Sorry guys, this got out of hand. I'm going to go ahead and lock it. We got some trolling going on.
Edit: Not as bad as I first thought. I'm unlocking it. I think people need to start using the /s tag more often. It'll be good for practice over the holidays.
My pacifist mom brought me all the guns I wanted when I was a kid; by the time I was about 12 I decided guns were for little boys and put all of mine away. Never felt the need to own one.
Depends on how you use the gun. But that's the thing about landmines, you "plant" them rather than "use" them, and pure fate alone is the arbiter of the mine's "use." Landmines kill indiscriminately, they don't care what team you're on, how old you are, if you're even a combatant at all or just a 6yo civilian child, but a gun at least requires a person to make the decision to act or not. It is for this reason that I contend while guns can be (not always are) used morally, landmines cannot, even when they do happen to find a "correct" target.
People are utterly terrified by the idea of something that could cause consequences if wielded improperly.
Or, stated another way:
People are terrified not just of accountability, but of potential, theoretical accountability.
Hyperconsumerism?
0 attention span?
Things are supposed to all be instant, temporary and ephemeral, nothing that implies the potential of long term consequences can be considered without a level of genuine terror.
I think a sizeable factor for the disdain is that EDC-bro that everyone knows who use their knife for everything even when the proper tool is right next to them. Or even the ones who carry an assault-type knife (like a karambit) holstered on their belt just for showing it off.
Those specific people sorta remind me of those fedora-bros where they think of it as an status symbol.
It would only be concerning on the first couple dates and mostly because of the declaration of love on a first dates less so the knife. I would imagine if they're in the heart carving phase she would know he carries a knife by then.
Knife access is needed frequently enough to warrant at least a nice a little slip joint. You can use them to trim loose threads, open boxes, trim plastic tabs/flashings, dig out splinters, remove bee stings...
My wife asks to borrow a knife most days, and when I'm not carrying one, she gets flustered, yet refuse to bring her own.
When I worked at a fast food place I would bring a knife every day, because one of the things you do a lot of is opening boxes and bags and tearing them open with gloves on sucks ass. You seem to be under the impression that pocket knives are chainsaws lol
You should have asked for a utility knife or box cutter. If you got hurt using your knife, the company could easily draw out and possibly dismiss a WC claim citing unauthorized equipment.
I had a shitty job where I was opening lots of boxes for one of my duties but no cutting implements were provided. I asked and it was gently implied that sharp implements would not be provided to anyone in the building and that brining your own was strongly frowned upon. That was...interesting
A smaller blade is less dangerous but not safe. You wouldn't give a 3 year old a multitool with an exposed knife.
And the second part of the argument was that you don't need that utility all the time. 99% of the society can get their things done without carrying a knife around.
Thus someone constantly carrying around a potentially dangerous tool would look weird. I'm sure a hammer would also have great versatility but when you see someone casually lugging a hammer around you wouldn't find it weird?
You can do 99% of things without carrying a GPS, phone, internet browser, 3 cameras, a compass, an MP3 player, a TV and contents of the Library of Congress around, but no one bats an eye about someone bringing their modern smartphone literally everywhere.
Knives are dangerous. No argument there. Hell, my car keys can be dangerous too. But they are also utilitarian in a lot of different and innocent situations. Having a simple pocket knife is not a bad idea.
Cutting open boxes
Cutting wire or string or that flat plastic tie used in packing
Stripping wire
Dislodging items
Scraping things
Peeling apples
Whittling
The point is, I’d be less concerned about somebody having a pocket knife than a gun. But, that may be because I’m from the South and it’s more common down here; not that guns aren’t common, but that knives are very common.
This does depend on where you live. In a dense city where you always have access to stores and services, it's not as vital. Meanwhile someone who lives and works in an isolated area would want to keep more tools on them or in their vehicle (flashlight, first aid kit, lighter, multitool/knife, etc)
They might cut their fingers while using it to cut their food, they haven’t graduated to forks yet so the likelihood of it is high. And that’s with mom’s supervision.
A knife is about as "inherently dangerous" as milk. Properly kept, it's never going to be an issue. Accidently leave it on the floor, and someone can slip or get cut.
Being responsible dos not remove a danger from existence. Accidents can still happen. Intent can change. The danger is always present. You even acknowledge this in n your last sentence.
Yes, being responsible and respectful of a dangerous item (e.g. knife, gun, whatever) is always good, and will minimize the danger. But the danger is always present, and thus always requires the responsibility and respect.
My point was that spilled milk is just as, if not more dangerous than a knife. Everything in life has a degree of risk. Part of being an adult is managing or accepting those risks. You can roll off your bed and get hurt, does this mean that there is no place in society for bedframes? Perfectly healthy people are going to die or get seriously injured from falling down stairs today, shouldn't we ban multi-level housing as a response? Probably hundreds of people are going to get cut or die from a knives today, is that a reason not to carry one?
For me, no. I have lots of useful things I do daily with a knife. Not carrying a knife when I needed one has caused me many more issues than carrying a knife when I didn't. However, if you live in a perfect pampered world where you never need to cut, slice, open, poke, pry, trim, shave or shape anything, I could see why carrying a little pocket folder might be an unnecessary risk. I live in a safe place where crime is low and dangerous wild animals are few, so I don't carry a firearm, it's an unnecessary risk and an uncomfortable inconvenience for what I would get out of it.
I also carry a knife; it's for when I'm NOT at (someone's) home, typically when I buy some food that needs a little extra effort for eating, e.g. a loaf of bread, whole fruit, cheese, or just opening the package. And there's a multitude of other rarer use cases.
When I worked at a fast food place I would bring a knife every day, because one of the things you do a lot of is opening boxes and bags and tearing them open with gloves on sucks ass.
Especially breaking down the goddamn soft drink bag boxes. Those things are glued up tighter than fort knox.
I'm always a bit bewildered when I get that question right at the moment I take my knife out to help someone open or cut something.
Like, you just needed a knife right now, I got one, I help you, and then you ask me what I carry a knife for?
For exactly this!
Because every day im forced to drive an incredibly unsafe machine that has the highest chance of anything i interact with to kill me. A machine so unsafe that in the event of a collision, the safety systems could kill me. My knife has a seatbelt cutter and a glassbreaker, as do every one of my knives. Why would you not carry a knife? Do you carry your keys? Or your wallet? Do you out on clothes every day? You act like its some difficult process to grab my knife when i grab my keys.
