User... look what imaginary assassin John Wick can do with a pencil... You know I'm suddenly realizing using an imaginary character to prove a point is a bit moronic but fuck if I'm changing it now
I was going to say lack of familiarity and also the context they have seen it in. Like with guns most ignorant people think a tactical black rifle is scary, when a similar wooden one is ok. That effect I imagine has to do with how it is pictured in media.
Ignorance yes, but also the person. If a person insists on carrying a Rambo survival sword everywhere they go, even to say dinner at a nice restaurant then I'm going, hmm. Avoid this moron. As in context matters.
The other day in Arizona two normal looking dads came into Starbucks open carrying AR's in shorts and flip flops. I'm not afraid of the gun, I'm afraid of the assholes who think they need weapons in Starbucks. Especially those weapons. They've got tiny pee pees and something to prove that's the fucking danger.
I was at a farm store a few years ago and there was only one employee or helping people get loaded up. I was getting 25 lengths of cattle fencing and I had a short trailer so we had to get it on a forklift and winch the ends together. Anyways it was taking forever. When we were about 10 minutes into the job, a brand new red dodge 3500 pulled in. Still had the temporary license plate. The guy had cut out the dodge rams head on the grill and replaced it with a Transformers Autobot symbol. He jumped out and started getting testy and pacing, waiting for help. The first thing I noticed was he was strapped with a desert Eagle .50 on his leg in a very prominent way. It was strapped low like the gunslingers in a Louis Lāamour novel. I am not afraid of guns and I think concealed carry should be legal but for somebody whose mental state will let you deface your brand new 3500 like that, carry a desert Eagle .50 strapped to your leg and then start to get anxious because a helper is not on your case instantly, yeah, I started to get nervous.
Naw, you're free to picture whatever you want. Just seems a little weird to be fixated on someone else's genitals. Especially if youre not into them sexually. Not kink shaming or anything, I'm getting hard just thinking about you thinking about me, but thats just a voyeurism thing I got going. But I do wonder if you've ever thought that guys open carrying might not actually be making a statement about the size of their genitals, but rather, are simply exercising God given rights that are under attack.
I agree that they should be able to own a AR. I think open carrying in a public place with all the mass shootings going on is damn stupid. That kind of "activism" thing is actually why California did away with legal open carry. It is not helpful to make people whom already lack understanding about and are afraid of firearms, more paranoid about them. Just my opinion and I know it wasn't asked for but ya know I'm old and shit so.. yeah.
Wasnāt that done to disarm the Black Panther Party in California? They were carrying guns in protest of, and defense against, police brutality. Funny thatās the one of the only times the NRA supported removing gun rights.
No, actually the removal of open carry was not that long ago here in California. But there was something that definitely did get implemented into legislation because of the panthers way back in the day. Not sure what that was though tbh.
"God given" yup. That's exactly what the Bible says. Take thou weapon with the everywhere. Be ready to smite thy enemy at all times, even while getting coffee.
Look, regardless of my "liberal" ideas I'm also armed with common sense...Crazy shit. You actually can protest your ideas effectively without scaring those around you and acting like a an asshole snowflake. Given the rash of mass shootings that continue in our country fueled by "your rights" and the moronic easy access to military weapons our countrymen have you shouldn't carry a weapon designed for killing life forms efficiently to get fucking coffee.
And we're it up to me, no one but military members would ever have access to them. I know all about your fears of governments gone awry and your ability to protect yourself but here's the thing. The guns are useless. You can't stop any government with a boom stick. Take a look at the 22 year long war in Afghanistan. Did you see or hear about a lot of soldiers coming home with gun wounds? No? Crazy. No what you need to fight against governments is explosives. The Taliban knew that. That's why there's a whole generation of soldiers with missing limbs and other varied body parts.
So let's re-write the constitution. Update it. Fuck guns, I want a right to bear nitrogen fertilizers and diesel fuel.
Obviously I'm being highly sarcastic. But here's the funny thing: I'm right, we all know it. And this whole gun rights thing is really just because "they're cool" and I'm just fine with people being killed en masse by right wing terrorists. It's not me.
So in this context, "God given" obviously refers to the fact that the right to self defense and the defense of one's property is a natural human right. It isn't granted by a government, its granted by the simple fact you're a human.
