You carry a knife?

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I carry a rather inconspicuous Buck Parralex that's all black and is always on me now. I got it at Dick's Sporting Goods for $15 and it has been a great tool to have on me. I have pretty much used it everyday since I have had it in my possession.

Damian
 
I've been asked on many occasions (about my pocket knife and many other random things like tools that I have handy) "Why on earth do you have that?"

The conversation usually goes something like this:

Them: Why do you have (insert item here)?
Me: Did I just use it?
Them: Yes
Me: That's why I have it
Them: but how did you know you were going to need it?
Me: I didn't
Them: then why did you have it?

and the cycle restarts back at my initial "did I just use it?"

Its rather entertaining... usually.
 
The only reason why anyone would recoil in horror and ask: "You carry a knife?" is due to the fact that the last 30 years has seen the emasculation of the American male.

I have carried a pocket knife almost every day since 3rd grade, and went through High School with a 4" Buck folder in a leather belt sheath. The only time that I do not have a knife in my possession is while in "victim disarmament' zones like airplanes, courthouses, correctional facilities (just visiting!), etc. The fact that kids today get suspended from school for having a plastic butter knife in their lunchbox due to zero tolerance (more like zero intelligence) rules is a crying shame.
 
I have a little pocket pouch of things I might need, knives float separate because I use them a lot. Have pen, carpenter pencil, marker, different tools for different jobs. Have a little tool set, weighs a few ounces has about 10 different bits. little notepad for writing things down. Usb flash drive, 4gb. A little prybar (knives aren't for prying things) and a penlight. all this fits into any cargo pocket on khakis.

Left pocket has a knife, has been for a long time a crkt m21, 3". Simple color, nothing fancy, flipper for speed, sharpened really nice. It's what I use for detail work, envelopes, fingernail cleaning.

In my right pocket I carry things like. Frosts mora, messed with the sheath some so it hangs off the belt into the pocket. 4" of fixed blade simplicity. Ti-lite for a long time, was hooked on the pocket catch. Now for folders I have spyderco byrds, cheap, reliable, not scary, and with a little zip-tie/ rubber band you can give them a pocket catch. Or.... a saw, and some file work.

And since I got it now.... A razel. 3" ringed crkt. The kydex sheath isn't my favorite, would like a leather one. but this is a fun knife. and far more interesting than scary.

Also, the no carrying a knife policies... is just stupid, in school you have boxes full of pointy weapons, heavy bludgeoning objects. But you can't carry a tool.

I got questioned in school once, because I had an RC car battery... it said "rechargeable 7.2 volt" on it real big.... had to explain what it was, because it was shiny and black, and people were scared of it. People are scared of everything.
 
Most of the time I get asked
"You gotta knife on ya?"
My reply "I got my pants on dont I?"

Ive been carrying a knife since I found one in the 6th grade. In high school a buddy of mine asked to borrow my knife to get a splinter out his hand while the teacher was out, of course the teacher came back bout the time he started diggin in with it. He took it, closed it, and asked whos it was. I told him, mine, he gave it back to me and said "Dont let me see it again" He was as an ex cop.
Ive had several ppl say something like, "thats a knife there!" I carry a Benchmade Griptillian for the most part. Its clipped in my front pocket, with Leatherman on my belt. But I can flick the Grip long before most folks can stick there hand in there pocket.
Why carry more than one?
I hate to loose anything, esp a knife, no matter the value. I feel naked if I dont have one on me, so its nice to have a backup.
I use my Grip to do everything, open boxes, cut shrink wrap, strip electrical wires, clean battery post, cut plastic bands on lumber, cut hay string, cut limbs, peel fruit. I even cut a small watermelon with it Thursday at work. No one else had a knife, I wiped it off on my shirt and stuck it in the melon. My boss came out to get him a slice. I had left the knife there for others to use. He said "I dont know where your knife has been but Im gonna use it anyway." I told him "He really didnt want to know!"
I agree that every man(or woman for that matter) should carry some sort of knife. It really makes my day much easier when I can reach in pocket for a tool rather than walking around trying to find a tool.
 
