View Full Version : Who are you and what do you use your knife for?
Knife-man
22-11-2006, 02:11
I'm writing a article for BKTA with the aim of showing people that ordinary respectable people carry knives and use them for ordinary mundane purposes outside work.
So I'm after a few people (No names necessary if you want to remain anonymous) to give a brief rundown of What they do professionally Where they carry a knife and what it gets used for on a daily basis, where you live might also be useful. Just put down anything that seems relevant such as where you never carry a knife and for what reasons, any voluntary work you do esp if you use the knife for that as well. Basically anything which would help promote your good character.
Please note that anything you write here may get quoted but I will ask each person individually for permission before the article is put up for public viewing. Your free to write as much or as little as you want. I'm will also be posting this on BB so try not to double post as it makes my life easier
Cheers
Steve
pierre girard
22-11-2006, 02:35
I carry a lock blade knife at work. Mainly, I use it for things like cutting people out of seatbelts in car wrecks, jimmying locked doors, prying car doors so I can get a "slim jim" in, and gutting deer. I also use it to cut my meat when I'm eating out.
I usually carry a fairly cheap blade as they break or get damaged quite often. It is usually something I've confiscated from some gang-banger.
PG
Professionally I carry a knife to allow me to do my job, ok so not really a knife it's a cheap stainless leatherman copy. I use the screwdriver to open computers and the pliers to remove broken bits and to strip wire and the like. The three knife blades I use to open boxes, cut packing tapes and straps, then the larger blade I use to chop huge boxes in to small bits of cardboard that fit in the recycling bins. The saw blade and knife combination has been used to trim foliage that obscures the work CCTV’s the list is endless and mostly repetitive, opening boxes, packages, reinforced plastic packing tapes, chopping up plastics for recycling. Of all my knives it is the one that does the most work and gets sharpened the most. I forgot to add on the odd occasions I use my knife for sharpening pencils and cutting up food.
An Operations Manager for a company that does experiential learning in the outdoors in Borneo.
The most used knife is an Iban parang or a Kenyah style (but made by Penans) "parang hilang" for path clearing, establishing camps, etc.. 90% + of my knife use is with this
Way behind is a SAK, Opinel 8, Al Mar Air Weight or Frosts Mora for lighter chores or for use with a fire steel (I try to be a real bushcrafter, if I am not too knackered) and also depending on how serious would be the consequences of losing or damaging the parang.
A knife is with me most of the time simply cos the SAK is on the car key ring. Not used much. I dont carry a fixed blade in big towns though here it would hardly raise an eyebrow unless you brought a parang into a bank.
The silliest thing ever said to me was by a former British policeman who saw my 3.5" drop point folder and said "What do you need that for?"
We were in the bush! :confused:
John Fenna
22-11-2006, 07:50
Leatherman Wave - everywhere all the time as it has tools for everything and as I am an outdoor skills instructor/relief care worker/outdoor journalist/amateur dramatics enthusiast I find that in one day I may be called on to tighten bolts in a canoe, do minor DIY in the service I work in, help build/adjust scenery or do quick repairs or alteration to costume. Having everything from wirecutters to scissors in one tool is a boon!
4" fixed blade knife - when out in the field or expedition in 3rd world countries and it is used for everything from firelighting and food preparation to wood carving and firewood collection - a constant companion for a host of tasks.
Foldong 3" blade - as a rescue knife when canoeing with young people who may mis-inturpret a fixed blade knife.
3" fixed blade rescue knife - serious white water canoeing where time could be of the essence.
Machete/ 6" blade - when out clearing public rights of way, or rambling in areas I belive that paths may be overgrown.
I EDC a Leatherman Wave, which I will use every day without fail for something. I don't feel I've got my moneys worth if I don't use it one day!! It gets used for all sorts, cutting green string, 14 guage steel fencing wire, tightening the odd loose bolt and maintaining Armoured Fighting Vehicles. Something will always need trimming to fit, maybe a seal on a AFV door, or a wooden broom handle to fit in the broom head, I have used the Wave for all sorts.
I have started a Caterpiller D6D with my Wave when the starter circuit was playing up, I flashed the pliers across the solenoid and it started straight away. It took a few chunks out of the pliers, but they are still functioning and it is a working tool. I also use the pliers for baring the ends of a command wire when I do explosive tasks and use the knife for cutting detonation cord and PE4 explosives, which has a consistency of slightly crumbly plasticene.
