Why so cautious around non-knife people

R

rckshrk

Joined
Feb 25, 2010
Messages
80
Hello All,
I'm relatively new to the forum and have noticed quite a few people saying that they are hesitant to use their preferred blade around non-knife people. My question to them is why are you so concerned? I'm of course assuming any knife that you carry is legal and you are using it for a lawful purpose? With that being said, then who cares. Use the tools you have, enjoy them. I guess in my mind, by acting as if something is a big deal, then it's more likely to become a big deal when it really isn't in most cases.

Look forward to the replies.
RS
 
Because there have been cases where NKP called 911 or even just freaked. I actually enjoyed the bug-eyed look when I first started carrying modern folders and it was still a novelty but that soon grew old. Even in my small puddle in the Philippines where a folding knife is not a legal issue unless you start assaulting people, I just don't want the hassle and maybe a rep of being bloodthirsty(go figure :D).
 
rckshrk said:
Hello All,
I'm relatively new to the forum and have noticed quite a few people saying that they are hesitant to use their preferred blade around non-knife people. My question to them is why are you so concerned? I'm of course assuming any knife that you carry is legal and you are using it for a lawful purpose? With that being said, then who cares. Use the tools you have, enjoy them. I guess in my mind, by acting as if something is a big deal, then it's more likely to become a big deal when it really isn't in most cases.

Look forward to the replies.
RS
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You don't have experience in a professional environment, I take it.
 
With traditional slip-joint knives it's fine, but with modern tactical folders it can be analogous to brandishing a weapon in the eyes of a stranger.

A random person will probably see it as a weapon first and a tool second (even if you are using it as a tool). The more respectable you look the better. We are playing off stereotypes when we meet strangers, and knives have bad stereotypes to most folk.

They see a black Spyderco Military or Benchmade 710 and think: "Stranger danger! Stranger Danger!":D
 
I accept that not everyone is as comfortable around a 4" black bladed folder as I am. Some people have obviously never seen such a thing aside from the occassional Hollywood movies. Personally, I do not need to draw unnecessary attention to myself everytime I open a box, break down cardboard, etc. in public/at work. For those jobs I use what I consider an "appropriate tool" like a Delica or a Leafstorm.
The act of drawing attention in this manner is what actually hurts our community, it builds on some stereotypes and feeds prejudices against the knife community. You wouldn't use a 13lb sledge hammer to drive a nail that will hold a 8 ounce picture frame would you? I'd rather be judged by my deeds instead of what kind of items are in my pockets, YMMV.
 
I don't carry anything on me that is illegal in my state and very rarely would you or anyone see or even know I'm carrying anything at all. If someone notices me taking out my small folder to open a box or cut something for someone I don't think they will question it much. if your a responsible knife and/or gun carrier then there should be no issue.
 
TheGovernment is right, you might as well be running around with a machine gun. Not the way it should be, just the way it is...
 
If a non-knife co-worker complains to a supervisor, legal or not you have a problem. If someone says that you are creating an unsafe work environment, you could get reprimanded, suspend or fired.
 
HotSwat said:
If a non-knife co-worker complains to a supervisor, legal or not you have a problem. If someone says that you are creating an unsafe work environment, you could get reprimanded, suspend or fired.
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Even fined-whether it's legal to carry or not...
 
If you're around people and need to cut open a box. You can slowly take out your 4" folder, open it slowly (preferably with two hands), close it slowly and put it back in the pocket. In this case 4" blade is a certain overkill, but it can be seen as a tool needed for a job.

If you do the same task in one motion (like many of us would like to do it), it is faster and more efficient, but the whole thing does not register in the mind of a bystander. All they see is a knife moving crazy fast. They don't think about a completed task, but wonder about what else you can do that fast with your 4" switchblade. You can tell people as much as you want that blade is legal, that those kitchen knives in the rest area are bigger and more dangerous, that those scissors could be used as a weapon as well, etc.. but they still might have that negative picture stuck in their mind. This does hurt knife community.
 
effer said:
If you're around people and need to cut open a box. You can slowly take out your 4" folder, open it slowly (preferably with two hands), close it slowly and put it back in the pocket. In this case 4" blade is a certain overkill, but it can be seen as a tool needed for a job.

