Why am I the only one I know who carries a knife?

Because unfortunatly times have changed. Modern urban and suburban life does not really require a knife on a day in-day out basis. And people these days will only carry what they really need on a daily basis, like their cell phone/Crackberry. God only knows what evil may happen if they can't get on facebook once an hour. The fact that even a small pen knife will make opening some kids of packages easier has nothing to do with it. We carry knives because we're obsessed with them. We're knife nuts, and are repeat buyers of an item most people only see as needed in the kitchen. We're also a very tiny part of society at large.

I've given away many many keychain sak's like the little classic. They always are put to use, and I am told by the people I give them to how useful they are. But not one of these people thought enough to buy a small knife themselves. They also don't think they need more than that. So it seems like most non knife people are served well in their comfy suburban life by a inch and a half tiny keychain pen knife.

Face it, we're the mutants. We are affliicted with the bug, so we don't see it the way the rest of 99% of society sees it. Very few people spend huge money on a watch, and wear a simple Times or Casio, while the watch nut will have a collection of Seiko's or even higher end watches. It's all in your perspective.

After WW2, there was a huge migration from the rural to urban lifestyles. The young men came home from the war, and didn't want to go home to the farm. The growth of suburbia was a post war thing. The kids today are growing up in the mall environment, not the farm. Most will be employed in office type jobs working with a computer, not cutting bales of hay or such. A pocket knife is no longer a needed thing, no matter what we think. It's the age of the I-whatever.

Times change.

Carl.
 
I have no idea and ask myself (and them) the same question.
I have some friends, neighbours and family who are one of those guys who are always busy.
You know the type; fixing stuff, welding whatever, they got a shed full of tools.

Still they don't carry a knife or a multitool.
And those who do carry a knife, have an oldskool Solingen slipjoint.
 
the kid said:
I have no idea and ask myself (and them) the same question.
I have some friends, neighbours and family who are one of those guys who are always busy.
You know the type; fixing stuff, welding whatever, they got a shed full of tools.

Still they don't carry a knife or a multitool.
And those who do carry a knife, have an oldskool Solingen slipjoint.
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Speaking as someone who took Welding classes, I don't see any opportunities to actually use knife on that particular job. I mean, I sure as hell can't chip the slag off my welds with a knife without chipping the thing(slag has the consistency of glass). Also don't think any of my knives are approved for cutting metal. Though I suppose the ability to sharpen edged tools will come in handy for resharpening my chipping hammer:thumbup:.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Speaking as someone who took Welding classes, I don't see any opportunities to actually use knife on that particular job. I mean, I sure as hell can't chip the slag off my welds with a knife without chipping the thing(slag has the consistency of glass). Also don't think any of my knives are approved for cutting metal. Though I suppose the ability to sharpen edged tools will come in handy for resharpening my chipping hammer:thumbup:.
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:grumpy:

If I see a use for an EDC knife, especially a Victorinox with screwdrivers (Cadet) which I use several times a week, then for people like that it should be ten times as handy.

;)
 
It can feel that way. I've given up even talking with people about knives. They just think your a wack job once you start talking, and God forbid if price ever enters the conversation.

I did challenge my wife to carry a knife. We picked out the knife together (Pink Grip) and we agreed she had to carry it for one month every day. At the end of the month she did not have to ever carry a knife again. At the end of the month she left it on the dresser. That lasted about two days. She's always packin a blade now and now has three knives. :thumbup: Two Benchmades (pink Grip and a red 960) and a Spyderco Kopa (mother of pearl).
 
jackknife said:
Face it, we're the mutants.
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So that explains the strange powers...:D
But yes, it does seem that we are becoming more of a minority.
But keep spreading the knife love; I've changed a few people myself with the gift of a relatively inexpensive knife.:)
 
I'll go you one better: I'm the *only* person I know who carries a fixed-blade knife on a daily basis. The only people I know who even own a fixed-blade knife only take it with them when they go hunting.

I'm sure there are people around me who think I'm a bit odd, but I don't let it bother me. For one thing, I make knives, so I'm always carrying my latest prototype to see how it feels to carry it around and use it. And I don't go around with a giant pigsticker on my hip; I keep it in a bag with the other stuff I use in my job. :) Although I don't use the knives in my job...but that's beside the point...