In my mind, a knife is an invaluable tool in any walk of life, most people will use a knife every day, even if it's just to push peas onto a fork at dinner time. I've seen people struggle to complete a task just because they didn't have a knife, I'd lend them mine but one of three things will happen: It gets nicked, it gets trashed or they cut a body part off! :naughty:
I work as a systems engineer and used to carry a Gerber multi-tool which was used daily for most of the tasks mentioned above. These days I do less break/fix stuff so I only carry a Spyderco UKPK as my EDC. I use my UKPK for anything from cutting zip ties, opening boxes, food prep etc to cutting a loose thread from clothing.
I love the outdoors as most do here ;) and when out bushcrafting/camping I use my 4” Helle Futura modded fixed blade and a locking folder backup. When out walking the dog in the local woods I tend to use a 3” ish locking folder (I have far too many knives lol). I am how ever fully aware of the law on this subject so I tend to stay away from fixed or locking knives for day to day tasks and EDC.
I find that when most people find that you carry a knife everyday they kind of take a step back almost in disgust. Then you find that when the media hype has left them they usually end up using your knife more than you do!
Oh I have a little SAK on my key ring also lol
Whats BKTA? (I suppose I should know...)
The British Knife & Tool Association :)
I work in Environmental Health (most drainage), my EDC is an old style Britsh Army "jack" knife with marlin spike carried in my trouser pocket.
The knife gets used for every thing from string cutting, pencil sharpening, cutting back brambles etc to clear access. The spike is also very handy for getting dirk out of manhole key holes.
I usually carry either the Britsh army knife or the Mauser SAK in my rucksac when walking for food prep, bits of wittling etc. I also carry it when out on fell rescue stuff (always bits of string or stuff to cut).
I carry a 4" pukko again mostly in the sac when in the wilds. This is for general camp craft.
BorderReiver
22-11-2006, 11:14
Retired Biomedical Scientist.
Anywhere and everywhere a SAK.Used at least once a day.
Fixed blade (various) when in the woods either playing or dogwalking.
Stockman (various) daily but not in "sensitive" areas.
The SAK is seen by NKP as "harmless" and possibly a bit of a joke,which suits me fine.The stockman is carried because I like 'em but as they look like "real knives",I won't carry one when going to a closed public place or on a train.
Alchemist
22-11-2006, 11:32
I ALWAYS carry a knife of sorts.
I have an office based job but am a keen outdoor type person having been a sportsman and ex army.
I still have a bit of a hang up about carrying a strong and reliable knife despite my levelheadedness about everything in life. This is where I differ from most people who would never think of having an over the top knife. That doesnt mean that I carry a machete for opening boxes or cutting string. I am still levelheaded.
I use my knife mostly to cut things around the house or at work (boxes etc). I also like a bit of whittling or playing with wood when walking dogs (most days). And then I use knives if out in the country/bush.
Normally I carry a legal SAK because I can whittle and do boring chores easily with it. I would like to find a double blade lock knife that is both strong for light butchery but with a small blade for wood. It would be a locking blade so not legal everyday. My point is that I want to carry a locking knife everyday in all situations and I dont think it is dangerous or irresponsible, despite the law. I dont want to own an array of knives just so that I can conform to the publics perception and sensibilities.
Anyway, enough waffle. I also like the leatherman wave for handyman jobs and the swiss tool for manly handyman jobs (not legal of course and easy for timid grannies to see on your belt). I love the Normark superswede but I am conscious that most people think it a bit menacing when taken out. Ideal folder for me at the moment would fuse the normark and the SAK 2 blader.
Enough waffle so I will stop. Hope that helps mate.
Just one last thing. In a gun amnesty people hand in illegal items because you need a licence to own a gun. In the recent knife amnesty people handed in mostly legal knives that only become illegal if carried without proper reason. I just think it a little ironic and a little stupid. I also think that the authorities inability to stipulate what is completely illegal (ie some fighting knives etc) fails to make the public fully aware, it fails to ensure criminals know what they are doing wrong and it reinforces the perception that knife=evil.
