Who has an EDC for sheeple friendly carry, and one for who cares?

HJK said:
We've dealt with the term "sheeple" elsewhere at some length and it probably should be confined to its own thread, but that's a decision for the Mods in charge here, so I won't go off on a rant. The term is a shorthand for a certain attitude many people have and if the term is applied fairly it's not really an insult but a description of mindless fear of knives and blindly following the demonization of all knives and knife knuts. That doesn't mean everyone carrying or deploying a knife is a saint and everyone worried is an imbecile. But there are so many who overreact to an appropriate use of a knife that a word has been coined for it. It's a real phenomenon and IMHO a fair usage, when properly applied.
I almost always carry and I do choose the appropriate looking knife for the occasion. I'm in and out of Courts and offices a fair bit. Lawyers generally don't go through the metal checks but carrying a huge "tactical" serrated folder ( serrations seem to scare people) is going to cause concerns nonetheless. In such cases when I don't have to forego anything larger than a keychain knife I'll take something that looks dressy and civilian like a small fancy Sebenza or a damascus dresser. That seldom causes a problem, especially if you are matter of fact and low key in how you use it. But sometimes... We all have our stories.
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Well said.
 
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Aldebaran said:
Being prepared for me means having a good knife, a multi-tool, and a backup knife. The problem with a knife here is that the size permissible is at the discretion of the police. Does it look dangerous to the particular officer? Then it is a weapon.

So who else has this dual EDC requirement?
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I definitely try to be prepared and having tools available is often part of it. But, with knives it's simple for me. Other than fixed blades, I seldom carry any folding knife with a blade over 3.25". Given the right circumstance, just about any knife could result in a weapons charge (doubt a Vic Classic would, but most could) even when there is no limit to blade length or knife type such as in my state.

Added: I carry a folder that has a blade length that I am comfortable using almost anywhere even in a court house as I work in them sometimes and need cutting tools. I get permission and escorted past the metal detectors. Even a SAK Classic is illegal to carry inside a courthouse. But in general, my needs are not significant in terms of blade length on folders.

I can tell you that if you carry a fixed blade (large one) you will even get looks in the woods, state and national parks included regardless of legality.
 
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I have a kind of interesting story that's basically the opposite of the point of this thread...
I'm at Home Depot buying some 1" Manila rope (for a climbing rope for my tree house, I'm 30 BTW and yes I have a tree house and I can make it straight up my 25" rope in under 30sec to boot) and there's a little 18ish year old employee, very clearly the delicate flower type helping me. Well Home Depot doesn't give their employees blades since almost all the Rope they sell is nylon and they have a rope burner, no blade at all not even a box knife.

Now I'm standing there thinking to myself how is this hot knife going to melt Manila rope, it ain't going to happen. But I let her do her thing go about flipping on and letting it heat up the 15 seconds or whatever to warm it up, touch the rope to it nothing happens as you might expect. She's looking around looking for another employee which she doesn't see so I reach to my belt, pull out my 6-inch Charlie Mike Tanto (very clearly a fighting knife of some sort even to the non knife initiated this is clearly not utility knife) expecting to get some "oh my God what do you need that for" type response but what I get out of her is actually the total opposite; she's like "why didn't you bring that out at the beginning?"
I cut the rope, she writes me the ticket I go grab a couple more things I needed from the Shelf then I get up at the front to the checkout where there's an older woman probably in her sixties and the little girl has randomly went up to this woman and is telling her how freaking awesome my knife was and now that woman wants to see it and so we spend the next 5 minutes discussing g knives and tools and I even give her my CharlieMike business card I had in my wallet (though I highly doubt either of these women were interested in buying a high end knife for themselves I got the vibe, especially from the younger one that she was seriously interested in buying a nice knife for someone in her life)

It's probably to this day my best dealing-with-the-public knife experience I've ever had.

Sorry for lack of punctuation in paragraphs, I voice-to-texted this post.
 
Cereal_killer said:
I have a kind of interesting story that's basically the opposite of the point of this thread...
I'm at Home Depot buying some 1" Manila rope (for a climbing rope for my tree house, I'm 30 BTW and yes I have a tree house and I can make it straight up my 25" rope in under 30sec to boot) and there's a little 18ish year old employee, very clearly the delicate flower type helping me. Well Home Depot doesn't give their employees blades since almost all the Rope they sell is nylon and they have a rope burner, no blade at all not even a box knife.

Now I'm standing there thinking to myself how is this hot knife going to melt Manila rope, it ain't going to happen. But I let her do her thing go about flipping on and letting it heat up the 15 seconds or whatever to warm it up, touch the rope to it nothing happens as you might expect. She's looking around looking for another employee which she doesn't see so I reach to my belt, pull out my 6-inch Charlie Mike Tanto (very clearly a fighting knife of some sort even to the non knife initiated this is clearly not utility knife) expecting to get some "oh my God what do you need that for" type response but what I get out of her is actually the total opposite; she's like "why didn't you bring that out at the beginning?"
I cut the rope, she writes me the ticket I go grab a couple more things I needed from the Shelf then I get up at the front to the checkout where there's an older woman probably in her sixties and the little girl has randomly went up to this woman and is telling her how freaking awesome my knife was and now that woman wants to see it and so we spend the next 5 minutes discussing g knives and tools and I even give her my CharlieMike business card I had in my wallet (though I highly doubt either of these women were interested in buying a high end knife for themselves I got the vibe, especially from the younger one that she was seriously interested in buying a nice knife for someone in her life)

It's probably to this day my best dealing-with-the-public knife experience I've ever had.

