The sheeple haven't taken over!

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Joined
Jun 9, 1999
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4,729
I had a good laugh today as I was arriving at work. I work in a military unit that conducts operations 24/7, so one group is always leaving as another is arriving. I've only been here 3 1/2 months, but I'm already known as the guy with the knives. Today that was a positive thing though. Apparently the day shift had a picnic today, and no one had a knife for the cooking. One of the day shift workers told me as she was leaving that it was too bad I wasn't there, she was sure that I could have helped. I just laughed and said yeah, I'm a handy guy to have around for stuff like that. So see, there's hope yet, the sheeple don't rule completely! Anyone else have any good stories of blade appreciation by the uninitiated?
 
In my family I'm the only guy into knives. Since Iwas about 12 they've always ribbed me for it, "psycho", "Did you show your new girlfriend your knife collection?", "You did? Are you getting serious?", etc. Every year all the fellas get together for a weekend camping thing and starting about two weeks ahead, I get calls from both my brothers, my dad, my uncle & cousin: "Make sure you bring a knife for me."
 
Yep Roadrunner, moments like that are priceless. Does worry me a bit thought that the sheeple mentality is creeping into the armed forces. :eek: You would think if anyone could appreciate the value of knives, both as tools and weapons, it would be the folks in the military. In the ever so PC environment I work in, I'm generally thought of as "the weirdo with the knives", but every so often, when a birthday cake needs cutting, or a tyvek envelope refuses to yield to the state issued letter openers we all have, I feel a tap on my shoulder and a meek little voice saying "can you help me with this?". Feels goooooood when that happens. :D :D
 
I don't think it's a "sheeple" thing, more of a "you are all psychos for carrying nine knives" thing. ;) I know very few guys that DON'T carry knives. I sure as hell don't know anyone that's ever been freaked out by someone cutting something with a knife. It think a lot of times it has more to do with the demeanor of the knife carrier. When you read nothing but Blade and Knife World in the break room, while whipping out your new Sebbie and doing the Knife Dance(TM), you're gonna get looked at weird. :D I don't know of anyone that carries a knife that is a "knife guy". They're just guys that carry knives. Important distinction to make.
 
I'm the go to guy in my family/friends too. A few other guys carry knives, but not reliably. I'm the one they count on to always have a knife and a multi tool.

Folks who haven't known me very long give me greif about it. Especially when they find out that I carry a knife AND a multi tool at the same time ALL the time. So I give them a hard time as often as possible for hassling me, and eventually they get over it, or move on down the highway...It helps when your at a party and they hear the rallying call for the first time, "WHERE'S MATT? WE NEED A KNIFE!" :D
 
Originally posted by black mariah
I don't think it's a "sheeple" thing, more of a "you are all psychos for carrying nine knives" thing. ;) I know very few guys that DON'T carry knives. I sure as hell don't know anyone that's ever been freaked out by someone cutting something with a knife. It think a lot of times it has more to do with the demeanor of the knife carrier. When you read nothing but Blade and Knife World in the break room, while whipping out your new Sebbie and doing the Knife Dance(TM), you're gonna get looked at weird. :D I don't know of anyone that carries a knife that is a "knife guy". They're just guys that carry knives. Important distinction to make.
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Not that I owe you, or anyone else an explaination of how I conduct my life, but did you ever stop and consider for one moment that Texas is NOT the world? That there are other places where attitudes concerning certain things may be different? For example, I lived for many years on Long Island, nobody, I repeat nobody, rode around in a pickup with a rack of guns in the rear window. Moved up to the Catskills and darn near every pickup on the road had one. Now am in the Albany area, and gun racks are few and far between - area and attitude. Regarding knives, I carry one, I repeat one, in my pocket. Up until a couple months ago, it was always the same knife, a Buck 501, hardly a "tactial folder" by any stretch of the imagination. Recently I've been carrying other knives, but again, never more than the one at a time.

The only other knife I carry is the little Schrade LB-1 with an inch and a half long blade on my keyring. It's fine for cutting a loose tread, but not much good for anything else. I keep it there mostly as a reminder of the hypocracy that I endured for five years working in a prison where, on the one hand any knife with more that a 2" blade was forbidden, and on the other even we mere "civilian employees" were expected to have the means to cut down an inmate who hung up and, to cap it off, we issued box cutters to inmate workers serving life for murder. Where I work now the people are mostly liberals and, despite what you think, a few of them really can be freaked out by idea that someone may have a knife in their pocket. On the other hand, most of them know which three guys to ask for a knife when they need one, just like I know a couple people I can ask for a needle and thread when I need them.

Finally, FYI, I'm too cheap to buy any knife magazines, besides which, being a smoker, spend my breaks standing outdoors having a smoke, not sitting around reading.
 
I am known for my knives among my friends and co-workers, but instead of always asking to borrow mine they have gradually been coaxed into acquiring (or been given) decent knives of their own. These days when someone says "Anybody have a knife?" there are always half-a-dozen offers. It makes me proud! :D

--Bob Q
 
Incidentally, I have learned that when people ask me what knife they should buy I have to be very careful about price. If I tell them what mine cost they often give up. But if I suggest low-end, but good quality, knives they go get one. And many of those will eventually upgrade to something fancier and better.

The Spyderco Delica ($45) is almost always my first suggestion. If someone balks at spending that much I suggest they pick up a Kershaw Vapor ($25).

And for those who don't see the need for a "big" knife I point them toward the Spyderco Jester or Kershaw Chive.

Once someone gets used to carrying a knife every day they inevitably realize how useful it can be.

