Why do traditionals look more friendly?

quattromori

quattromori

Joined
May 7, 2011
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I know this thread may cause some argumens but still I think it's good to exchange opinions and thoughts.
So recently I read some posts of users here complaining about Europe being knife hostile and so on.
Apart from the fact that "Europe" covers a very wide range of countries and cultures (even more than the US, no matter the size), I've been thinking about non knife people and their attitude towards knives (and especially traditionals) and I wanna share some thoughts with u.
Of course, like any other forum member, I believe that a knife is a tool (not a weapon) that any person should be allowed to carry and use. I live in a place where, due to our tradition in knife making, it's very unlikely that people would openly complain about someone carrying a knife. At the same time, I'm aware that the huge majority of knife people here carry traditionals.
After a few months of surfing on this forum, I keep reading of different reactions to different kinds of knives; traditional style knives are usually seen as less 'weaponly' and therefore more accepted (as a general fact - any situation and person is different of course)...and I'm wondering why. I'm not discussing local cultures or specific situations, just want to have ur general opinion.
There are a few factors involved.
Size, for example, may have some weight. A 5" blade surely looks more 'aggressive' than a 3" one.
But why traditionals always look friendlier?
Is it because most people have seen their grandpa, or uncle, carrying a similar knife, and they know that their grandpa never stabbed anyone and just used it as a tool?
Is it because of the materials? Maybe. I do believe that stag and bone are less intimidating than black G10 or FRN.
Is it for the one handed opening? I guess most people don't know the difference between a one handed opener and an auto (which in fact is illegal in most countries) so that might have a role.
Is it for the locking? I don't think so...most people have no idea that such things even exist.
Or is it because of our attitude? Do people that carry traditional knives use them, or just look or behave differently than people who carry modern style folders?
I have no clear answer to any of that. But I know for sure that if I have to, let's say, open a cardboard package in a store, and I pull out of my pocket a Peanut or a Stockman, the average reaction will be very different than the one I get if I pull out a modern 4" bladed locking folder (and I'm not making specific examples cause I don't want to bring this topic to specific knives and so on, or on specific situations that any of us has experienced).
I'm just asking for ur general thoughts...
Fausto
:cool:
 
I think you hit on most of the reasons. Nostalgia. Materials. And reaching into a pocket looks a lot less like a 'gun draw' than pulling a clip knife. Less aggressive all around. Allow me to make a non-knife related analogy. I have two MC's. A dual sport and an old honda. Everyone thinks the old honda is 'cute'. Kids love it. Same time deal. Slipjoints look friendly. And you have to open them two handed (usually). And they look less militaristic.
 
Their is a lot that can go into it. I have heard thickness, width, shape, colors, grinds, serrations, etc. There are people that are afraid of new, the unknown, its a safety mechanism. A lot of "normal" people need professional help IMHO.
 
I think when some people see a traditional knife in use, it reminds them of a certain family member that carried a pocket knife or something of the sort. They are nostalgic, they make some people take a trip down memory lane, and are just less intmidating, and sometimes more interesting than a one-handed tactical folder.
 
For me, a 'traditional' knife immediately evokes thoughts of more 'traditional' people & times. To me, that implies a more 'friendly' perception from the get-go, as I think it embodies all the qualities that really were the norm (traditional) some time ago. Decency, kindness, respect, warmth and simple, intelligent functionality are what come to mind, when I think of 'traditional'.
 
There's a lot of body language communication going on that may be unconscious. The movements associated with reaching for and opening a pocket knife are just like what Grandpa did.

Newer style, clipped folders, that can be opened one handed are a different motion. The black handles, aggressive lines, and that locking sound draw more attention. These knifes can be larger than most traditional pocket knives, and they are seen in Movies and on TV shows used as weapons.

Take sharks vs. dolphins. They look similar in many ways, at least at a glance, but look at the eyes and the teeth. Which one is more menacing? You could re-shape a traditional to make it look more dangerous by altering the blade profile and use more straight lines in the handle, and make it black or cammo.
 
There are some traditional knives that have been used as weapons in some parts of the world (e.g., the navaja in Corsica and the Iberian Peninsula) and that still have strong connotations to criminality. Therefore, I say history has some to do with it. And that not all traditional knives are seen as innocuous.

Many modern folders have a very aggressive and even bellicose look to them. I think that it is done on purpose (at least, in many cases it is), to cater to crowds that are into guns and like military-styled gear. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Sometimes, however, the level of aggressiveness is in the eye of the beholder. It may also have to do with one's personal socio-political views (e.g., 2nd amendment). In this latter case, European attitudes are very diffirent from here.
 
Traditional knives are friendly because they are nostalgically associated with positive and enjoyable aspects of life: hard manual labor, farm life, a family hunting/ fishing tradition, whittling a stick on the porch. Not ghosting enemy sentries.
 
It's the media. If you watch an action flick, you'll never see the main star chased into the woods and pull out a peanut or stockman - it will some Rambo/Gil Hibben creation. It's the 'impact' they are looking for & they get it. For actual use, some of that stuff is a joke but that's not what sells. Then people want to cash in from the picture, buy the rights and let's say they make 600 dozen. Then some sheeple level politican thinks it will get him more votes to make an issue of it and va-la. Now all cutlery is grouped into some sort of weapons catagory, which of course is total crap. However, I think MacGwyver did use a SAK... Image is everything.
 
