"Tacticool" vs "Pocket Man Jewelry"

danbot said:
I think it has more to do with the stigma that these companies' advertisements create in the minds of the non-knife knut population.
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Without getting into the rest of the post, as a knife owner I don't like mall ninja tacticool either.

I liken it to this: as a young man I certainly drank, did stupid things, and chased women. Sometimes all at once because I'm versatile and multitask. But I didn't get as loud, stupid, and out of hand as the frat brother types (not all frats, but you know the kind). I never did like those kinds.
I'm not saying I'm classy, just that I don't stay too long or get as deep on the other end.

I don't mind true 'tactical' in context, depending on the person carrying it. People who think it makes them somebody to pay attention to? They have my disregard
Same for "full dress" anything. Expensive things do show you can throw money around, but it doesn't make you somebody of consequence.
"Tacticool" - knives that look 'tactical' while actually looking showy-dangerous and giving up practical ability? Is it because the owner wants to look dangerous, doesn't know better/the crowd they are in, or was it the cheapest way to have something sharp - and they had a need? No respect for the first. The last is because of money/availability. The second is lack of knowledge.

Since both tacticool and full dress are to make a certain impression on others, they are different sides of the same coin. Different mistaken ways to achieve a shallow end.
 
Ourorboros said:
Since both tacticool and full dress are to make a certain impression on others, they are different sides of the same coin. Different mistaken ways to achieve a shallow end.
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:D
... tacticlol blades are also good for when the teenage basement ninjas go "WooShaa!!" before they drift off into their imaginary fantasy operator world.

I'd imagine, pocket jewelry (knives) are only rarely used for that purpose:)

They can be used for bolstering your confidence and for showing off though and thats almost as good:D:D
 
Ima carry my Cold Steel Immortal, lord of tacticool folders today, just for you. And because I like it. :D

I'll carry my Spyderco Urban lightweight, too, 'cause I like it, too. ;)

Might switch it up and carry the M. Nieto folder I have, with damascus blade and olive wood inlays later on, because I like it, too. :p

What can I say, I'm versatile enough that all manner of knife folks can look down on my choices. :cool:
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Ima carry my Cold Steel Immortal, lord of tacticool folders today, just for you. And because I like it. :D

I'll carry my Spyderco Urban lightweight, too, 'cause I like it, too. ;)

Might switch it up and carry the M. Nieto folder I have, with damascus blade and olive wood inlays later on, because I like it, too. :p

What can I say, I'm versatile enough that all manner of knife folks can look down on my choices. :cool:
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All the jokes about tacticlol and jewelry aside, there has to be room for fun knives, which just makes you smile - knock yourself out:D
 
I'd buy a Spyderco Urban Lightweight in a heartbeat BTW. Great knife.

The CS Gladius ..., I mean Immortal... is nuts.....but I bet a lot of fun.
:)
 
My 2cents to the OP...to each his own. I don't presume to judge or be pretentious to anyone else's taste. Variety is the spice of life. It's all good! Unless we are talking about squirrel tacos...then all bets are off.
 
Let’s be honest, anything beyond an Ontario Rat 1 or perhaps a Delica is “pocket man jewelry.” I don’t care if you use it daily or “hard” a $200+ Knife with carbon fiber, super steel, anodized hardware, polished bronze washers or bearings, a $40 custom pocket clip and a drop or two of $20 oil in the pivot is “pocket man jewelry.” Very useful, but still pocket jewelry!

My Benchmade 940-1, Crooked River, Southern Grind Spider Monkey, two sprint run PM2s, Hinderer xm-18, ZT 0560, WE Knife 705, etc. are all EDC pocket jewelry. They all get used but they don’t do anything that my $28 Rat 1 couldn’t handle.

I enjoy pocket jewelry! Most if not all of you are fooling yourselves if you say otherwise.;)
 
And to anyone/everyone saying buy what you like, etc. I said as much in my initial post - We all like what we like. I was curious why one end of the spectrum (people who like tactical - ish knives) get pulled in by the gravitational weight of the tacticool crowd, but there seems to be no similar level of amusement for the extreme end of the pocket jewelry spectrum.

There were some good points made - that in fact the mall ninja, basement operator types with YouTube videos make a lot more noise and make knives, and knives of a certain type, seem dangerous to non knife people. Also, I was not thinking about the fact that there are lots of actually ridiculous non practical for use knives that are labeled tactical, so other knives (and knife collectors) get tarred with that brush as well.

augustus88 said:
Let’s be honest, anything beyond an Ontario Rat 1 or perhaps a Delica is “pocket man jewelry.” I don’t care if you use it daily or “hard” a $200+ Knife with carbon fiber, super steel, anodized hardware, polished bronze washers or bearings, a $40 custom pocket clip and a drop or two of $20 oil in the pivot is “pocket man jewelry.” Very useful, but still pocket jewelry!

My Benchmade 940-1, Crooked River, Southern Grind Spider Monkey, two sprint run PM2s, Hinderer xm-18, ZT 0560, WE Knife 705, etc. are all EDC pocket jewelry. They all get used but they don’t do anything that my $28 Rat 1 couldn’t handle.

I enjoy pocket jewelry! Most if not all of you are fooling yourselves if you say otherwise.;)
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And while I am not going to invalidate your opinion, I was talking much further along the spectrum before things become pocket jewelry. I should have posted some picture, but I didn't want to use anyones photos without permission.
 
I know you were thinking something fancier and more outrageous looking, but my point is that all of us think that the stuff we have is acceptable and practical. The fancier stuff we don’t own is pocket jewelry.

In reality, the average non knife person would consider most knives we purchase on this site as pocket jewelry. Just like those non knife people, we tend to criticize or poke fun at people that buy things outside our acceptable zone. We then label them as “pocket jewelry” or “tacticool.”

We’re all just fooling ourselves to justify spending crazy money on stuff that we don’t need yet makes us happy.

Of course nothing I own is tacticool or jewelry. ;)
 
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I just looked up Jim Skelton, his videos are sometimes over 30 minutes long! That's a man who likes to hear himself talk. If you can't review a knife in less than 5 minutes there is something wrong.
 
unwisefool said:
I just looked up Jim Skelton, his videos are sometimes over 30 minutes long! That's a man who likes to hear himself talk. If you can't review a knife in less than 5 minutes there is something wrong.
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I agree with your observations. This guy makes Nutn tolerable.18275199_1331644893592941_3736698578705488868_n.jpg
 
Personally I could care less. It doesn’t affect me.

If a guy wants to carry jewelry or something tactical I don’t care. Just like some guys drive a Prius and other guys drive a jacked up Tundra. They’re still Toyota’s ya know?
 
Even the haters of mall Ninja gear own mall ninja gear themselves. It's the biggest hypocritical thing around the knife industry. It mainly comes down to advertising etc. Certain stuff is marketed to certain demo-graphs.

This is how my dad basically became a knife collector.
 
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needler420 said:
Even the haters of mall Ninja gear own mall ninja gear themselves. It's the biggest hypocritical thing around the knife industry. It mainly comes down to advertising etc. Certain stuff is marketed to certain demo-graphs.

This is how my dad basically became a knife collector.
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True, I have some foam nunchuks around somewhere.
 
I believe geographic factors may also tie into your topic. What I mean by this is you probably wouldn't want to carry a Voyager XL or something of that nature down a ritzy street (or maybe you would...). Rather, if you were strutting down main street, you would probably want something stylish, maybe jewelry-feeling, hanging off of those khakis. However, if you lived in a rural community then maybe something more utilitarian or tactical would be more fitting. Again, this all comes back to what each individual needs and wants.
 
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