I also carry a knife always, use it all the time for boxes and whatnot. Would never consider using it as a weapon for like self defense, that's why I carry the gun at a times.
Knives can come in many varying sizes and form factors, and can be specialized for usage in many practical and commonly encountered situations.
Utility knives take this concept further and often feature multiple additional, opposable heads geared toward other common household uses, such as screw driver heads, bottle openers, nail files, or even little teensy weensy scissors.
I hate to have things in my pockets, so I don't carry anything more than the absolute essentials of keys, phone, and wallet. I count on one hand where I needed access to a knife when I didn't have one, and that was only because I forget to put it back into my tackle box after sharpening it.
The EDC crowd always tries to convince me I need a knife on me at all times because there are constant reasons to need one, as if I don’t experience what it’s like to live without a knife in my pocket every single day. I literally can’t remember the last time I needed a knife and there wasn’t one within a few steps. Why would I want more crap in my pockets when it’s not serving a need? There are knives everywhere, just put it in a drawer. If you need to work outside you can put it in your pocket then. EDC has nothing to do with utility, people just don’t want to admit it’s a hobby.
People laugh at me for carrying the EDC basic tactical flashlight, knife, multitiool, gun, measuring tape, fidget spinner, lockpick set and a lighter. What if you need them walking to your car smdh. We'll see who is laughing then!
Most pocket knives dont go in your pocket, they clip onto it for easy access. Theyre a tool that in certain cases needs to be accessed quickly or reliably.
So when you hear "I don't like things in my pockets" your first assumption is that the speaker is unaware that hanging things off the side of their pockets is an option? Fine. For the pedantic: I don't like having more than the bare minimum number of things in, on, or around my pockets.
Either way, still doesn't change the fact that a very large number of people (myself included) have no use for a pocket knife in our daily lives.
I tried, it's just another thing to carry that I never need. I cannot think of a single instance when 1) I needed a knife 2) I wasn't in a location which had a more appropriate knife than a pocket knife 3) I couldn't just use a key.
I always carry a screwdriver/ratchetdriver with a bunch of bits. Sometimes I fix peoples glasses, other times loose doorhandles. Also a small prybar sharp enough to replace a knife in most scenarios.
Even weirder, carry around one of those two-point security drivers that I've only ever seen used to remove the doors from toilet stalls (during a renovation!)
I always have a knife on me at work. 9 hours a day 5 days a week for over 20 years. So naturally i also carry a knife when i don't work. I'm so used to having a knife and there isn't a reason to not carry one imo
This legit sounds like a job for Simone Giertz. She made a fricken ring into a screwdriver, surely she can make a knife tipped with a screwdriver! I guess you'd need two though, one for phillips and one for flat.
Yeah, I don't really think of those as pocket tools because they can be a little big and heavy trying to pack as many tools in there as possible. A Swiss Army knife is just about all I ever really need in terms of spontaneous tool requirements. Flathead, corkscrew, bottle opener, knife, scissors, toothpick. Perfection.
What do you mean one of them? What kind of moron doesn't carry a knife as part of their regular kit? Just today, I forgot my knife and was boned because I couldn't open a thing until I got home. Knives are handy.
I carried a Benchmade mini griptilian for 5 years before I lost it. Paid like $119 around 2010. Amazing knife. Steel was a little soft though.
Now would be a Spyderco ambitious, some Kershaw assisted opening knife, and a Benchmade bugout knockoff I got from AliExpress that I love. Great size and fit the budget for what I use it for. I have some others in my camping gear, but don't know names of them off the top of my head.
I can't be dropping hundreds of dollars on knives I can easily lose.
Couple Leatherman like the skeletool too, had it for almost the whole warranty. Now it rides in my IT crash bag.
A knife rack... a knife rack. I don't even own a knife, let alone many knives that would necessitate an entire rack. What am I gonna do... with a knife rack?
Whenever I see this, I think of an Encyclopedia Brown story. I don't remember the whole story, but somehow culpability for the crime he was investigating was proven by initials that had been carved in a tree long ago and thus were now high up on the tree, as it had apparently grown considerably in the interim.
He proved that this was fraudulent, as trees grow from the top rather than the bottom, so the initials would have been at roughly the height at which they were initially placed.
Dude I loved the concept of Encyclopedia Brown but so many of the resolutions revolve around the most obscure of knowledge. Like yeah you get to figure out who don it but holy crap relying on knowing the exact dimensions of a US dollar bill to identify the coin collector as the culprit is quite a stretch for 8-12 year olds
I meant it's the whole you have to try to figure out who was lying before reading the last part. I'm realizing as I type this it could've entirely not been an intentional part of the reading experience of those books and just something my mom inserted when she was reading them to me
The problem with the encyclopedia brown crime-solving was that everything was predicated on being guilty until proven innocent. Almost every single one of his 'cases' was never really solved, the perp usually just confessed as soon as a single lie was 'proven.'
I just want to use this post to make a PSA - ALWAYS keep a blade in your car! In the case of a serious accident you may need it to cut off your or a passenger's seatbelt, as the locking mechanisms can get stuck and make it difficult to reach the buckle/release. Ideally you want to keep a "vehicle escape tool" which has a hooked safety blade and a punch for shattering your windows if needed. But the right knife could do in a pinch.
Honestly, after scrolling through this thread, I gotta wonder when carrying a pocket knife became something abnormal to a decent percentage of the population.
It was never universal, but as young lad in the late 1900's it was unremarkable for most people to have at least a little pocket knife with a nail file on them most of the time and never anything sinister. There were places you couldn't take them, but for the most part we lived our lives surrounded by people with concealed knives and never thought twice about it.
Never tied an onion to my belt though.
EDIT: If it's mostly a backlash against the EDC crowd, I kinda get it, but still it seems pretty harmless in moderation.
Yeah, I've got a multitool with a knife on it in my purse. It's just handy, same as the spare set of shoelaces and little bottle of tylenol in my purse.
Obvs, this means I'm gonna stab somebody, tie them up, and make them autistic or something idk.
Yeah, no one would have even blinked at that from what I recall. Unless you tried to take it onto a plane or into someplace high security like a courtroom it was something so mundane that it wouldn't have been brought up.