Knife-man
22-11-2006, 13:34
Whats BKTA? (I suppose I should know...)
I should have explained for those who are not in the know.
The BKTA is the British Knife and Tool Association we aim to promote and defend the legal and sensible carriage and use of knives as one of man’s oldest and most useful tools.
http://www.bkta.org/
Thanks for everyone who has helped
I'm a university student taking psychology and journalism with hopes of publishing a book one day. :)
All my life I've been active in the outdoors, whether it be hiking, back-country skiing, biathlon, or just "going bushcrafty" on my summer months. Probably my biggest interest these days is primitive survival and how I could survive in the woods if the situation arose. That all started with a group hike I was on a few years ago; one of the members became very badly hypothermic and nearly died. At the time, I knew only the most basic of survival tasks and well, that hike sortof sparked an interest in me to learn how to survive if I was ever in that sort of situation.
As for knives, well: any one of my friends could attest that I NEVER leave my house without a Zippo lighter and a small SAK in my pocket. Because hey, you never know what might happen!
Adam
Hi, I'm a research nurse in oncology, I use a Leatherman tool at work for a surprising number of things in the course of a week, that gets kept in my bag. I have a small folding penknife with a mm rule down one side that is used daily for pencils paper etc. At home or if out on a walk I'd take a short fixed blade knife to whittle, cut wood etc.
Wettstuff
22-11-2006, 18:23
Im a garden landscaper and always have a SAK the one with only one blade, a victorniks pruning knife and a buck mantis locking folder. Generally all three end up in my pockets at some point. Used for shapping pegs for marking out, re handeling tools, cutting string/ropes banding on pallets, sharpening the obligatory pencils and after all that cutting up me lunch. Ooh and in the summer a bit of tailoring when im wearing trousers and i would be moe comfortable in shorts (so many good pairs of trousers have felt the rath of the blade) :) :D
Mark
I'm a living history interpreter. I routinely carry swords, axes, knives and spears into schools and museums to teach people how their ancesters lived.
You might want to take a look at this thread (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showpost.php?p=173282&postcount=15) .
Knife-man
22-11-2006, 18:53
I'm a living history interpreter. I routinely carry swords, axes, knives and spears into schools and museums to teach people how their ancesters lived.
You might want to take a look at this thread (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showpost.php?p=173282&postcount=15) .
I had a read through that just the other day and your predicament is precisely what The BKTA is all about. Should you be stopped it should be massively and blindingly obvious that your not carrying the blades for criminal intent But unfortunately that dosent mean you will stay out of trouble. even if you only have to take a trip down the station to sort things out it will still be a hassle I bet you could do without.
What we would love to see is the current UK laws being used against criminals instead of them being used against anyone who carries a knife regardless of there intent.
The problem is that legislation only work on people who are law abiding.
It's very strange but crooks don't seem to care much about the law.... :rolleyes:
bent-stick
22-11-2006, 20:40
I work in IT and have a Gerber in a pouch on my belt.
I use it most days (today was cutting the strapping from a pack of priinter paper) but it could be dropping the back off a pc or laptop to sort something out, sharpening a pencil (yep, I still use pencils) or opening a bottle of wine.
Not sure how people manage without something sharp.
I saw a bit in the paper the other day where an ex soldier was caught at Waterloo with a 5cm blade and done for carrying a concealed weapon. Anyone know the full story.
I am a builder and carry a leatherman wave on my belt. Nearly every tool on it gets used regulary, but the main blade itself is THE most useful tool on it. Today I used it for opening a polythene bag of nails, sharpened my carpenters pencil a few times and cut some DPC.....
Knife-man
22-11-2006, 22:14
.
I saw a bit in the paper the other day where an ex soldier was caught at Waterloo with a 5cm blade and done for carrying a concealed weapon. Anyone know the full story.
Yes I do know the full story and its a complicated matter without all the details needed to decide whether he was dealt with fairly or unfairly. If you want a link to the story PM me because I know from experience a thread containing such content tends to degrade rather quickly :rolleyes: .
My *job* changes dependant on the season. I'm an archaeologist, a Living History Interpreter, a tutor of traditional handcrafts, and sometimes I'm an instructor of outdoor living skills, however, today, I'm a costume maker so my tools are scissors and the like. This morning I was working in the garden and I was using a Helle Polar for tidying up some of my prunings, cutting off old ties and the like and it was still in my pocket when I went for a walk, to gather up some some birch bark for dye, along a public footpath.
