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

I blame movies, TV, Hollywood, and everything else on television. Hell, even some animated stuff shows the standard benchmade looking slim knife with thumb studs getting flicked open. It also doesn't help when they also show up in your usual violent video games.

The question I have to ask these people is, "Did I really just spend $200 on a knife just so I could stab you with it?"
 
I've carried a folder and a Leatherman Blast everywhere I've gone since I was about 14. When I was 17, I was a cashier at a Sears, and I had my Leatherman in its leather pouch on my belt every day at work. One day a (male) customer asked my manager to remove a tag from a shirt he was purchasing, she started rummaging around behind the cashwrap for scissors (which I already knew weren't there), so I just pulled out my Leatherman and sliced the tag right off. As I was doing so, the customer looked at my manager and asked, "Is he allowed to have that?" to which she responded, "Probably not, but it does come in handy."

Most of the time nobody comments on my blades, but even when they have, it's not hard to find a refutation, as the reason they've even seen my blade to begin with is because I've just performed a useful task or done something helpful with it. (It also might have something to do with them being more distracted by the Glock 17 riding on my hip. ;) )

Just remembered another story: This past summer I worked in the pool kitchen at a local country club, my job was to take orders at the window and then call people to pick up their food when it was ready. People would, naturally, always ask me for help with things, "can you get me a straw?" "where are the napkins?" "can you get this packet of dressing open for me?" etc. A few of these situations called for a knife (we had these large sized drink cups available, and the lids that came with them had no straw holes, so if someone ordered one, I would offer to make a straw hole in the lid for them). Most people (being in the South) were grateful that I had my Leatherman on me, but occasionally I'd get some stupid comment from some kid. Most of the boys would be like "Oooooh! He's got a knife! So scary!" to which I'd just roll my eyes. But one time there was this ditzy high school girl who, when I cut a hole in the lid of her drink for her, nearly had some kind of seizure. Her eyes bugged out of her head and she went, "OMG! YOU HAVE A KNIFE!" (fortunately not too many people were around at the time). I just cooly folded my Leatherman back up, slid it back in its pouch, and replied, "I'm currently standing in a kitchen, in this room alone there are at least 4 more knives, the smallest being twice the size of mine, and in the next room over there's a whole drawer full of them. Without them, you wouldn't get your food. Without mine, you'd be standing there trying to stick a plastic straw through a plastic lid and making a mess on my counter."

She looked at me for a moment, then said, "You have a good point, I never thought of that." Then walked out and never commented about my knife again.
 
Last edited:
I have carried since I was 12 in a country where knives and carry is pretty much illegal in all cases...that hasn't stopped me but the reaction some people have with even a tiny schrade is astounding!
 
I once replied to a question about my folder by saying, "what do you use your kitchen knives for?"

And the dang NKP said, "I don't use mine to kill people". :eek::confused:
 
singularity35 said:
I once replied to a question about my folder by saying, "what do you use your kitchen knives for?"

And the dang NKP said, "I don't use mine to kill people". :eek::confused:
Click to expand...

I'd just follow it up with, "If you're capable of using a knife responsibly, why would you assume others aren't?"

Asking questions to follow an obviously flawed line of thinking tends to resolve a lot of issues in my experience.

I was camping and I cut something with a folder and a friend's teenage daughter was looking at the knife in fear. I just asked her,

Me: "Does this knife make you nervous?"
Her: Yeah
Me: Do you think I'd hurt you?
Her: Well, no.
Me: Do you think the knife will attack you on it's own.
Her: No.
Me: So why would you be scared?
Her: I'm confused.
 
Just a basic difference between the two groups.

I often just tell people that knives are the basic universal human tool and I carry a knife in case i need to cut something.

Many people just seem helpless. They got thier iPhones though !!
 
I can't speak for any other country than Scotland but most of the population seems to have been brainwashed by the political correct ideology which is promoted no end by our gutter press that anybody who has anything sharp must be a threat to all those around them ban all knives and that would be the end of the threat
Forget the fact that violent people who want to hurt others will always find a way to do it .Its like trying to pick up a turd by the clean end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Kaizen1 said:
I was camping and I cut something with a folder and a friend's teenage daughter was looking at the knife in fear. I just asked her,

Me: "Does this knife make you nervous?"
Her: Yeah
Me: Do you think I'd hurt you?
Her: Well, no.
Me: Do you think the knife will attack you on it's own.
Her: No.
Me: So why would you be scared?
Her: I'm confused.
Click to expand...

Was she blonde? She sounds a little ditzy.

