Knife culture

[FujiLove]

I'm beginning to feel I'm not entirely welcome in this thread...ha ha! So I think it's appropriate that I sign off and wish you all a Happy and peaceful Thanksgiving. And may your turkey slicers be sharp 🙂

 

[skopar steve]

FujiLove,

I referenced my state as having very little crime.

 

[nikonhswebmaster]

Roger: As for those who say, "The world has changed," well, yes. And why has it changed? Because of paranoia, alarmism, and the consequent criminalization of perfectly normal, innocent behaviour such as carrying a Leatherman multi-tool.

I say that simply as an observation, not as a reason or excuse.

I rounded up my knives.

So guys, let's tone down this thread a little before some evil moderator closes it.

 

[scigeek]

Your location says you're in Wales. To quote the UK government web site:

"The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is 4 years in prison and an unlimited fine. You’ll get a prison sentence if you’re convicted of carrying a knife more than once."

Let's hope it's a tiny penknife or you're using it for work eh? Otherwise you may be in need of a chiv to keep the other cons off you in the showers!

Eek.

Chill out. I have never been accosted by the law, either on the private property on which I shoot and fish, or the public property (lakes and the sea) on which I kayak.

Knowing a little law myself, I'm pretty sure that my knife-carrying is legal.

I have several air-rifles too 😀 .

 

[nikonhswebmaster]

Knowing a little law myself, I'm pretty sure that my knife-carrying is legal.

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

For some reason no mention of sport (only work) like fishing, camping, diving, or hunting, but it appears any small non-locking pocket knife is OK.

On your own land looks like you can carry a harpoon. 🙂

 

[rybolt]

Anyone else like hatchets? Or hand-axes?

 

[Livesteamer]

I am partial to my 8 pound splitting ax. Being a traditional sort of fellow you might expect me to use a wood handle but this one has a nylon handle that has lasted well for many years now. I like splitting wood; it's not about brute force but finding the best way thru a log. Joe

 

[Dogman]

... but yes I was personally threatened on a couple of occasions as a teenager and witnessed several other people being threatened/bullied with knives over the years. I find them personally very threatening and they represent a lot of extremely unpleasant things to me, such as intimidation, fear, domination, the hunting and killing of animals etc. I struggle to see how they are a valid part of most people's lives outside of the kitchen for 99.9% of the time, so the idea of regularly carrying them is extremely odd to me. Add in the problems that inner cities have with knife crime between young people, and I really can't stand the damn things.

If you read my first post - a long way back - I did say that I understand knives as a tool. I'm not stupidly suggesting that the knife in itself is a bad thing or wrong in some way. It's the glorification of the object and the fascination some people have with them that I detest.

I'm afraid this attitude has moved beyond mild paranoia and into the realm of a full-blown phobia. I'm truly sorry you have been victimized in the past. But you obviously have transferred your fears from the original source to the object.

And, as for glorification of and fascination with objects (other than knives), that is a primary topic of conversation on these forums.

 

[FrankS]

I am partial to my 8 pound splitting ax. Being a traditional sort of fellow you might expect me to use a wood handle but this one has a nylon handle that has lasted well for many years now. I like splitting wood; it's not about brute force but finding the best way thru a log. Joe

I've cut and split a lot of wood in my day. I lived in a passive solar house that I built on my father's farm, and a wood stove was the only other source of heat. Splitting is meditative, as is the whole process including stacking and feeding the stove. Loved it.

 

[Tompas]

I have a Leatherman Micro in my briefcase. I bring my Opinel knife to every picnic. Out of home I carry my Granddad's Luger or my Glock. And in the trunk of my car there is a loaded Panzerfaust. Just in case. Needless to say, I would never stab anybody.

 

[FrankS]

Out of home I carry my Granddad's Luger or my Glock. And in the trunk of my car there is a loaded Panzerfaust. Just in case.

Is that legal in Germany?

 

[Doug]

Knives make me nervous, as do other sharp objects. Figuring that lack of knowledge contributes to the unease, I took a class in knife fighting. Since anyone involved in a two-way conflict is likely to be cut, I’d run away if possible. If not, a gun would be preferable. I’ve never cut anyone else, but it’s inevitable for one who handles knives to suffer the occasional minor wound.

I’m partial to Spyderco, having trained with a practice version of the Delica. I’ve been carrying a Spyderco Walker linerlock clipit, and a Dyad two-bladed lockback, primarily for their utility value. I will carry only a knife with locking blade for safety reasons. One-handed open/close is important.