Yesterday I used a little Bruseletto to carve out a netting needle. I was using a Bark river mini-Canadian and a Helle Tommeliten to take off the visceral tissues of a deer hide the day before. I also used an Opinel for dead heading roses and tidying up raspberry bushes, and I used the polar to baton split up some old elder branches for firedrill hearths.
My knives are tools, and I use them as such.
Cheers,
Toddy
Neanderthal
23-11-2006, 01:01
Hi bent-stick,
I was looking for the best forum to post this in but as you asked.
See clipping below fro the METRO paper
<clip>
Tuesday, November 21,2006 - METRO
Brigader held for 5cm knife on train
A RETIRED army officer was arrested, bundled into a police van and thrown in custody after trying to carry a small blade he used to sharpen pencils on to a train.
Brig Tom Foulks was fingerprinted and had DNA samples taken after the 5cm (2in) knife, on a pocket sized multi-tool, was spotted by an X-ray machine at Waterloo station in London.
He had planned to take a Eurostar tarin to Paris for a business meeting but was questioned for three hours about the £20 implement, which also included a bottle
opener, screwdriver, tweezers, compass and a toothpick.
The 56-year-old from Fleet, Hampshire, later accepted a caution for possessing an offensive weapon.
Brig Foulkes, who spent 35 years developing weapons for the Ministry of Defence and is now director-general of the institute if Civil Engineers said: "The whole thing was a farce, I was bundled into the cage of a police van and taken to a custody centre. 'I am now on a police database - all because I was carrying this useful little tool.
Surely they could see that I wasn't a threat to anyone?'
Knives with blades longer than 7.5cm are not allowed on trains under Eurostar rules.
A spokeswoman for the British Transport Police said that Brig Foulks was arrested because the blade - although only 5cm long - could be classed as a concealed weapon.
</clip>
It's a crazy mixed up world...
Neanderthal
BorderReiver
23-11-2006, 10:45
Please remember that this is in a newspaper. :rolleyes:
We do not know how the man reacted to,or spoke to the policemen who initially stopped him. :cool: It can make a LOT of difference.
bent-stick
23-11-2006, 10:47
Thanks for that. I'd read it over someone's shoulder and thought I'd dreamed it.
Sorry for hijacking the thread Knife-Man.
Mods: if you think it has taken the thread way off where it should be and want to get rid of my question and reply please do so.
Edit:
Very true border_riever.
I am a full time college student, studying the uniform services hoping to join the fire service. In my spare time I help teach bushcraft to students of 16-18 years of age. I just have a simple swedish Mora Clipper, but does everything I need it to do from splitting fire or making feather sticks, to wood carving.
I also carry my knife with me if I go on a weekend to the Brecon Beacons or Climbing in Wales as it will always comes in handy at some point aswell as just feeling prepared for any situation.
Hi,
Im a Unix sysadmin but sometimes do a little hardware/cabling work so i have a Gerber Multi tool and a freebee sun microsystems leatherman ripoff on my desk.
For camping, my Gerber Gater, Forces Folder and Forces Machette, and a cheap 5 euros Lidl Axe
Loz
Personally, I can't for the life of me fathom the knife law issue in the UK. I suppose the only way that one could rationalize it is that there is a large amount of people living in a small area and there's a high probability of danger.
On the other hand, here in BC the laws are pretty well, lax. I've seen people walking into grocery stores with an 8 inch fixed blade strapped to their belts to buy a gallon of milk. It's not big deal, really. I carry a little SAK at work, my boss is constantly asking to borrow it because it's sharper than his kitchen knives. Again, no big deal there.
But again, laws are laws and they are to be followed. Right?
Adam
I'm a college student in Belgium. I carry a SAK every day for the small daily jobs. When I go camping I take a SAK, a saw, a BRKT Snowy river and a cheap mora.
Michiel
ArkAngel
24-11-2006, 13:46
I am a printer repair technician, sometime computer repair man, photography teacher, (I work for Cartridge World)
I have a SAK on my keychain at all times and normally have a Victorinox multi-tool in my pocket at work.
