Why was I born stupid?

[Gwinnydapooh]

I'm working tonight, RA stuff at my dorm, and it's pretty boring until about 2a.m. My colleague and I were standing outside watching the parties and such when I decided to show her my new Tim Britton. She seemed genuinely impressed with the craftsmanship though she doesn't know or care about knives. Then a girl standing nearby asked if she could see it, and like an idiot I handed it to her, sheathed, while telling her to "be careful."

You guessed it--this was NOT a careful woman I handed my baby to! She took it out of the sheath and proceeded to test the edge by running her thumb along it (if she'd done that to my BM folder, she'd have a nice gash to learn by.) I asked her, very politely, not to do that again. She looked at me as if I were stupid and told me "it's not even that sharp." Then she turned the blade over in her hand and began lightly drumming her fingers along the sharpened edge! I couldn't grab it from her for fear she'd cut us both but good; so I told her more forcefully "Don't do that again."
Finally she gave me back the knife and I walked away with her looking at me like I was crazy.

Why did I hand my knife to that creature?

 

[Ferret]

Dontcha just love it when you hand someone a knife and they put their grubby fingers all over the blade - to see what exactly? Whether it is in fact cold sharp metal? Makes me cranky, then the darkness comes and I have to lash out etc etc

 

[cerulean]

Some people are just idiots.

I have a friend who is a really great guy, but he's one of those people that lacks all common sense. He's not a knife person either, and I cringe whenever he asks to see one of my knives.

A couple of days ago he asked to see my Military, which I handed him without thinking. As soon as he got it open, he immediately put his thumb directly on the edge. He wasn't trying to "test" the sharpness, he just wasn't paying attention to how he held the blade. Luckily, it was serrated and the points of the teeth were relatively dull. If he had gotten his thumb into one of the recesses, he would have cut himself.

Maybe it's best to be more selective when lending out your knife. It's amazing though how many people lack even the most basic knife safety knowledge. I mean, run your fingers over the sharpened edge? How stupid can you get?

------------------
Cerulean

"Just because some folks think you make great kydex sheaths doesn't make you into some sort of mind reading psychologist." -Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 04-02-2000).]

 

[Gwinnydapooh]

Yup . . . . just shouldn't have handed it to her, but how was I supposed to know? What are you supposed to do, say "I'd like to let you see it, but first I need to know--are you the kind of jackass who tests cutting instruments on his own flesh?"

 

Hi,
There are a few subjects you should't mention to "everybody": religion, weapons (of all kind), sexual behaviour, etc....
They may be controversial...

------------------
D.T. UTZINGER

 

[JW]

Idiots with self-inflicted wounds aren't all that bad. When I started reading your post, I thought she was going to dash it to the hard concrete or something really serious.
worst part is, you got all worked up, and she probably learned nothing from the ordeal.

 

[AJ]

Gwinny,

On the other hand, had she manages to draw a little blood, you could have gallantly come to her aid with a bandage and some concern for her well being. Could have been major brownie points.

Besides, most of us learned our lessons about sharp things by testing them, and cutting ourselves.

AJ

[This message has been edited by AJ (edited 04-02-2000).]

 

[Otha]

I live in the dorms also but I keep mproject as quiet as I can. One guy already got booted out of school for a knife in the dorms. So I tell them I make letter openers. LOL Aand dont sharpen them till im ready to send out or home.

 

[knzn]

Man Ferret-----

" Dontcha just love it when you hand someone a knife and they put their grubby fingers all over the blade - to see what exactly? "

I HAVE to run my fingers over a blade I am checking out. I just can't resist running my fingers over flowing curves, or testing edges. Even my own knives that I have had for years, if I am in the lazy boy watching t.v., or setting if front of the "bladeforums" waiting for pages to load, I just can't resist the steel!

Of coarse if it is a new knife at a show or dealer showroom, I ask for permission, and wipe it off with my hankie befor handing it back, but I HAVE to stroke the steel!