If you do the same task in one motion (like many of us would like to do it), it is faster and more efficient, but the whole thing does not register in the mind of a bystander. All they see is a knife moving crazy fast. They don't think about a completed task, but wonder about what else you can do that fast with your 4" switchblade. You can tell people as much as you want that blade is legal, that those kitchen knives in the rest area are bigger and more dangerous, that those scissors could be used as a weapon as well, etc.. but they still might have that negative picture stuck in their mind. This does hurt knife community.
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:thumbup: Nicely put effer. :thumbup:
 
It's not just knives, either.

I worked with a man in an office environment who was a bit of a wimp. I hadn't realized this until one day he asked me to speak to a mutual friend who was unintentionally intimidating him because he spoke too loudly. Gee ...

Later on, he came to me to point out that the way I signed off on letters appeared overbearing because my signature was so large.

Let's face it, there are people who go around afraid. Not my fault.
This question comes up all the time. Here's a post I made 6 years ago:


Esav Benyamin said:
He's in NY State, where utility knives are OK, but the media have their own rules, their own mind-games, that they are trying to force on all of us.

The problem isn't the law, it's the exceptions. You can carry a knife, you can carry a big knife, but you can't carry it in here, and you can't carry it in there, and if you take it out, we'll wince and whimper and try to make you feel wrong. So you end up leaving the knife at home and not having it when you do need .. one of those things .. that they don't talk about ..

But we do, and we should carry them.

We had a great NJKCA meeting today. Lots of new faces, Beautiful knives.

I remember a phrase someone used years ago that describes them -- they suffer from a general fearosis of living. :p
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I have a permit to carry a firearm concealed and it allows me to carry any knife, too.
So I really could care what anyone thinks about my pistols or my knives.
 
The Government said:
They see a black Spyderco Military or Benchmade 710 and think: "Stranger danger! Stranger Danger!":D
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LOL, yeah. That's why outside of work (I'm in the construction field...no nancys there) my Super Commander usually stays home. Somehow I don't think the sight and sound of 4 inches of razor sharp 154CM wickedly snapping out of my pocket would be too comforting to your typical soccer mom/dad. :eek:

Here she is in all her glory:

 
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Why?
Because all it takes is an accusation to create problems for someone.
I'm a woodworker and I work around tons of other professionals that require cutting tools. They don't even notice if I pick up a 30" slick (huge chisel, basically) but if I pull out a Spyderco Military many of them become uneasy.
I once explained to someone that IF I was a psycho intending to slay them I'd just carve out a long spear so I could 'off' them from a distance and be safe from their death throe thrashings. I explained, "But if I stuck you with this four inch blade you'd have a decent chance of injuring me before you croaked. I'd be much safer for me to give you a mortal wound from more than 3 feet away."
He's given me space ever since.
:D
 
Sometimes it is best to take a quiet position. When I started working were I work now 13 years ago, quite a few people were a little tweaked because I carry. Now some actually carry a knife themselves (male and female) others drop buy often wanting me to open a box of office supplies, toner or other typical things. Sometimes that quiet position turns into an actual ambassadorship. You can win someone over much quicker than whipping the sucker out and making the cut, before it registers with them. :D
 
I have even had the experience of being the "guy with the knife" among the women in the back, to much (negative) fanfare, for using a pocket knife to cut the wrap off of a palet that just came off the truck.

This when I was working as a butcher with big 'ole knives the majority of the time.

People are not logical or rational and yoru employee can make all kinds of rules or regulations.
 
I think aversion to guns and knives is, to a great extent, cultural or perhaps geographical. It seems to me that in the southern and western parts of the U.S., weapons are much more a part of daily life, even today, than in other parts of the country, especially major urban areas.
Someone, I think Hunter Thompson, once said something to the effect that city dwellers are terrified of any animal that isn't a cockroach or a poodle......stands to reason they'd be scared of any knife that isn't spreading butter on their toast.
 
daoud said:
It seems to me that in the southern and western parts of the U.S., weapons are much more a part of daily life
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People like to say that but, in my experience, it is vastly overrated. I moved from the Midwest to the South and was shocked, SHOCKED by how many people down here freak out about guns or knives.

BTW: Almost every state that has an outright ban on all open carry of handguns is in the South. This includes Texas.
 
jill jackson said:
I have a permit to carry a firearm concealed and it allows me to carry any knife, too.
So I really could care what anyone thinks about my pistols or my knives.
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Same here. I carry what I want. Great, isnt it? :D








That said, I dont brandish large knives (or pistols for that matter) in an intimidating way, I just use them. I have never had anyone comment in a way that would lead me to believe they were scared.

Of course, around here, most people are really laid back about pocket knives.
 
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