Making an issue out of it would have been akin to saying "Did you hear about Bob? He always has his car keys with him. Watch out for that guy..."
I tried to get into carrying a multitool but it's too big for and I never found I needed much besides the knife. Besides, if you try hard enough, everything is the right tool for the job.
I felt the same way until I realized that multitools come in different sizes, and you don't need to get the biggest one with 80 tools that weighs 5 lbs. The smaller ones are barely bigger than a normal size pocket knife, and include a knife, pliers, wire cutters, pry tool, and a couple other of the most common things you might need. Much more handy than just a knife.
Same here. Growing up, you got a pocket knife for Christmas or your birthday some time around middle school (usually a Swiss Army or Boy Scout knife) and it was just a thing you carried like your wallet or house key.
Multitools changed the tradition a little, but didn't end it. Largely it meant another round of all us kids getting a multitool for Christmas.
The scissors and screwdriver come in handy more often than the blade. So these days if I give knife/tool it tends to be something like that rather than a Jackhawk 9000 sort of thing.
Woodpeckers build nests in dead wood, and the insects they eat out of live wood can help keep the tree healthy. Even if it harms the tree biodiversity is good. A human with a knife does not increase biodiversity.
Unlikely that a pocket knife could do anything to a tree that is 50 years old. All the stuff on the outside is dead bark, and it's usually thick enough to keep curious knives away from the inside.
I've found old carvings on trees that were obviously very old trail markers (the trail was overgrown and aside from packed ground hadn't even been used in a long time)
Where I'm from, it's normal to carry a pocket knife or even a fixed blade. It's not only common, but considered a rightrite of passage. One is given to you at a very young age, and you learn how to responsibly use one. I've never had the urge to use it for defense; and I've been in many situations where I could've. It's a tool.
As for the "multi tool" arguments.. the more complicated a thing is, the more likely you are to have problems. Have fun carving a wooden spoon with your thick multifaceted "tool".
Nothing wrong with carrying a blade. It's ancient. There's a reason for it.
I was an outdoorsy kid in the 80s and 90s so pocket knives were common, but of course had rules. I hadn't carried one for decades, but started again this year because of hobbies that have me working outside and it's become super handy. I'll even clip it in the pocket of whatever shorts or PJ pants I'm wearing in the house while just chilling with the family. 100% for utilitarian uses, and literally every day.
One thing I have to thank the EDC, tactiool, and/or Mall Ninja Shit communities for though is the amazing variety of high quality pocket knives that use replaceable utility knife blades! Light and slim ones, not rattling box cutters.
Mine is one of these. Plain titanium color, and after an embarrassing amount of screwing around I settled on Tajima V-Rex II blades. I don't have a collection of knives or anything like that, but it is so satisfying to have the one tool that is exactly what I wanted for the job, and have need to use it constantly.
All the people justifying carrying a knife everywhere: context, and also the kind of knife. I remember once being in the labor and delivery ward of a hospital and a guy visiting pulled out his wallet to sign in. He must’ve been one of those every day carry chumps because like 8 things fell out of his pocket, including a pocket knife that was at like 8” long.
What fucking threat are you gonna have to neutralize at the maternity ward you fucking nerd? Or do you think they’re gonna let you cut the cord with that dirty ass flea market knife that’s probably blunt as shit. All you’ve achieved is making everyone around you uncomfortable because america is loaded with incidents of mass violence.
Most of the staff at that hospital are probably carrying a knife as well. They are simply tools and come on handy more often then not. And I love your exaggeration of an 8"knife in a pocket. That would be a waist carry.
lol one of the things we have to do in psychiatry is go through every patient's belongings on admission.
We've seen all kinds of things from drug paraphernalia to weapons to dildos (and one dude just had the whole lower half of a sex doll) but in this context the thing that takes the cake was the patient hallucinating so bad they were talking to the demons more than us and it turned out there was a loaded gun in the bag they'd had at their bedside for 8 hours in the ED. The honorable mention is the lighter that looked like a gun that I put in a little plastic baggie with a note covering it that said 'THIS IS A LIGHTER' so that no one would panic when they first saw it.
Honestly I don't even care all that much we really do live in an area where you might just want to have something on you even if it's just a nice hefty flashlight. I'm probably not going to win a fight, but I've always said I'll at least take a testicle with me and leaving behind some tetanus doesn't sound too bad either.
What fucking threat are you gonna have to neutralize at the maternity ward you fucking nerd?
The mere assumption that knives are weapons by default seems pretty foreign to me. Sometimes the "fucking threat" that needs "neutralizing" is a tag on a stuffed animal or a plastic clamshell container that can't easily be opened without tools.
I work in a hospital, on the way to work and on the way back I often stop by picking mushrooms.
The situation you described is not unlike my ordinary life.
No, door locks and systems wherein agitation leads to alarms. Additionally hospitals frequently (but tbf not always) having parking that is monitored by security.
If it’s not abundantly clear I’m saying you’re being paranoid, much like any person who feels the need to carry a weapon 24/7. How often does your car get broken into at all? Let alone in the parking lot of a hospital? I’m sure it does happen but does that mean it’s likely? No
10% of homicides are via stabbing, the second highest cause after gun (the undisputed king at 80%). I am not proposing a “ban” on carrying knives though (clearly at no point did I ever say such a thing?), I am just questioning the need to carry one in every single context.
I’ve found that when I do this, very similar to gun people, knife people get absurdly defensive. Like you are here. “How dare you suggest my weapon not be on me at all times! It has a legitimate purpose, you see”. No one is saying that’s not true, it’s the same thing as the gun arguments, these are just deflections from the point of “do you need to carry a weapon 24/7”.
I would say a hunting/bowie knife is a very specific type of tool. I suppose it matters greatly where you live in the world as to what would be normal to carry as a tool. That might not set off any flags in West Virginia but if someone was walking around a big city with a bowie knife or something I would be more concerned.
She carried knives before we met, owned pistols and went shooting a lot (we still shoot a ton after being married for nearly 20 years). She is about as progressive and feminist as they come. Assuming that you understand that not all women are fragile and scared. Plenty of them grew up without fear, but independence and stong will. It seems to be only recently that people are becoming fearful of everything. Social media has really driven people to think the world is super dangerous, when it's literally the safest time in human history.