There is some legal ambiguity around here regarding carrying knives, and it strongly depends on the knife itself, and the circumstances. A small pocket pen knife is innocuous generally, while something more suitable for fighting could be considered a “dangerous weapon.” Washington state issues a “license to carry concealed pistol” that leaves the door open for knife charges. A “concealed weapons permit” would be broader. Automatic knives, “switchblades,” are illegal.

Some people, and my Dad was one, think that having a weapon at hand has a psychological effect of raising blood-lust and murderous thoughts unlikely to occur otherwise.

 

[shane_goguen]

Kershaw or leatherman. Depending on what I'm doing that day.

 

[Archiver]

When I was a kid, my Uncle gave me my first knife, the excellent Victorinox with 14 functions, including the toothpick and tweezers. That knife went everywhere with me for years, doing things like cutting open boxes, whittling wood, and getting up to shenanigans like finely slicing a much-disliked relative's curtain pulls.

As time went on, I wanted a locking knife, so my next was a small Kershaw with a black rubber handle. And that replaced the SAK as my EDC.

Men who collect gadgets often like knives, watches, flashlights and cameras. I'm no different. As an adult, I've accumulated a number of folders from Spyderco and CRKT. There's a sense of pleasure and satisfaction to be gained from handling a well designed and constructed item, whether it be a knife, camera, watch or flashlight.

Unfortunately, knife laws in Victoria are increasingly annoying. Lockblades are legal, but there was some talk of banning folders with thumb studs. Never mind that kids committing crime with knives are usually getting them from the kitchen, not the $150 tactical folder from the knife shop. You can't carry a knife with a blade longer than 2 inches, and you must have a work-related reason to carry a knife at all. Exotic knives like kerambits are banned because the finger ring is classified as a knuckle duster. Idiots.

For this reason, my enthusiasm for collecting knives has dampened, and my passion has diverted to cameras. I haven't carried a knife in decades, but heck, a camera is with me every day. Hence, why I am here. 🙂

 

[Jon Buffington]

As all southern gentlemen were taught, I carry a pocket knife daily. My first was a pen knife and other folders my grandmother gave me when I as probably 6 or 7. About age 8 or 9 I was given my first proper lock back from my father at Christmas, a Gerber that I still miraculously have. I have lost it for years at a time during my teens or early 20's but yet it always found a way back to me. Through the years I have had many knifes. Today, I rotate depending on day of the week, a Case or my original Gerber in the pocket. Weekends either a Buck lock back, a Gerber (larger than the other, with a clip and easy opening), a 4 blade cheap Cherokee, or a larger old Schrade Uncle Henry lock back hunting style knife. In my truck is a K-Bar with easy access. This is for defense but also gets used for splitting small wood for kindling around the campfire.

I am shocked and somewhat amused by laws stating some knives are illegal. Knives are and have always been tools. Yes, some are designed for self defense and I would rather have one than none in that situation (lets hope it never happens). But most importantly, it is a tool. My camera is also a tool and can be used as a weapon. My tripod would also double as a good weapon 🙂 Lastly, I have my hands which I can make into a fist. But, I digress...

Never stabbed anyone but myself. Was once stabbed accidentally by a friend. We were maybe 12 and playing a game walking down the street, throwing are little folder knives into the ground. My friend mis-threw and it stuck in my leg. I watched it slowly slide out by gravity. Some blood went down my leg (it went in my calf). My friend apologized, I wiped the blood off with my sweaty sock, and we were on our way. We were kids, weren't going to let a little knife wound spoil a perfectly good day.

I have some multi tools, I keep one in my motorcycle trunk bag. I keep a tactical type survival knife in the glove box. It can crack a windshield, cut a seat belt (special cutter), has a fire starter and a small flashlight that can be removed, all in a nice lock back knife. It can do a few other things, but I forget what.

Just remembered I forgot to carry a knife today. Oh well, two were in the truck with me. I have enjoyed the on topic discussion and pictures of various knives. I must photograph mine. I also have researched some of the knives others have mentioned and feeling a bit of GAS coming on.

Lots of cultural differences. I grew up in the deep south, in an affluent suburb of a major city. Currently I live in a poor, rural county in middle TN. Everyone around here carries a lock back and/or multi tool. In the cities, you carry a small folder in your business suit pants.

 

[TXForester]

I'm from Texas, so pocket knives were a natural thing to carry. Leaving the house without one was like stepping outside without wearing pants. Though I think many do not carry today.