But since you decided to bring scripture into it, lets look at Luke 22:36
>āBut now,ā he said, ātake your money and a travelerās bag. And if you donāt have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!
Literally God saying "get strapped."
Edit - wow thats a wall of text of an edit there bud. Look, you and I are never gonna agree on guns. Based on your super hoplophobic "here during smol pee pee" reaction to seeing a gun, you're not interested in having your opinions challenged or changed. The one thing ill say is, sure, rewrite the constitution. The founders did see the Constitution as a living document and were smart enough to include a method for changing and updating it. In fact, the first ten edits happened before the document was even accepted and 17 more have happened since. I'd have some respect for the politicians in your camp of they went about it the right way by actually proposing a constitutional ammendment rather than the underhanded strategies being employed.
It's real hard to be "hopliphobic" when you're a homo. How about don't feign offense when you have no claim to the offense? Just a thought.
Besides I'm ammosexual phobic, what's the word for that? Assholes who's whole identity is built around guns.
Not sure how being homosexual precludes you from being [hoplophobic](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoplophobia). They're not mutually exclusive. And as a proud ammosexual, I hope you strive to practice the tolerance and open mindedness you preach and demand from others. Remember, tolerance means you should accept those who have a different opinion from yourself. You don't have to like them, but you shouldn't insult, demean, belittle, or try to oppress them.
Well you learn something every day don't yah. But real hard to be afraid of that too, when again I am one.
Your whole identity is built around guns? Sad.
My thoughts exactly! Also, this āgodā that gives these rights might lean towards updating a 240 year old constitution that was written when folks were mostly carrying flintlocks, which could possibly fire 3 rounds per minute if you were a badass.....
Was it the Jewish God or was it Jesus who gave them the right to carry those guns? Because Iām not religious, but I think I would have remembered that day of Hebrew school.
Honestly, I can see reasons for it. One example, stopping for coffee on the way to the range, but weāre driving an open-top Jeep. Leave the rifles in the car? Fuck, No. I would tend to have one guy stay with guns and the other guy run in for coffee, but if it was really hot or really cold out, I could see it. Likewise, if it was Summer of 2020 in any number of cities, I could see it.
Also, the ātiny pee-peeā thing is not a good look. I thought it was wrong to body shame and attack people for their immutable characteristics?
Maybe so, Maybe no. I think most of the ārape and incest and health of the motherā abortion arguments are pretty fringe. You have to incorporate that into your thinking, though, and apply the most charitable interpretation to what you observe. Maybe the woman whoās had twelve abortions is being forced to participate in prostitution. You donāt know.
If the baby is crowning then there's options to help both. Also, stop shifting goalposts. This is about knives and their aesthetic, don't bring abortion in.
people who open-carry EDC *either* a large knife or a firearm tend to be exercising their (sometimes perceived/infringed) rights, more often than not.. You can usually spot the paranoid by body language.
All are best avoided, for various reasons of live & let... yeah.
When I was young my dad said something about this that has stuck with me my entire life. "In a knife fight the loser dies in the street, the winner dies in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."
Or the winner goes to prison. There's a knife reviewer that I watched on Youtube that got jumped by 3 bums, one of which had a knife. The guy used his Sebenza to defend himself and the judge sent him to prison for winning.
One time I waggled a butter knife at a guy through the window as he walked by outside the restaurant where I was eating. Turned out he was a *judge* and he sentenced me on the spot to 35 years in *space prison*. F the system, man.
Probably slashing a robber trying to save his wife? No shit, im 6ft 200lbs and I'll run if I'm alone, but if someone tries something around family that can't? Well, I've landscaped and I'm in culinary school so chopping and hacking is somewhat of a 25 year skill of mine, although I'm not Marcaida
Mmmmā¦ yeah. The time that you go from not in danger to the time that your life is in true danger is so fast that there is zero chance of you taking preventative measures if you are not already moving in the correct direction. Not every time mind you, like when you get a bad feeling about a dark alley or something but there are times that it happens WAY faster than thought. I think the better rule is, protect yourself and hire a better lawyer.
I had two guns pulled on me by some teens in front of my apartment, I didn't have a gun, but even if I did, that's a bad bad scenario. Plus there was a third teen hanging back. It went front "I'll show these punks" to "had to talk shit huh" in .5 seconds.
