The Importance of a Knife

"Good reason" to carry a knife, by James Mattis.

There are jurisdictions out there, i.e. the UK, and individual authority figures who may ask you for what reason you carry a knife. ("For protection" is the wrong answer!) As if you needed a reason ...

"Good reason?"

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 unforseen, so one should carry a knife all the time.

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

(For some longer thoughts in this direction, visit Daithi's essay at www.knives.com )

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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
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This topic reminded me of CS Pocket Bushman i shown to my dad. Now he's not the average chap that likes sharpies but he sure knows how to build a cabin and renovate the entire side of house.
That said of his selection of tools and materials to get the job done.
The moment i told him about the blade he was leaving for other stuff and he wasn't at all interested until he saw how the unlocking worked.
The loud noise of attaching the folder to ready use just made him grabbed the darn thing and said : Son, this is mine.
 
Shotgun said:
There's good evidence to suggest that Homo Sapiens would not even exist without the edged tool. The edged tool was critical in the evolution of the human species. One of the members here wrote a great essay on this subject. Sorry but I no longer have the link.
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Anthropologists will tell you that tool-making on the H.sapiens scale, chipping flint and weaving baskets, put a premium on the eye-hand coordination that encouraged nervous system development and intelligence.

That's why smart people like knives. :D
 
No, actually, chimpanzees have been seen routinely stripping leaves and side branches off a slim branch to use it to fish termites out of their nest.

We are Homo sapiens. Hating on Homo sapiens is our favorite intramural sport.
 
My grandfather gave me my first knife when I was five years old and I have carried one every day since. That was over fifty years ago. It was a right of manhood back in those days and I still feel naked if I don't have one on me.
 
jackknife said:
Once upon a time, long ago when I grew up in this country, if a man had pants on, he had a pocket knife in one of the pockets. Not that it was a dire need, but it does make life easier if you have to open a package, or have something to cut.

Then once or twice in your life, a life may depend on a sharp edge. Not often, but it does happen. Twice in my life, I need a knife to free someone from a bit of trouble. The first was a child who got a loose shoelace stuck in the treads of an elevator. It got to the top and was pulling the child's foot in at the top. The sheepsfoot blade of my Buck stockman cut the laces, and the kid got off with some bruises on her foot. The second time, the driver of a car passed me on a winter morning going like a bat out of hell, hit an icy patch and spun the car, then rolled it coming to rest against the guard rail upside down. I had to crawl in and cut the belts holding the infant init's car seat, then cut the over weight mother loose. With all her weight on the seat belt, I didn't have a bionic thumb to press hard enough to get the buckle to release. I used the Buck stockman to cut the seat belt so she could flop free.

I'm 70 years old, and in my time on this rock, I needed a knife right then because nothing else would do. It was there in my pocket. I don't think I ever will be needing a knife again that badly, at least I hope not, but life is like a card game. You never know what hand you're going to be delt when you walk out your front door in the morning. Better have a sharp cutting tool and not really need it much, than not have it at all. A small pocket knife does not weight much, but sometimes nothing else will do.

Carl.
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Nomination for post of the month. If only there was such a thing.....
 
JayGoliath said:
The moment i told him about the blade he was leaving for other stuff and he wasn't at all interested until he saw how the unlocking worked.
The loud noise of attaching the folder to ready use just made him grabbed the darn thing and said : Son, this is mine.
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You are a good son! :D
 
I just like knives. Nothing important about that. I also like nice shoes - how about that? And as far as I know nobody from my ancestors was a shoemaker. So just a hobby - good variety, nice objects to collect. Aren't they?
 
I live on a college campus, and no one notices when I have a knife clipped to my pocket. But it never fails when I take it out, someone will ask "Woah, why do you have a knife?" and look at me like I'm from another planet. But every time I bring out my knife, its to use it. So my usual response is just "to cut this, obviously".

Its like they don't realize that you can cut things with a knife; that knives make pretty good tools.

I carry one because I occasionally need to cut something, and I've always carried one.

~Robert
 
I live on a college campus, and no one notices when I have a knife clipped to my pocket. But it never fails when I take it out, someone will ask "Woah, why do you have a knife?" and look at me like I'm from another planet. But every time I bring out my knife, its to use it. So my usual response is just "to cut this, obviously".
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We have this talk about gentleman's knife recently; See when you took out the knife, did you flick/wave or unfold it in the old-fashioned way?
I found out many times whenever i carry a SAK which required engagement into the slot to pull out slowly VS flicking a Millie, the latter will most likely to cause "whoas" whilst the 1st one was more like an electrician getting his tools out.

And yes i totally hate it when someone took it from you and started experimenting it by cutting steel wires or whacking stones, had it chipped and told you your knife sucked!
 
See when you took out the knife, did you flick/wave or unfold it in the old-fashioned way?
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It depends on what knife I carry, but I usually opt for the slow just using your thumb to push the blade all the way out. I mainly carry a para 2, bm 940, or a manix 2. I never need to 'flick' my knives open, speed isn't necessary to cut a box open or a loose thread from a t-shirt. I've tried to carry a slip joint or a sak, but I like the convenience of something that can clip to my backpack or pocket and is one hand opening.

~Robert
 
To me a knife is a symbol of trust, because my grandpa trusted me when I was 7 and gave me his very old (1940's) SAK.
To me a knife is a symbol of independence, because I can go off in the forest by myself with my knife and I know how to survive.
To me a knife is family tradition, my grandfathers on both my parents side carried knives, my dad carries a knife and I carry multiple knives.
To me a knife is man's most useful tool.
That is all.
~Tyrone.
 
In mythology, Thor's hammer is where his power lies. Without his "tool" he is weak, but with his hammer he can overcome nature. It is the human condition to not only use tools, but to need them. We gave up fur, claws, and fangs for cutting tools. Without tools, we are less capable than other animals, we cannot survive.
 
Take all knives and cutting tools off your person and within reach and see how long you can go before you need to cut something.

This is how the non-knife carrying people have to live :rolleyes:
 
No thread can beat a thread where Jackknife tells some stories...
Back to the OP, I don't think 'vital' is the proper word. but surely a knife is a very handy tool, and can be useful in a wide variety of situations.
Why is that? In my personal opinion it's because a knife allows u to perform tasks that u wouldn't be able to perform without it. Some of these tasks may be trivial, other might be crucial, depending on the situation. Still, I believe that's the main reason.
:cool:
 
A knife cuts sure, but more importantly it is a tool that makes other tools. Toothpick, splint, spear, trap, cup, spoon, what else can you think of? Carry a knife and you carry it all.

And as if that weren't enough, I just like the darn things.
 
It's not....... only time a knife is really important for me is when I'm cooking in the kitchen.
 
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