Same here. If someone asks if anyone has a knife I don't say anything. Not my responsibility to be someone's loaner tool service. If they're a close acquaintance or friend, then I'll cut it for them.
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When Did Truck Drivers Quit Carrying Pocket Knives ?
- Thread starter Wowbagger
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That's not the Wild, Wild West that I grew up in but this seems to be the norm now.
Seems like every container load we get comes with a driver that wants to borrow my knife to cut the straps and wrap off his load.
This last one I messed with a little. He asked to borrow my knife (brand new Case Stag Trapper). I said nah, youre going to have to buy your own. A couple of minutes latter I lent him my Nappa all stainless lockback that I keep in the belt pouch for cutting cruddy stuff. He handed it back and said "Hang onto that I will need to borrow it again.
Ohhhhhhhh K.:grumpy:
Is it just me or does it chap you to be expected to lend out your carefully sharpened and prized knife to a person who cant be bothered to suit up before they leave for work ?
This begs the question and I'm in no means judging because I'm the same way! But what in hell do we cut with our "good knives"? At home I save all my dirty work for a Kershaw Blur and a Kabar Dozier. My everyday EDC a Case Wharncliffe mini-trapper, which is way cheaper than some of the knives that I've had but I still consider it to be my good knife as it's my EDC gent's knife. I hardly ever use it. Begs the question though, what the hell do we use our good knives for? : )
I feel like carrying pocket knives (and a lot of other cultural norms) started to socially fall out of favor sometime in the 80s or so. Ssooo much cultural hyper-sensitivity. Everyone feels compelled to be self appointed guardians of others morality and values and is entitled to judge and .... oops. Sorry. I went off the rails for a minute there. But it's sad that it can be an almost a shameful act to use a knife in public, depending on the context of course. My point with that is: I don't think it's just truckers, I think there are major sections of our population who probably would have been carrying knives daily 40 years ago who do not carry one today.
I remember the Christmas holiday before my grandmother passed away. She handed me a box that was taped up good after she took off the wrapping. She handed it to me and asked me to "open it with your pocket knife." I didn't have a knife on me, but used my keys and got the job done. Looking back it strikes me. She came from a generation where any man worth his salt carried a pocket knife by default. It was just like grabbing you belt and wallet. She just assumed all guys had pocket knives and why would I be any different?
I remember the Christmas holiday before my grandmother passed away. She handed me a box that was taped up good after she took off the wrapping. She handed it to me and asked me to "open it with your pocket knife." I didn't have a knife on me, but used my keys and got the job done. Looking back it strikes me. She came from a generation where any man worth his salt carried a pocket knife by default. It was just like grabbing you belt and wallet. She just assumed all guys had pocket knives and why would I be any different?
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Yep. I always wanted to be a trucker so I could dip Skoal, carry a Buck 110 on my belt, yack with other truckers on the CB, and wear a Peterbilt hat.
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come to think of it, my neighbor drives for a living, and never has a knife. Gave him a nice one from AG Russell for Christmas last year, and he lost it within a month.
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lol. half of our truck drivers try to weasel their way out of even unloading the damned boxes and try to waste our employees' time every delivery. So, yeah, knives are similarly a no go for most of those lazy asses. Literally had one guy tell us "I'm a driver, it's not my job to unload all these boxes every time." So we told him we'd happily refuse the shipment and he can try to tell his boss the same thing. He unloaded it.
afishhunter
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I'm an expedited OTR straight truck driver.
My EDC trio is a Buck 110 (or Schrade 7OT) Buck 301 (or 371) stockman, and a 4 blade SAK or Marbles copy of the old Camillus Demo knife. I also EDC with these knives a CRKT "Guppie" and a Leatherman "Wingman" (until I can get a good deal on a Super Tool 300, which will retire the Wingman).
I would guess around 80% of other drivers at the truck stops have a buck 110 type belt sheath, or a knife or possibly a multi-tool clipped in their pocket. (I don't ask which, don't care which they have) I know some drivers have a CCW permit, and have a firearm of some sort on them.
It may be possible the multi-tool is replacing the pocket knife among truck drivers, but the nature of the job requires a tool to cut things with - even if it is only a plastic cargo door seal. Truckers will always have at least one cutting tool available. Some might keep it in the truck until needed, rather than on them, but they will have one, just like they will have a small tool set for minor repairs onboard the truck.
My EDC trio is a Buck 110 (or Schrade 7OT) Buck 301 (or 371) stockman, and a 4 blade SAK or Marbles copy of the old Camillus Demo knife. I also EDC with these knives a CRKT "Guppie" and a Leatherman "Wingman" (until I can get a good deal on a Super Tool 300, which will retire the Wingman).
I would guess around 80% of other drivers at the truck stops have a buck 110 type belt sheath, or a knife or possibly a multi-tool clipped in their pocket. (I don't ask which, don't care which they have) I know some drivers have a CCW permit, and have a firearm of some sort on them.
It may be possible the multi-tool is replacing the pocket knife among truck drivers, but the nature of the job requires a tool to cut things with - even if it is only a plastic cargo door seal. Truckers will always have at least one cutting tool available. Some might keep it in the truck until needed, rather than on them, but they will have one, just like they will have a small tool set for minor repairs onboard the truck.
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Wood, paper, cardboard, rope, food, envelopes, plastic of various thicknesses.
I have used whatever pocket-knife I was carrying that day to shave facial hair I missed when rushing out of the house.