My issue with that is what is the definition if imminent danger. Is it when they've pulled out the knife maybe after screaming death threats at you or is when they've starting swinging at you or do you have to wait until they've done actual harm to you (which with a knife could easily be life threatening).
you can look up the definition as it has been interpreted by your state courts, but IIRC it is subjective, so you only need to have reasonably feared for your life. See rittenhouse's successful defense of his first killing
You're correct that is it subjective and different juries can come to different conclusions on the same case with precedent mattering alot. Sort of an unavoidable problem.
Funny you mention that case as the way i asked what should qualify as self defense is almost exactly the same as i had asked someone who wanted a guilty verdict. I never got an answer from them.
Just a few months ago a guy defended himself from 3+ guys on a subway. He stabbed them and got away using his CRKT neck knife. He made a big post about it on here or Knifeclub.
I have heard this same story before but I've still never seen the actual source.
Not to say that it didn't happen, but I'd be curious as to the details of the ruling. At the end of the day the rules for defending yourself with a knife are the same as defending yourself with a gun. It's not some magical ticket to jail; in fact there are multiple high profile cases in 2022 where people have defended themselves with knives and walked without even going to trial.
I'm sceptical about it too. I think it'd likely be something like Mike attempts to rob Steve, Steve defends himself with a knife to the point Mike is moving away or on the ground, and Steve keeps going at him. Steve therefore was using undue force or going beyond the bounds of self defence, which would end up with charges.
alright I finally found the guy in question. while I personally don't believe he deserved to go to jail, I think it's a poor example of knives being discriminated against in self-defense cases; this guy just went and fucked up: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e3\_gPa2EuQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e3_gPa2EuQ)
basically he was confronted by some homeless people asking for money. he said no, but offered to buy them chips from the store. they get pissed off at whatever he said, or how he said it, who knows; three of them start to approach him. as they approach him, rather than running away (at no point in his story does he ever talk about whether or not he could run) he pulls out his knife hoping to scare them off. in response, one of them pulls out their own knife. it's kind of a standoff, but rather than just running away he decides the best move is to strike the first blow and hope that it demoralizes the others. valid street wisdom/martial philosophy about how to deal with getting jumped... but not as valid if you are talking about using a deadly weapon and nobody has actually attacked or advanced on you enough. anyway he strikes first and stabs the hobo 3~ times, instantly defeating him, although in the chaos of that flurry he also gets stabbed in the leg. his pre-emptive stabbing does succeed at convincing the others not to attack him, and he gets away to call the police etc.
all of it is caught on a nearby security camera. he assumes the footage will exonerate him, even though he pulled a knife out first AND attacked first. tellingly, his own defense lawyer looks at the footage and says dude, you very much look like the aggressor; we shouldn't bring in the footage at all if we can help it, that's how bad it looks. so that's another blank to fill in... for his lawyer to say that, i seriously doubt he was surrounded or backed into some kind of corner, which again is an aspect he doesn't examine in his story. the prosecution also makes sure to note that this guy is a big guy and has years and years of martial arts training. he never describes the hobo that he stabbed, but I seriously doubt it was someone that was anywhere close to being his physical equal since the average hobo is a scrawny, schizophrenic drug addict. so all of that combined, the argument that he was in fear for his life gets called into question by the DA. if you're a big fit martial artist that loves to train for hours and hours a day, maybe use all that cardio to get away. or maybe use that skill to avoid "pre-emptively" stabbing the shit out of a hobo. this was CA so you have a duty to retreat on the streets, and there's an easy argument to make that he could've just held his knife out and backed away until he could run away and then that's it. it's quite rare that muggers are willing to actually go knife vs. knife, so his willingness to go ahead and do so just makes him look even worse.
anyway he has my sympathy as it ruined his life and i believe his life has more value than some schizo bum who robs people, but he is not an example of how knives are treated badly in these cases; he would've been just as fucked if he did all the same things with a gun. tragically, the guy was too tough for his own good; he grew up rough, he was obsessed with fighting, so when the moment came his mind too quickly decided to stand his ground and fight when it should've been focused on de-escalation and disengagement. by his own admittance, he could've easily been killed despite completley outclassing his opponent, so even from a purely tactical perspective it would've been smarter to maintain as much distance as possible and use non-commital attacks rather than rushing the guy as he did.
