what to do when people freak out about your knife

If someone freaks about my knife, I usually ask them If they want to see the one I have in my other pocket, and remind them my weapon of choice is the 1911 on my hip.
 
A customer at my work the other day needed help cutting something so I took out my current knife, which is a Gerber Truss 2.0 Serrated (yeah I know not that great, but does the job) and a girl that also works there said WHOA WHAT DO YOU NEED THAT FOR, I just gave her a look and didn't say anything.
 
If I am likely to encounter them again and I'm not likely to get in trouble for it I have a Ti-Lite XI or Pentagon II that I make a point of using in front of them next time and they never comment on my regular EDC stuff again.

Now thats a knife - LOL
 
I am a computer tech and my company has no opinion on me carrying knives to work. I use them quite often. This quote by 7k7k99: "Just having it on my person got me accused of being a 'threatening' person" makes me laugh. I am 6'7" 270 lbs. so I would take the knife out and lay it down , look down at them menacingly and say, " Now am I less threatening?" that usually shuts people up.:D
 
I can laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny at the time. And really, a swisstool is not a 'knife' -- it has a couple of knife blades along with many other non-knife features, but that argument didn't get me anywhere with human resources either. The funniest part is that it was in the nylon pouch, for all the person knew that complained about it, it could have been a cell phone in a pouch. From what I have learned since, it was a personal vendetta from another employee that wanted me fired and that was just a convenient way [they thought] to get rid of me. At any rate, I now carry 'covertly' and no one is the wiser.
 
It is funny how people react. My son who is 12 went on a youth retreat with his older brother. Mind you my oldest son is 14 and took with him 3 pocket knives(which is unacceptable he is allowed only to carry one) anyway my 12 year old had a CRKT M16-zytel spear point. He had it out flipping it his aunt My sister-in-law was on the trip and took it away from him saying he was not to bring weapons to the conferance. He gets home and my oldest tells me this story and my 12 year old starts to cry saying it was unfair that Micah had 3 knives and did not have them taken away. So, I say to him " Jacob you were fliping it open for no reason just so it could be seen, that is why it was taken away also beacuse people think of knives as weapons" I also told him it is a tool and to only use it when it is needed. If I were to open my knife and play with it for no reason I guess I would not be able to carry it long. Funny years ago they were not seen as threatening. Even when I was in the Army our company commander looked down on them even in the field. I say what good is a Logistics Specialist without a knife to open boxes and supplies? Funny how things change.:D
 
I've never actually had somebody freak out about my knife.

If I did, I guess I would just say "uh, I use it to cut things. Why don't you have a knife?"
 
I must admit most of my EDC blades (I rotate afew now! Applegate-Fairbairn folder, Gerber Kiowa, Buck/Strider 889) are quite scary looking apart from the SAK Explorer. I usually carry a SAK Mini Champ or more recently a Gerber Shortcut too in my pocket with loose change, IF someone needs a little blade THATS what I give them.
As you say, the stupidity of sheeple is astounding, and here in the UK it seems like All the Police & Governments resources are now chanelled into fighting what they call "knife culture". Forget terrorism & Suicide bombers, OH MY GOD, he's got a knife!

Lets not forget what those 20 scumbags did with box-cutters!! Some people & governments wont be happy until the only sharps we can use are kiddies plastic safety scissors.
 
It's not much differnt than the dumb-ass that finds out I have a hunting firearm and says "you got a permit for that" because they watch to much damn t.v. I'm always a smart ass with them. As for the knife dumb knife comments, like most of you, I've used everything from ignore to educate to act like a smart ass. The world is just full of week, dumb-ass zombies, or sheepe as you call them (never heard that till I came here). They all act like there shit don't stink, but its all they can do to wipe there own ass without needing help with that to.
 
Joe Dirt said:
"uh, I use it to cut things. Why don't you have a knife?"
Click to expand...
That's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And it's a shame we can go on for page after page of stories about people who will never learn.
 
redhawk44p said:
:confused: It boggles the mind! How can people be scared of a simple tool?:confused:

If you cut me free of a mess like that I would have shook your hand till my arm fell off.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't you have had your own knife on hand, to cut yourself free? ;)

Recently, at work, one of my coworkers was struggling with a cardboard box containing a toner cartridge. I offered to help, and she said "thanks." So, I took the box from her, set it on a counter, and reached into my pocket for my Queen canoe. Keep in mind that this is a traditional pocketknife, and a small one at that. I opened the box, and the plastic packaging inside, after which she winked at me and said "I won't tell if you don't."
I asked her what she meant, and she said "You know, having a weapon." I was almost speechless, but managed to ask "Didn't your grandfather carry one of these?" I explained to her that it is not a weapon, but a cutting tool, and that it works much better than holding an open pair of scissors by the blade to rip through a cardboard box.
It's funny... She and I see eye to eye on most other topics, including music, politics, office dynamics, etc., so I know that she was not personally offended by my carrying a pocketknife. I think she meant to say "watch out so you don't get into trouble." Regardless, I've used it to the benefit of my boss(es) several times, and they're obviously quite comfortable with the idea of a young man totin' a handy little pocketknife -- they probably did when they were younger as well (they're in their 60s, and I'm in my 20s).
 