It was all fun and games ("Mook's a little strange, always having a knife with him") until one of my son's friends wracked up his wrist last Saturday. Instead of spending 6 hours in the ER waiting to be seen, only to then be told to put it in a sling, and instead of going to the pharmacy for a $20 splint, I got a piece of 1x2 and an Ace wrap and whittled him a splint...one of those S-curve things that keeps the wrist in the neutral alignment.

The kid's Mom, previously skeptical about all the knives (but happy to know someone who knows how to sharpen her kitchen cutlery), was pleased to see one put to good use.
 
Todays technological world requires much less hands on work, thus less tools to do that work like knives. Also the fact that it is associated with a weapon. All my friends were sketched the first time they saw me with a 3" edc knife.
 
In our modern urbanized world, it's plausible that many people can go through their everyday lives without the need for a knife. However, that doesn't mean that they wouldn't use a knife if they carried one. Under these circumstances, it's more convenience than necessity to carry such tools on one's person. For example, I used my knife at work (college tech support squirrel) this afternoon to open a box of copier paper. I could have gone into the next room to fetch a pair of scissors, but it was quicker and easier to use the Spyderco Stretch I had clipped to my pocket.

However, I believe (as I think many do on the forums) in being prepared for known-unknowns (stuff that could happen that we are aware of) and unknown-unknowns (stuff that could happen that we haven't thought to specifically prepare for), and carrying a knife is part of that for me.

To answer the OP's question, most of the people around me don't carry or use knives as tools outside the kitchen. However, I've supplied many of my friends with SAKs, and they tell me how often they come in handy.
 
I can understand how not knowing anyone that carries a knife could be a mind blowing experience. That would throw me for a loop too.

I know a lot of guys that carry knives and a couple of women too. All but just a few of them carry slipjoints. There are a lot of guys at work that carry pocket knives and there are some that need one but don't have one. I have given away several knives to folks that I think could use one. I usually hand them a knife and say "it's better to have that and not need it than it is to need it and not have it".

We have one guy at work that just flat out refuses to carry a knife or accept one as a gift. He doesn't seem to have anything against knives but he steadfastly claims that he just doesn't need one. As fate would have it, he ocassionally asks to borrow someone's knife. He's like a guy that smokes but never has a lighter on him.

Of all the people I know that carry knives, I doubt if even one of them would know what a Sebenza or a Military is. They simply aren't knife nuts like us and probably only own one knife. I'm glad that they appreciate them as tools even though they have no special interest in them.
 
From a defensive/tactical standpoint , I automatically assume everyone is carrying a knife. There's a lot of people carrying them that you wouldn't think they would usually because they aren't flashing it around displaying it or that visual cues indicate otherwise. Just my .02;)
 
At one job all my coworkers carry a leatherman, recently one of my friends there bought a full sized griptillion after carrying a crkt m16 for a bit. Awesome

At the other job, three out of ten of us have leathermans, and only two of us carry them around (same people who own knives) but I'm the only who carries a knife if you don't count the spyderco bugs I got some people for Christmas (a great gift idea by the way, the lady later wanted a leatherman, which she ended up getting)

Convert the heathens!
 
"We have one guy at work that just flat out refuses to carry a knife or accept one as a gift."

Ha! that reminds me of the old supertition, never give a knife or it may cut the friendship, always sell a knife. I bought my son a Boker cronidur (sp?) for his birthday, but before I gave it to him I asked him for a quarter. Aye, a sentimental Irishman playing it safe!
 
Well when someone asks me to borrow my knife I aways ask what they are going to do with it. More than a couple of times I've gotten the answer that they were going to cut the metal strapping on box, or the actual wire ties on something, I even got an I'm gonnna use it for a screw driver answer. Sorry folks not with my auto stryker.
 
What kills me is going into a knife store and knowing more about the products they sell then they do
 
Railsplitter said:
I can understand how not knowing anyone that carries a knife could be a mind blowing experience. That would throw me for a loop too.
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It's pretty weird man. I figure I've got to run across someone one of these days. I carry a sebenza, use it all the time around people and it has never once been recognized. Don't make it to many knife shows (NY doesn't have them anymore.), but I went to a gun show recently and showed it to the knife dealers there. No clue. Really? Ridiculous.
 
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