Useful for all sorts of things, just this morning the pliers and awl were very useful for removing 5 1 euro coins from a customers laptop printer that his 4 year old had mistaken for a moneybox! :lmao:
otherwise normal work usage of knife, opening boxes, unscrewing things etc etc
OldJimbo
25-11-2006, 06:49
I use a Leatherman PST that I was given many years ago. I suppose that with non locking blade of less than 3" would even be legal in UK. I use it daily for little jobs on computers, though the blade is the one part that gets the least use.
In clearing trails on my own time, I use a variety of big blades from axes to parangs.
I really can't remember back far enough to when I didn't carry some small pocket knife - and that even includes when I was young and going to school in Britain. I remember giving myself a good cut (and feeling very embarassed about it) when I was about 9, so I was using knives then. Fifty years ago, I think it would have been unusual to find a man who didn't carry a pocket knife, and probably most women had one in a purse as well. Back then a person ate an apple with a knife, to peel it and slice off chunks, because you never knew what you'd find inside. For some reason it seems that there were more small jobs that required a knife than now, or perhaps people were simply more self-reliant.
chrisanson
25-11-2006, 10:10
hello,
i am a welder/fabricator. I carry a SAK and an OPINEL (don’t know what No it is as its worn off). I carry both most of the time but have always got my SAK with me. They are used for everything from cutting open sack’s to eating my lunch, changing a fuse or pruning a bush , in general almost everything !
Chris
malcolmc
25-11-2006, 14:10
I’m a middle-aged professional who likes hill walking. When walking in the wilds I carry a knife as a tool of last resort for fire making and shelter. The type of knife is similar to that used by local fishermen and hunters; the local constabulary have no problem with this but of course can’t speak for their colleagues in other parts.
I also always carry a small folder, mostly used for removing staples at the photocopier and opening bubble packaging.
The advice I’ve had, from the local law, is if you are found to be carrying a knife of any description on public transport after there has been an incident you will be detained until you are eliminated from police enquiries. This may take some time and seriously inconvenience you. I can live with that, its done for our protection after all.
OldJimbo
25-11-2006, 18:06
Since the nature of this thread is about justifying carrying such a basic tool as a knife...
One of my favorite albums is Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" sound stage production. Yesterday I was watching the 30th anniversary stage production.
In the section with the artilleryman digging tunnels, part of the lyrics go:
"Man is born in freedom,
but soon becomes a slave.
in cages of prevention
from the cradle to the grave..."
That's an interesting observation in lyrics written thirty years ago.
With the cynicism of age I just wish that the cages of restrictions actually did serve to prevent something, or even have a net positive effect.
Dougster
25-11-2006, 22:09
I'm a secondary school design teacher. I NEVER carry a knife to work - but the kids know I make them.
I do carry them when not at school - I use it beating, I cut thorns and brambles when walking the dog (yes it is easier than carrying secateurs) or to trim wood I'd like to carve and bring home.
I used to shoot in competitions when I was younger, managing a few international caps, and the argument is the same for knives as for we made then for guns - they are inanimate - it's the idiot behind them that causes the problem.
In this country we are having our responsibilities eroded a little more each day, and with it our sense of responsibility is slowly disappearing, blanket bans have the same effect. I actually had a girl pull a big metal lever down on her own head the other day in my lesson and blame me for not stopping her!!!!
I'm not sure wether we will come to our senses or self implode as a nation in the future.
OldJimbo
26-11-2006, 20:23
In this country we are having our responsibilities eroded a little more each day, and with it our sense of responsibility is slowly disappearing,
I believe that you're at the heart of the matter with that statement.
For about ten years of my teaching career I had a pocket knife which I'd leave on the chalk ledge for students to shave down pencil crayons with, for shading. Just a little safety instruction, and things cruised along with not a single cut or mishap. I gave up that practice because it became clear that students were becoming less and less familiar with knife use and safety. Later at camps I did teach knife use, safety and responsibility to small groups. It took about ten hours of highly supervised practice until I felt confident that they had sufficient responsibility and knowledge of safe use. We had a great time, but it was very clear that most kids had had no exposure to knives, even in the kitchen at home.
I've given knives to my grand-kids, but there too I've also given many hours of my undivided attention, while they learned responsibility and safety.