Most of the time I get out of explaing to much If I just tell them that I made it.

Q: Why do you carry a knife like that?
A: For things that need cut!

Police Officer Q: Why are you carrying that knife?

My smart ass A: Why are you?

I actually carry an axe on my back pack all over portland on my bike with out a sheath just stuck through the PALS webbing on the back. You might have seen the axe I posted on here a while back its a bit intimidating in my opinion, but no one has ever asked why or what, sometimes just a "hey cool axe"
 
The only reason why anyone would recoil in horror and ask: "You carry a knife?" is due to the fact that the last 30 years has seen the emasculation of the American male.

I have carried a pocket knife almost every day since 3rd grade, and went through High School with a 4" Buck folder in a leather belt sheath. The only time that I do not have a knife in my possession is while in "victim disarmament' zones like airplanes, courthouses, correctional facilities (just visiting!), etc. The fact that kids today get suspended from school for having a plastic butter knife in their lunchbox due to zero tolerance (more like zero intelligence) rules is a crying shame.
__________________
Lew Wallace was an optimist.

I want my country back!
Click to expand...

This is so true, we are truly on our way out as far as rights go, and the emasclation you are talking about.

Regards,:uhoh:
 
I have never had anyone ask if I am carrying a knife or ask why I am "carry that!" But then again in rural Oregon almost everyone does carry a knife. I have carried a knife since I was probably 11 or 12, even carried one everyday at school, but it was never a problem. Of course that was before political correctness ruined our lives. I carry a Leatherman Wave, Benchmade Griptillian and a micra or SAK executive model. If I don't have a knife with me, I feel naked! :what:I even have a Sunday go to meeting knife, a Spyderco Delica, its a little smaller then the Griptillian and doesn't seem too obtrusive... although I do miss my wave, but I guess for one day a week I can live with out it.

Little John
 
I once offended someone's grandmother by carrying a 110. She told me I needed something less conspicuous. Go grandma.
Click to expand...

What is it with old people and the Buck 110? My mother in law gave me the speech because she wanted me to cut out a young sapling, that was too close to the fence and so I did and she seems in wonder at the size of it. It isn't like I pulled out my kurkri.
 
I always have a serrated blade lock blade knife; I also have a small flashlight, small sewing kit, and a small Leatherman style mini tool in my briefcase.

The first time someone saw the knife, they were like "You carry a knife like that?" Now they say, "Need a knife or screwdriver? Ask thebaldguy; he's got a knife, flashlight, sewing kit and a mini-tool!

I try and encourage people to be prepared.
 
I'll post this story again because it strikes me as a pleasant contrast to the OP's experience:

When I was learning to run a gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer system, the fellow who showed me the ropes the first day instructed me, "now, remove the injection port septum with your knife..."

Me: "Ummm, I didn't bring it today." :eek: {I'd been around co-workers in a few places who felt that knives were scawwwy}

He handed me his pocket knife and said, "Can't be a chemist without a knife."

Me: "I'll have it with me tomorrow." :D

I carried a Gerber LST in my pocket for the rest of my time at that lab. The gentleman had given me a quick, remedial course in adult behavior.
 
Haven't had a problem with it... and I've worn a 4" fixed blade in one of the more upscale parts of Dallas. Openly.

Folks at my most recent workplace used my knife from time to time to hack open packages. A few others I know of had their own. I used mine (tactical, evil serrated edge) in their presence to cut tape sticking boxes together on a pallet. I cut my food up with it. Ate lunch with it twice... yeah, I remembered the fork the second time, but I sold it to a more forgetful employee. :p
 
Of course I carry a knife or two. I absolutely feel naked without one. I feel the same way about a watch. I use my knife every single day for something.
 
i live in a rural area and work in an auto parts factory so pocket knives of various types arent real uncommon. at work most of the knives you see are designed for opening boxes. i have carried various styles of box openers since i hired in 9yrs ago however since we have really cut back manpower i find myself doing multiple jobs and sometimes i need a larger knife.

what i carry now is a smith and wesson borderguard if youre not familiar with it its a large folder half serrated and its an evil black knife. ive had a few comments on it here and there when someone needs a knife and i offer mine they go like this.

lady "wow i wouldnt want to get cut with that knife"
me "i dont want to get cut period"

different lady "what do you use that for"
me "what did you just use it for"

guy "wow thats sharp"
me "thx i sharpen it myself"

plant manager "what do you need that thing for here"
me "serrations make cutting the nylon rope easier"

ive never had anybody ask a second question about it and ive never seen anybody actually look scared when i use it.
 