--Bob Q
 
No sheeple in my family :D My dad carrys a MT UT6, and I always have at least one sometimes up to 5 on me at a time. The wife has one in her purse, mother in law too. Father in law carries 3 regularly and about 6 more in his truck. My 11 year old carries a spydie meerkat on the weekends and during the summer. He knows to NEVER take it to school. You should see the looks we get when we are out and he "spydie flips" it with a loud pop and says.."here dad".."use mine":D :D
 
the only one in this house without a knife is my older sister...

bought my dad one 2yrs ago for father's day, and he also has a small multi he bought in walmart(4 tools and the pliers) that he carries. he also has his pipe knife on him all the time, so he's bound to have 2 on him anyways).

bought my mom one fo the small multis in walmart 2yrs ago, she carries that in her purse... also carries the spydie ladybug(clippoint 50/50) I gave her for a xman gift(also in purse)... and now I gave her a buck minitool last weekend thats on her keys.

I've got 4-5 on me, d/p on what they are...

and my sister will be getting a crkt rollock for her bday... can't be offended with that, and she's always asking to use my dragonfly(2.25" pe) for cutting tags off her kid's toys and clothing.
 
I'm afraid that sheepleness does exist even on Army posts. At my last duty station, the PX stopped carrying anything but small pocket knives. No fixed blades or machetes anymore. When I asked about it, the lady told me that the manager didn't think it was a good idea to sell "weapons." Granted, this is a civilian manager but I still have to marvel at his logic:

'Oh yeah, tanks and mortors and machine guns are all well and good, but somebody could get hurt if they had machetes...'
 
Originally posted by The Deacon
Not that I owe you, or anyone else an explaination of how I conduct my life, but did you ever stop and consider for one moment that Texas is NOT the world? That there are other places where attitudes concerning certain things may be different? For example, I lived for many years on Long Island, nobody, I repeat nobody, rode around in a pickup with a rack of guns in the rear window. Moved up to the Catskills and darn near every pickup on the road had one. Now am in the Albany area, and gun racks are few and far between - area and attitude.
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Dude, there's no reason to jump up my ass for what was intended to be a humourous post. Yes, I know quite well that there is much more to the world than Texas. Surprisingly, I even understand that America isn't the only country. You also have to understand that the D/FW area isn't the cowboy-laden cow pasture that some make it out to be. This is a rather large urban area, filled with all types of people and opinions, and I still haven't met anyone that was freaked out because someone carried a pocket knife. If I whipped out a knife to cut something and someone DID say something, I'd give them my combo "you're an idiot"/"go to hell" look, which is something kinda like...
eek13.gif
 
I am a member in a fishing club,who goes on fishing trips some times every year. On those trips when it´s time to clear out the fish and split fire wood,the people follows a behavior that has become a pattern. They look around and asking eachother:-Does anyone have a knife? Does any one have an axe? They have hightech fishing gear,digital cameras,and some of them brings chairs and tables with them,but when it comes to knives they don´t have any with them.

It usually ends with that they search after me,and borrows knives of me so they can clear out their fish.I always carry a Gransfors Bruks small axe in my back pack,and it to gets to use.I usually also have a bowie with me,and at first look at it,they laugh and calls me Rambo.But when the times comes to remove some bush,they quickly finds out how good it is to chopp with,and the laughs ends.I also always has a Leatherman Supertool with me to loose fish hooks and to open bottles,and so on. The Supertool sees frequently use to.

Manowar
 
Yeah, it's known that I carry a knife at all times. However it is pretty ironic how the people that object to it most ask for me to cut things the most.
 
I think it depends on where you spend your time. I've lived in the rural South most of my life, and EDC knives are an everyday normal necessity, generally noticed by none. About like a shotgun but a little more common, at least for carry. I imagine if you hang out in prisons then knives are frowned on, or uncommon if you're heading to the 17th floor everyday. But if everyones' idea of a good time is stalking Bambi, building a fire, and grilling it outside, then real tools are a necessity. But it is nice when someone says "No, I need a sharp knife, where's Joey Ray"?
 
Originally posted by Matteo Escobar
Yeah, it's known that I carry a knife at all times. However it is pretty ironic how the people that object to it most ask for me to cut things the most.
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:eek: Hardly ironic, as they're the ones without the knives...

:rolleyes:
 
Among my family and friends everyone knows who to come to when they need a knife. The thing that amazes me though is that, even after all these years, none of them ever saw the need to aquire and carry their own. It doesn't sink in with most people.
 
I sometimes work as an outdoor guide for kids/corporate team-building camps - the place we usually go to doesn't require a knife necessarily (although I beg to differ, of course). One time, I whipped out the CQC7 (discretely of course) to cut-off a saltwater immersed, bunched up duct tape (couldn't tear it off with the fingers) which was around a kid. The kid didn't raise an eyebrow - my fellow guide did - haha. The funny incident though, was when another guide just hollered to me for my knife when he wanted to cut up some wild mangoes for the clients. I don't know how he knew I EDC-ed one as I'm usually very discrete. But nobody complained cos they were busy gorging themselves on the mangoes. The pulpy flesh gunked up my knife though, and as usual, they didn't bother to wipe/rinse it off before returning it to me - sheeple!!!
 
I am in the process of converting my wife into a knife knut... she carries a Chive with her in her purse, and I recently had Craig Camerer make her a nice little bird and trout that will hopefully go into the purse so she can have a little "more knife" with her. I now have video proof of her ENGINEER brother asking to use her knife (again) when the family was recently on vacation. Anybody who knows me, knows that I have a knife on me... at least when I have my pants on. And since my wild rugby days are behind me, my pants are always on when I'm in public.;)
 
I don't lend my knives. If someone's too thoughtless to carry their own, they certainly can't and won't be trusted with one of mine. Invariably, when I've lent one, even to other knife owners, I am disturbed at the results....
 
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