U know, I hadn't considered the "media" factor, but u may have a point here. Cause just like a traditional knife is linked to some "old style, friendly, familiar, etc" image, modern knives are also linked to a much more aggressive image due to movies and so on.
But I still believe that the attitude and behaviour of the knife user does change along with the style of the knife, and that somehow people sense the difference.
I have nothing against it (since, as I said, a knife is exclusively a tool for me), but I feel that some factories put too much enfasis on the "military" factor of their knives (in terms of shape, design, speed and so on) and therefore attract a part of knife users who tend to consider that sort of use for a knife (even as a remote fantasy). I will push this so far to say that, sometimes, I've been surprised ("scared" is not the word, but still I would understand that feeling) when someone (even for a trivial tasks, and doing it in a very relaxed way) pulls out certain knives (again, I'm not making specific examples but u all know what I mean I guess).
And even if, as Cisco Kid said, some traditionals also carry a negative label (bandits, for example), still they have something that makes them look less dangerous. The funny thing is that, in fact, the possible "danger" related to a knife lies in things that people can't really see: the sharpness of the blade, the hand that holds it, and the brains that control it.
Fausto
:cool:
 
Well this may sound bad but when I was in a point of my life that I worked in a dark alley in a bad area of Balitmore city I carried the most intimidating EKI I could find. I carried it for one reason. When I got away from that point and stopped worrying about my life on a nightly basis I got into the Sebenzas's. The more I used that knife the more I realized I liked thin blades. Then I got back into traditionals. What I started with from the beginning and before I feared for my life at work for 5 years. I believe tactical folders are designed for one purpose and they do that well. They were not designed for the simple day to day tasks that a traditional was. I feel like that shines through.

Just my 2 cents.

Kevin

I know you didn't ask for specifics but I don't see how I could have described my thoughts without them.
 
i definitely think the media has a lot to do with it. you never see a thug in a movie bust out a stockman and rob someone with it. its always some kind of switchblade, balisong, or crazy looking fixed blade.
 
comoha said:
Traditional knives are friendly because they are nostalgically associated with positive and enjoyable aspects of life: hard manual labor, farm life, a family hunting/ fishing tradition, whittling a stick on the porch. Not ghosting enemy sentries.
Click to expand...


Perfectly stated Corey. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
Why do they look friendlier? besides the other comments here, i think COLOR is a big factor. Traditional knives have brightly polished blades (until the patina sets in) and various colored handles. Most tactical knives are black or gray or green with matching blades. Black is proven to be a color of power and dominance and fear. That is why you see police and swat teams wear black. Intimidation. See Batman! ;)
 
One thing I have noticed and it kinda shocked me is I have friends who are not knife friendly in the sense a pocket knife is solely a weapon to them, but they are not intimidated by my plane jane rough riders with no swedges and usually say something about the vibrant colored bone on some...but the second I add a deep swedge their opinion of that knife changes, like it has become more dangerous by a simple grind adjustment.

It's all about what each person perceives as a threat I guess.
 
Never seen a movie where the psycho killer used a jigged bone Peanut or a yaller Sodbuster. I think the media grossly affects how people view knives.


**EDIT** I just noticed that I had rephrased xtonesterx's comment. Next time I'll read the whole thread. :D He makes a very good point, though.
 
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Tentmaker said:
Never seen a movie where the psycho killer used a jigged bone Peanut or a yaller Sodbuster. I think the media grossly affects how people view knives.
Click to expand...

Actually I saw a movie called "Let me in" which is a 2010 remake of the film "Let the right one in" where he buys a slipjoint with the intent to stab the bully at his school...one scene he's out in the snow stabbing at a tree with it, its literally the first movie or media piece I remember seeing a small slipjoint in hand as a weapon.
 
Traditionals don't look scary. They often have smaller blades and look less threatening than "tactical" knives. They typically take two hands to open. Jigged bone doesn't look nearly as threatening as black G10. If I look at my Queen mini trapper next to my Kershaw Leek (s30v and G10) the mini trapper looks much less threatening. It's smaller, doesn't open one-handed with a click like the Leek, and overall conveys a sense of nostalgia I think. People who have seen it said they thought it was beautiful. The Leek, on the other hand, I try to conceal for the most part because it looks way more dangerous.
 
I think size has a lot to do with it.
Especially over here in the big ol' Netherlands I guess.

Once I was working in a printing factory where we made labels on beer crates. Lots of plastic webbing to cut.
One dat I used my Delica 3 with a fully serrated edge and I got comments of how handy a knife I had.
The other day I was using my Endura 3 fully serrated and the same coworker asked me where I needed such a machete for.:confused:
The rest of the day I was called Rambo by him:rolleyes::D

Furthermore I can count the people that I have seen carry a pocket knife over here one one hand in the 44 years I have been around. Including my Dad and Granddad.

We are far from knife minded over here, so any pocket knife will soon be scary. Traditional or not.
Just the fact that one actually CARRIES a knife raises eye brows over here most of the times:grumpy:
 
Understood Elliot, I just removed my post. I don't want it to throw off the thread.

Kevin
 
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