What is the dumbest thing you have seen a non-knife person do with a blade?

JesseT said:
So, this might not be the dumbest thing I see non-knife people do, but it might be the most consistently dumb thing...

Way too often when I hand someone a knife, the first thing they do with it is either brandish it like it's a katana or a rapier or something (often accompanied by some vocalization reminiscent of Bruce Lee), or they pretend to cut something (or someone) that shouldn't be cut...or both. It's made extra scary (for my safety and the safety of others), because the way they hold it immediately communicates that they have very little experience using a knife. I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who doesn't really think of my knives as weapons. It's as if the simple act of laying their hands on a knife is enough to trigger some sort of violent outburst from them (even if in jest, but Freud said there are no jokes). If that's how non-knife people see knives, it makes me start to understand where the fear/stigma surrounding knife EDC originates. Dang, now I'm sad.

In short, though, I've learned over the years that if someone asks me for a knife, I ask, "what do you need it for?" Then, if it's an appropriate use for a knife, I perform the cutting task. Saves me a lot of "OH NO!"
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Makes one question whether the non-knife people secretly harbor violent tendencies, and so they shy away from the temptation.
 
RemyKaze said:
Makes one question whether the non-knife people secretly harbor violent tendencies, and so they shy away from the temptation.
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I think it's more likely that this behavior is what they expect from "knife people". The way that the gun control crowd think it's just having a gun that causes people to do evil things.
 
epetrillo said:
I think it's more likely that this behavior is what they expect from "knife people". The way that the gun control crowd think it's just having a gun that causes people to do evil things.
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Then why act that way themselves when given a knife? I've seen the very opposite reaction from a lot of folk who feel the same way about knives, when given something sharp. They're terrified of cutting themselves. Perhaps it's a matter of whether the person lacks common sense, or is laughing in the face of fear so to speak.
 
JesseT said:
In short, though, I've learned over the years that if someone asks me for a knife, I ask, "what do you need it for?" Then, if it's an appropriate use for a knife, I perform the cutting task. Saves me a lot of "OH NO!"
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Unless I know better, since they have to borrow one in the first place, I'll assume they're "non-knife people" and say no. It's not so much that they'll do something cringe-inducing with my expensive folder—even if I hand them a €20 SAK, I'm worried they'll snap the blade shut on their fingers, cut themselves, and blame me.
 
RemyKaze said:
Then why act that way themselves when given a knife? I've seen the very opposite reaction from a lot of folk who feel the same way about knives, when given something sharp. They're terrified of cutting themselves. Perhaps it's a matter of whether the person lacks common sense, or is laughing in the face of fear so to speak.
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I was only suggesting that perhaps there is a segment of "non knife people" that exhibit this behavior in an almost mocking way. Maybe I'm not putting it right or maybe I'm just completely wrong (wouldn't be the first time)
 
RemyKaze said:
Makes one question whether the non-knife people secretly harbor violent tendencies, and so they shy away from the temptation.
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I think humans harbor violent tendencies in general, but people who have really internalized the principles of responsible knife use and/or responsible gun use tend to have faced those tendencies directly and tempered them rather than pretending they don't exist. Please note that I'm not trying to imply that this is the only way (or even the best way) to make peace with one's human nature, but it's been working ok for me. :)

epetrillo said:
I think it's more likely that this behavior is what they expect from "knife people". The way that the gun control crowd think it's just having a gun that causes people to do evil things.
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I'm inclined to agree (elaborated upon below).

epetrillo said:
I was only suggesting that perhaps there is a segment of "non knife people" that exhibit this behavior in an almost mocking way. Maybe I'm not putting it right or maybe I'm just completely wrong (wouldn't be the first time)
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I don't think it's mocking. Sometimes it almost seems as if they're doing it expecting approval (just a huge lack of understanding)? I think it's really just a side effect of never having been given the Responsible Knife Use lesson.
 
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RemyKaze said:
Makes one question whether the non-knife people secretly harbor violent tendencies, and so they shy away from the temptation.
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My wife admitted to me the reason why she doesn't want guns in the house is she doesn't trust herself with one. Should I be scared, fellas?
 