Call me sexist but I think they should carry a gun, I clean knocked out a dude with like 40lbs on me and a knife, or we could use surveillance to protect people and you know prosecute abusers but I guess that's not good for Amazon stock or something IDK.
women are uncomfortable with them carrying a knife.
Maybe you are, but women largely aren't. Are you picturing dudes walking around brandishing kukris everywhere? Because you should be picturing people of both sexes having a lil multitool in their pocket or their purse
Sorry guys, this got out of hand. I'm going to go ahead and lock it. We got some trolling going on.
Edit: Not as bad as I first thought. I'm unlocking it. I think people need to start using the /s tag more often. It'll be good for practice over the holidays.
Why are people so weirded out by one of the oldest tools we have?
I agree.
Boy Scouts used to get jack knives in 3rd grade.
My pacifist mom brought me all the guns I wanted when I was a kid; by the time I was about 12 I decided guns were for little boys and put all of mine away. Never felt the need to own one.
nice
Edited, and you have a filthy mind.
Um...
Edited, thanks for being pervy
[jk]
Mines too?!
The landmine is a purely defensive weapon, unlike a gun.
They're especially useful for defending against innocent civilians decades after the war ends.
It's cheap and effective against invaders, sometimes when you're in bind you need to use terrible tools
Depends on how you use the gun. But that's the thing about landmines, you "plant" them rather than "use" them, and pure fate alone is the arbiter of the mine's "use." Landmines kill indiscriminately, they don't care what team you're on, how old you are, if you're even a combatant at all or just a 6yo civilian child, but a gun at least requires a person to make the decision to act or not. It is for this reason that I contend while guns can be (not always are) used morally, landmines cannot, even when they do happen to find a "correct" target.
I just realized this isn't NCD...
Clearly you haven't been paying Fallout.
Just gonna slip this into your pocket...
People are utterly terrified by the idea of something that could cause consequences if wielded improperly.
Or, stated another way:
People are terrified not just of accountability, but of potential, theoretical accountability.
Hyperconsumerism?
0 attention span?
Things are supposed to all be instant, temporary and ephemeral, nothing that implies the potential of long term consequences can be considered without a level of genuine terror.
I had never thought of it that way. You are absolutely correct on the accountability.
I don’t get it, it’s like self infantilizing. Their mommies cut up their food for them.
Also depends on the size of the knife.
Pocket knife: cool. Rambo knife: get the fuck out of there
Society now outsources its cutting to machines...
I think a sizeable factor for the disdain is that EDC-bro that everyone knows who use their knife for everything even when the proper tool is right next to them. Or even the ones who carry an assault-type knife (like a karambit) holstered on their belt just for showing it off.
Those specific people sorta remind me of those fedora-bros where they think of it as an status symbol.
Have fun explaining to your date why you have a knife while they make this face.
Huh, you must get afraid in a steak restaurant.
Follow the thread, this is about whipping a knife out on a date by a tree, presumably with no witnesses.
It would only be concerning on the first couple dates and mostly because of the declaration of love on a first dates less so the knife. I would imagine if they're in the heart carving phase she would know he carries a knife by then.
Making shit up doesn't help your argument.
What did I make up? The no witnesses? You're right, carving in trees on dates is usually done with lots of people around.
Yeah, you made up a scenario that fits your narrative.
k
🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤡🤡🤡🤡
Mf has never seen a tree in its natural habitat
Knives are normal things to have around. This is like freaking out because you found out someone has a lighter
Knife access is needed frequently enough to warrant at least a nice a little slip joint. You can use them to trim loose threads, open boxes, trim plastic tabs/flashings, dig out splinters, remove bee stings...
My wife asks to borrow a knife most days, and when I'm not carrying one, she gets flustered, yet refuse to bring her own.
When I worked at a fast food place I would bring a knife every day, because one of the things you do a lot of is opening boxes and bags and tearing them open with gloves on sucks ass. You seem to be under the impression that pocket knives are chainsaws lol
You should have asked for a utility knife or box cutter. If you got hurt using your knife, the company could easily draw out and possibly dismiss a WC claim citing unauthorized equipment.
I did, the manager shrugged and told me to borrow the knife another employee brought in lol
I had a shitty job where I was opening lots of boxes for one of my duties but no cutting implements were provided. I asked and it was gently implied that sharp implements would not be provided to anyone in the building and that brining your own was strongly frowned upon. That was...interesting
Depends on the knife really. Even just a 1” non-locking blade on a multitool has excellent utility.
It’s a balance between usefulness and looking like a Crocodile Dundee cosplayer. You take what’s appropriate for where you’re going.
I would say that locking blades a generally safer for the user than a non-locking blade.
Absolutely. Sometimes jobs exceed the abilities of a non-locker and then it gets dangerous.
A smaller blade is less dangerous but not safe. You wouldn't give a 3 year old a multitool with an exposed knife.
And the second part of the argument was that you don't need that utility all the time. 99% of the society can get their things done without carrying a knife around.
Thus someone constantly carrying around a potentially dangerous tool would look weird. I'm sure a hammer would also have great versatility but when you see someone casually lugging a hammer around you wouldn't find it weird?
"A toddler shouldn't have one, so there's no reason to ever carry one."
Do you even listen to yourself?
Uhh... They mentioned a toddler to enforce the argument that a knife, regardless of size, still carries an inherent risk of cutting oneself.
And a pencil carries an inherent risk of poking ones self. Is it unreasonable to carry a pencil with you?
You can do 99% of things without carrying a GPS, phone, internet browser, 3 cameras, a compass, an MP3 player, a TV and contents of the Library of Congress around, but no one bats an eye about someone bringing their modern smartphone literally everywhere.
I’m not 3, I am a competent adult.
I personally wouldn't go that far, but I'm not 3 either.
In a enormously consumerist society with a lot of packaging, why is it weird to carry a package opening tool?
You wouldn't let a 3 year old cook dinner for himself either. A guy owning an oven is a huge red flag
Enjoy your soft bubble wrap life.
Knives are dangerous. No argument there. Hell, my car keys can be dangerous too. But they are also utilitarian in a lot of different and innocent situations. Having a simple pocket knife is not a bad idea.
The point is, I’d be less concerned about somebody having a pocket knife than a gun. But, that may be because I’m from the South and it’s more common down here; not that guns aren’t common, but that knives are very common.
Remind me not to loan you my knife.
