Why do most people like pocket knives?

[marcinek]

When I need a knife it's usually for a big task, usually with a hint of improvisation, and I reach for a sensible 10" blade hollow handle.

Gaston

Yes. You like your hollow handle knife. We all got that long ago, Rambo. Good for you.

But bringing that up incessantly in unrelated threads is making you appear to be a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion, often for their own amusement.

 

[Bobby3326]

You obviously just skimmed over my posts... I said I could not understand someone carrying a fixed blade knife openly... Particularly in an urban environment... You had to really skim a lot to miss that part I must say...



Gaston

Ok so people should break the law (since many states have laws preventing concealment of a fixed blade) and conceal said fixed blade oppose to open carry legally or carry a pocket knife...great advice [emoji57]


Lol did you really say your go to blade is a 10" hollow handle?

 

[NormP]

Agree with Cricket Dave also. I remember reading an article by a knife fighting marshal arts type trainer. He urged all his students to turn and run if facing someone with a knife. Even if they were trained and there opponent wasn't. Knife fighting should be a very last resort.

Mike

Yeah sounds about right to me too. About 15 years ago I was certified in "Spontaneous Knife Defense" which basically dealt with what to do if you are attacked by someone with a knife and you haven't had time to create distance and draw your firearm. The very first day of class the instructor told us that if we are involved in a knife fight we will get cut, possibly badly. Not a pleasant thought.
When it comes to pocket knives, I've seen quite a few cases where someone got really sliced up by a guy with nothing but a pocket knife.

And I think some people are confused about why we carry guns in the US. It's not because we have such a high crime rate that we must be armed at all times (we don't). It's because unlike the rest of the western world, we actually have the freedom to carry guns if we so choose. Attempts to paint it as an issue of crime are generally thinly veiled expressions of jealousy. Stating that a 10 inch fixed blade is a better self defense weapon than a firearm tells me you are extremely unfamiliar with firearms and self defense in general.

 

[craytab]

You obviously just skimmed over my posts... I said I could not understand someone carrying a fixed blade knife openly... Particularly in an urban environment... You had to really skim a lot to miss that part I must say...

And by the way, Andy Rooney pretty much made it his life's work figuring out the practical from the absurd, gaining a huge following and writing dozens of books on nothing but the subject of everyday practicality, and he found pocket knives second rate. If it makes you feel any better, he also said he was impressed when he saw a man carry a pocket knife, it's just that he did not find them useful...

For delicate crafting tasks, a pocket knife would be of no use, and would make a mess of most really precise tasks... This even more so at the accepted 20 degrees per side that is common on these things...

When I need a knife it's usually for a big task, usually with a hint of improvisation, and I reach for a sensible 10" blade hollow handle.

Gaston

Who give a crap about what Andy Rooney thought about knives, or anything really. He was a not so closeted bigot who sold his words for a living. You using him as evidence here speaks volumes.

You really do like posting ridiculous things to get a rouse out of people.

 

[hatchettjack]

Imagine what would of happened if all the Jewish folks had been armed! THATS why everyone should carry! As far as pocket knives, they are a mechanical piece of art that is also incredibly handy! And they are fun to play with!

 

[benchwarmer380]

For delicate crafting tasks, a pocket knife would be of no use, and would make a mess of most really precise tasks... This even more so at the accepted 20 degrees per side that is common on these things...

When I need a knife it's usually for a big task, usually with a hint of improvisation, and I reach for a sensible 10" blade hollow handle.

Gaston

What kind of delicate crafting tasks? Like woodworking? Whittling? Leather work?
Sure, pocket knives could work for these but you're right, they wouldn't be the best tool for the job. Most people carry pocket knives for every day cutting ie tape, cardboard, plastic wraps etc. When I worked in a restaurant, this was done generally at least once a day. In my current office job, I cut something once a week if I'm lucky. Both places a folding pocket knife (or small pocket fixed blade) were much more convenient and practical. A larger fixed blade would have been out of place and unnecessary.

 

[marcinek]

Imagine what would of happened if all the Jewish folks had been armed! THATS why everyone should carry!

Armed with pocket knives.

 

[Bobby3326]

What kind of delicate crafting tasks? Like woodworking? Whittling? Leather work?
Sure, pocket knives could work for these but you're right, they wouldn't be the best tool for the job. Most people carry pocket knives for every day cutting ie tape, cardboard, plastic wraps etc. When I worked in a restaurant, this was done generally at least once a day. In my current office job, I cut something once a week if I'm lucky. Both places a folding pocket knife (or small pocket fixed blade) were much more convenient and practical. A larger fixed blade would have been out of place and unnecessary.

A pocket knife actually whittles quite well, hell as a kid I saw many old timers sitting on their porch with pocket knife in hand whittling away. One gentleman was retired and would sit out there whittling decorative hand carved canes and walking sticks that he'd sell at the local swap meet on the weekends to make ends meet. He did this pretty much all day throughout the week, and used nothing more than a traditional style pocket knife with a blade between 2-3" to shape and carve them.

 

[Colorodo]

When I was a kid back in the sixties I went to a lot of gun shows with my dad. While I couldn't own a gun I could own and carry a pocket knife and that was cool. The Buck knife was the grail for me back then. I carry ZT because they are heavy and stay in my pocket.

 

[DJC72]

Pocket knives can handle the majority of edc and camping/hiking tasks. I love my fixed blades but other than chopping or battoning a folder can get the job done. They perform well whitting and making delicate cuts or notches in wood.