I can only repeat that I have never had anyone question my knife, but if it ever were to happen, my new job would be the place.

I just took a job with Weld County, and on my first day I opted to carry my discreet little Gerber. Literally 5 minutes after showing up for work on the first day, I was sitting with my new boss, and he was cutting up an apple with his little stainless Buck. I said "Hey, is that a Buck?" and he ended up giving me a lecture on why he loved that particular model of knife. I showed him my Gerber and said "Is it OK if I carry my normal knife?" He said "Sure", so now I carry (and frequently use) my big Predator II around the office. He even came in the other day and said "Hey, get that pocket sword of yours out and see if you can get this open" in reference to a box of new textbooks that had like 10 nylon straps around it. I did, and I did.

"Pocket sword" kind of made me laugh, but my new boss is kind of a cut-up anyway, no pun intended...
 
What is it with old people and the Buck 110? My mother in law gave me the speech because she wanted me to cut out a young sapling, that was too close to the fence and so I did and she seems in wonder at the size of it. It isn't like I pulled out my kurkri.
Click to expand...

Haha! Well, the 110's kinda big as far as pocket knives go. Because really it's a belt-sheathed folder. Follow the bouncing logic..

I think people watch too much TV crime drama. To know that you walk around with a knife all day like it's no big deal makes them wonder what else you're prepared for. It's a little scary, and can make one feel dangerously ignorant.
 
I carry a couple knives on me. A Caracara Byrd on my right, a Pazoda CRKT on my left because its small enough to take anywhere, and a Czech bayonet on my front when I can. No comments about any knives yet and I can't conceal the bayonet. My friend said it looked like a cell phone case. Be getting a M21 and 3" ringed Razel soon. Don't really have a good fixed blade to carry.
 
During one of my criminal justice classes in college a kid was doing a demo and asks, "Does anybody have a knife on them?" I responded by holding up my folded Camilus BSA lockblade. There was a subtle intake of breath across the class and the kid kinda raised his eyebrows as I pass the knife towards the front.

He proceeded to explain that "this is the most common knife used in stabbings in Spokane. Hmm. 'Official knife of the Boy Scouts of America.' Well, maybe not this knife."

Later I bought a S&W folder. I was in a watercolor class and my classmates needed to cut some paper. I kindly offered the S&W for them to use. There were a couple "you carry that to class" and "why do you need that thing?"
Funny, every day there'd be someone asking to use it.

If I get grief about one of them I just say "hey, it could be my kukhri."
 
I've had some reactions that frankly surprise me. I do live in Montana after all. I do work at a university though and perhaps that is the problem. Some of the reactions are more to the size of the knife (Benchmade 710 in D2 3.0" blade) The greatest reaction was from a member of the faculty from England. He exhibited big eyes and a bit of a step back. (Probably soiled himself too) "Wow, what is that for?" "Whatever I need it for."
 
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I've never had anyone react offended or surprised by my knife and I carry a CRKT M16-14 which looks pretty nasty. I've pulled it out dozens of times to help friends cut open our society's now ubiquitous anti-theft packaging, a purpose for which this tool truly excels with its tanto point.

I did, once, have a security guard at a local concert venue ask me to go put it in the car, but he did so in a polite enough fashion I didn't feel too bad about it.

I wonder if reactions vary upon locale. Around northern NM having a knife, and even a firearm, about is normal- whereas near Chicago some people may think it makes you evil and dangerous.
 
I usually have an SAK Rambler with a micro light fob for sheeple friendly / office use. Kinda highlights the whole "tool" aspect. They really don't need to know what's in the other pocket(s), do they? Give yourself options.
 
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