Even here attitudes have changed. As a kid in the 70s, I was going on a plane trip with my parents. Didn't think about having a pocket knife on me. At the airport, the personnel taped my knife to the inside of a cardboard box and handed it back to us as carry-on luggage.

 

[TXForester]

If you’re going to work in the forest, you have to carry a pocket knife, they’re just such marvelous tools. Adjust the carburetor on your snowmobile? No problem. Blaze a tree so you know where you’ve walked? Easier yet. Adjust the magnetic declination on your compass? Sure. The list of uses goes on and on.

Now that I’m retired I still carry one in my pocket. Old habits die hard.

Jim B.

Leatherman or similar tool is a good forester's tool. I carry one in my cruiser's vest. Good when I need to repair a spot gun in the woods.

 

[Archiver]

Even here attitudes have changed. As a kid in the 70s, I was going on a plane trip with my parents. Didn't think about having a pocket knife on me. At the airport, the personnel taped my knife to the inside of a cardboard box and handed it back to us as carry-on luggage.

That reminds me of when I went through Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, on the way back to Australia. I was barely a teenager, carrying my SAK in my pocket. The metal detectors went off, and after wanding me, they asked me to empty my pockets.

Out came keys, coins, metal pens, metallic foil chewing gum wrappers, and my SAK.

The airport attendants looked at the SAK briefly, but were more amused by the masses of metal objects I unthinkingly carried through the scanners. After everything was on the table, they wanded me again, and I passed through with no further incident.

This was in the mid 80's. Since then, I never carry anything metal when I pass through a detector. Everything metal goes into my bag, including watch and belt. And I never carry a knife of any kind through airport security.

 

[peterm1]

Knives make me nervous, as do other sharp objects. Figuring that lack of knowledge contributes to the unease, I took a class in knife fighting. Since anyone involved in a two-way conflict is likely to be cut, I’d run away if possible. If not, a gun would be preferable. I’ve never cut anyone else, but it’s inevitable for one who handles knives to suffer the occasional minor wound.

I’m partial to Spyderco, having trained with a practice version of the Delica. I’ve been carrying a Spyderco Walker linerlock clipit, and a Dyad two-bladed lockback, primarily for their utility value. I will carry only a knife with locking blade for safety reasons. One-handed open/close is important.

There is some legal ambiguity around here regarding carrying knives, and it strongly depends on the knife itself, and the circumstances. A small pocket pen knife is innocuous generally, while something more suitable for fighting could be considered a “dangerous weapon.” Washington state issues a “license to carry concealed pistol” that leaves the door open for knife charges. A “concealed weapons permit” would be broader. Automatic knives, “switchblades,” are illegal.

Some people, and my Dad was one, think that having a weapon at hand has a psychological effect of raising blood-lust and murderous thoughts unlikely to occur otherwise.

Regarding the last sentence above, I am more of the "you will never know when you will need it, till you need it" school of thought. Having said this self defence is not really the reason I usually have a pocket knife about my person (they are a pretty crappy self defence weapon anyway. )
I grew up in rural South Australia in a time when every male typically had a sheath knife or a pocket knife, used a .22 file regularly to shoot rabbits and used the knife to skin and gut them. I got into the habit of carrying a knife then but as an adult kept it up to do all kinds of chores. I still usually do have one except when going somewhere that security arrangements might prevent it.
We are so citified and weak these days that I should not be surprised that some find the idea offensive in principle just because a knife can be used as a weapon, but I still manage to be surprised all the same. I have never had to use a knife to defend myself and hope I never do. I am a live and let live kind of guy. But I confess that I did once find it necessary to show the knife to an aggressor and promise him that if if he followed through with his threat to attack me I would defend myself by any means. He was younger, bigger and stronger than me but like all cowards did not like it when the contest was more equal. So that threat sufficed to make him see sense.
Still, I wonder how the "all weapons are terrible" crew might have ended up in the same situation.

 

[Peter Jennings]

Pocket knives, to me, are a lot like wristwatches: intriguing objects with little practical value in my daily life. I have a couple (cheap) Seiko Automatic watches that I enjoy having and admiring for their mechanical qualities, but I hardly ever wear them. I also have a few pocket knives that mostly sit unused in a drawer next to my watches. I sometimes get the urge to get a new one (and this thread has revived that urge) but the urge passes.

Cameras, on the other hand, I find much more useful and immensely more rewarding. I think I'll stick to collecting cameras. 🙂