 

[benchwarmer380]

A pocket knife actually whittles quite well, hell as a kid I saw many old timers sitting on their porch with pocket knife in hand whittling away. One gentleman was retired and would sit out there whittling decorative hand carved canes and walking sticks that he'd sell at the local swap meet on the weekends to make ends meet. He did this pretty much all day throughout the week, and used nothing more than a traditional style pocket knife with a blade between 2-3" to shape and carve them.

That is very true and thanks for pointing it out.:thumbup:

Yet, not all pocket knives would be good for whittling. The knife you mentioned (which sounds very much like a common pocket knife) would be great at whittling while knives like a Benchmade 710 (also a fairly common pocket knife) would not be all that great.

The point I was trying to make was that these activities require specific cutting tools (or at least specific qualities) to be efficient while pocket knives are generally for utility and convenience.

 

[Ernie1980]

I don't carry a knife for self defense, but to cut stuff if I need to. A knife is a poor choice for self defense, plus goes against what most of us believe in- a knife is a tool not a weapon.

 

[TheDandyLion]

There's no reason to carry a large fixed blade for me. In an urban environment they have no more utility than a small pocket knife, in fact for most tasks that small folder is MORE useful. I do carry a fixed blade often but it's either around the house/in the woods/small enough to be inconspicuous. Small folders are also easier to carry, and smaller blade more useful than a large one for 99.9% of tasks. Even in a wilderness veiw most experienced woodsmen use 3-4" blade which are hardly combat knives. I think people like you are what make people panic when they learn "I carry a weapon" (Svord peasant/mora). You carry a knife as a weapon. Most people that know a damn thing about how a knife fight would go, carry a knife as a tool and something more capable as a weapon (if at all). You have worsened a stereotype of violence craving bladed weapon collectors.

Also, look at his from a jury's' point of view. If a guy carries around a large "combat knife" with the intent on using it on people (which pardon my french, is f*ing stupid) and the other guy is just some drifter that can put on a real sad face, the fellow with the big knife is getting put away. Just think of the Zimmerman trials (which I am neutral on).

And finally knives are probably the worst weapons for self defense out there. A gun, even a .22/.380ACP which is a far more capable weapon for self defense and easier for a jury to swallow. Just like other self defense things like batons or mace (though I'm not big on mace). So not only is it a bad idea, it's impractical, and it's dangerous. That's why most prefer pocketknives.

 

[Wilsonhome]

For delicate crafting tasks, a pocket knife would be of no use, and would make a mess of most really precise tasks...

Gaston

I'm not sure what your unit of measure for precision is, so I guess this could be true in a sense. However, I have seen a number of precise and beautiful carvings made with a pocket knife in the hands of a talented person so this may be a little subjective.

Not sure how to respond your last comment about the sensible 10 inch hollow handle.

I carry a small, traditional folder all the time because that takes care of almost all the tasks I need. I occasionally carry other knives when engaged in tasks where they are more suited. Even then I have the little pocket knife as well.

 

[TheDandyLion]

My dad carves small, very elaborate statues of animals and suck with an Opinel no.7.

 

[Spyder59]

Very nice!! :thumbup: I have a pic of one of my snub and knife combos floating around here somewhere.

Thanks

 

[BladeScout]

Imagine what would of happened if all the Jewish folks had been armed! THATS why everyone should carry! As far as pocket knives, they are a mechanical piece of art that is also incredibly handy! And they are fun to play with!

Assume you mean in Germany in the thirties.
Well, actually a lot of jews (and 'gentiles') in Germany WERE armed with small arms.
Handguns could be bought for defense and loads of people hunted.
Then a certain regime came to power and gradually registration was made mandatory. After a while guns were for the most part to be handed in.
When the powers that be decided to round up guns (and later people), it was easy, because they knew were to go.

Back to knives.

 

[Bobby3326]

I don't carry a knife for self defense, but to cut stuff if I need to. A knife is a poor choice for self defense, plus goes against what most of us believe in- a knife is a tool not a weapon.

This..[emoji106]

A knife is a tool not a weapon, the thought of packing a "combat" knife for the only reason of using it on someone is absurd and not realistic. Stop watching movies and believing you can recreate the scenarios you've seen, cause you can't and won't.

The only scenario where i could reasonably see a knife being used for self defense is in a last ditch effort to protect yourself and you're literally fighting for your life, but to even be in that badly involved in the situation you made some horrible choices leading up to that point.

 

[Spyder59]

Pocket knife popularity is a bit of a mystery to me as well, but in the US I figure they dominate because self-defense firearms are available (although the convenience of those seems dubious to me, when even a 5 shot aluminium J frame weights more than a 10 inch Rambo knife). Outside the US, in the rest of the Western World, crime is so low people carry nothing for defense, so pocket knives in Europe again win big (clip thumb opening knives are in the same category as pocket knives to me) because they are not carried for defense.

I have never found any use for pocket knives in my daily activities, and I cut stuff often... I use Exacto blades when I need to cut something, quite often just the blade without the handle... Most pocket knives have poor fine cutting ability compared to several Exacto-blades, especially when a fresh edge is needed after some previous work...

The rare times I ever needed a knife was in dire emergencies, usually related to a bike breakdown, where a pocket knife would have been of no use: I was glad I had a large fixed blade to leverage the chain back on, and once a Model 14 even gave me access to badly needed shelter...

I never got the usefulness of a pocket knife for daily activities, and I think Andy Rooney put it best when he did a 60 Minutes segment devoted entirely to pocket knives: "They seem like a better idea than they are."

Gaston

Then why the interest in a BLADE forum?

 

[Spyder59]

My bad self would run away before I would consider deploying a knife in self-defense. I'm pretty sure that would defend my self better than a knife - pocket, folding, fixed, whatever.

Some people can't run.