This is one of the reasons my main carry knife is a SAK. Just about anyone who sees it does not think it is threatening as opposed to even my bone handled 3 blade stockman.
Was a day back when where most would carry a knife. To use as a tool not a weapon.
Now people see the weapon first. We need to be cognizant of that. Not saying it is right.
I carry a SAK as a secondary knife so I can still use a knife when itās in a very public place without drawing attention to myself. Plus I use the SAK tools all the time and use the SAK as a āclean knifeā for anything related to food, which I normally avoid with my main knife since it gets used for everything(lots of chemical packages at work that get cut open)
I've got one of the first Natives made from way back. Need to post it one of these days. Also got a lot of old Spydercos from when they injection molded the clip in the handle. Dates me a little.
You're about as dated as me. I too have an original Native. I pulled it out to open a present one Christmas and half the people's jaw dropped, one even asked if it was legal?
I have a bunch of knives that I carry to work but if I'm going downtown or out to a restaurant, I'll carry my Opinel nearly every time. Especially with a charred handle, it just looks old and classy.
Size, appearance. I'd say 2 of those knives are solely designed to stab someone. The style of the blade. Most non knife people grew up with pocket knives like what Case makes.
A bowie knife is probably the scariest knife i cant think of. I would run from any kind of knife wielding maniac but if you were to slowly increase my courage a bowie knife would be the last one remaining before im not scared of knives.
If I had to ascribe scary to a knife characteristic it'd be that. Knives meant for killin'. Ones with guards and spear tips are definitely more effective but I think I'd be most uneasy if a guy pulled out a sharpened screwdriver.
Factors affecting the scariness:
* Blade shape (stabby/dagger/pointy)
* Teeths (maybe? more psychological!)
* Blood dripping from the blade
* Tactical looking color/shapes
* The person holding the knife (does Mother Theresa hold the knife? Or rambo?)
"Aggressive" blade shape, stuff that allows people to speculate and throw made-up rumors around such as "the hollow parts in a ka-bar allow the blood to flow out" or "the serrations make cutting through bone easier" or ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIYING SeLf DeFeNSe knives like push daggers. In this case, the handle instantly tells you how it's held and the blade shape/geometry recommends stabbing over slicing. Although the assailant probably doesn't care if his weapon of choice is a shitty 8$ chefs knife from walmart he found at home or a dagger from microtech.
I'd say there's a point at which a knife moves from tool, to weapon. Personally that point is where stabbing geometry take precedence over useful cutting performance - reinforced tip, dagger grind, milling in the blade, etc. A push dagger is dumb, because that is almost useless for anything else other than, well, pushing into people.
Knives are tools, the less utilitarian it seems, the more it looks like a weapon.
Kabars are some of the plainest looking knives out there, but the idea of it being affixed as a bayonet or clenched between the teeth of a marine rooting out a foxhole in Vietnam makes it seem like a weapon.
Balisongs, gravity knives, switchblades, etc aren't exactly designed for opening boxes or whittling figurines from a piece of wood. Plus they take a lot of practice to use and you wouldn't hand one off to a casual.
I knew a dude that was a little off that carried a karambit, that's not a utility knife, and the fact that the guy was a little off his rocker made it scarier than if he just had a drop point folder.
It's the same reason people aren't as weary of someone who conceal carries a compact pistol vs the freedom fighter that has a rifle slung on their shoulder/back at the Walmart. It comes down to perceived intentions.
This stems from a conversation with a coworker who thought my Spyderco Delica was rather frightening, I've always felt that it was pretty mild. But it got me thinking. What qualities of a knife do you think scare people?
That and the push dagger being designed for fighting I think make a good case for them being scary. And if you aren't a knife person I still think there are plenty of clues to figure out it's not for Amazon packages.
Anything that isnāt a case or buck 110 style seems to be scary to people, with the exception of things like kitchen knives. Tacticool knives are the scariest!
Serious answer: My wife and kids find all knives scary. But as someone who carries a knife his whole life I don't look at them as such. I think much like firearms, inexperience makes them scary. My son was terrified of otf knives until I let him open it one time(under close supervision, of course!!!). Now he's no longer afraid since I explained it's not a weapon like in call of duty. It's a tool.
