What to say to a stranger when you see a knife clip on his pocket without...?

I've seen a couple people carrying and out of the couple people that I've asked they've responded "I don't want to discuss that here." Okay... Well this is CA and you can conceal carry so why are you tucking in your shirt to display your clip if you don't want to talk about it? Hell it's LA County so technically you are SUPPOSED to conceal anything over 3 inches. I've pretty much just stopped asking people after those few encounters.
 
I've never been asked and I've never asked anyone what kind of knife they carry, although I have had cops show me theirs. I see cops carrying balisongs on their belts in the Philippines all the time, but I feel funny about going up to them and being like, "Hey! Are you carrying a balisong?" :)
 
Had a guy a I me about my SAK the other day because he saw the paracord running from my belt into my pocket. You're over thinking the whole issue
 
Some people are just touchy and don't like strangers. I am not one of those people, so it doesn't bug me in the slightest. Of course, I have had some people that ended up being over eager, and didn't really know what they are talking about go on and on at me about em. Back when I was deployed a few years ago, I had a guy that noticed me using my CRKT m16ti, and he came up and showed me his Benchmade Griptillian. I had never heard of Benchmade at the time, and thought CRKT was a real good company, so we had a lil discussion about which was better. I didn't really buy his Benchmade claims, but when I got back, I saw a BM Griptilian at the B/x, so I picked it up out of curiosity. 5 years later I am a huge Benchmade fan (they are the only knife brand I that I actually have clothes from lol. I even wear my Benchmade hat out here in anti-knife land.
 
Be sincere, honest and friendly. Say exactly why you are asking and tell her that you are interested in knives. Honesty goes long way.
 
Best way is don't act/ask as though you are an inquisitive authority figure or as though you are timid. I always say "hey bud/bro/man/dude (anything friendly but not fruity)..." and talk to anybody about anything - ask for a lighter, for a cigarette, what kind of watch or knife they have, you name it. People are social animals so if they are not too busy they will almost always respond in a positive way....and in general people who are knife, gun, and freedom loving also love it that there are others who are like-minded.
 
A few years ago I was on the bus, and as everyone steeped off at a busy stop a guy in a black leather jacket dropped a black tactical folder on the pavement in front of everyone, froze, then put his head down and quickly walked away. No one said anything, he looked pretty shady. But somebody got a free knife... once the crowd had passed, the knife was gone. :)
 
bigjuice said:
Who here would walk up to a random guy and ask him what type of belt or jeans he was wearing? I know we all love knives but it's not any different. If a guy who really loved belts came up and asked me about mine I don't think I'd be real happy about it.
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This. I guess I am lucky in that knives are common enough where I live that I see tons of pocket clips, but nobody ha s aclue what kind of knife it is. I don't know any local knife people but I see tons of people with knives. There's a 99% chance I know more about their knife than they do. It would be kinda pointless to get into a one-sided discussion where I would only appear to be showing off about something as pointless as knowing knife trivia while the other guy just knows he uses it to cut stuff.
 
babakanoosh45 said:
I basically leave folks to themselves. I don't want people asking me what's in my pockets so I follow that mindset...
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As much as I wish we lived in a happy world where everyone was friendly and people didn't need to be "paranoid," I think that not bringing up such topics to strangers is indeed the best course of action.

Especially since if someone I don't know starts asking me about knives, I'll probably go to maximum alert. At one time, in a world gone by now, I would have been happy to answer questions about my "toys." But now, the likelihood of an inquisitor being a knife knut vs. being trouble are odds not in my favor.
 
