"That's a nice little pen knife ya got there!"
I don't know how many times I've heard that, usually when I take out a modest size pocket knife to cut something in public. Just the other day, I was in Home Depot and wanted to get some line. I reeled off some nylon line from the roll they had hanging there, and a few other people were in that section. I took out my knife and cut the line with one very neat stroke.
"That's a sharp little pen knife ya got there."
The comment was dropped by the older man, maybe mid 50's, gray hair and khaki's. He was looking at the Case peanut in my hand, and I just nodded and put the knife away and went and paid for the line. There was a time that I may have corrected him, and explained that it was a serpentine jack, and a pen knife has blades pinned at opposite ends. But for sone rash I've got tired of explaining it, and I get the feeling it really doesn't matter to the non knife person. If they were a knife person, they may have known. Or maybe not, in the case of the younger modern knife crowd.
I was coming out of Pep Boys with a jug of Rain-X windshield washer fluid. I like to run that stuff in the car's washer tank instead of the blue stuff, as it really helps in the rain. Great visibility. I take of the cap and there's this foil seal that has to be cut out, so I take out the Victorinox classic hanging right there on my keyring, and neatly slice around 3/4ths of the circumference of the top. There's a guy parked next to me adding some tranny fluid to his car, and he looks over and remarks "Boy, it's handy to have a sharp little pen knife, huh?"
I'd been coming out of the nursing home, Oh excuse me, the assisted living home, while visiting my elderly Aunt Esther. I think the average age of the inmates is someplace around 90. There's nice little old lady sitting on a bench enjoying the sun with her walker parked next to her, and as I pass by, she holds her hand up to get my attention.
"Excuse me young man, can you help me?"
I ask her what can I do, and she holds out a granola bar.
"My old fingers can't get the wrapper off, and I forgot my little scissors in my room."
"No problem at all, ma'am." I tell her, and take out my trusty peanut. With one careful swipe of the main blade, the wrapper is slit across the top, and I hand her the now open snack. Her eyes must have been still very sharp, because she looks at the knife and asks what kind of blade that is. I explain toher about damascus and she is really staring at the peanut. I take a chance and hand it to her, and she gets it where it's in focus for her bifocals, and then she says, "My, what a pretty little pen knife. It's almost like a exquisite piece of jewelry."
I look down at her, snow white hair, startling blue eyes still sharp enough that at a few feet she saw something different in a knife. I also figure that she's someplace between ninety and a hundred, and I don't have the heart to tell her it's a jackknife and not a pen knife. I thank her and wish her a fine afternoon.
I guess being a knife knut, I've always been tempted to correct people when they seem to bestow the name 'pen knife' on any small pocket knife. I've had my SAK tinker and recruit called a pen knife, my Buck stockman called a pen knife, my peanut called a pen knife. In fact, I've had just about every knife I've ever carried, called a pen knife by someone at one time or another. I really don't care that much, but I suppose it's some kind of comment on society that every small knife is called a pen knife. Living in Maryland I suppose I should be grateful for than. The generic term works for the benefit of knife carrying folks in Maryland, in that there is no specified blade limit in this state. INstead, any knife is okay to carry, as long as it folds in the middle and is there for classed as a 'pen knife'. The only knives actually prohibited here are those specifically named as having a button or switch to activate a sspring loaded blade, or double edge dirks/daggers, or sheath knives concealed from view. We had an interesting court case where the judge ruled that an Opinel number 12 was indeed a pen knife, and there for legal. The case against the young man was dropped, and the arresting officer reprimanded for not knowing the law.
So I guess in all consideration, I should be happy to have any folding knife looked at as a pen knife. The term is such an innocent sounding one, so if I concede that I collect 'pen knives', I guess I won't be looked at as a potential Jack the Ripper.
A rose by any other name still opens the mail.
I don't know how many times I've heard that, usually when I take out a modest size pocket knife to cut something in public. Just the other day, I was in Home Depot and wanted to get some line. I reeled off some nylon line from the roll they had hanging there, and a few other people were in that section. I took out my knife and cut the line with one very neat stroke.
"That's a sharp little pen knife ya got there."
The comment was dropped by the older man, maybe mid 50's, gray hair and khaki's. He was looking at the Case peanut in my hand, and I just nodded and put the knife away and went and paid for the line. There was a time that I may have corrected him, and explained that it was a serpentine jack, and a pen knife has blades pinned at opposite ends. But for sone rash I've got tired of explaining it, and I get the feeling it really doesn't matter to the non knife person. If they were a knife person, they may have known. Or maybe not, in the case of the younger modern knife crowd.
I was coming out of Pep Boys with a jug of Rain-X windshield washer fluid. I like to run that stuff in the car's washer tank instead of the blue stuff, as it really helps in the rain. Great visibility. I take of the cap and there's this foil seal that has to be cut out, so I take out the Victorinox classic hanging right there on my keyring, and neatly slice around 3/4ths of the circumference of the top. There's a guy parked next to me adding some tranny fluid to his car, and he looks over and remarks "Boy, it's handy to have a sharp little pen knife, huh?"
I'd been coming out of the nursing home, Oh excuse me, the assisted living home, while visiting my elderly Aunt Esther. I think the average age of the inmates is someplace around 90. There's nice little old lady sitting on a bench enjoying the sun with her walker parked next to her, and as I pass by, she holds her hand up to get my attention.
"Excuse me young man, can you help me?"
I ask her what can I do, and she holds out a granola bar.
"My old fingers can't get the wrapper off, and I forgot my little scissors in my room."
"No problem at all, ma'am." I tell her, and take out my trusty peanut. With one careful swipe of the main blade, the wrapper is slit across the top, and I hand her the now open snack. Her eyes must have been still very sharp, because she looks at the knife and asks what kind of blade that is. I explain toher about damascus and she is really staring at the peanut. I take a chance and hand it to her, and she gets it where it's in focus for her bifocals, and then she says, "My, what a pretty little pen knife. It's almost like a exquisite piece of jewelry."
I look down at her, snow white hair, startling blue eyes still sharp enough that at a few feet she saw something different in a knife. I also figure that she's someplace between ninety and a hundred, and I don't have the heart to tell her it's a jackknife and not a pen knife. I thank her and wish her a fine afternoon.
I guess being a knife knut, I've always been tempted to correct people when they seem to bestow the name 'pen knife' on any small pocket knife. I've had my SAK tinker and recruit called a pen knife, my Buck stockman called a pen knife, my peanut called a pen knife. In fact, I've had just about every knife I've ever carried, called a pen knife by someone at one time or another. I really don't care that much, but I suppose it's some kind of comment on society that every small knife is called a pen knife. Living in Maryland I suppose I should be grateful for than. The generic term works for the benefit of knife carrying folks in Maryland, in that there is no specified blade limit in this state. INstead, any knife is okay to carry, as long as it folds in the middle and is there for classed as a 'pen knife'. The only knives actually prohibited here are those specifically named as having a button or switch to activate a sspring loaded blade, or double edge dirks/daggers, or sheath knives concealed from view. We had an interesting court case where the judge ruled that an Opinel number 12 was indeed a pen knife, and there for legal. The case against the young man was dropped, and the arresting officer reprimanded for not knowing the law.
So I guess in all consideration, I should be happy to have any folding knife looked at as a pen knife. The term is such an innocent sounding one, so if I concede that I collect 'pen knives', I guess I won't be looked at as a potential Jack the Ripper.
A rose by any other name still opens the mail.