Same with "dislodging items"
I would bet money that the person you're talking to thinks we shouldn't be allowed to drive cars either
no, you're just wrong.
I'm flabbergasted as to how you managed to live long enough to learn the English language, and never had to, like, open a box
This does depend on where you live. In a dense city where you always have access to stores and services, it's not as vital. Meanwhile someone who lives and works in an isolated area would want to keep more tools on them or in their vehicle (flashlight, first aid kit, lighter, multitool/knife, etc)
Tell that to the EU beurocracts that put a stupid tab in the plastic bottle caps that I now have to cut.
Can you explain in detail HOW knives are dangerous? Like more dangerous than the internal combustion engine.
They might cut their fingers while using it to cut their food, they haven’t graduated to forks yet so the likelihood of it is high. And that’s with mom’s supervision.
A knife is about as "inherently dangerous" as milk. Properly kept, it's never going to be an issue. Accidently leave it on the floor, and someone can slip or get cut.
Being responsible dos not remove a danger from existence. Accidents can still happen. Intent can change. The danger is always present. You even acknowledge this in n your last sentence.
Yes, being responsible and respectful of a dangerous item (e.g. knife, gun, whatever) is always good, and will minimize the danger. But the danger is always present, and thus always requires the responsibility and respect.
I still believe my original point stands.
My point was that spilled milk is just as, if not more dangerous than a knife. Everything in life has a degree of risk. Part of being an adult is managing or accepting those risks. You can roll off your bed and get hurt, does this mean that there is no place in society for bedframes? Perfectly healthy people are going to die or get seriously injured from falling down stairs today, shouldn't we ban multi-level housing as a response? Probably hundreds of people are going to get cut or die from a knives today, is that a reason not to carry one?
For me, no. I have lots of useful things I do daily with a knife. Not carrying a knife when I needed one has caused me many more issues than carrying a knife when I didn't. However, if you live in a perfect pampered world where you never need to cut, slice, open, poke, pry, trim, shave or shape anything, I could see why carrying a little pocket folder might be an unnecessary risk. I live in a safe place where crime is low and dangerous wild animals are few, so I don't carry a firearm, it's an unnecessary risk and an uncomfortable inconvenience for what I would get out of it.
You seem to have come under the impression that I’m against knives.
I am not.
I was also calling HikingVet out for what I believe was a bad faith argument.
The danger is always present. Hahaha, like the knife I have folded in my pocket might suddenly attack me at any moment.
Best to just ignore the type of person who carries a weapon like a women carries a full makeup kit.
Both do it for the same reason, impressing men but neither will acknowledge it and get irrationally defensive if it's pointed out.
If this wasn't true, they would be downvoting, they'd just ignore it and move on, like a real man but they can't because they aren't.
The opinel I carry only seems like a weapon to the weakest and softest whiny diaperbabies.
I have no skin in this game, but you just proved their point. You're irrationally defensive in here, it's intense.
Really bad vibes.
Whatever you say chief.
People need comforting lies. The weakest use sarcasm as a substitute for intelligent discourse.
Whatever you say bubble boy.
Some reason? I always carry a knife.
You must be a true romantic.
The one guy in the room
"Let me grab the scissors real quick"
"No need, I have a knife!"
"Oh that's okay, they're in the drawer right here"
"LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT"
Them scissors in the drawer at the base of the tree?
I also carry a knife; it's for when I'm NOT at (someone's) home, typically when I buy some food that needs a little extra effort for eating, e.g. a loaf of bread, whole fruit, cheese, or just opening the package. And there's a multitude of other rarer use cases.
My trusty Opinel
I carry a No 12 for work most of the time, when I pull that one I get a few frowns. It's great for cutting baguettes though, or splitting kindle...
Careful with cutting wood, the (carbon steel) blade can break.
Why the fuck would someone need to carry a knife at all times?!?
Edit: Geez guys okay okay it was a joke dammit!!
They're useful if you spend a lot of time outdoors or in almost every blue collar job.
I leave the sheath knife in my car after work though. Wouldn't take it on a date or carry it around normally.
Yeah, okay…
When I worked at a fast food place I would bring a knife every day, because one of the things you do a lot of is opening boxes and bags and tearing them open with gloves on sucks ass.
Especially breaking down the goddamn soft drink bag boxes. Those things are glued up tighter than fort knox.
Because they like the utility?
Because it's a useful tool
I'm always a bit bewildered when I get that question right at the moment I take my knife out to help someone open or cut something.
Like, you just needed a knife right now, I got one, I help you, and then you ask me what I carry a knife for?
For exactly this!
Because every day im forced to drive an incredibly unsafe machine that has the highest chance of anything i interact with to kill me. A machine so unsafe that in the event of a collision, the safety systems could kill me. My knife has a seatbelt cutter and a glassbreaker, as do every one of my knives. Why would you not carry a knife? Do you carry your keys? Or your wallet? Do you out on clothes every day? You act like its some difficult process to grab my knife when i grab my keys.
I also carry a knife always, use it all the time for boxes and whatnot. Would never consider using it as a weapon for like self defense, that's why I carry the gun at a times.
Knives can come in many varying sizes and form factors, and can be specialized for usage in many practical and commonly encountered situations.
Utility knives take this concept further and often feature multiple additional, opposable heads geared toward other common household uses, such as screw driver heads, bottle openers, nail files, or even little teensy weensy scissors.
Really good joke tho
Legit question. It's weird to always carry a knife with you. But seems like to be normal for the Lemmy community...interesting.
Imagine not carrying a knife everywhere you go.
EDC. Never leave home without one.
I hate to have things in my pockets, so I don't carry anything more than the absolute essentials of keys, phone, and wallet. I count on one hand where I needed access to a knife when I didn't have one, and that was only because I forget to put it back into my tackle box after sharpening it.
The EDC crowd always tries to convince me I need a knife on me at all times because there are constant reasons to need one, as if I don’t experience what it’s like to live without a knife in my pocket every single day. I literally can’t remember the last time I needed a knife and there wasn’t one within a few steps. Why would I want more crap in my pockets when it’s not serving a need? There are knives everywhere, just put it in a drawer. If you need to work outside you can put it in your pocket then. EDC has nothing to do with utility, people just don’t want to admit it’s a hobby.