What I'm getting to in all of this is that responsible and safe knife carry and use implies some learning. I'd figure that many people now would consider any sharp object as dangerous, because for them it is.
OzaawaaMigiziNini
26-11-2006, 20:45
I'm writing a article for BKTA with the aim of showing people that ordinary respectable people carry knives and use them for ordinary mundane purposes outside work.
So I'm after a few people (No names necessary if you want to remain anonymous) to give a brief rundown of What they do professionally Where they carry a knife and what it gets used for on a daily basis, where you live might also be useful. Just put down anything that seems relevant such as where you never carry a knife and for what reasons, any voluntary work you do esp if you use the knife for that as well. Basically anything which would help promote your good character.
Please note that anything you write here may get quoted but I will ask each person individually for permission before the article is put up for public viewing. Your free to write as much or as little as you want. I'm will also be posting this on BB so try not to double post as it makes my life easier
Cheers
Steve
My name is Caleb, My jobs include student (of secondary school as well as wilderness survival), a hardware store clerk and Mr Fix-it. I also have many jobs that are based in the outdoors, mostly volunteer jobs for the survival and bushcraft programs, as well as paying jobs for aboriginal programs (Serpent Mounds Ontario for instance).
In all of those jobs I've found a knife invaluable;
- When on my survival programs I'll often carry a large, fixed-blade (Cold Steel SRK or Bushman),
-when doing in-depth camping or Bushcraft I add a Kukri Machete and a mora knife.
-When carving I use hook knives, an opinel and a mora
When at the aboriginal programs I try to carry old fashioned knives that are functional but also blend into the traditional setting. I used to have a bowie knife with a stag antler scale handle, as well as a plain handled Mora with a leather sheath. These were to make it possible to do work, but also let the people see an old fashioned scenery, with old fashioned tools.
Now at the hardware store I carry a Gerber Pro-Scout Multi Tool. It's more important to me there than any other tool in the shop. The hardware store I work at offers satellite installments, bicycle repairs and all-around fixing jobs. Pliers and screwdrivers in the multi-tool are great for those jobs. But we also get 70-100 large boxes weekly that need to get openned, emptied and then cut up for the recycling. A good sharp knife (with some serrations), will beat any exacto-knife or utility knife we have in the shop. One hand and I can open the Pro-Scout and while holding a large box, I can tear it apart and put away the knife.
A handy-man is nothing without a good tool. A knife is a tool. But in my aboriginal teachings, a knife is also a powerful spirit. It keeps us alive in the wilderness. But disrespect it by using it ignorantly and it WILL punish you (cuts, lacerations, missing digits). It's just like wine to the Christians and tobacco to the natives. Respect what you use, and it will respect you. Disrespect it, and it can disrespect you alot worse!
Ben Trout
26-11-2006, 20:55
Victornix Swisstool at work. I'm in an electro-mechanical repair workshop. It gets used for opening packaging, cutting insulation and stand in for any tool that I can't be bothered going back to my toolbox for. That on being a locking blade I have a Gerber Eclipse and baby Victornix in my wallet for the rest of the time.
As a Scout leader and for general outdoors stuff the Swisstool is my usual sharp. Out of the way I take Lapp Puuko and saw backed Glock.
Swisstool still going strong after some seven years of everyday abuse.
"Now why would you be carrying a knife...?"
"Hunting."
"...what do you hunt with a knife?"
"Name it..."
Oh wait, that was some other American dude...
I just figured I'd add this little addendum to this thread:
I use my SAK every day, without fail. (I prefer the Driver model as an EDC). But occasionally I think to myself "I won't take it with me today, I won't need it." and then Murphy's Law comes into effect and I find that I desperately need the knife. My lesson from this is to take a pocketknife with me whenever and wherever I ago. I figure that if I'm putting on a pair of pants, I should probably take my SAK with me.
I also admit that I baby the little guy. At the end of every day I clean the blades and tools off if they are particularly dirty, and then I strop the knife on a piece of leather loaded with some buffing compound courtesy of Old Jimbo. (And again, thanks a million!) This way the knife stays razor sharp and cuts everything that I ask it to.
