Why is carrying a knife looked down upon by those who dont?

You're right, people from different parts of the country tend to view knives differently. But I'm sure there's a bunch of people at your school that see things the way you do. It'll be a challenge to find them though ;).
Where I grew up and went to school, carrying a knife was unusual. Now in NH, it's much more common. I was out with a girl the other night and showed her my knife. Her complaint was that it didn't look used enough!
 
I'm beginning to think people who carry knives are overly sensitive or just good old fashioned paranoid. I have been carrying a knife for over a decade now, in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the world, and I have NEVER felt looked down upon, nor has anyone made strange comments upon seeing me use my knife.

Are you guys sure people give you the evil-eye for your knife? Could it be something else? Strange behavior? Kooky clothes? The tin-foil hat?
 
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I know exactly what you mean. Its the worst with girls, whenever knives come up in conversation between my girlfriend and I she also goes "well don't kill yourself with it!"

I go to University of Kentucky which even though its in the hickest state of them all, it is a really liberal, up tight school so I tend to be pretty discrete about carrying. If I ever have to use my knife on campus Ill say something like "watch out boy scout coming through" or something dumb like that just because it will cause them to believe that I am someone who is educated and trustworthy with a knife. I was only a boy scout for like 3 days haha. Also the laws at UK for knives are, from what Ive researched, the same as the state laws which prohibit any knife that is "not an ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife." So I try to carry something that is not scary looking like a delica, but usually my manix 2 or tomcat ends up in my pocket anyways :jerkit:

Its kind of like how people ask me why I carry a lighter when i am a non smoker. People associate lighters with cigarettes and unfortunately knives with violence.

I always try to educate people about knives if i get the chance. I just tell them I like to be prepared for things so thats why I carry a multi tool, lighter, knife, and flashlight. You just never know when they may come in handy.
 
Been carrying a knive most of my life and don't really care what people think . I carry nothing illegal and almost every day someone asks me to cut something for them! Also if I'm giving a nice gift to someone it is almost always a nice folder so I can spread the word of sharpened steel as a useful tool :D
 
I've carried a folding knife for almost 40 years now, and receive almost zero grief for it. Everybody who knows me knows I have one, so they come asking when something needs to be cut. This is on the mid-Atlantic coast from 1970 to 1977, Colorado until 2000, and SoCal since then.

There is a big difference between someone looking down on something and them just not understanding it. Lots of modern Americans do not understand the practical trades like their ancestors did, and tool use is a part of what they do not grasp.
 
There're a few kinds of people who carry knives, and sadly the responsible ones aren't the best known.
 
axtalan0 said:
I'm beginning to think people who carry knives are overly sensitive or just good old fashioned paranoid. I have been carrying a knife for over a decade now, in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the world, and I have NEVER felt looked down upon, nor has anyone made strange comments upon seeing me use my knife.

Are you guys sure people give you the evil-eye for your knife? Could it be something else? Strange behavior? Kooky clothes? The tin-foil hat?
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So that's why they stare, my tin foil hat !:) Our social values have crumbled. The 'Please, thank you, excuse me', taught to us as children of another generation have been replaced with 'kill yo mo fo ho moma'. We all know that this erosion makes us feel less safe today and likely worse tommorow. I don't blame people for evaluating us if we carry. I am a responsible member of society and never have a problem carrying. The last few lines in the above quote says it all.
 
darkflcn said:
Why is carrying a knife looked down upon by those who dont?
I've always carried a pocket knife, and i come from a rural area. when I go back up to school, in a urban setting, I am looked at like I am insane. I have even switched from carrying a folder to just a swiss army knife on campus, and people still react the same way. I have always viewed knives as excellent tools that you should never be without.
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I dunno, maybe its not the fact that you carry a knife they are looking down upon?

I've carried a pocket knife for about the last 50 years and have yet to have anyone look down on me for it. I don't fondle it in public. I only have in sight when I am using it. I don't carry a Rambo-esque knife for everyday carry.

YMMV
 
I almost shocked how many people completely shut their brains down when they heard the question and immediately started bashing others. No really...I'm shocked.