I've never in my life cut another human being or even threatened someone with a knife. If I'm using a knife for a knife task there really isn't any justification for anyone nearby to get excited about be having a knife. The fact that I use a SAK around NKP probably helps, I also use the smaller blade to open packages - there isn't much more I can do to be non-threatening. If someone feels scared regardless then that just isn't my issue, it is theirs.
 
Never really had a problem aside from the minimum wage variety of rest-a-cop, but I tend toward the nontactical stuff. I did have one memorable experience at a first aid class where I used my SAK to cut bandages for immobilizing a broken arm. My partner kept ribbing me about carrying it to slit throats. I made a point to carry a large one-hand-opener at the next class, and she stopped ribbing me about the SAK.

My grandfather was a different story. He carried his as a weapon (6" fixed blade) and he really did need it. He walked home from work through the bad part of town at 2:00 AM.
 
Kaizen1 said:
I'd just follow it up with, "If you're capable of using a knife responsibly, why would you assume others aren't?"

Asking questions to follow an obviously flawed line of thinking tends to resolve a lot of issues in my experience.

I was camping and I cut something with a folder and a friend's teenage daughter was looking at the knife in fear. I just asked her,

Me: "Does this knife make you nervous?"
Her: Yeah
Me: Do you think I'd hurt you?
Her: Well, no.
Me: Do you think the knife will attack you on it's own.
Her: No.
Me: So why would you be scared?
Her: I'm confused.
Click to expand...


We actually had a long conversation after that about knives, guns, and pens where she finally admitted that pens are not responsible for wrongly spelled words. :D

But she didn't ever admit that her initial attitude was formed largely by movies.
 
Last edited:
Since sharing stories is a new theme of this thread I'll say my college allows knives and I was at an event for my gaming club and we had to solder several long AV cables. I was carrying a Buck/Tops CSAR-T because my smaller knife had its handle scale come loose and it was the only other one I had on campus on account of having just gotten it. Well the guy with all the soldering skills and the set was trying to use a small SAK to cut some relatively thick cables. Needless to say it wasn't going well and when I brought out my knife to help all he could say was "Well your knife wins" and laugh. He was cool, but I got some pretty weird looks from some other people but after a while when they realized I was doing a task and I meant no harm to anyone they relaxed. I honestly think lack of exposure is part of the problem. When you haven't been around knives like most college students haven't been, you get nervous and that just comes from a natural fear of the unknown element.
 
It really comes down to ignorance and/or irrational fear. I don't mean to go off topic but firearms are seen in the same light for the same reasons by similar people. These people just assume certain tools are only used as weapons and people who have these tools are going to go on killing sprees. I wish these people would read a history book and realize that these tools were and still are used all the time to survive.
 
Krieger said:
It really comes down to ignorance and/or irrational fear. I don't mean to go off topic but firearms are seen in the same light for the same reasons by similar people. These people just assume certain tools are only used as weapons and people who have these tools are going to go on killing sprees. I wish these people would read a history book and realize that these tools were and still are used all the time to survive.
Click to expand...

I wonder why they don't realize that these are still the same tools and weapons in the hands of LEOS. And why there's no objection from them when the LEOs here in our country are often less responsible than legally armed citizens.
 
Angus McGunnigl said:
Just a basic difference between the two groups.

I often just tell people that knives are the basic universal human tool and I carry a knife in case i need to cut something.

Many people just seem helpless. They got thier iPhones though !!
Click to expand...

Until there's an iPhone or Droid app that opens blister packaging or packing tape, I'll still carry a knife.
 
singularity35 said:
I wonder why they don't realize that these are still the same tools and weapons in the hands of LEOS. And why there's no objection from them when the LEOs here in our country are often less responsible than legally armed citizens.
Click to expand...

I constantly hear about some of the local LE getting kicked out of the shooting range because they forget firearm safety. That's who I want busting down my door and accidentally discharging all over the place just to arrest me :D.
 
My mother says I have a knife obsession but it came from the fact all of her kitchen knives were ALWAYS very very dull and dangerous to work with. So I bought her some 350+ dollar Wustoff set and she then destroyed them and I had it...I started learning how to sharpen via Murray Carter's DVD's from discovering him on You tube and never looked back. so I might have a Knive Obsession" But I guarantee I am the one carving my family's thanksgiving Turkey Tonight since my dad retired the old Turkey mini electric chainsaw destroyer of meat with thick cuts....And the blades are Sharp and don't destroy the meat!! What a concept!!
 
Krieger said:
I constantly hear about some of the local LE getting kicked out of the shooting range because they forget firearm safety. That's who I want busting down my door and accidentally discharging all over the place just to arrest me :D.
Click to expand...

It's not just at the shooting range that I'm talking about. How I wish that that was all we have to be worried about here. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top