I guess what I'm trying to get at here with this post is that I think a lot of people my age have forgotten about the usefulness of a knife in everyday situations. I'm always aghast when I see friends showing off their knives that are duller than a butter knife because no-one took the time to teach them proper blade safety and sharpening skills. (Why on earth do people my age seem to think that sharpening a knife is something mystical that requires an out-of-this-world skill?)
And in the end, it's a pity. It's almost as if we're taking a step backwards as a society. If a three inch blade is seen as a deadly weapon and confiscated, I don't know, but I think we've lost something sacred.
Adam
As far as my job is concerned I have absolutely no justification for carrying any sort of knife around, but as a card-carrying geek I always have my Gerber multitool with as I'm often asked to look at odd hardware problems for people.
As a Scout leader I always carry my SAK, in fact it now lives permanently in Scout shirt pocket.
At home and out in the field my Frosts Mora is always at hand.
Out of all my tools, a knife is by far my favourite tool and is always used - possibly because I always have one to hand!
However part of my 'relaxed' attitude towards knives is directly influenced by where I live - on recent trips to Bradford and London I had to make a conscious effort not to pack my SAK or Multitool as I didn't want the hassle of trying to justify them.
A knife is one of mans first tools..and quite usefull id say..i make them ,but i use them as we all do each day..i find the further i get on the road the bigger i want my knife to be as i have many uses for it..from chopping wood to picking a splinter out of my fingers...
one must remember like most things..a knife a tool ...its what one does with something thats good or bad...such as i can take this pencil and write a love letter or stick it in your ear..its never about the object but the person.
hardyferret
29-12-2006, 23:50
Iam a fitter, on industrial machines, and always have some knife on me either a kershaw lock blade or my issued army clasp knife.
I know poss the kershaw will be viewed as illegal by police but and a big but to me I have done nothing wrong with it and it is not on display.
I feel once again it is the old story ban/restrict is easier than tackle the root of the problem.
Sad country we live in,hopefully one day things will improve.......
Regards to you all
Hardyferret
In American society nowadays most people have a jackknife, folding lockblade, Swiss Army Knife, or multitool on them, in their pocket, in a pouch on their belt, or in their briefcase/purse, etc. It's surprising nowadays just how many women are packing a Swiss Army Knife in their purse.
When I was a kid in the 70's, virtually everyone in rural America had a Buck 110 or Buck 112 on their belt. one of my first knives as a kid a was a Buck 112. Nowadays there's a huge selection of decent and semi-decent folding knives, including attractively priced el-cheapo folders from China, so the Buck 110 isn't the all-present uber-knife that it used to be, but it's still a very popular blade, especially with hunters. In 2005 they made the 16 millionth Buck 110 to be manufactured.
I've found that when not out in the bush, it draws a lot fewer stares not to carry a sheath knife, even when it's legal to do so - even a small one.
So I always have multi-tool on me which I use a lot, and I usually carry a 3-3/4" folding lockblade which I also use on a regular basis. No one blinks an eyelash at me carrying two folding knife pouches, and it's a common sight here for a man to have a knife pouch on their belt, both in town, in the larger city, and in the country.
In a rural and semi-rural environment you really kind of want to have a dedicated knife for a lot of cutting jobs. This saves wear and tear upon the Leatherman, and the larger blade is also a lot tougher.
The knife laws here vary from state to state. Arizona has virtually no laws against knives. You can walk down the street with a katana if that's what you want to do (but some cop might stop you and ask a couple of questions just to be sure you're not a nut).
In Texas, they still have an anti-Bowie knife law on the books from the late 19th Century that was implemented because too many people back then were slicing each other up in fights. Shooting someone was one thing, but knife fights with bowie knives tended to be rather ghastly in the opinion of 19th Century society. So, unless you are on your prvate property or on public land engaged in an outdoor activity, you cannot walk around Texas with a knife blade longer than 5-1/2".
The interesting thing is that hatchets tend to fall outside the scope of most knife laws in this country (the same as flamethrowers curiously tend to fall outside the realm of most gun laws).
I'm a college student, so I can't carry a knife to work, but whenever I'm working (on pretty much anything really) outside college, I'll carry a folder, and sometimes my Clipper. And I use them for pretty much anything as well... eating, cutting string or rope, stripping wires, opening letters.
Even a single-bladed knife is more of a multitool than most people seem to realise :D
Bjorn Victor
30-12-2006, 06:40
I work in the Tropical Institute in Belgium.
