Why do people stare at someone wearing a multitool or a knife??

Smithhammer said:
Yet another reason I'm glad I live in Idaho. No one looks at anyone twice here for wearing a knife.
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bld522 kinda inadvertently made a good point about that though. We don't live in the entirety of our state at any given time, so it's all relative to our own personal experiences. I've lived in CA my whole life and I have never had any negative experiences regarding carrying a knife nor have I heard of anyone else running into problems (that they didn't have a hand in creating). The state is quite reasonable in what edged tools we're allowed to carry. Despite this, I read occasionally of folks, like bld522, who feel quite differently about how knives are viewed in their area. I suppose there are going to be pockets, both large and small, of this sort of mindset (that knives are bad or dangerous, in and of themselves) across the globe.
 
They stare and think to themselves, "sh*t that guy is cool and I wish I was that bad@ss prepared for anything...why am I such a chump?".......
 
bld522 said:
So what do we as responsible knife owners do about it? Do we flaunt the fact that we're carrying knives in the public's face by wearing them when most of us don't really need to? Frankly I don't see that as a solution. Keeping a low profile by concealing my knife in my pocket and displaying it only when I really need to use it seems to be a lot more sensible approach to me.
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But don't you realize that ANYTIME you take YOUR knife out in public that there is the chance that others will see it and be scared by it? You're perceived NEED to use your knife has no bearing on whether or not other people get scared. That's the nature of irrational fear. So, using your logic, you should NEVER take a knife out in public to cut anything because people might see it and get scared. And since you should NEVER take your knife out in public to cut anything, there's no reason for you to carry a knife at all. There's your "solution", leave your knife at home and you won't ever have to worry about scaring anyone with it. Or does that just sound ridiculous? It sure sounds ridiculous to me.:rolleyes:

And I don't know about other people, but I don't "flaunt" my knives, I CARRY my knives. I choose to carry a fixed-blade and my local laws say that fixed-blades must be carried openly and visible. So I carry my fixed-blade openly and visible in a lawful manner. That's what I call being a "responsible knife owner". Do you believe that anyone who carries any knife in a visible manner is being an irresponsible knife owner? Do you believe that people are "flaunting" their knives simply because they carry them in a visible manner?

I can't begin to imagine how miserable it would be to go through life always worrying about what other people think. I can't imagine how miserable a life it would be to always be trying to accomodate the irrational fears of others. I can't imagine how miserable a life it would be to sacrifice ones personal freedoms in an effort to try and avoid upsetting irrational and stupid people. I'm glad I don't feel compeled to try and live that type of life.
 
In the final analysis, I just want to keep my job. If that means being discrete about how, when and where I use my knife and being careful not to upset "irrational and stupid people" as you put it, so be it!
 
bld522 said:
In the final analysis, I just want to keep my job. If that means being discrete about how, when and where I use my knife and being careful not to upset "irrational and stupid people" as you put it, so be it!
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Well heck, we all want to keep our jobs. I don't recall the subject of workplace regulations being mentioned in this thread. You specifically said "carrying knives in the PUBLIC'S face". You didn't say anything about carrying knives while being on the job.

There's a big difference between what we have to do to keep our jobs and what we are free to do, and choose to do, on our own time. There's a big difference between following workplace rules while on the job, and sacrificing our personal freedoms trying to satisfy the irrational fears of every person who might see us when not at work.

What you choose to do with your knives is none of my concern. What I objected to was the apparent suggestion that a knife owner is acting irresponsibly by merely carrying a knife in a visible manner, or that they are "flaunting" anything by doing so. Or that people should limit their choice of knives based strictly on "need".
 
bld522 said:
In the final analysis, I just want to keep my job. If that means being discrete about how, when and where I use my knife and being careful not to upset "irrational and stupid people" as you put it, so be it!
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Well wait a minute. Now it sounds like we're talking about two different things. Prior to this post, I was under the impression this was your view all the time, and not just when you're at work. Or is your livelihood at risk even when you're just out and about with a knife on you? A knife is necessary at my job. But even if it wasn't, I'm not going to lose my job if I carry a knife or use one when I'm not on the clock.
 
Generally I don't display a knife in public or at work. I just don't see the need to draw attention to myself that way. And as I said at the outset, I don't have to get to my knife in hurry, so carrying it completely out of sight works perfectly well for me. YMMV.
 
My job handbook forbids any employee from carrying a knife, yet I always have a folder on me. So do several of my managers. None of them care about me carrying mine, heh.
 
Try telling your Human Resources Manager that and see what kind of response you get. ;)
 
Precisely. That's what I mean when I talk about being discrete and not advertising that I'm carrying a knife when I don't need to. And I almost never need to, so I don't.
 
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bld522 said:
I just don't see the need to draw attention to myself that way.
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Just so I understand you, are you under the impression that most folks do draw attention to themselves by carrying a knife that shows on their person? That someone, by simply clipping a knife to their pocket or carrying one in a sheath, is indeed flaunting it?

Or could it be that that's how you feel when you wear one?
 
Well there's the question, all right. My sense is that people clip knives to their pockets for only three reasons, (1) their job demands it, (2) personal convenience or, (3) the desire to advertise the fact that they're carrying a knife. If I've missed any other reasons, please let me know. And to answer your question, I don't carry knives clipped to my pocket, so none of those reasons and the feelings they generate apply to me.
 
flaunting present participle of flaunt (Verb)
Verb
1)Display (something) ostentatiously, esp. in order to provoke envy or admiration or to show defiance.
2)Dress or behave in a sexually provocative way.
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ummm, I don't know about you guys, but by clipping my knife, I'm not trying to impress people, or make them envious
BUT
I might be trying to provoke them sexually, you never know :p :D
 
Oh, sorry. I missed that one. :D

Seriously, I think you might be surprised at how closely-related pockets clips and testosterone are to each other. ;)
 
bld522 said:
Well there's the question, all right. My sense is that people clip knives to their pockets for only three reasons, (1) their job demands it, (2) personal convenience or, (3) the desire to advertise the fact that they're carrying a knife. If I've missed any other reasons, please let me know. And to answer your question, I don't carry knives clipped to my pocket, so none of those reasons and the feelings they generate apply to me.
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That still doesn't answer my question. Your posts all seemed barbed with a lot of remarks about what you think of someone who openly carries a knife. I'm wondering where this is coming from. (1) and (2) make sense to me, but I've never had an occasion where I've run into someone who openly carries a knife due to (3). In your experience, has this been a common occurrence? That is, being in a situation where someone is clearly clipping a knife to their pocket so other people are aware of it?

I personally find pocket clips rather discrete and find that most, if not all people don't notice them unless they themselves carry a knife. Reading accounts from others here on the forums over the last 10+ years has further entrenched that opinion and I'm wondering why your own view seems so contrary and how or why you've arrived at it. Especially considering that you, as you've stated, do not use pocket clips yourself.
 
allyourblood said:
bld522 kinda inadvertently made a good point about that though. We don't live in the entirety of our state at any given time, so it's all relative to our own personal experiences. I've lived in CA my whole life and I have never had any negative experiences regarding carrying a knife nor have I heard of anyone else running into problems (that they didn't have a hand in creating). The state is quite reasonable in what edged tools we're allowed to carry. Despite this, I read occasionally of folks, like bld522, who feel quite differently about how knives are viewed in their area. I suppose there are going to be pockets, both large and small, of this sort of mindset (that knives are bad or dangerous, in and of themselves) across the globe.
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I'm also in CA, I've never had any problems with carrying knives up here or in the Bay Area. For such a liberal state, I'm surprised how leanient people are with knives.
 
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