Thinking about open-carrying a dagger

no i get it I wish people wouldnt see them as weapons. I wish we could call it something else when used for SD. I hate it as much as anyone. the criminal is going to do whatever he/she wants. I live within the laws. I hate that a knife or even a gun is called a "weapon" when used as self defense. I think more people need to look past the knife, and look at everything else going on when said "weapon" is seen/being used..... I wish I could carry a butterfly/balisong or a switch blade switchblade is like the best one hand opener you could want
 
Lapedog said:
...Dude is sitting on the hood of his car and pulls out his Spyderco Delica to open something. To the dude walking past with his pet Rottie the delica is just a tool. To a nervous mother who sees he delica it is a weapon. She perceived the man as a potential threat already and now that he is holding a knife he is an even greater one. She might have seen her husband using the exact same Delica and considered it a tool.
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It is all context and subjective to both the person holding the knife and the person observing it. But as you said, there are some knives that have a higher likelihood of being viewed as a weapon. Things like how you hold your knife, how you dress, what's going on in the immediate area... context. I think unless you just like to frighten people, you just pay attention and most of the negative reactions can be minimized. The dagger is different however.... at least to me. But it might be just some dumb kid with his new toy and messing around....
 
I have a Benchmade SOCP, and the edges are so obtuse and blunt that I don't consider it particularly useful for much of anything.

It's basically a large icepick with a ring on the end.

I think you would be better off with a "traditional" fixed blade or a folder with the wave feature.
 
SkrufKnifer said:
no i get it I wish people wouldnt see them as weapons. I wish we could call it something else when used for SD. I hate it as much as anyone. the criminal is going to do whatever he/she wants. I live within the laws. I hate that a knife or even a gun is called a "weapon" when used as self defense. I think more people need to look past the knife, and look at everything else going on when said "weapon" is seen/being used..... I wish I could carry a butterfly/balisong or a switch blade switchblade is like the best one hand opener you could want
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Let's call them SD tools then.
Whatever we call them, your best SD tool is your brain.
 
SkrufKnifer said:
no i get it I wish people wouldnt see them as weapons. I wish we could call it something else when used for SD. I hate it as much as anyone. the criminal is going to do whatever he/she wants. I live within the laws. I hate that a knife or even a gun is called a "weapon" when used as self defense. I think more people need to look past the knife, and look at everything else going on when said "weapon" is seen/being used..... I wish I could carry a butterfly/balisong or a switch blade switchblade is like the best one hand opener you could want
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The best one hand opening pocket knife (in terms of speed of deployment) is a waved knife. The waved cqc7 being a classic example of a waved knife. Of those waved knives the Spyderco P'kal seems to wave the easiet and most reliably.

Mitchell Knives Mitchell Knives my Benchmade SOCP dagger came the same way. Extremely obtuse, plus the grind on the "double edged" models only goes up like an inch. Too bad because in my opinion the SOCP has great potential. Spartan knives does a better version of it.
 
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SkrufKnifer said:
no i get it I wish people wouldn't see them as weapons. I wish we could call it something else when used for SD. I hate it as much as anyone. the criminal is going to do whatever he/she wants. I live within the laws. I hate that a knife or even a gun is called a "weapon" when used as self defense. I think more people need to look past the knife, and look at everything else going on when said "weapon" is seen/being used..... I wish I could carry a butterfly/balisong or a switch blade is like the best one hand opener you could want
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I don't really care for switch blades other than as a novelty. Have a couple and would rather carry something that I might actually use on a regular basis. I mentioned SAK earlier... mostly as a joke but I don't think anyone "got it" (not sure I do either by the way now ;)). I just don't think of carrying a knife as a weapon unless it is something on the order of what Charlie Mike carries (fixed blade) which I could do if I chose to. I don't have any problem with people viewing some knives as weapons as that is their intended use. I would simply not flash such a knife around... like standing in line at Wendy's cleaning my finger nails. If I saw someone doing that in that setting I would suspect there was a reason beyond cleaning one's finger nails. But that's me. Might be some guys just fooling around... It however bothers me that some people might consider a typical modern folder as strictly a weapon.
 
if you are looking for a small self defense blade go with a kabar tdi and a custom sheath for it(many places online offer custom sheaths with soft loops)

or how about one of those cold steel pushdaggers, they are well made not expensive
 
I carry a loaded pit bull...open carry :) I'm on my second one.

Although both dogs are well trained, no threat, nor snarling or vicious, people routinely get out of our way, some even crossing the street. I've had men clutch their babies to their chest at the sight of my one-eyed, battle-cropped, scarred blue nose bitch. She's a sweet heart, loves kids and where I board her when out of town they walk her with the little dogs.

A good dog is a better self defense tool than any gun or knife. Mine sleeps in front of the front door. You can get one at any shelter already trained for about the price of a good knife.
 
brownshoe said:
I carry a loaded pit bull...open carry :) I'm on my second one.

