Ungentlemanlike - Traditional Bad Boy Knives

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beezwax said:
This seems like an odd thread to have in the Porch. Maybe it's just me but on the spectrum of politeness I would put basically ANY traditional knife firmly on the "polite" end.
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Not at all. There are a number of very traditional knives which have developed associations with “bad boy” types over the years.

Ratcheting ring-lock knives are a very old French pattern, but the Okapi version is known as a favorite of criminals in Jamaica and South Africa.

K55K Black Cat knives (made since 1867) were considered young thug’s weapons in New York and other places.

The Douk-Douk was associated with violence during the Algerian struggle for independence.

Buck 110s and large toothpick knives are sometimes associated with bikers.

Italian stilettos and Spanish navajas have been associated with crime and violence.

I am interested in finding out about other examples from around the world.
 
Just Tom. said:
We have a thread for gentleman’s knives - how about a thread for knives that would be decidedly out of place in polite society?

(sorry about the picture quality - it’s raining here and I couldn’t get any good light)
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Oh, jeez, I have some whoppers, including swords, but I think the fun is in coming up with those knives that truly come up against the line between here and there. And that has to do with region and context. In exurban Colorado we can get a lot wilder and woolier than some other places before we cross the line into the realm of unacceptable. With that in mind, here are my submissions . . .

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Now these are the knives I quickly pulled from my gallery that I'd be just about OK pulling at, say, a restaurant. As for what I'd openly carry where I live, well that doesn't really have limits. I'm guess we're lucky in Elbert County.

Zieg
 
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Just Tom. said:
Not at all. There are a number of very traditional knives which have developed associations with “bad boy” types over the years.

Ratcheting ring-lock knives are a very old French pattern, but the Okapi version is known as a favorite of criminals in Jamaica and South Africa.

K55K Black Cat knives (made since 1867) were considered young thug’s weapons in New York and other places.

The Douk-Douk was associated with violence during the Algerian struggle for independence.

Buck 110s and large toothpick knives are sometimes associated with bikers.

Italian stilettos and Spanish navajas have been associated with crime and violence.

I am interested in finding out about other examples from around the world.
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Fair enough, I can understand what you're digging into, from a historical context. But I own several of the knives in your list and they all still seem rather genteel to me, from an even broader context.
 
Just Tom. said:
Not at all. There are a number of very traditional knives which have developed associations with “bad boy” types over the years.

Ratcheting ring-lock knives are a very old French pattern, but the Okapi version is known as a favorite of criminals in Jamaica and South Africa.

K55K Black Cat knives (made since 1867) were considered young thug’s weapons in New York and other places.

The Douk-Douk was associated with violence during the Algerian struggle for independence.

Buck 110s and large toothpick knives are sometimes associated with bikers.

Italian stilettos and Spanish navajas have been associated with crime and violence.

I am interested in finding out about other examples from around the world.
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Balisongs of course.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Would this be out if place in a polite society?
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I had something similar back in the days when the company I kept was far from polite, so I’m not sure.

Here is something that fits the spirit of the thread nicely:

Does anyone recall the 007 "flick" knives of the 70's

I'm in my late 30's and my brother is in his mid 40's. He was a wildchild of the 70's growing up in Brooklyn. He threw me for a loop as I had told a story about his Buck knife and how all his friends had Buck knives back in the 80's. As I told him that I shared this story he asks, does...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
I need to photograph my first generation 1095 Cold Steel LTC Khukuri! 🤣
 
Here is a beautiful knife but IT DOES raise some eyebrows because it is a pretty big and a wicked pointy folder - measuring at over 4" blade - 10" overall.

Davide Steri SARDINIAN DORGALESE


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With a smaller, less intimidating brother ~

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RayseM said:
Here is a beautiful knife but IT DOES raise some eyebrows because it is a pretty big and a wicked pointy folder - measuring at over 4" blade - 10" overall.

Davide Steri SARDINIAN DORGALESE


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With a smaller, less intimidating brother ~

View attachment 1812660
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I can see being politely robbed by a gentleman bandit wielding that. I guess that brings up yet another category I hadn’t considered…
 
Just Tom. said:
I can see being politely robbed by a gentleman bandit wielding that. I guess that brings up yet another category I hadn’t considered…
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:) Here is a quote from my friend Âchillepattada Âchillepattada - about these knives from Sardinia - "The Duce (Benito Mussolini, aka, Il Duce) was not confident with the Sardinian people. When they were not satisfied they had the bad habit to use their knife."
 
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This green river belt knife just isn't classy enough for a gentlemanly situation, and I don't know how much of a gentleman a fur trapper who'd have carried a knife like this would be.
Probably more of a rough and dirty type than a classy " gentleman ".
 
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