Carrying a knife is only looked down upon when the knife carried is bigger, nastier looking then the situation requires. Guess why?

Because a huge number of (non-tool, pro-knife) people DO carry it as a weapon. Common, I know 99.9% of us don't see knives as a ready and waiting weapon but a lot of people do.

We have people on youtube talking about reach and piercing capabilities for use is knifefights (like sh** how many knife fights you ever been in?)
We have manufacturers catering to the lowest common denominator tiger-striping their blades, making them bizarre shapes, marketing them as tactical
Hell even a few well respected knife makers have COMBAT in their name

Don't kid yourself, if your carrying a knife bigger then the situation requires its a weapon...and when a father with his two children see a shady old guy with a knife better suited for a video game...he is going to give you a dirty look. For the rest of us (and I assume 99.9% of bladeforums members) and dirty looks we get are imaginary.
 
Carry a knife appropriate for the enviroment you are going to be in. The SAK and a small stockman will likely go unnoticed. Do not pull out a 4 in tactical folder at the local Wally world, nice way to get a free ride from the local PD.

Rule 1. Always carry a knife.
 
mat_890 said:
I almost shocked how many people completely shut their brains down when they heard the question and immediately started bashing others. No really...I'm shocked.

Carrying a knife is only looked down upon when the knife carried is bigger, nastier looking then the situation requires. Guess why?

Because a huge number of (non-tool, pro-knife) people DO carry it as a weapon. Common, I know 99.9% of us don't see knives as a ready and waiting weapon but a lot of people do.

We have people on youtube talking about reach and piercing capabilities for use is knifefights (like sh** how many knife fights you ever been in?)
We have manufacturers catering to the lowest common denominator tiger-striping their blades, making them bizarre shapes, marketing them as tactical
Hell even a few well respected knife makers have COMBAT in their name

Don't kid yourself, if your carrying a knife bigger then the situation requires its a weapon...and when a father with his two children see a shady old guy with a knife better suited for a video game...he is going to give you a dirty look. For the rest of us (and I assume 99.9% of bladeforums members) and dirty looks we get are imaginary.
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:thumbup::thumbup: excellent post
 
KalEl said:
I know exactly what you mean. Its the worst with girls, whenever knives come up in conversation between my girlfriend and I she also goes "well don't kill yourself with it!"

I go to University of Kentucky which even though its in the hickest state of them all, it is a really liberal, up tight school so I tend to be pretty discrete about carrying. If I ever have to use my knife on campus Ill say something like "watch out boy scout coming through" or something dumb like that just because it will cause them to believe that I am someone who is educated and trustworthy with a knife. I was only a boy scout for like 3 days haha. Also the laws at UK for knives are, from what Ive researched, the same as the state laws which prohibit any knife that is "not an ordinary pocket knife or hunting knife." So I try to carry something that is not scary looking like a delica, but usually my manix 2 or tomcat ends up in my pocket anyways :jerkit:

Its kind of like how people ask me why I carry a lighter when i am a non smoker. People associate lighters with cigarettes and unfortunately knives with violence.

I always try to educate people about knives if i get the chance. I just tell them I like to be prepared for things so thats why I carry a multi tool, lighter, knife, and flashlight. You just never know when they may come in handy.
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Memphian here...your basketball coach sucks! :D

It's the same on the campus of memphis, though the U of M police will just tell the knife carrier not to use the pocket clip and leave it fully in their pocket. They understand. One was the guy who got me into knives, and bought me my American Lawman as a birthday gift.
 
Bill1170 said:
There is a big difference between someone looking down on something and them just not understanding it. Lots of modern Americans do not understand the practical trades like their ancestors did, and tool use is a part of what they do not grasp.
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As much fun as it is to make fun of skittish non-knife people this is probably the main thing.

Heck, I was raised thinking a pocket knife is normal, but people owning and carrying fixed blades seemed kinda odd to me...until i actually started USING my knives more, then got a fixed blade and started using that. Then knives in sheaths were not just those things hunters and marines carried, they were normal tools to me.

Of course there are some true idiots and paranoid head cases etc, but most people that think carrying knives is weird think so because they have not personally experienced the benefits.

A lot of them are educatable.
 
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