 

[Matt Shade]

Isn't odd how people always forget that knives are designed to cut? They act like its magic and magically severs whatever you want it to without having any effect on what you don't want to cut. Last time I checked it doesn't work that way though.I always thought it was because it was sharp, and sharp things cut. But maybe I'm the one who's wrong.

------------------
Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !

 

[yitz]

I've often wondered about that. Why is it that the first thing people do when they see a good knife is touch the blade all over. When I wince and tell them about cuts and fingerprints, they proceed to wipe it on all kinds of abrasive or unappetizing surfaces likes pants and even used hankies (no offense, knzn). Once, I handed a new Dalton top opening switchblade to someone who should have known better, and he cut himself severely. Luckily, he wasn't a crybaby and there were no repurcussions. (Try explaining that to the Employee Health Nurse!) Now, I am more careful to whom I show my knives, and whenever I hand someone a knife to look at I say very emphatically, "Please don't touch the blade." I get some funny looks, but better that than blood and body oils all over my beautiful blades!

 

[PhilL]

I don't know this girl, but sometimes us guys just let the little head do all the thinking. I'm allways pretty careful to explain to someone before I hand over one of my knives that they are sharp and I prefer the, "DON'T Touch the BLADE!!!" Still, a razor sharp blade does seem to act as some kind of "Idiot Magnet." I think we do all too much to protect the Terminaly Stupid, it's counter productive to Natural Selection, preventing the weeding them out of the gene pool.

 

[TOMBSTONE]

Well in this case at least her knife ignorants would have only done injury to herself.I encountered knife stupidity the other day with a co-worker.He asked politely
if I had a knife,this made me think he needed to cut something like opening a box etc( I should've known better).Thank god I didn't have an expensive blade on me,because he proceeded to use my gerber LST to jimmy the locked door open to the office.Unbelievable!Never again

 

[Columbo]

Maybe we should also carry a dull, but pretty, POS knife for the idiots to amuse themselves with. Safe and disposable. A knife that's pretty and can't possibly cut anyone. (You don't get much more PC than that!)

------------------
Dave
------------------------
Attention: Some assembly may be required. Batteries not included.

 

[NaturoEric]

I remember passing through the Vancouver airport last year, and I put my Opinel No 9 (four inch blade) into the little box. The security lady on the other side asked me to open it, and then she took it and pushed the blade against her palm, as if she were shaving!!!
Now, if she did have hair on her palms, it would have done the job. And if she had pushed a little bit deeper... that would have been something!

------------------
Eric Chan, ekfchan@hotmail.com
ND student
www.ccnm.edu
www.bastyr.edu

 

[Al Machado]

Yes - Wiping off a blade yourself at a knife show is a big no-no, despite your good intentions. Let the maker or dealer wipe it himself.

 

[stjames]

I guess it is a question of Nature verses Nurture?

------------------
James Segura
San Francisco, CA

 

[Kkimo]

Anytime someone asks to see one of my knives, I assume s/he will handle the blade. Anytime someone asks to borrow one of my knives, I assume s/he is going to abuse it. This doesn't bother me too much, because I doubt anyone could abuse my knives as much as I do.
I almost always give a simple "It's sharp" as a warning, and have only once had someone discourteous enough to bleed on one of them.

Dave

------------------
Snicker-snee

 

[Blilious]

Originally posted by PhilL:
...I think we do all too much to protect the Terminaly Stupid, it's counter productive to Natural Selection, preventing the weeding them out of the gene pool.

yes PhilLy boy - you said it right

!

 

[David Rock]

I always test the edge of every knife I handle. And I make no apology about this. Knives are for cutting. The edge is the part that cuts. You can't judge a knife without inspecting the edge, just as you can't judge a guitar without strumming a few chords. The easiest way to test an edge is to gently feel it. And no, it's not all that dangerous if you know what you're doing.

When I test the edge I'm not only testing the knife; I'm testing its owner.

David Rock

------------------
AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.