Although both dogs are well trained, no threat, nor snarling or vicious, people routinely get out of our way, some even crossing the street. I've had men clutch their babies to their chest at the sight of my one-eyed, battle-cropped, scarred blue nose bitch. She's a sweet heart, loves kids and where I board her when out of town they walk her with the little dogs.

A good dog is a better self defense tool than any gun or knife. Mine sleeps in front of the front door. You can get one at any shelter already trained for about the price of a good knife.
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The maintenance is more than stropping a knife but you have a point there. :) Deterrence is a great way to ensure you are not chosen as a target potentially circumventing the problem in the first place. Question though, out of pure ignorance of the subject (thank G-d), does visible deterrence matter to those whose minds and psyche's are chemically affected? Can their brains compute the logic of not starting with a big dog? I think the most worrying factor of preparing for trouble (for me at least) is the inability to rely on common sense or logic on the part of a would be attacker.
 
Pomsbz said:
The maintenance is more than stropping a knife but you have a point there. :) Deterrence is a great way to ensure you are not chosen as a target potentially circumventing the problem in the first place. Question though, out of pure ignorance of the subject (thank G-d), does visible deterrence matter to those whose minds and psyche's are chemically affected? Can their brains compute the logic of not starting with a big dog? I think the most worrying factor of preparing for trouble (for me at least) is the inability to rely on common sense or logic on the part of a would be attacker.
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Interesting comments. In terms of deterrence, we do what we can do within the law and within our own set of mores. I like dogs, all dogs, but I am a little uncomfortable around pit bull like dogs, but not to the point of altering my habits unless they show aggressiveness toward me. I don't want to have to defend myself against a dog, any dog and I don't particularly want to hurt any dog. Be that as it may, I think a dog is a great deterrent and a wonderful companion. I don't have enough experience with violent people who are chemically impacted to comment. You have to rely on common sense and logic, but a typical attacker is probably driven primarily by emotions and perhaps need.

About Brownshoe's comment. I would never get a grown pit bull or similar dog at a shelter. I have a friend who works in a shelter and he routinely is attacked by these kinds of dogs. He wears protective clothing to accomplish the things he has to do around the kennels.
 
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My pits come from the street through foster care so I know what I'm getting. I'm a lazy trainer :)

I would have hoped the TV shows and Cesar Millan would have put to rest some of the "bad dog" concepts. Any breed can be vicious and nutty, just like people.

My area is an ignorant kill munipality with breed specific laws; all pits go down in 3 days unless claimed or an organization takes 'em. So any dogs as agressive as your talking about are killed.

Dogs are a deterrant, but they will also protect. The two dogs I've owned that have bit people did so because they were trespassing, dog-ignorant and the master/mistress was not paying attention so the dog was protecting them.
 
From my discussions with paramedics who've dealt with the "chemically fueled" there is often quite a lot of mental capacity left, but its a matter of perception. In areas where paramedics wear blue and black (cop colors) they seem to get rushed more often than those who wear green or lighter blue. A bat-belt looks like a bat belt, so an attacker might be going for the gun, or for the morphine pouch, who can say? Often they are in a fight because the fight has been brought to them (real or imagined, police means aggression, and they think they can win) Or they just have someone leaning over them, in their space, so they react before they are aware of whats going on. On the other hand, a dog is a dog. In general people like dogs or fear them, very few are indifferent, and either way, it makes a connection. They like dogs, your dog is cute, you must be a good person. Even the drug fueled often need to de-personalize a target (easy when they are just a badge and uniform) but something that reminds them that you are a person might be enough to break that thought cycle. How can a meth-head mug a grandma, easy, she is just some rich old lady, she can afford it..... why didn't she just give up the money.... push, fall, major injury. But the process has to start with making that person an un-person. I'm sure that some drugs limit empathy, but I have not seen much by way of research into that.
 
SkrufKnifer said:
no i get it I wish people wouldnt see them as weapons. I wish we could call it something else when used for SD. I hate it as much as anyone. the criminal is going to do whatever he/she wants. I live within the laws. I hate that a knife or even a gun is called a "weapon" when used as self defense. I think more people need to look past the knife, and look at everything else going on when said "weapon" is seen/being used..... I wish I could carry a butterfly/balisong or a switch blade switchblade is like the best one hand opener you could want
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Switchblades are NOT the best one-hand openers. There is MUCH more that can go wrong mechanically with a switchblade, even a good one. They are much easier to foul up than a manual one-hander. Also, IME they can be slower to get into a ready-to-use position because the button is not as easy or as natural to locate as, say, a Spyderhole is when you extract the knife from your pocket. That would be triply-true in a high-stress situation such as SD, where you lose fine motor skills. The only real advantage a (quality) switchblade has over a manual one-hander is the cool factor.

Jim
 
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