EDC crowd is carrying ridiculous amount of shit in their pockets. Fuck that
Mfw when someone has two things in one pocket
People laugh at me for carrying the EDC basic tactical flashlight, knife, multitiool, gun, measuring tape, fidget spinner, lockpick set and a lighter. What if you need them walking to your car smdh. We'll see who is laughing then!
Aww fuck I forgot my wallet
I like how you have to make shit up because "a multitool fits in a pocket alongside a wallet" is too reasonable for you to engage with
It's a joking exaggeration my man. I don't care if you carry around a whole toolbox or go empty pocketed. Happy Christmas,
Most pocket knives dont go in your pocket, they clip onto it for easy access. Theyre a tool that in certain cases needs to be accessed quickly or reliably.
So when you hear "I don't like things in my pockets" your first assumption is that the speaker is unaware that hanging things off the side of their pockets is an option? Fine. For the pedantic: I don't like having more than the bare minimum number of things in, on, or around my pockets.
Either way, still doesn't change the fact that a very large number of people (myself included) have no use for a pocket knife in our daily lives.
I tried, it's just another thing to carry that I never need. I cannot think of a single instance when 1) I needed a knife 2) I wasn't in a location which had a more appropriate knife than a pocket knife 3) I couldn't just use a key.
Like every normal person?
I always have a pocket knife with me. 🤷♂️
Most of the time, it just gets used as a screwdriver. Maybe they should make pocket screwdrivers that have a secondary knife function... 🤔
Ironically, someone carrying a pocket knife is way less weird to me than the idea of someone carrying a screwdriver.
I always carry a screwdriver/ratchetdriver with a bunch of bits. Sometimes I fix peoples glasses, other times loose doorhandles. Also a small prybar sharp enough to replace a knife in most scenarios.
Right, but not like just a plain flathead screwdriver that you carry around in your pocket
But it would be very useful. I think weird would be if you carry around a T27 torx screwdriver. Very oddly specific
Even weirder, carry around one of those two-point security drivers that I've only ever seen used to remove the doors from toilet stalls (during a renovation!)
Then you're either a creep or someone who wants to fuck around with an elevator. The things your screwdriver tells about you
lol you get it
I always have a knife on me at work. 9 hours a day 5 days a week for over 20 years. So naturally i also carry a knife when i don't work. I'm so used to having a knife and there isn't a reason to not carry one imo
I had to stop when I started flying a lot. Had so many knives confiscated...
that would be called a victorinox
'eyyooo!
but nah they're great.
i just wish they had more edge retention than a toblerone
'eyyooo!
no but seriously a swiss army knife is a very useful pocket thing
This legit sounds like a job for Simone Giertz. She made a fricken ring into a screwdriver, surely she can make a knife tipped with a screwdriver! I guess you'd need two though, one for phillips and one for flat.
Mine has a permanent place on my coffee table, but I rarely carry it with me, and haven't felt I needed to. It mostly get used for opening packages.
sorry for amazon link, but here ya go
https://a.co/d/cByxGuv
Lookup the Kershaw Select Fire. Primary Knife, but fits normal screwdriver bits.
They have those ...
I keep a Powerful Pete on my keyring, I use it easy more than I would use a pocket knife.
Check out the Gerber Armbar.
Yeah, I don't really think of those as pocket tools because they can be a little big and heavy trying to pack as many tools in there as possible. A Swiss Army knife is just about all I ever really need in terms of spontaneous tool requirements. Flathead, corkscrew, bottle opener, knife, scissors, toothpick. Perfection.
What's wrong with carrying a swiss army knife? I always have it with me. It's been with me at all my dates. No tree carving, though.
Better luck next time, homey
What do you mean one of them? What kind of moron doesn't carry a knife as part of their regular kit? Just today, I forgot my knife and was boned because I couldn't open a thing until I got home. Knives are handy.
We should only question those who don't regularly carry knives. Are they even trying to be contributing members of society at that point?
I don't go camping with people who can't drive stick
I would, but then I'd probably make them learn while we were camping and give them some practice on fire roads etc
Whats interesting is that, in my experience, people find it SUPER weird for you to have a knife
Then a couple hours later, they're asking to borrow it to open something
you forgot your knife and then someone had sex with you because you DIDN'T open anything?
I did for a while, and I never needed it. I've never needed to open something out and about where a key wasn't perfectly capable.
Funny thing is... I ALWAYS have a knife on me, and I rarely have a key.
Weird, I always have my keys. How do you get into your home?
A) it's not as romantic when you realize the tree really doesn't like this
B) I almost always have a knife on me (technically 3: 2 in one multitool and 1 in my other, smaller multitool)
I'm picturing the multitool having a smaller multitool as one of its tools
I remember king of the hill having a small wd40 to open the lid of the big wd40, but I can't remember if they ever did the same with a multitool.
I thought I remembered The Simpsons doing this gag, but I found the scene, and it has a bunch of sub-tools, but no sub-multitool.
Simpsons did... n't do it?
Hahaha nice.
The heart is fertilizer, for compensation
I carry my multitool everywhere that I won't find metal detectors. Knives and pliers are possibly the two most useful tools in existence.
My most used multi tool tools in order. Blade, pliers/wire cutters, pry bar, bottle opener. With bottle opener a very distant fourth
For me while working, it's probably phone, mini screwdriver, bit driver, pen, then laptop.
Bit driver is second on my list of next multi tool features. Only thing higher is a blade that opens without unfolding the pliers.
I collect multi-tools, there's always a knife on me bc they all have knifes. I mostly have them for scissors and can openers and they're awesome!
Yup. Nephew printed me a wall mount knife rack to store my favorite ones by the door. Never leave home without a knife.
Favorite one and approximate price?
I carried a Benchmade mini griptilian for 5 years before I lost it. Paid like $119 around 2010. Amazing knife. Steel was a little soft though.
Now would be a Spyderco ambitious, some Kershaw assisted opening knife, and a Benchmade bugout knockoff I got from AliExpress that I love. Great size and fit the budget for what I use it for. I have some others in my camping gear, but don't know names of them off the top of my head.
I can't be dropping hundreds of dollars on knives I can easily lose.
Couple Leatherman like the skeletool too, had it for almost the whole warranty. Now it rides in my IT crash bag.
