Why So Fast?

M

Merek

Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
738
This is a question which has been bugging me for awhile. Why is there such a drive to OPEN a knife so quickly? I deploy my knife 1 handed as necessary (off the shelf Buck 110) and open most others using both hands. I do not own, nor care to own,any balisongs or assisted openers due to my 'simpler is better' nature. Most of us claim not to carry for SD and the reality of that is truely open for debate.
That excluded as an issue, what necessity is there to git 'er done?
Is the box going to run away before you can safely open your blade? Is that thread so annoying that it must be conquered instantly? Must the dog food bag be dealt extreme predjudice without hesitation? Is there such mental satisfaction in whipping that shiny blade out with an audble 'snick!' that a moments reflection on the task must be compromised?
Why such a blamed HURRY to open the knife when the task will likely not be compromised by a few seconds invested in opening your knife safely in such a way as to not alarm people around you and to perhaps show children that judicious handling demonstrates respect for the knife as a tool and not to use it as a flashy Hollywood-esque look-at-me thing.
 
Whatsamatterwityou??? Next you'll be asking why we keep our knives so sharp ... or why we own more than one knife! Are you really a knife knut or what? What are you doing at Bladeforums -- infiltrating us? :eek:
 
Merek said:
Is there such mental satisfaction in whipping that shiny blade out with an audble 'snick!'?
Click to expand...

Yes, and like Cougar said, if you don't get it then you won't get it even if we explain it to you.:o
 
I mainly use my knives for work. I work at a newspaper in the packaging department. We put the ad inserts into the paper using a machine. Sometimes the work is very fast-paced. Sometimes I need to quickly open a box or cut the wrap off a pallet so I can start putting that insert into the machine before it runs out of what is left from the last box or last pallet.

I need a knife that can be deployed, opened, and then closed as fast as possible because the inserter machine will not slow down for me to open and close my knife.

A tool is supposed to do the job and do it in a minimum of time. If you have a tool that can do the job better than any other, what good is it if it takes several hours longer to even get started? This is an extreme example, of course, but it goes to show that the amount of time spent setting up, using, and then breaking-down a tool are part of its efficiancy.

Even if you have 20 minutes of free time to cut a simple string, isn't it better to have a tool that can do it in 3 seconds rather than 7? 4 seconds by itself may not be much, but how much is acceptable? 10 seconds? 50? 20 minutes? Where do you draw the line? Logically, faster is just better.

Now, don't get me wrong... I love slipjoints, SAKs, etc.... I don't only use switchblades or anything like that. I love and use all types of knives. But I appreciate speed. When I bring nothing but a slipjoint to work, there is a good chance I am going to have to work a little harder. Since my "faster" knives make me not have to work as hard, isn't that an understandable advantage?
 
I used to get sent for management training with people from all over the country. Some of us movedandspokeveryquickly and s o m e d i d n o t. :)

It isn't so much that we need the knife open right away, but that there are a lot more interesting things to do than stand there opening and opening and opening it for a while.
 
It think in the usage the phrase is appropriate and has no meaning beyond that attributed. I will refrain from its future use.
If it really offends that someone might suggest the parallel between flicking a knife real fast = greater manhood, perhaps there is a need to think about a few things....
There is nothing wrong with having a fast knife. What I don't see is the need for speed at the moment of deployment. Slow down. Take things easy.
Fast knives, like fast cars, seem to be a compensatory tool for the ego and the egotestical use of either commonly results in tragedy.
What I DO see is that since the development and popularity of rapidly deployed knives the perception of the knife as a tool has eroded and knives have become more equated with thug weaponry and flashing them about does not help dispel the idea.
Perhaps a I am one of the few who truely see a knife as a tool.
I won't even comment on your response, Cougar. It didn't seem too well thought out for one of your knowledge and position.
 
It's the ninja/cowboy mentality. I like to whip out my knife, open it, cut, close it, put it back in my pocket, hit a dramatic pose, then walk away as the carboard box falls apart.
 
Can't remember the last time I needed one-handed opening. I have no problem using a SAK and opening it with two-hands. When I use a modern folder, one-handed opening is merely an added convenience for me and nothing more. The opening method of a knife doesn't really make or break the purchase for me...ergonomics, price, blade steel, build quality etc are far more important.

