implications off of our bushcraft knives before they get the sheeple so freaked out that some day the only knife I'll be allowed to carry to the bush is a damned butter knife. I feel inspired to do a blog post on this.


Stabby? Seriously?

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.
 
"When I was a child, I thought and spoke as a child....."

I think that, for the uninitiated, knives come in two flavors: Stabby and Slicy. Which, from my impression based on similar encounters, relate ENTIRELY to whether or not there is a noticeable curve in the blade. curves are 'slicy'. a relatively straight blade is 'stabby'.

I'm unsure what, if any, conversation you had with the guy who called it stabby, but those are my favorite conversations..especially in that instance. When people see a beautiful knife, and want to see it because of it's aesthetics, the follow up conversation is where you win the battle:

"Well it's certainly pointy, but this is a smaller 'bushcraft' knife. The sharp tip is so you can do small work, like prying opening nuts or cleaning small game. The handle shape here allow you to use some of the various hard working grips, like the chest lever for example. This type of grind is called 'convex' and it allows the knife to be sharpened easier in the field, while keeping the blade safe from knicks and such when you're working with wood. This material is called micarta, which is a process of combining glues and paper products into a hard resin-like substance that can be shaped. A nice knife like this will last you your entire life if you treat it well"


etc...etc....
 
Mist .. you assume people recognize or practice 'bushcrafting' as much or in the same regards as you. Be honest .. most people do not. No clue.

That being said, when someone's initial impression/vocalization is 'stabby' when looking at a knife, then we can assume they instantly regard knives as personal protection/assault .. unless it's in a set, then it's a steak knife.

So .. next time, play along ..

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Bud love your sense of humor
Especially your tag line..... Always go for the juggler
lmao
 
before they get the sheeple so freaked out
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Too late.

If the blade has little or no belly, it's stabby IMO.

People will always misjudge. Unfortunately, changing names, nomenclature, buzz words, or figures of speech will not change anyone's frame of mind. If that were the case we could add the word "happy" to any and everything and people would love and except it.

"Free your mind and your ass will follow."
 
Joe Duder said:
People will always misjudge. Unfortunately, changing names, nomenclature, buzz words, or figures of speech will not change anyone's frame of mind. If that were the case we could add the word "happy" to any and everything and people would love and except it.
Click to expand...

Look at my new stabby knife. I call it my happydagger! :D
 
Actually the conversation...As usual, led to a history discussion, a physical demonstration, some teaching of skills, and the promotion of some common sense. I get that not everyone practices bushcraft, even I am more a student of survival studies than bushcraft..I just tend to forget that common sense aren't as common as they once were. I disagree on perceptions being unchangeable. ..or we wouldn't where we are at with this now.I think Iit's more a matter of whether the subject is met with apathy or met with the willingness to take the time to educate. It's clear that others have their agendas...I just think that if we wish to protect our interests we need to be more proactive and less complacent.

Bud, you may have a point there, then again it may be that I work with companies that make tools for specific segments of the military which are purpose designed for disabling the mechanics of the human body, see FF as my escape from that world, and don't like the feeling that others are dragging that darkness into my escapism :)
 
Yeah, had it been the Asp I had or even a Kephart, my reaction would have been completely different
 
I would try to use a nail file next time to avoid that kind of reaction, I carry a victorinox classic with me all the time for that exact reason. It is your right to use a knife if you choose to but most people are going to have a negative perception if they see you using it in public even though for us knife enthusiasts is something normal.
 
The more people see something out of the norm, the more normal it becomes... in theory.

I wouldn't change a thing.
 
The term "stabby" wouldn't have occurred to me in relation to that knife, had it not been in the title. Just looks like a functional general purpose blade shape. When I think "stabby," I think something like this:

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Joe Duder said:
The more people see something out of the norm, the more normal it becomes... in theory.

I wouldn't change a thing.
Click to expand...

My thinking too. I had a similar comment from a young kid over the KEB model when we were still in Michigan. It concerned me at first, and I switched to the Bushcrafter. I even tried to talk Andy into a small Bushcrafter Jr. for a youth model. BUT the more I carried the Bushcrafter, the more I missed the pointier tip of the KEB when I was in the bush or anywhere else. I am just used to having a finer point to work with for lots of things: digging out splinters or broken-off thorns, picking debris out of abrasion type wounds when irrigation alone won't get it. eating walnuts and hickory nuts, cleaning my nails, making adjustment holes in belts, improvising a water filter, and just getting into tight areas. One day I looked at the KEB and Bushcrafter side by side and thought to myself that both are awesome knives, but why should I give up a finer point that I find more utilitarian in the field, just because of someone else's misconceptions?

I no longer own any daggers other than the old bayonets, but this is the type of thing that comes to my mind when I think "stabby"

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or this...

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I see this as being much more "stabby" than the KEB, and it was production version of this profile I actually started learning "bushcraft" skills with as a teen, and I still occasionally carry this one out of nostalgia of those days and in memory of the awesome mentors I had at the time, and whom I have to thank for my being alive today.

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bronyblacksmith said:
noice knife looks stabby. who made it?
Click to expand...

LOL
 
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