Sorry for lack of punctuation in paragraphs, I voice-to-texted this post.
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if someone in a hardware store who needed should have had and was looking for a real knife had been shocked at the appearance of one then that really would be shocking. Just a little more shocking than hardware store employees cutting rope not having a blade handy. Somewhere in that chain of dumb decisions there must be a s--e-le or two. Because some find the term offensive I didn't actually say it. henceforth, let's just call it the "S" word. I find most people are pretty good if you are considerate and subtle.
 
If im wearing a suit, which is most days for work, ill carry my SOG access card behind my belt just because i cant have a larger folder in my pocket for aesthetic reasons. But ill still have one in my bag.

Otherwise typically a CQC 7, or sometimes a 15 or Roadhouse. Now a Zaan has gotten into rotation. I cant think of a time its ever bothered anyone, but i am also heavily tattooed and workout almost obsessively, so if im in a t-shirt and shorts people tend to very obviously avoid me. The knife i carry wont make a difference.
 
This is something I struggle with all the time. That is why my most EDC knife is a SAK Cadet.
 
I was at a 13 year old softball game and my cousin's wife spotted my small sebenza (iwb at 1oclock behind a belt!???). I went through the rigamarole of explaining why I carry a knife and what for etc.
Quite frankly I am tired of having to give an explanation and backstory before talking about cultures, knives and a few other things. Have a good weekend
 
mt666tm said:
If im wearing a suit, which is most days for work, ill carry my SOG access card behind my belt just because i cant have a larger folder in my pocket for aesthetic reasons. But ill still have one in my bag.
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I like the SOG Access Card (2.0). It gets used for light cutting tasks typically around my desk. But would be useful in a necessary bag in the woods as a backup since it takes so little space.
 
willard0341 said:
I was at a 13 year old softball game and my cousin's wife spotted my small sebenza (iwb at 1oclock behind a belt!???). I went through the rigamarole of explaining why I carry a knife and what for etc.
Quite frankly I am tired of having to give an explanation and backstory before talking about cultures, knives and a few other things. Have a good weekend
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I understand. Anyone who knows me knows I have a knife on me regardless. It is a standard implement in my life like Carhartt pocket tea shirts. I honestly don't know how I would react in your situation, but I also get tired of this sort of thing when all your doing is carrying a folding knife. Might even come in handy at the softball game for something.
 
Lapedog said:
What's funny is that most "sheeple" probably think we are the sheeple being led by the knife (or gun, or whatever) industry to buy a bunch of stuff we don't need.
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Disregarding the word choice, would they be wrong? In the U.S. at least, we live in a highly consumeristic culture that spends every second of every day trying to sell us stuff we don't need. Companies spend millions of dollars to turn people into compulsory consumers, and they are obviously very good at it.
 
Do some here think they should be able to just whip out a big pocket brick in public for no reason without being looked at funny ? I get the feeling this is the case with some people.
It sucks that people have to be so afraid of something as mundane as a folding knife and the majority being due to nothing more than the liberal media , but many in the world are and we can't just whip blades out in public like toys no matter how much we want to.

The sheeple thing I feel is appropriate to describe certain people, but not all non knife people, and certainly not those who react properly to someone who's just playing with a large folder in public.
 
I rarely need to use a knife in public, outside of work. I have never been looked at strangely on the occasions that I have. Probably all comes down to dress and demeanor.
 
Among friends and family, it's a given that I carry knives, although sometimes I get kidded (good natured ;)) about it. But I don't want to alienate or antagonize strangers, and there's no need to for it, anyway. We live in a society made up of all kinds, and if it's not necessary, there's no need to impose ones values on others, regardless of how they arrived at their opinions or how wrong-headed you think they might be. If something needs to be cut in a public setting, 98.6% of the time, a small SAK will be up to the task and offend nobody. It's neither my job nor duty to teach anybody or change minds about legal knife carry, at least not at random. I prefer to keep my machete private unless needed for more serious social purposes :cool: .
 
If I don't have a knife or two on me then I feel weird, off my game. Been carrying one since I can remember. All self respecting hillbillies carry a pocket knife. Even in Church.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Do some here think they should be able to just whip out a big pocket brick in public for no reason without being looked at funny ?
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Of course not. It's obviously not particularly well-advised or considerate to start repeatedly flipping open your 14" Cold Steel monster folder while dining at your favorite restaurant, just to show the girls at the next table what a "man" you are (assuming the establishment allows people to carry on their property). If you're acting that douchey, you deserve to get looked at funny. On the other hand, I also don't think we knife people should feel pressured into not carrying or using the knives of our choice when appropriate out of fear of public reaction. If a particular knife is legal to own and carry in your area, and you have some legitimate reason to use it in a public setting, go ahead and do so in a reasonably discreet manner (in other words, no need to try to hide it, but pull the knife out, make the cut(s), and put it away). :thumbsup:
 
I carry whatever I want and feel fits my needs for the day. I never carry anything too outlandish and have had some people surprised when they see my knife, however most of these people have preconceptions of knives as weapons. Carrying my Delica4 or Mini-grip has never made someone uncomfortable to my knowledge. I have even had a girl say how cute my knife was when she saw my Delica4. I got some weird comments about my voyager XL but i shouldn't carry that anyways :)
-Hector
 
IMG_3006.jpg IMG_3007.jpg IMG_3004.jpg IMG_3005.jpg The people friendly looks like this, and the who cares? looks like this or vice versa. I will get photo posting down someday. I just hope that it happens in my lifetime.
 
willard0341 said:
I was at a 13 year old softball game and my cousin's wife spotted my small sebenza (iwb at 1oclock behind a belt!???). I went through the rigamarole of explaining why I carry a knife and what for etc.
Quite frankly I am tired of having to give an explanation and backstory before talking about cultures, knives and a few other things. Have a good weekend
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I think in that situation I would of asked her WTF she was looking at me that in-depth for...
 
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