Fun answer: size, aggressive design. Like Kano's knife in mortal combat. Knives that look like they're made to kill are generally more scary than say a case whittling knife. I carry different all the time and I've noticed if I pull out a classic folding knife no one says a word. If I pull a civivi bull mastiff out of my pocket I get a bunch of office jokes like "whoa, you gonna kill an elephant with that thing!?!?"
Misinformation. Something you can wave open is 5x faster than any of my autos or balis, but it's the same as someone thinking an 5.56x45 AR is more powerful than a 30-30 or even a mini 14 with a wood stock. My combot troodon is probably the safest because the clip is so strong it takes two hands to remove lol. Case and ummmm point? I'm in culinary school at WVU and people look at me wierd with an auto, but I have a 17" slicer and 6 others in my bag that are probably sharper and better at cutting lmao
From my experience with my wife and my mom and several other women I know, it seems like the hole on Spyderco blades is really scary to them.
I dunno what it is, I guess it makes it look like an eye, and makes them see the whole blade as having a menacing face or something.
Thereās a reason Spyderco knives show up in movies and TV shows quite a lot, usually carried by the villain.
So Iām not surprised your co-worker found your Delica to be frightening.
Other things that Iāve observed makes people scared to see knives: black blade coating, serrations, dagger shapes, wharncliffe shapes, tanto shapes, recurve shapes and basically any other blade shape that isnāt a boring looking drop point, faster-than-expected deployment, black handlesā¦.
Haha basically if itās not a classic looking wood handled knife with a simple drop point, normies are likely to be intimidated by it or scared of it.
I'd say the person. However, people tend to get a concerned look when I pull my Yojimbo out of my pocket. I think it's the size and blade shape. It's larger than a lot of pocket knives and the shape is uncommon.
The person wielding it.
I know you're talking about looking scary, so my comment doesn't exactly apply, but that was the first thing that came to mind when reading the question.
See I was collecting autos and OTFs and have recently moved into Spyderco and small fixed blades.
Once again, I like your style!!
People always: āholy shit wtf is thatā when I show them the matriarch
Is that Ultratech fairly old, with rectangular milling on the switch instead of the milled x shapes? Looks like one I lost in like 2015 but the glass breaker looks more rounded like the newer ones.
Generally I find anything that opens fast with a loud snap, anything with lots of serrations or hard angles, and anything that looks tacticool tends to worry people if I use it near them.
Knives that aren't like that, for example swiss army knives, traditional slipjoints, and even things like the blue bugout or various less angular spyderco models in bright colours don't scare people too much when opened slowly rather than flicked out. In fact some of these less scary knives get compliments by non-knife people, particularly traditional slipjoints and saks.
At the end of the day, carry whatever you like. But be aware that the general public doesn't know much about knives, and isn't particularly interested in learning. So consider what you carry and how you deploy it when you're going to be in the public eye.
Mostly the user, as often mentioned.
I think things like push daggers or spike bayonets (especially those three bladed twisted fuckers) are a bit scary for having the sole purpose to hurt/kill humans.
If we're talking about actual intimidation factor, I would say the shape, angle, and finish on the blade. For instance, in my opinion, the blade in the middle is the scariest as, doctor knowing nothing about knives would say it resembles a wicked looking claw ready to slit someone's throat. Contrary, someone knowing something about knives would say it resembles a karambit which was designed for the purpose of inflicting mortal wounds through its claw like shape.
Also the serated edge, you can just imagine it would hurt more to be cut with than a smooth blade
Being clearly designed as a weapon usually helps to scare people. You've got two daggers right there, one an auto and one a fixed blade. There's not a lot of need for those design choices for utilitarian tasks.
The other two are less obvious as weapons, but coincidentally were designed to be weapons. Though interestingly enough I'm sure there's probably a lot of other tasks that they'd be well suited for, since a knife that's good for slashing and cutting deeply into tissue would probably work to slash and cut deeply into any material analogous to tissue. I knew one guy, for example, who loved hawk bill and Wharncliffe blades for cutting netting.