I used my 551 Grip to open a box at the store couple weeks ago, because the electronics register jockey didn't even have a box cutter. She saw it and asked where she could get it. Didn't bother her in the least.

One postal employee freaked out when she saw my Spyderco Ladybug and my Leatherman Squirt on my big keychain, and the other lady working the counter pulled out her SAK and asked the lady what the big deal was. I wonder if all the boxes of various shapes and sizes with some variation of blade/knife/sharp/INFI on the side that I get to my PO Box faze her.



Outside of work, I carry a Buck Cadet, sometimes my Leatherman Juice and Spyderco Native III.
 
I've been asked about my knife exactly once. My workplace is a gun friendly,
knife friendly kinda place. In the electronics shop in the back EVERYONE carries a knife, and we trade/sell guns in the shop periodically. Anyway, I had my Spyderco Viele shipped to the office. I had just gotten it when my buddy,
the systems administrator at the office, asked me to help deal with one of the secretaries computers. We were having some trouble with an accounting package, and while thinking about the problem, I was idly looking at my new Spydie. She looks at me like I'm an axe murderer and asks why in the world I have "that thing"!? Wrong thing to say.

I said that I just got it. Then I pulled out my EDC. The sysadmin pulls out his
EDC. Her boss happens to walk in, and asks us why we have 3 knives out.
We said were just showing them to her. So he pulls his EDC out. Classic moment. She was speechless for the next 15-20 minutes.

Sam
 
I've alrready posted in this thread once but heres a couple more. The other day me and my dad went to a bakery type place where we knew the owner. We've known him sincei was born. Well anyways him and my dad were talkin and my dad went to go get a drink and brought it back. It had a cap on it like a beer cap but it didn't twist off. So my dad asked the owner if he had a bottle opener lying around. He said theres one over on the wall. My dad says nvmn and pulls out his buck metro that I bought him for his b-day. The owner said i'm a good son for buying him a bottle opener, let alone one that has a knife.:)

The other was yesterday when i was lifting. I slipped my leatherman kick into my pocket before i left. Me and my friends were sitting around takin a break when we got to talking about fights and stuff like that. Most of them know that i carry a knife. I pulled out the leatherman to show and most thought it was pretty neat but some gave me the evil eye. Some people just never learn:o
 
Sometimes, I just wouldn't be able to do my job at all withouth a knife. For example, this morning I had to cut 200 feet worth of 4-6 layers of bulldog tape
off of a cable bundle to replace a bad cable. There's no way you can remove
that stuff without a knife. You might be able to with a box cutter, but you'd
end up nicking the cables.

Sam
 
I can honestly say, in the 32 years that I have been carrying/ collecting knives, NO ONE has ever freaked out about a knife I was using.
 
I for one, can assure you that it isn't necessarily the knife holder that makes the sheeple freaky.

I always open knives two handed in public, and make sure they aren't very visible. The hum drum jobs they do amount to sharpening pencils with 1 1/4" SAK blades, opening envelopes, opening various plastic packages, cutting tape...

I do this as quietly and non-threateningly as I can. But the sheeple around here are socialized to see every last knife use as some kind of unpunished crime. Makes you wonder what they cut up food in their kitchens with?!

I have appreciated all the smart remarks for deflecting blame or re-directing it back onto the baaaaing sheeple, and have filed away several for personal use in the future.

I think that frightened sheeple are definately projecting their own out of control behavior onto us, the responsible, knife-owning public.
 
it's simple- for starters, i've fpund that most people don't care and to the few who do freak out i just tel them exactely what i'm using it for. I dont just flaunt them around people who might freak out, i open it, use it, put it away.
i just be careful not to use the zambezi to open letters.
 
i guess i live in a knife friendly part of the country--i carry three to four knives at all times and no one ever bats a eye when i pull one out--but everyone expects this of me because everyone knows i'm a knife knut--heck my everyday carry in the middle of my back is my BRK&T Rogue Bowie--makes some people eye's raise but i have to admit i love it:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top