why do you like knives

They are a kind of a duality to me, which makes them very attractive.

1) Sharpened metal stick with chunks of stuff for a handle: simple, but very effective.

2) The flip side of the coin: Iron, carbon, manganese, sulphur, nitrogen, chrome, nickel, vanadium and other elements, all in proper combinations, with a special heat treat which sets the elements in a special crystalline matrix. Bainite, Pearlite, Austentite, Martensite, edge quench, clay coat, back draw. G-10 is a lass weave and resin matrix, micarta is a resin and base material laminate, titanium, aluminum, horn, wood, bone, stag. Annodizing, filework, parkerizing, bluing, browning, mokume, carving. Dropped point, recurve, tanto, spear, clip, hawkbill, wharncliffe, dagger. And the list goes on.

So, I liek knives because they are as simple as sharpened metal sticks with handles, and as complex as mentioned above.

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"Come What May..."
 
I can remember loving knives since I was 5 years old, when I got my first jackknife. They were a natural part of the male experience. (For me. I truly wish that far more women were involved in the world of knives.)

Since I became paranoid, knives have served a calming, relaxing source of comfort for me. I can relax because of them. I'm never without them. Without wishing to be dramatic, I second whomever said they are my life's blood.

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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Here is my more serious answer.

Knives are one of the few artifacts that we can collect that are truely universal. Man has always had and used knives, and a ancient 2 million year old knife can be just as useful and productive today as it was when it was originally made.

On one level knives are the simplest of tools. But, on another level, the nuances of each example is indicative of the technology, environment, and cultural biases of the society that made it. When you have learned enough about knives you have a window or time portal into the society that created it. You can readily see the manufacturing techniques, the level of quality, the artestry of the design, the method of use, and even quite a bit about the organization and value system of the culture.

For instance when you look at a 19th century bayonet you will see that the blade is perhaps 15 inches longer than a typical 20th century example. Why? Simply becuase during most of the 19th century the battlefied was dominated by the horse, and the animal disappears from the battlefield by the 20th century.

Each knife tells us a little more about mankind.

n2s
 
I'd like to think it is because of some atavistic impulse left over from the distant past, but that probably isn't the case. I just know that I started carrying one when I was four years old, and have never looked back.
 
The attraction for me is the steel, the feel, the look, the many different styles, and the most important... They don't talk back!
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Click Here, and Check Out Florida Custom Knives

BC... For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know... Semper Fi!
 
I always had a fascination for knives; they are great tools, they can be formidable weapons, and they can be pieces of art.
As far as I know, knives (the older stone ones
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) were the first pieces of art. They were (which can be clearly seen by not only experimental archaeologists) the first manmade items that were more ornate and skillfully made than what merely served their purpose as a tool. Something not widely recognized in the history of arts.

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"Peace is not without conflict; it is the ability to cope with conflict" - Leo Giron
 
I've always had a love for knives, ever since I was little.

I guess I like them for the same reason that I like certain women: They are sharp, thin, sometimes curvy, elegant, beautiful and sexy.

I also like them becuase they are artful yet also fullfill my practical needs. I don't find too many things that fill both desires. When I do, I also buy/collect them.

Knives appeal to my sense of self. I identify with the maker of the knife as artist and with utility of the blade as basic to my human needs.

My wife doen't understand my need to collect knives either but it's more about the money I spend than anything else.

She also wonders why I spend so much time at this forum. I don't feel the need to explain myself to her, but as my partner I do feel that I should include her.

I have given her knives but she keeps only the small ones in her purse for utility reason.

Maybe someday she'll get bitten by the knife bug...
 
Why do I like knives? for the following:

A knife is a useful tool for everyday tasks, from opening envelopes, boxes, to cutting food.

It can be used to defend yourself if necessary.

It can be used to save someone's life.

It can be used to save your own life.

It can be used to provide and prepare food.

It can be admired as a work of art.

It is also a symbol of human culture, history and civilization.

 
The knife is my touchstone of natural harmony, nay even further, universal harmony. Man once existed in harmony with the natural processes of this planet, and thus man's universe. Man cannot take his place in that harmony without the use of his intellect and the tools that intellect enables because he is not complete, not fit to fill his natural role in nature without them. We have no claws and large incisors with which to effectively gather food without tools, and of course, the knife is the primary essential tool of man.

Beyond that, I have a deep appreciation for craftsmanship. Few other objects in our lives are worthy of the combination of craftsmanship and art that knives are. They are durable and important to our every day lives in a way that few other tools are. They give us pleasure in the quality, sophistication, and care given to their creation.

Lastly, they are power multiplying tools. I have a greater capacity to do work of any kind with a knife than with my bare hands.
 
Retraction of a "Homer Simpson Moment"
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DOH!
I mis-attributed my earlier quote, I was thinking "Hillary" and wrote "Mountbatten"
WHOOPS!
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LOL

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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by cerulean:
There are a lot of good reasons to like knives. If you ask, "Why do we like knives on the most basic, non-intellectual level?" though, the answer may be that we have little choice. It seems possible that liking knives is at least partly instinctive and hardwired into our brains.