JesseT said:
I think humans harbor violent tendencies in general, but people who have really internalized the principles of responsible knife use and/or responsible gun use tend to have faced those tendencies directly and tempered them rather than pretending they don't exist.
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Close. It's a lot like those people who live in countries that practise conscription; at first glace, the issued rifle seems like nothing more than a huge toy found in computer games. And when the time comes to fire the first bullet at a watermelon, everybody gets to see how a single speeding bullet atomizes the giant fruit, and all of a sudden nobody dares to treat their weapon as a toy anymore. One wrong move, and it may be your head that gets turned into that watermelon.

Similarly, those who use knives frequently enough will have seen the potential for it as both a deadly weapon and an everyday work tool, and the last thing they want is to be caught doing things can will make LEOs or the average people think that their intentions are not benign.
 
I would LOVE to know why the absolute 'must' act performed by non knife knuts is to run their thumb down the length of the blade to check sharpness......AFTER they're told it's screaming sharp.
Maybe they saw it in a movie???
Like my custom pool cues and high end air rifles.......I just don't lend them to people that have no clue.
 
Armadew said:
My wife admitted to me the reason why she doesn't want guns in the house is she doesn't trust herself with one. Should I be scared, fellas?
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My girlfriend said the same. However, someone who is rightly afraid of a tool or weapon and doesn't want to pick it up due to lack of experience and knowledge, is different from someone brandishing and waving said tool or weapon around with the same lack of knowledge.
 
Try to cut a paperclip with a Swiss Army Knife. Not the cutters in the pliers, but one of the knife blades.
 
I haven't read this thread and no doubt someone else mentioned it but instantly I thought of a youtube I keep running across.
The OP here said "non knife person". Well all I can say is this person in the youtube must be a non knife person trying to come across as a "knowledgeable knife person". If they tried what I am about to describe with one of my knives they would end up dripping red stuff all over their display table.
The knife they are demoing isn't sharp. My knives are.
anyway
they open the first blade of a trapper part way, they talk all about the knife then they push it open the rest of the way by pushing against the cutting edge of the blade with their thumb. Not realizing the near miss they just had they then proceed to open the second blade and do the same silly thing again.

Every time I see it I cringe then I laugh.

My edges . . .the poor sucker in the youtube would have no chance, his thumb would be seriously modified. One test I make is, if I set the edge tangent on the side of a tomato, it will catch (rather than skitter down the side) and then slightly sink into the skin in a sickening kind of way from the weight of the knife. Bell peppers work well for this to. I have only recently learned the popular term for my other test for sharp (hair whittling) . . . with a jeweler's magnification visor I shave a curl off a single hair on my arm leaving the hair in situ.
If I can do one or both of these tests successfully then I consider my cutting edge sharp. I'm a push cutter, from my woodworking sharpening, what can I say.

I always tell people that when they get really good at sharpening the hair will jump off their arm and run away as they get near their arm with the blade for a hair shaving test.

The other thing that drives me right up the wall, and my girl friend who was a pro chef in a high end restaurant for many years does this, . . . chop up onions or what have you and then rake the food off the cutting board into a pan or bowl with the edge down. The right way being flip the knife over and place the spine of the blade down onto the cutting board then rake it across the cutting board. I don't dare tell her how to chef though. The result might be me locked out on the deck for the night starving with more than one said sharp object sticking out of my back.
 
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I showed a buddy my new OTF last night and he asked if I was worried about it going off in my pocket. I explained to him that it's almost impossible to happen and the blade would de-track once it hit my leg anyways.

He replied with "so, basically it can't stab stuff when springing open?" while he sprung open the blade at his couch... The blade did de-track but now he has a nice sized hole in his couch:D
 
[video=youtube;lIBeEA2OiIo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIBeEA2OiIo[/video]

skip to 0:45 angry grandpa try's to pry open a safe with some cheap folder.....lol
 
Blues Bender said:
I showed a buddy my new OTF last night and he asked if I was worried about it going off in my pocket. I explained to him that it's almost impossible to happen and the blade would de-track once it hit my leg anyways.

He replied with "so, basically it can't stab stuff when springing open?" while he sprung open the blade at his couch... The blade did de-track but now he has a nice sized hole in his couch:D
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At first I read "his crotch" and I was like wow he really trusts the knife:yawn:
 
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