I would be suspicious of anyone asking about my knife out of the blue like that ... here its not technically ilegal to carry a knife , but its just amazingly hard to do so legally ... and not just knives as you'd generally think of a knife as being but " any bladed object" can be deemed to be a knife by the constabulary and confiscated , charges laid etc ...
a lawful excuse to carry a knife is to use eat with .. but then it gets technical ... if you are eating , thats fine , if youre going to eat , no need of a knife cos your not eating yet , and have just eaten , well you dont need it any more youre finished .. no longer any excuse ... at least , this is how the cops I have run into regarding the matter see it .. and they are the guys who decide if they are going to book you or not , if they are going to confiscate your knife or not , and if they are going to do any paperwork on the confiscation or just score themselves a free knife ...
the law is stupid , I could go on for ages about it .. but the end result is , if anyone asks me about knives in general , Ill assume they know me or what I do anyway and talk till the cows come home if they want to .. but if they want to talk about what Im carrying ... then thats totally different ..
that being said tho , majority of people I see here who knives with a clip are tradies who buy their knife , mash it into stuff till it loses its edge , mash it a bit more then chuck it and buy another .. no appreciation anyway
 
Had a bad situation with this from the other side once. It was in the late 70's, I was out in public with my girlfriend and a teen asked about my knife. I was carrying a Gerber Mark I on my belt and I took it out (too quickly it seems) and showed him then put it away. Less then 10 mins later, I was talking with the police and they had me put it in my car after they decided I didn't try to kill someone. So I don't ask anyone anything and expect the same respect from others.
 
babakanoosh45 said:
I basically leave folks to themselves. I don't want people asking me what's in my pockets so I follow that mindset...
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Same here. I mind my own business and expect the people around me to do the same.

That being said, I've been carrying a knife clipped to my pocket for 20+ years and have never had anyone mention it. I can't say I've ever noticed anyone else's knife either. Just not something I care about. And if I did notice, it would never cross my mind to ask about it.
 
Wow, people from Iowa really must be nicer than everywhere else.

I would have no problem at all asking someone what knife was clipped to their pocket, and would gladly chat with someone who asked me.

Its a knife. Its not like you are asking if you can take their wife home...
 
I've had a few ask me about a Sebenza after seeing the clip. One was my Dr a few weeks ago. Each time they had one also, and it struck up a good conversation. I get along well with fellow knife nuts, and always enjoy running into one.

I carry Spyderco's often as well, but have never had anyone ask me about them. Maybe its because they are more common, or it may be that the sebenza clip has looked the same for a very long time and are easily reconizable.

I've asked a few people myself. Mainly while at gun or knife shows, and flea markets where knives are sold. Always strikes up a good conversation.
 
Tripton said:
Wow, people from Iowa really must be nicer than everywhere else.

I would have no problem at all asking someone what knife was clipped to their pocket, and would gladly chat with someone who asked me.

Its a knife. Its not like you are asking if you can take their wife home...
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Ditto for GA, and I really like that last sentence:D
 
hardheart said:
This. I guess I am lucky in that knives are common enough where I live that I see tons of pocket clips, but nobody ha s aclue what kind of knife it is. I don't know any local knife people but I see tons of people with knives. There's a 99% chance I know more about their knife than they do. It would be kinda pointless to get into a one-sided discussion where I would only appear to be showing off about something as pointless as knowing knife trivia while the other guy just knows he uses it to cut stuff.
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Wow. I was scratching my head trying to figure out how to say exactly that. I actually know a couple of guys that are brand and steel aware, but that's it. No one in my group of friends and acquaintances sits and talks knives unless they got a nice one (they picked out!) from the wife or kids. But that's not really about the knife when that happens.

I live in a blue collar town. It is more unusual to see someone (including the majority of women) without a cutting instrument that with one. We take it for granted. I have had people ask me a few of times if they could see my knife when they saw me use it, but no stranger has ever ever walked up to me after seeing a pocket clip asked me to see my knife. Never. And I wouldn't do it; it is too far away from the norm around here.

The majority of folks around here don't care about Rockwell hardness, G10 v. micarta, or anything else. If it cuts well and is reliable, that's their knife, and the end of the story. They don't care what they have in their pocket, and I don't either.

Nice post, hardheart.

Robert
 
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