What makes a knife look "weapony"?

J.Mattson said:
Often times it seems to be the person holding it.
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True, but I've tried the experiment of laying a bunch of my knives down on display to get opinions as to which ones seemed more "weapony". Person using it removed from equation.:)
This was part of how I came to find out that hawkbill=claw to many people.
 
I find that any knife that resembles a tooth or a claw is most likely to appear threatening to an non-knife person. Likewise the more angles or projections it has, and the higher-tech the materials/appearance.
 
stabman said:
That's an interesting one. I thought that high-tech would look cool rather than intimidating.
Keep em coming.:)
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Working in a knife store in a tourist area I get people from all over the world come into the shop. High-tech materials give a definite cool factor in non-threatening designs (for non-knife people) but produce the opposite effect in knives with a more threatening footprint. For instance, the average non-knife person might find a large clip-pointed fixed blade with a kraton handle more threatening than the same blade with a wooden handle.

Just my observation. We usually try our best to gently re-educate them though. :p
 
so why does the sudden appearance of a butcher's knife make some people turn pale?
because practical experience has shown it to be extremely sharp!
some perceptions are deeply embedded into the subconscious.
 
Sometimes I will get a look if I’m using my black G10 Military, however when I use my orange military it rarely gets a second look. I cant tell you what it is about the standard ,model that people find threatening but whatever it is the orange military doesn’t have it.
 
J.Mattson said:
Often times it seems to be the person holding it.
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yes, and how it's deployed. If sheeple are around and you absolutely must use your knife deploy it two handed. that's what I do and I notice i get less stared at. if you're in a restaurant don't use your folder, just ask for a knife.

I also avoid two styles of dressing. the first is obviously a "tacticool" look. the second is the outdoorsy "survivalist" look. whether we like it or not, the mindset of most sheeple have been formed in large part by hollywood and looks often define the character in the minds of the majority.
 
Honestly, now that I think of it, the color and size make a huge difference. Case in point: My sister's a lawyer, kinda girly, never really cared much for "guy" things. But when I was in the service, she was doing criminal law stuff as part of her training at her firm, and just inexplicably one day, wanted to learn to shoot; maybe all that time spent in seedier parts of Detroit. She started pestering me about it, so we went to a range. That was three years ago. I bought her a stainless-handled Spyderedge Delica 4 first, whose handle scales and clip she immediately bedazzled. It looks outrageous, but all her girlfriends love the thing! A cop outside of court told her it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Nobody takes it seriously. She got her CCW here in Michigan, (easy to do in her line of work,) and so for her last birthday, I spent part of my bonus and bought her a stainless slide, pink composite frame Glock 26. Same reaction. People laugh. They completely ignore the fact that she's carrying a subcompact 9mm., a knife just under 3" long, and two reloads! The court officers think it's a hoot that the extension plates on the bottom of her magazines are pink, too (she bought replacements so they'd match). Nobody pays her any mind, and she's armed! An extreme example to be sure, but I think it's the combination of seemingly inoffensive weapons, and my little 5'4" 80lb. sister carrying them.
 
I'm going to toss in a vote for unusual appearance.

My brother and I have carried pocket knives all our lives.
The only one that ever prompted a concerned sounding comment from my Grandmother was one of those pantographic 'paratrooper' knives...maybe it was just simply that it drew attention...
Once deployed it looked like a pretty generic clip point, but deploying it...lots of shiny bits of metal sliding past eachother.
 
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Regarding my earlier post; my sister's pink-framed Glock is actually the standard frame with a professional DuraCoat pink finish. I was skeptical, but it's held up really well- no show through or anything.
 
Yes, I have to agree with the ppl here in regards to the sound
and the manner of opening. An auto or A/O will scare most ppl.
A butterfly knife will REALLY scare ppl. Even a quick flick of the
wrist with a standard folder will scare ppl and classify the knife
as "Weapony".
 
Size, color (black and non-glossy or flat are assoc w/ military), quickness of draw from pocket, attitude of audience and finish on blade (tiger stripe and DLC black get looked at hard).

I can draw my ZT series knives (0301, 0200 and 0500), my Kershaws, my Sebbie and my XM-18 very quickly and with authority. When I am in public, I take the knife out very slowly and use the two-handed opening method, trying not to make any noise as the locking system engages. It just scares people!!
 
Most non-knife people will consider a knife that has a link to the military or law enforcement a weapon instead of a tool. I think such knives are mainly the Rambo-type of fixed knives, folding knives with camo handles and blades with texts printed on them, like: 'SWAT', 'Military', 'Special Forces' and more of that. I also noticed that many people aren't used to folding knives with black blades and serrated blades; many people think a knife with a blade that isn't coloured and has a plain edge is a 'normal' knife.

If handles are made of natural materials, especially wood, it makes a knife more 'friendly'. They remind people of the traditional knives that they are using for decades as work knives in the field, like the Opinel knives used by the French and Friedrich Herder knives used by the Dutch and German (and perhaps more, I don't know). So history is also part of the answer. And probably geographic location is part of it too.
 
I also feel that the thinner and pointier a blade is, the more people are going to be afraid. You know, like a Kershaw Leek, IMO, looks more dangerous than say a Spyderco Dragonfly.
 
singularity35 said:
I also avoid two styles of dressing. the first is obviously a "tacticool" look. the second is the outdoorsy "survivalist" look.
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I definitely don't have either of those looks.:D
I have more the "modern hippie" look than the ninja or Rambo image.
 
  • Large size
  • All black
  • Logos that say something like "Deathdealer" or "Slayer" :D
  • Curved or hawklike blades
  • Serrations

My Civilian fits almost all of these characteristics quite nicely. :D

- Mark
 
- Anything BIG (blade over 2 inches - no, I'm not kidding! I've seen the look.)
- Not found in the kitchen (Although kitchen knives make very good 'weapons')
- Anything other than a SAK or slipjoint.
 
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