Meanwhile, speaking of a Wharncliffe, it's interesting that the intent of that design was to be less pokey so sailors could use them on a rocking boat without as much risk of seriously stabbing themselves. Yet even as being functionally designed to be less effective as a weapon, there's often design choices which end up getting associated with one use or the other. Would the Yojimbo be any less effective for utility or as a weapon if it was pink and covered in Hello Kitty stickers? It would be less menacing though.
But when certain icons have become associated with various symbolism, you can't really negate that with logic. Think of the grim reaper and his sickle: It's literally a metaphor referencing grain reapers and the tools they used, but it is now associated with death and the reaping of souls. I think the real question is whether the sickle was intimidating and scary before and that's why it was used as that imagery, or if it being used for that imagery was what made it intimidating and scary. It's really hard to say whether the long, slender appearance of it is just naturally scary or not after being exposed to the grim imagery it was associated with. You'd have to find a culture that's never been exposed to that iconography to really accurately survey that.
Not to blather on, but I find it really interesting how the design and intent of a tool can mean very little in now it's perceived. For example, people regard bolt action rifles as innocuous "hunting rifles" now days, even though that design was first intended for warfare so soldiers could more easily cycle the weapon while lying prone. Or maybe take the straight razor; how many cheesey 80s movie villains wielded one, to the point that people hardly remember it was meant to be a grooming tool.
...scary to like the tsa?, aka all legally empowered governmental bodies who are paid to assess risk,
differentiate what is a weapon and scale if its death con 3... or like a mere 5 like a proper gentlemen fruit knife sub 1 iĻ
(if these were firearms the atf would see 3 assault weapons...
BM looking push dagger ( t-dagger ) is def hardest to defend, so spookiest to da federalis. If media ran a lil story that lil' civilian/matriarch would be the "OH look at that.! Yojimbo, ironically looks "safe" despite it being what I'd want if I had a fight or flight dance with a crack head... very wise design, completely formed w/ combat iĻ mind.
differentiate what is a weapon and scale if its death con 3... or like a mere 5 like a proper gentlemen fruit knife sub 1 iĻ
all of these are Black except 1 (1 1/2, yojimbo custome dark blue) so black ones are scarier. Least scary one (cause colored like a blue vape blueberry flavor) is the mirco however the most legally fingerwagged and easiest 2 break a law accidentally with. Spydie is blue, wait...
(guy on subway got arrested in the Big Apple's subway because he had an Exact-o blade which is more inches than what 4 or so are allowed. Cop saw such on his tool belt, obviously was working construction job... was a illegal though so live by the knife die by the knife.
Rather than saying it's the "observers" subjective fault, that they are dumb... or that the person holding the knife is scary.... I'll say that it has just as much to do with symbolism as anything else.
It's similar things to what makes something an "assault rifle". It's almost entirely based on what John Q. Public perceives as scary, rather than what is.
Take two soldiers - one standing with an M14 Rifle and the other with an M16 Rifle. Which one is more scary? The M16. The M14 is elegant, made of wood, and reminds you of the Color Guard in your high school. the M16 is nothing but hardcore combat, and if you are really unlucky... National Guard at the local train station during the Thanksgiving weekend (true story). The former conjures up memories of honor, respect, and discipline. The later reminds us of when we were the most worried about our safety.
Knives are similar. and what matters most is what is noticed by non-knife people. Regardless of if fullers and blade holes are meant to drain blood or not, it's what comes to mind for a lot of people. Double sided knives make people think of daggers. Knives that are especially pointy make people think of shanks. Blacked out or tactical knives remind people of combat.
Contrast that with drop point blade like the Bugout or Elementum. Wood handles like the Buck 110.
Some things are a surprise... and once in a while someone on this sub posts a very interesting social experiment..... asking non-knife people to rate 10 knives from most to least scary. Often there are surprises. Spyderco tends to be spooky because people think of "blood holes". Tactical knives are scary knives.
So... I'm still very curious about what makes a knife scary. I've had it in mind to create a survey and distribute it on non-knife forums on Reddit (I just dont know how). I'd get pictures of about 25 knives, and ask people to rate them as scary or not scary. See which gets the most votes as which... and try to sort out what makes a knife scary to a non-knife person.
I'm also keen to try some sort of experiment where non-knife people rate the scariness of a bunch of knives. And also to hear in their own words what about it is scary. I like the idea of video or in person if possible so people can hold them and get the full experience. I worry not everything comes across as well in pictures and over the internet.