Knives weren't invented by our species. Homo sapiens weren't around yet when small cutting tools were first made between two and three million years ago. In fact, modern humans were a long way away, only appearing around 100,000 years ago. That's plenty of time for a primal appreciation of knives to develop, or maybe even evolve.

Consider that it's only within the last few hundred years, in delevoped countries, that non-knife people, or "sheeple", can afford to turn up their noses at the tool and say things like, "What do you need a knife for?". Everything now is "user friendly"; pre-packaged, pre-wraped, pre-made... Everything is already done for you: you can have other people kill or harvest your food, cook it, and deliver it to your door.

However, if you didn't like knives 500,000 years ago, you would just die. Knives were a necessary tool for sustaining life. If you had an appreciation of knives back then - if you knew how to make them, acquire them, use them, etc. - then your chances of survival were much better.

Surviving long enough allowed you to pass down your genes to future generations. So, the "knife knuts" would populate the earth, while the "sheeple" died out!
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There are genes that are linked with the most complex of human behaviors. Sure, the enviroment would certainly play a role in the making of a knife aficionado, but it seems reasonable to speculate that there's a genetic component as well. Perhaps one day scientists will even discover a "knife lover's" gene! If there's already an alcoholic's gene, then maybe there's one for the poor, pathetic knifeaholics.
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This may be a stupid question, but if Knives ( cutting tools)
weren't invented by our species. Who invented them or what back
between two and three million years ago?
I know some animals used(and still do) rocks to open nuts and such things.


...Dan...<A HREF="http://www.kynd.com/~graydg/kniveslist4.html">Gray Knives</A>

 
I don't know why, I just do. I really can't imagine what it would be like to not have a knife on my everyday.

OK. Here's a few things I like about knives: artistic, handy, sharp.

Still don't know why, though.

Dean
 
Graymaker,
While that statement may seem a bit odd at first, when you look at the scientific classification of species, you'll realize that it's actually true!

Knives were first used by members of the genus, "Early Homo" (Species uncertain, but possibly Homo Rudolfensis) which predates the species "Homo Sapiens" by over 2 million years.


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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!

[This message has been edited by Ken Cook (edited 06-26-2001).]
 
Yeah, we're not sure exactly what species first invented cutting tools, but it was probably one or more of the first of the genus Homo. It could have been Homo habilis (called "handy man" for his association with stone tools), who may have been a contemporary of Homo rudolfensis.

Some people have speculated that Australopithecus (who predates the genus Homo) was the first to make cutting tools, but that belief doesn't seem to be generally accepted. It's possible though that Australopithecus used bits of bone or rock lying around his camp as a one-time tool; he might cut something with it and then just throw it away.

Homo habilis actually made cutting tools for certain though, between 1.5 and 2.5 million years ago. They're usually classified as "Oldowan tools" and they're about as primitive as you can get. You make one by basically just banging one stone against another until you get something that resembles a cutting edge (skill is needed though). The larger "pebble tools" could be used for chopping, while the flakes were used for more delicate cutting.

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Cerulean

"The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place." - J.K.M.
 
...chuckling....

I know the feeling Ken, whenever I think of Hillary, I quietly chant, "Mountbatten, Mountbatten, Mountbatten", just to calm myself.
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If you feel that evolution is your preferred religion, then try to find some tapes by Dr. Kent Hovind. He is a genius at proving evolutionists wrong, in fact you can call him up 24 hours a day and converse with one of his people. That being said, I believe our species created knives around 6000 years ago. Call is h***sesh*t if you like, just please don't believe that this world is that old without backing it up.
 
Good points
I may believe the world could be that old but
but if man came from ape than why is the ape still here monkeying around
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;>))

...Dan...<A HREF="http://www.kynd.com/~graydg/kniveslist4.html">Gray Knives</A>
 
OOOOKayyyyy....
Thank you for that Carl.
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I'll tell ya what, I won't offer uninvited comment on whatever YOU might believe and you can enjoy the freedom of not offering uninvited comment on what I or others might believe.

If you want to talk about religion, start a thread in Community, it's off topic here.
Have a
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day!



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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
Knives are wonderful, wonderful tools. They are cool.

If someone persists in asking me about them (like my wife), such as, "Why do you need so many knives?", my reply is, "Why do you need jewelry?"

That usually kills the conversation right away, but also gets the point across.
 
Graymaker,
Again, we're wandering off topic, but fact is, nowhere in Darwin's "Origin of the Species" does he propound that man came from apes or monkeys.
This idea was first (incorrectly) put forth during the highly sensationalist "Scopes Monkey Trial" which in itself, was a sham court/drumhead trial staged to revive the economy of a small southern town with the dollars of tourists suckered in to town for the so-called "Trial of the Century."

Again, if you want to talk "Origins of the Species" I'm game for that also, but please take it to Community.
Thanks.


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Desenfundeme no sin la razón, envaineme no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
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