A knife rack... a knife rack. I don't even own a knife, let alone many knives that would necessitate an entire rack. What am I gonna do... with a knife rack?
so you just dont cook? and buy your food pre chopped or sliced?
lmao sorry i was quoting a scene from Wayne's World but replacing guns with knives.
ooooooof and ive even seen that movie lol sorry i was truly baffled
I got it immediately, it's okay, we're just olds
Whenever I see this, I think of an Encyclopedia Brown story. I don't remember the whole story, but somehow culpability for the crime he was investigating was proven by initials that had been carved in a tree long ago and thus were now high up on the tree, as it had apparently grown considerably in the interim.
He proved that this was fraudulent, as trees grow from the top rather than the bottom, so the initials would have been at roughly the height at which they were initially placed.
edit: Grammar.
Dude I loved the concept of Encyclopedia Brown but so many of the resolutions revolve around the most obscure of knowledge. Like yeah you get to figure out who don it but holy crap relying on knowing the exact dimensions of a US dollar bill to identify the coin collector as the culprit is quite a stretch for 8-12 year olds
Wasn't knowing obscure knowledge the concept of Encyclopedia Brown?
I meant it's the whole you have to try to figure out who was lying before reading the last part. I'm realizing as I type this it could've entirely not been an intentional part of the reading experience of those books and just something my mom inserted when she was reading them to me
Sounds like a damned good mom. Kudos to her for working so hard.
The problem with the encyclopedia brown crime-solving was that everything was predicated on being guilty until proven innocent. Almost every single one of his 'cases' was never really solved, the perp usually just confessed as soon as a single lie was 'proven.'
Holy cow, 40 year old memory unlocked.
Happy to be of service!
If they go on a date in a car, one of them could easily murder a pedestrian or cyclist at any time.
and dooring could be a valid option for the other one while not being the driver
Has this person never heard of swiss army knives?
Now you're telling me all of them went on a walk with soldiers from Switzerland? Be serious.
*at least one of them
You've never gotten into a romantic knife fight with your beloved? Way more exciting than wrestling.
I, too, wish to be part of the Addams Family.
I just want to use this post to make a PSA - ALWAYS keep a blade in your car! In the case of a serious accident you may need it to cut off your or a passenger's seatbelt, as the locking mechanisms can get stuck and make it difficult to reach the buckle/release. Ideally you want to keep a "vehicle escape tool" which has a hooked safety blade and a punch for shattering your windows if needed. But the right knife could do in a pinch.
also applies if it wasn't an accident, just want to point that out
Multiple even, at different places.
You don't want to be hanging upside down in your burning car while being unable to find your escape tool.
Agreed! They’re pretty small and inexpensive, leave one in every compartment you can.
I generally tear apart cheese and fruit with my bare hands on dates at the park, no need for a knife. That would be scary
Honestly, after scrolling through this thread, I gotta wonder when carrying a pocket knife became something abnormal to a decent percentage of the population.
It was never universal, but as young lad in the late 1900's it was unremarkable for most people to have at least a little pocket knife with a nail file on them most of the time and never anything sinister. There were places you couldn't take them, but for the most part we lived our lives surrounded by people with concealed knives and never thought twice about it.
Never tied an onion to my belt though.
EDIT: If it's mostly a backlash against the EDC crowd, I kinda get it, but still it seems pretty harmless in moderation.
Yeah, I've got a multitool with a knife on it in my purse. It's just handy, same as the spare set of shoelaces and little bottle of tylenol in my purse.
Obvs, this means I'm gonna stab somebody, tie them up, and make them autistic or something idk.
Yeah, no one would have even blinked at that from what I recall. Unless you tried to take it onto a plane or into someplace high security like a courtroom it was something so mundane that it wouldn't have been brought up.
Making an issue out of it would have been akin to saying "Did you hear about Bob? He always has his car keys with him. Watch out for that guy..."
I tried to get into carrying a multitool but it's too big for and I never found I needed much besides the knife. Besides, if you try hard enough, everything is the right tool for the job.
I felt the same way until I realized that multitools come in different sizes, and you don't need to get the biggest one with 80 tools that weighs 5 lbs. The smaller ones are barely bigger than a normal size pocket knife, and include a knife, pliers, wire cutters, pry tool, and a couple other of the most common things you might need. Much more handy than just a knife.
It's mostly the pliers. I rarely use any of the other tools of a mult-tool.
It has a screwdriver but they are so painful to use as a screwdriver - I'd rather walk 10 minutes and get a real one.
I have this one. I like the fact that it has a carabineer built in so I can hook it anywhere.
https://www.leatherman.com/products/skeletool?srsltid=AfmBOoowk5eNE6X7qLXXQ2nRpAA4MX55NmKD0XCQbP2z-Oo4n-c_ilVB
I carry a skeletool from time to time. Same deal. It's light, simple, and the pliers work well.
You can make a lot of things with a sharp edge.
Same here. Growing up, you got a pocket knife for Christmas or your birthday some time around middle school (usually a Swiss Army or Boy Scout knife) and it was just a thing you carried like your wallet or house key.
Multitools changed the tradition a little, but didn't end it. Largely it meant another round of all us kids getting a multitool for Christmas.
I'm not a big EDC guy, but I still habitually have a good penlight and one of these on me most of the time: https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/multi-tools/all-multi-tools/armbar-drive-onyx-30-001585
The scissors and screwdriver come in handy more often than the blade. So these days if I give knife/tool it tends to be something like that rather than a Jackhawk 9000 sort of thing.
It's kind of a compliment.
You can also do it with a sharp rock, or a key...
Or a car key and mad determination.
This thread reminds me — I need to get my machete sharpened.
(unrelated note — I still think one of the funniest lines in Nacho Libre is the kid saying "This was my Grandmother's machete.")
Aw, look, those lovebirds left behind rope and articles of clothing!
Do I spy a mound of recently disturbed earth presumably left to commemorate their blossoming romance!?
Before smart phones, there was swiss army knives... lol.
Not to mention damaging a tree that could easily be 50+ years old.
You must think woodpeckers are the devil then
Woodpeckers build nests in dead wood, and the insects they eat out of live wood can help keep the tree healthy. Even if it harms the tree biodiversity is good. A human with a knife does not increase biodiversity.
I, for one, would rather they eat from the trees than try to knock bugs off house siding
Outside of my bedroom
At sunrise
On no a tree with slightly less bark, what ever will it do?
Die, if enough bark is damaged. Suffer if less than that.
Enough is surprisingly little.
