One of the mail people walked into my office one day to deliver a large package. For some reason he decided to open it for me before he left. He couldn't get it open, so I proceed to stupidly pull out my Gerber Chameleon II & hand it to him. He very quickly proceeds to slice the tip of his finger off because he decided to cut the straps while pulling the blade toward his finger. He decides that a hospital trip is necessary, then goes back to our main office to tell everyone that I have disobeyed the weapons policy by having such a large knife. He then decides to tell everyone that he can, that I have an unnecessarily large knife. So I'm waiting for the boss to call and lecture me, which amazingly didn't happen, even though word of my "weapon" spread like wildfire. Finally tired of the nonsense, I make a point (no pun intended) the next time he comes into my office (all the while talking to everyone about the knife), to show him (& every other person present) with ruler in hand how small the blade on my knife actually is (I believe 2 3/4 in). I then politely remind him that one should not cut a tight strap while pulling a sharp blade toward ones finger. I never heard another word about it. Never heard from the boss about this one either, which kind of surprised me. I think this person had a rep of trying to make a buck off injuries. I just bought a Gerber Firestorm with tanto point & 3.125 in blade, now that would really scare him.
Another time, I was giving an exam & several of the students (college students mind you) didn't have sharpened pencils. Being stupid again (for not failing them), I pull this same knife out of my pocket and allow one of the students to sharpen the pencils. No one in the class of 115 blinked an eye, but afterward I realized how badly that one could have gone. I think I've finally learned my lesson, and will no longer allow others to play with my knife. In my own defense, it's simply that, unlike the sheep mentioned in this thread, I view the knife as a utilitarian tool, not a weapon. As naive as it may sound, I had to learn the hard way that many 21st Century "Sheeple" see it differently.