That being said, I did get my first Kershaw AO today. It's a chive and I like how easily it opens. It's nice, if I used a knife more than I did I'd consider getting a Leek to EDC.
 
taking my time to open my knife seems counter productive to me
if i wanted to take so long to cut something, i'd be better off digging out a pair of scissors
also, to me, being able to control your knife even when deploying it quickly gives me a thrill
 
Merek said:
It think in the usage the phrase is appropriate and has no meaning beyond that attributed. I will refrain from its future use.
If it really offends that someone might suggest the parallel between flicking a knife real fast = greater manhood, perhaps there is a need to think about a few things....
There is nothing wrong with having a fast knife. What I don't see is the need for speed at the moment of deployment. Slow down. Take things easy.
Fast knives, like fast cars, seem to be a compensatory tool for the ego and the egotestical use of either commonly results in tragedy.
What I DO see is that since the development and popularity of rapidly deployed knives the perception of the knife as a tool has eroded and knives have become more equated with thug weaponry and flashing them about does not help dispel the idea.
Click to expand...

I agree entirely. as a matter of fact, lately, whenever sombody asks my why I like knives so much, I reply "I'm Compensating". It's quick, simple, and may very well be true.:D

It's certainly simpler and less dorktastick than saying "I am amazed by the ingenuity than man has put into building the oldest tool" and less creepy than the spyderco "all gods critters have knives"
 
Merek said:
Fast knives, like fast cars, seem to be a compensatory tool for the ego and the egotestical use of either commonly results in tragedy.
What I DO see is that since the development and popularity of rapidly deployed knives the perception of the knife as a tool has eroded and knives have become more equated with thug weaponry and flashing them about does not help dispel the idea.
Click to expand...
Wow. Psychologists and sociologists debate endlessly about the implications of simple life situations and social interactions, but you've got it down in a few .. quick .. phrases.

What you do see may not even be post hac, ergo propter hac, since demonization of knives seems to have begun just before the current tactical craze. Maybe it has more to do with urbanization reducing the daily use of personal cutlery and the ensuing unfamiliarity with it giving rise to increasingly interesting advances in what has become a hobby at least as much as a necessity.
 
Merek said:
I won't even comment on your response, Cougar. It didn't seem too well thought out for one of your knowledge and position.
Click to expand...
Relax. Cougar was just joking around.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Well, we knew a Goofy Doofus would be sl-sl-slow. :D
Click to expand...

I had a short but witty come back to this but I was so slow typing it my connection timed out and I lost it.;)
 
For me it is ease of use above speed. It is a whole lot easier to be able to open and close an EDC with one hand than two. As far as placing attitudes on inanimate objects by the way they are displayed, well, I could get the same reaction from flashing around a pointy stick if so desired. It's the person, not the knife, get it? Your sheeple is showing:D
 
Merek said:
This is a question which has been bugging me for awhile. Why is there such a drive to OPEN a knife so quickly? I deploy my knife 1 handed as necessary (off the shelf Buck 110) and open most others using both hands. I do not own, nor care to own,any balisongs or assisted openers due to my 'simpler is better' nature. Most of us claim not to carry for SD and the reality of that is truely open for debate.
That excluded as an issue, what necessity is there to git 'er done?
Is the box going to run away before you can safely open your blade? Is that thread so annoying that it must be conquered instantly? Must the dog food bag be dealt extreme predjudice without hesitation? Is there such mental satisfaction in whipping that shiny blade out with an audble 'snick!' that a moments reflection on the task must be compromised?
Why such a blamed HURRY to open the knife when the task will likely not be compromised by a few seconds invested in opening your knife safely in such a way as to not alarm people around you and to perhaps show children that judicious handling demonstrates respect for the knife as a tool and not to use it as a flashy Hollywood-esque look-at-me thing.
Click to expand...


I have to agree and I have wondered the same thing.

I have no need for an AO knife or any knife that is an Auto.

I have been carrying my Spyderco Paramilitary for a while now and I can't see any reason to have anything open any faster than I can do by hand.

:)
 
kamagong said:
Relax. Cougar was just joking around.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but it invited futher off subject comments which are not based on the question posed.
Getting out a tool (that we choose to carry above all others), preparing for a task and getting the task done effectively does not always require speed at the outset. In 45+ years of knife carrying and usage in the widest spectrum of situations speed of deployment has been of issue in few instances. Except for cutting tangled ropes off near-drowning victims in fast water river rescues (with a River Shorty FIXED blade) I really cannot think of another time when I needed to have a blade ready immediately.
So as I should have known, the answers, as with any other knife related discussion, is highly subjective to personal tastes and situations and all I am doing is firing up everyone's emotions.
I think I'll go take the rest of the day to open my knife.... I have some time to kill.

We don't have a use to carry pointy sticks on a daily basis do we? My sheeple is not showing so much as my concern that sheeple tend to be loudly strident about their fears and this tends to drive legislation that may affect your right to show your disrespect of other people who share your society by flashing knives in a scary way that causes fear that drives legislation that affects your rights that increases your disrespect that makes..... sorry.
 
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