Unlikely that a pocket knife could do anything to a tree that is 50 years old. All the stuff on the outside is dead bark, and it's usually thick enough to keep curious knives away from the inside.
It can be surprisingly easy to damage living bark tissue with even a pocket knife.
It's because of the implication.
That's the Chicago way.
I've found old carvings on trees that were obviously very old trail markers (the trail was overgrown and aside from packed ground hadn't even been used in a long time)
Where I'm from, it's normal to carry a pocket knife or even a fixed blade. It's not only common, but considered a
rightrite of passage. One is given to you at a very young age, and you learn how to responsibly use one. I've never had the urge to use it for defense; and I've been in many situations where I could've. It's a tool.As for the "multi tool" arguments.. the more complicated a thing is, the more likely you are to have problems. Have fun carving a wooden spoon with your thick multifaceted "tool".
Nothing wrong with carrying a blade. It's ancient. There's a reason for it.
*rite, not right
These comments are wild lol
I was an outdoorsy kid in the 80s and 90s so pocket knives were common, but of course had rules. I hadn't carried one for decades, but started again this year because of hobbies that have me working outside and it's become super handy. I'll even clip it in the pocket of whatever shorts or PJ pants I'm wearing in the house while just chilling with the family. 100% for utilitarian uses, and literally every day.
One thing I have to thank the EDC, tactiool, and/or Mall Ninja Shit communities for though is the amazing variety of high quality pocket knives that use replaceable utility knife blades! Light and slim ones, not rattling box cutters.
Mine is one of these. Plain titanium color, and after an embarrassing amount of screwing around I settled on Tajima V-Rex II blades. I don't have a collection of knives or anything like that, but it is so satisfying to have the one tool that is exactly what I wanted for the job, and have need to use it constantly.
"I need my tools!"
All the people justifying carrying a knife everywhere: context, and also the kind of knife. I remember once being in the labor and delivery ward of a hospital and a guy visiting pulled out his wallet to sign in. He must’ve been one of those every day carry chumps because like 8 things fell out of his pocket, including a pocket knife that was at like 8” long.
What fucking threat are you gonna have to neutralize at the maternity ward you fucking nerd? Or do you think they’re gonna let you cut the cord with that dirty ass flea market knife that’s probably blunt as shit. All you’ve achieved is making everyone around you uncomfortable because america is loaded with incidents of mass violence.
Most of the staff at that hospital are probably carrying a knife as well. They are simply tools and come on handy more often then not. And I love your exaggeration of an 8"knife in a pocket. That would be a waist carry.
lol one of the things we have to do in psychiatry is go through every patient's belongings on admission.
We've seen all kinds of things from drug paraphernalia to weapons to dildos (and one dude just had the whole lower half of a sex doll) but in this context the thing that takes the cake was the patient hallucinating so bad they were talking to the demons more than us and it turned out there was a loaded gun in the bag they'd had at their bedside for 8 hours in the ED. The honorable mention is the lighter that looked like a gun that I put in a little plastic baggie with a note covering it that said 'THIS IS A LIGHTER' so that no one would panic when they first saw it.
Honestly I don't even care all that much we really do live in an area where you might just want to have something on you even if it's just a nice hefty flashlight. I'm probably not going to win a fight, but I've always said I'll at least take a testicle with me and leaving behind some tetanus doesn't sound too bad either.
The mere assumption that knives are weapons by default seems pretty foreign to me. Sometimes the "fucking threat" that needs "neutralizing" is a tag on a stuffed animal or a plastic clamshell container that can't easily be opened without tools.
I work in a hospital, on the way to work and on the way back I often stop by picking mushrooms. The situation you described is not unlike my ordinary life.
if only car doors had some kind of defense against theft
No, door locks and systems wherein agitation leads to alarms. Additionally hospitals frequently (but tbf not always) having parking that is monitored by security.
If it’s not abundantly clear I’m saying you’re being paranoid, much like any person who feels the need to carry a weapon 24/7. How often does your car get broken into at all? Let alone in the parking lot of a hospital? I’m sure it does happen but does that mean it’s likely? No
10% of homicides are via stabbing, the second highest cause after gun (the undisputed king at 80%). I am not proposing a “ban” on carrying knives though (clearly at no point did I ever say such a thing?), I am just questioning the need to carry one in every single context.
I’ve found that when I do this, very similar to gun people, knife people get absurdly defensive. Like you are here. “How dare you suggest my weapon not be on me at all times! It has a legitimate purpose, you see”. No one is saying that’s not true, it’s the same thing as the gun arguments, these are just deflections from the point of “do you need to carry a weapon 24/7”.
ITT men not understanding why women are uncomfortable with them carrying a knife.
Multi-tools/swiss army knifes are a thing. Just because something has a blade doesnt make it a weapon, but I get it.
Does the distinction really matter? A hunting knife is also a tool.
I would say a hunting/bowie knife is a very specific type of tool. I suppose it matters greatly where you live in the world as to what would be normal to carry as a tool. That might not set off any flags in West Virginia but if someone was walking around a big city with a bowie knife or something I would be more concerned.
My wofe has knives and guns....oooo noooo
Woman already comfortable with you is fine with you having a knife. Shocking.
Try pulling one out with what is essentially a stranger half your weight with no witnesses.
She carried knives before we met, owned pistols and went shooting a lot (we still shoot a ton after being married for nearly 20 years). She is about as progressive and feminist as they come. Assuming that you understand that not all women are fragile and scared. Plenty of them grew up without fear, but independence and stong will. It seems to be only recently that people are becoming fearful of everything. Social media has really driven people to think the world is super dangerous, when it's literally the safest time in human history.
And why would you be on a secluded date with someone you don't trust?
Don't give two shits if they don't feel comfortable with me having a useful tool in my pocket. Fucking grow up baby.
You know there are regions where carrying a knife is so prevalent that I could ask the women to borrow theirs if I didn't have one right?
Call me sexist, but I think women should carry knives (mostly to defend themselves from men).
Call me sexist but I think they should carry a gun, I clean knocked out a dude with like 40lbs on me and a knife, or we could use surveillance to protect people and you know prosecute abusers but I guess that's not good for Amazon stock or something IDK.
Maybe you are, but women largely aren't. Are you picturing dudes walking around brandishing kukris everywhere? Because you should be picturing people of both sexes having a lil multitool in their pocket or their purse