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

I have asked few ppl on street when I first join bladeforum for few months. Back then, I buy LOTS knives. In NYC ppl def not friendly kind. When I go "Excuse me, may I ask you...", Guys tend to give you a serious face looking at you like "What do you want?" Then, after I finished the end of the sentence, guys loose the seriousness and pretty happy present their knives to me and happy talk about them. Now I don't ask ppl anymore. Most of time you can just tell by the pocket clip or sections that rise up the pocket. If I spot a custom clip and can't figure out, I might be curious to ask. Its rare to bump into guys spend a fortune for a nice custom. Those usually are safe queens.

What ever you do, just don't ask them to show you while you guys are in subway or underground while standing.....
 
if i can identify the brand or make from the pocket clip i would mention how do you like the kershaw,spyderco, or brand it might be.i did it with a leek, a chill,& a gerber,responses were very positive.i notice pocket clips right away,just dont want that person to think im a pervert or something,just a knife nut...
 
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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That's how it is in Texas. Especially out west. I strike up conversations about a knife if I am in the market for a new one. I have seen some pretty sweet ones and have even come across a few BFC members in places like Academy. Not sure why so many get their dander up about it. To me, it's no different than asking me what's under the hood of my Silverado.
 
crazyengineer said:
I meet a lot of people at college by asking them about a knife in thier pocket

generally though it is when we are just standing there, like in line, or sitting waiting for class. I notice things like that along with types of pens, etc.......

I will generally only say something if i can tell the brand of the knife. I once (near the end of last semester) met a guy carrying a knife of the same model as mine but the smaller version. asked him how much he paid........he said he didnt want to say. I showed him the one I have in my pocket, he laughed and said about 30 less than that (or something along those lines). we know talk while waiting for class to start
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we can carry knives on campus in VA????????
 
Everyone needs to be more open/friendly. I love talking to strangers... guess im just a nice guy. Here in Northern VA i rarely see people with knives anyway.
 
I personally choose to mind my own business. Couldn't care less what kind of knife someone is carrying. Besides, when I'm out in public, I'd rather look at women than knives.
 
J85909266 said:
Most knife people love to be asked about their knife.
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raylaconico said:
I wish someone would ask me what knife I was carrying. Nobody ever has and I'm always carrying.
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I size the guy up 1st and if he looks friendly I start by telling him "Hey Man I collect knives and I noticed your knife clip" or something like that.
I just get the point so they know I'm not a weirdo, just a knife enthusiast.
I can tell real quick if they are down for a knife chat or not.

If it's a rough biker dude with say a Buck 110 copy on his belt I might think twice.
If it's a waiter at a restaurant with say a sweet Benchmade 710 or Spyderco Military in his pocket I'd not think twice. Chances are it's a user and a well thought out purchase.
 
I struck up a conversation with a customer at work today about 1911s and I popped out my Strider to show him and he pulled a SOG out of his pocket. It was a pretty pleasant experience, but people are generally nice and personable in Texas. I saw the guy was wearing a Kimber hat, so I asked him about it. We probably would've talked longer, but work started to get busy unfortunately. I'm not a fan of SOG, but it was nice seeing a brand name knife for once instead of some POS gas station knife. Plus the guy said he loved it, can't beat that.

One thing I've been confused about as far as showing someone a knife, is that a lot of people don't even open it. I'll hand it to them and they'll flip it around and look at it and then hand it back. Or they'll pull the blade out a 1/4 of the way and look at it, then close it. I'd guess it's either A: They don't care, or B: They're afraid of it.
 
Ive been asked about my knife twice. Once at a gunshow,and once at a gun range. Both times I whipped out my knife(manix1,TiMil) and let em check it out ,I dont care.I have never asked anyone to look at their stuff tho,that aint me.
 
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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Yes! I think we are! :)
Hopefully I'll run into you so one of us can approach the other and the other can respond cheerfully.
 
A couple times I asked because I was pretty sure they were what I thought they were. One was a XM-18 the other a sebenza. They were both cool. And we talked about blades for a minute or so. I just asked them "is that a sebenza?" "Or is that a Hinderer?" Is that easy. It's all about your personality.
 
Here's how it works.
Recently someone noticed my knife in my pocket.
He said "Hey that's an Emerson isn't it!?"
So...it really helps to already know something about what they're carrying.
 
Actually, here in NJ people think I'm nuts for carrying a knife.

How about; "Hey, what kind of knife are you carrying?" Unless you're in a place like England people aren't too paranoid about carrying a knife.

Hell, I went up to a guy and told him his jacket wasn't covering his gun.
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Being able to identify the knife by name is a good entry into conversation and establishes that you know something about the subject. Secondly, knives like watches are often more than just utilitarian objects. People on the watch forums love it when strangers ask about their piece.
 
Unless it is a very personal setting, and someone that I knew, I would not feel it was an approrpaite topic to bring up. Although many people might not mind, some others appreciate having their privacy respected.
 
WOW, people do that?

I'm a knife nut myself ... but if a stranger walked up to me and started asking questions about my knife, I would think they were a wierdo.
 
It's not as simple as "you shouldn't ever do that" or "you should be able to ask anyone anything." It really depends on the situation, where you are, if there are other people around, and a bunch of other subtle things (and even then the guy might be a huge dick).

That said, if you choose to do it, being really super nice can only help.

clutchcarter said:
Here's how it works.
Recently someone noticed my knife in my pocket.
He said "Hey that's an Emerson isn't it!?"
So...it really helps to already know something about what they're carrying.
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This too.

KnifeEnthusiast said:
If it's a rough biker dude with say a Buck 110 copy on his belt I might think twice.
If it's a waiter at a restaurant with say a sweet Benchmade 710 or Spyderco Military in his pocket I'd not think twice. Chances are it's a user and a well thought out purchase.
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Yeah-- I think asking someone in a retail/service position is almost always fine because the expectation of privacy is not there. At worst they may just not be talkative.
 
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I stare at their pants.....look up and smile.....stare at his pants again....then he thinks I'm checking him out and we get into a knife fight where I have a chance to see what blade he's carrying :p No really, I notice clips but I don't give it a second thought or bother them about it.
 
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