I guess I wouldn't really want to shove my nicer knives in dirt normally...although I did use my SmF to cut a bunch of roots when we were digging a pit for the "ham trap"...
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That brings me back
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28 years of over the road driving and never without a number of knives available to me. Actually thanks to lurking around this place an ever increasing number of knives. I always have a skyline close at hand to loan out because nobody is getting their mitts on the nice ones.
Knives, tools and basic survival gear are standard equipment for me. Still lots of remote empty country out here.
Knives, tools and basic survival gear are standard equipment for me. Still lots of remote empty country out here.
afishhunter
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I'm guessing you're a union shop, and you and your dock workers, who's job is to load and unload freight don't do their job, and don't have to worry about being fired for not doing your job.
I am a truck driver. My job is to pick up and deliver your freight. It is not my job to load or unload your freight.
Refuse the freight because you and your crew do not want to do your job? Fine by me. I'll return it to the shipper, get paid double for the return trip, and you can explain to your supervisors and above, and to the shipper, why you refused to do your job. Sounds like YOU are the lazy arses, not the truck driver, who may have driven non-stop (other than a. 30 minute break, as required by DOT) for 9 or more hours to get to your location at the appointed time.
BYW, a truck driver has limited hours he or she can legally work. We have a 14 hour clock. We can legally work 14 hours in a 24 hour period. Out of that 14 hours, we can legally drive 11 hours. Our combined on-duty not driving and driving time cannot exceed 14 consecutive hours in any 24 hour period, it is quite possible that if the driver has to do your job and unload the truck, depending on how long it takes, he or she may not have the time to legally move the truck from your dock, or to leave your property, without doing a ten hour reset, which resets their 14 hour and 11 hour clocks.
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All the deliveries I get at work, the driver just has to get the product into the store. Because our building's an older one, it was not built with pallet delivery in mind, so every delivery they have to hand unload. That is part of the contract we have with the companies we order from though, and it's the same guys every week. Hell, one of them came over and got drunk and puked all over my driveway.
afishhunter
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I hope that "driver" became a "former driver" before he left your property, and got to sober up in the jail. I have less than zero pity for drunks operating anything with wheels, including roller skates or a bicycle.
Local deliveries might be different from what I do. 99.9% of the freight I haul is "no touch", to industrial facilities.
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He crashed on my couch. Him and his wife were fighting, and he didn't want the kids to see it. Her birthday gift to him a couple weeks ago was divorce papers. He lives in my town, to get to the outdoor shooting range I go to, I have to drive past his house, so I usually pick him up on the way.
ETA: Probably should have mentioned he's local to me in my first post. I don't let anyone drive drunk if I can help it. Got a DUI myself when I was 18, and it was an expensive lesson. Last New Years party I was at, I paid cab fares for around 20 people because they didn't plan a cab fare into their night.
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I also have another driver who comes in from Chicago. I'd always have to cut the plastic wrap because he was trying to tear it with his hands. After a couple months of me giving him crap, he rings the back bell one day, which is usually his cue to me that he's arrived, and I need to step out for a smoke while he gets the pallet off the truck. Not this time, he'd unloaded the pallet, and was ready to unload. I open the door and he whips out a Kershaw Leek, and just grins as he cuts the plastic wrap. Told me that he finally understood why I carried a knife, and didn't realize how often he actually needed a knife outside of deliveries.
Wowbagger
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Steve6387,
Whoa !
Dude !
You get the bravery award.
Admiting in a knife forum that you were out and about in the world naked (no knife).
I've shared a lot of embarrassing personal stuff here but . . . I don't know if I got big'ns enough to admit THAT here.
Whoa !Dude !
You get the bravery award.
Admiting in a knife forum that you were out and about in the world naked (no knife).
I've shared a lot of embarrassing personal stuff here but . . . I don't know if I got big'ns enough to admit THAT here.
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Wowbagger
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We had a young lady working for us for a couple of years. She did most of the unpacking and merchandising.
She was always asking me to cut stuff for her (and no she didn't do it for ulterior motives; I was just some old fart to her). Finally I talked her into getting a knife of her own. She was into pink colored stuff so she came up with some glittery pink thing. I forget what it was now. May have been some kind of Leatherman thing.
She left for a few months, moved on to a better job . . . then she came back to work for us again . . . no more knife. "Will you cut this for me ?" She says.
I almost bought her a pink SAK when I saw they made those. I didn't though. Seemed like it would be getting too familiar some how. She moved on to another job recently. Probably still asking people to cut stuff for her.
She's a big girl. Her dad was a cop. I'm not sure why I related that but . . . I don't get it. A person who needs a knife everyday and doesn't carry one. She had to cut up the card board boxes and all with one of our box knives in the back of the store . . . if she could find one . . . unbelievable how they get lost and then people look at me to give them mine just because I keep track of my box knife too. And sharpen it.
Rant
Rant
Rant
Then there was the other kid who worked for us a couple years (college age) wanted me to sharpen a big knife for him. I told him I would be glad to teach him if he wanted to get a sharpening stone. I feel like it is a right of passage for a man and that he needs to at least struggle a little for it/make an effort/buy a stone etc. His answer was "Oh when I was in Boy Scouts we had to learn how to sharpen a knife".
What does that mean ?
He can't do it without the rest of "The Team"? or what ?
How many modern day boy scouts does it take to sharpen a pocket knife ?
Rant . . .
etc.
etc.
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