Utterly mundane question about knife use in a shop

Jesse B. said:
I recently relocated from a suburban area on the U.S. West Coast to a rural area in the Southwest.

Last week, I stopped by the local ‘dollar store’ to get some drinking water and picked up a well-sealed heavy cardboard box containing six gallons. At the register, the cashier asked me to open the box so she could scan the contents. Instinctively I reached for my pocketknife (mini Griptilian) since this box was going to be a pain to open with my hands—but just as instinctively I decided not to pull a knife out in public since that would’ve been frowned upon (at best) where I used to live.
So I tore into the box with my paws like a starving raccoon, destroying it in the process, and completed the transaction.

For those of you who haven’t fallen asleep yet, how would you have handled an identical situation? I know this seems like a ridiculously simple, unimportant thing, but I’ll probably run into it again and wouldn’t mind a little advice. Thank you kindly.
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I would use my knife and if someone at the store complained I would tell them to STFU and do their job themselves next time. I dont Let other people’s mental illnesses and phobias control my behavior.
 
Planterz said:
Honestly, I'd hesitate to whip out a pocket knife inside a "dollar store". Sad to say, but like "Waffle House" employees, the people there have seen some shit. One one hand, a well-behaved, clean individual that doesn't look like a tweaker shouldn't raise any alarms if they pull out a pocket knife (tool) to open a box that they asked you to open. Believe me, they've seen worse. OTOH, you might have a clerk that might have a PTSD reaction because of all the crackheads that have threatened/robbed/assaulted them in the past. I know that not everybody here does or wants to carry a non-threatening blade in addition to a main EDC, but I'll always advocate for doing so. A traditional slipjoint, SAK, or some sort of mini modern knife. If I were in that situation, I'd have used my Spyderco Ladybug, or, if I had it with me, my Magnus SlideClick utility knife.

I might act differently in, say, Albertsons or Ace Hardware though. Personally, I don't find myself inside "dollar stores" very often anyway.

ETA: It's entirely possible that the employees, because of the inherent dangerous nature of their job, aren't allowed even simple box cutters, for fear of them being used in self defense (and the lawsuits that follow). I'm sure all of us agree that those kinds of rules are BS, but they're an unfortunate reality of the world we live in.
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Dollar stores must be different where you are. Here in rural Pennsylvania, people act like normal human beings in dollar stores.
 
DMG said:
Dollar stores must be different where you are. Here in rural Pennsylvania, people act like normal human beings in dollar stores.
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Must be. Here they're often in the crummier neighborhoods (cheaper rent) where the homeless and chemically altered congregate. Usually share an intersection with a Circle K or the like, smoke shops, 24 hour check cashing places, laundrymats, etc. Of course, there's plenty of normal people that shop there too, but they're not the ones keep the people that run the police scanner Facebook pages busy with reports of theft, robbery, fights, assault, and after-hours burglary (you'd wonder why people would break into the freaking Dollar General at 3am instead of a better store, but it happens all the dang time). I'm betting that the Dollar Stores aren't the only thing that's different in rural PA compared to the more notorious intersections of larger cities.
 
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Rural area, no body would have thought anything about it. I would guess 80% plus of men in rural areas carry a pocket knife.

As an aside, my mom told me that she was teaching a nursing class some years ago also in a somewhat rural area and had to open something. She looked at one of her older male students and said “John can I borrow your knife to open this?” He looked at her blankly as he did not carry one. She just assumed all men did. Love that story.

I don’t think my dad has ever not had a knife in his pocket. Same would be true for my grandfathers etc. A basic tool to help go about your life.
 
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I am certain you have received the usual cornucopia of replies above.

If you live in the rural South, as do I, it is a non-event to see someone carrying or using a knife.

Having lived "up north", I do always have a Vic Waiter to use if there is that inkling I am in the presence of the easily triggered.

best
mqqn
 
Do you guys from the south think there's no rural areas north of the Mason-Dixon line? I live and grew up in a county with darn near more dairy cows than people, and there's never a second glance given at the use and carry of a knife. Most guys ( and a lot of ladies) you run into throughout the day are blue collar workers. Cow punchers, linemen, salt miners, and contractors of various avocations, knife carry comes with the territory.

Just this morning I used mine to open a log of chew for the girl at the convenience store, the only thing said was me calling her a heathen for not carrying a cutting tool.
 
DMG said:
It’s not a North/South thing. It’s a rural/urban difference. The same way guns are used for violence in cities and hunting in the country.
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I know that, but I'd noticed a couple of guys specifically saying that it's acceptable in just the rural south. I'm guilty of forgetting there's other places than Western New York on occasion...
 
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"Excuse me while I whip this out."
blazing-saddles-whip-this-out.gif
 
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