I carry a Fallkniven U2 or a SAK in my pockets.
I have a Leatherman Blast in my backpack.
U2 or SAK get daily use. Leatherman is there in case I need the special things (pliers, ...)
Bjorn
I work in an office.
I own a number of pocket knives. My knives are all razor sharp. I take the view that a blunt knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one. I always carry a knife in my pocket, at work and ... wherever.
I don't do anything heroic with it. I have never saved anyone's life with it, nor do I anticipate doing so. I have never been involved in a "survival situation", nor do I realistically think I ever will be.
I use it every day. I wouldn't be without it. I use it to sharpen pencils, cut string, peel and core fruit, cut paper, whittle wood, open parcels, clean under my fingernails, take splinters out.... my family always know that dad will have a penknife if they need one.
When I was a lad every boy had a penknife. Nowardays, I'm made to feel like a psychopath for carrying one. Women in particular positively shy away from me if I take a knife out of my pocket, even though I'm doing something totally inocuous like opening an envelope.
I've no doubt at all that in very short order it will be illegal to carry a knife at all. It has never ever occurred to me that my penknife could be used as a weapon. On reflection, it couldn't really: a folding blade knife would be very dangerous to the user if it were used to stab someone. Anyway, I'd rather run away.
And when they've made knives illegal, they'll have to ban something else. Because banning something is easy, even if making positive laws isn't. Scissors? Saws? Axes? Chisels? All very dangerous in the wrong hands. Ho hum.
I'm an office worker and sometimes have my SAK on my belt. It generally lives in my car though, it gets used for anything and everything.
My Dad always had some sort of knife close to hand and saw it as being the most important tool you could ever have to hand. It's that definition of tool or weapon that is at issue.
With regards to it being classed as carrying an offensive weapon, They better start banning Biro's because that's what seems to be the weapon of choice for Shell suit clad hooligans in and around Glasgow.
Hawk Hawkins
04-01-2007, 08:43
I always have a Case XX mini trapper in my left pocket. I use it for about everything from opening boxes to doing the occasional carving. sometimes in my right pocket I have a traditional leatherman tool. It goes with me when im outdoors. Ive also used it for various repairs around the restaraunt I manage.
Hawk
I'm a school teacher so I don't carry anything on a daily basis. If I'm out and about I'll have my SAK Electrician Plus and probably either my nessmuk or Bark River PSK.
Buckley8219
04-01-2007, 10:05
I'm an office worker and sometimes have my SAK on my belt. It generally lives in my car though, it gets used for anything and everything.
My Dad always had some sort of knife close to hand and saw it as being the most important tool you could ever have to hand. It's that definition of tool or weapon that is at issue.
With regards to it being classed as carrying an offensive weapon, They better start banning Biro's because that's what seems to be the weapon of choice for Shell suit clad hooligans in and around Glasgow.
Indeed, a chav tried to stab me with a fountain pen the other day! The little bugger.
Klenchblaize
04-01-2007, 10:17
They better start banning Biro's because that's what seems to be the weapon of choice for Shell suit clad hooligans in and around Glasgow.
On the basis that a Bush person, all be they given of some considerable skill, can fully butcher an antelope with no more than a stick, let’s add trees to the list! No problem with a folding and non-locking three inches of blackthorn though!
Cheers
Spacemonkey
04-01-2007, 14:52
I'm an embalmer so I always have a selection of scalpels etc in my bag, but I also carry a SAK in my daysack that carries all my work kit, along with first aid kit and all sorts of other 'just in case' stuff. Doing this, I have always managed to be prepared for most things that daily life throws at me without relying on other people to come out and help. I even spent 6 years living in london like this with no problems. My biggest problem, is that as I am a travelling embalmer, I spend all day driving between my clients which are at least an hour apart form each other, so I have to carry spare equipment in the car so that I can finish the job in hand even with equipment failure. Some of these 'spares' look quite horrific, but they stay in the car as it is way too much hassle to keep removing them. I imagine one day trying to explain to a dimwitted copper just what a 'trocar' is for....
Yet again, a few yobs in the inner city scumbag areas use knives as weapons and the 99% of the rest of the population have to suffer the consequences in their everyday lives.