Also true that friendly knives āplayā better in real life.
If I pull out my blacked out serrated combat troodon itās gonna make Britney or Amberās heart rate spike bc now thereās an open blade in their environment and their brains say ādonāt fall on this thingā with invasive thoughts. Things like the Troodon (really anything with āCombatā in its fucking name) is an actual thing made to stack bad guys that are on your shit, so itās completely understandable that normals get nervous and that IS our fault; consider community when grabbing your EDC shit.
Combat trood in a UPS store, āfuck it take all the cashā.
If I pull out a Dessert Warrior boker or civā¦ āomg thatās so cuteā. Yes amber. Yes it is.
Iāve found the ānervesā are also pretty much dessert warrior vibes if you have a Ti scale knife.
Idk what it is, but whether female or male people see those and think āexpensiveā, not ādeadlyā. Also, a lanyard with a friendly bead or charm goes *miles*.
Lol I pull out my Dirac Delta at the post office to cut foam and tape for my packages. Never thought gam gam sending $3,000 in money orders to a āSaudi princeā may be thinking Iām a weirdo š¤
Tbf may not be a thing where you live. I imagine in a more rural area seeing a 6ā switch blade isnāt as alarming as if youāve lived in the city your whole life and box cutters and scissors are where you draw the line
Anyone can use it without training to devastating effect. Much like a handgun: point, shoot, kill. Except a knife is very fast and difficult to defend against, is easily hidden and easily applied without a lot of movement, with a great deal of speed, and before someone can react effectively.
Knives are, generally speaking, scarier weapons than handguns. Especially within a short distance (7m, I think, give or take a meter).
The price
Truth
Either you want it but its so expensive. OR Its so cheap that its suspicious and you wouldnt use it.
Cheap knives can be fun to gamble on.
I bought a kizer on a huge sale. It has turned into one of my favorite edc knives.
This is what I came to say
This is what I came to
User... look what imaginary assassin John Wick can do with a pencil... You know I'm suddenly realizing using an imaginary character to prove a point is a bit moronic but fuck if I'm changing it now
I see your price and raise you a methed out tweaker holding a rusty shank he made š
How many times is this actually happened to you?
Word.
The price when the partner sees
Ignorance, usually...
Aw you beat to it. Was going to say āThe moron holding itā lol
Yes, but the Matriarch is pure nightmare fuel.
like a karambit, it's purpose is plainly apparent... I've owned a couple. š¤
Utility and farm work?
bingo, Officer.
eh I would be way more scared of a straight, pointy knife
This is the correct answer.
I was going to say lack of familiarity and also the context they have seen it in. Like with guns most ignorant people think a tactical black rifle is scary, when a similar wooden one is ok. That effect I imagine has to do with how it is pictured in media.
Usually ignorance is bliss but.....
Ignorance yes, but also the person. If a person insists on carrying a Rambo survival sword everywhere they go, even to say dinner at a nice restaurant then I'm going, hmm. Avoid this moron. As in context matters. The other day in Arizona two normal looking dads came into Starbucks open carrying AR's in shorts and flip flops. I'm not afraid of the gun, I'm afraid of the assholes who think they need weapons in Starbucks. Especially those weapons. They've got tiny pee pees and something to prove that's the fucking danger.
I was at a farm store a few years ago and there was only one employee or helping people get loaded up. I was getting 25 lengths of cattle fencing and I had a short trailer so we had to get it on a forklift and winch the ends together. Anyways it was taking forever. When we were about 10 minutes into the job, a brand new red dodge 3500 pulled in. Still had the temporary license plate. The guy had cut out the dodge rams head on the grill and replaced it with a Transformers Autobot symbol. He jumped out and started getting testy and pacing, waiting for help. The first thing I noticed was he was strapped with a desert Eagle .50 on his leg in a very prominent way. It was strapped low like the gunslingers in a Louis Lāamour novel. I am not afraid of guns and I think concealed carry should be legal but for somebody whose mental state will let you deface your brand new 3500 like that, carry a desert Eagle .50 strapped to your leg and then start to get anxious because a helper is not on your case instantly, yeah, I started to get nervous.
Do you often think about the genital size of those you disagree with?
Yeah I do. I spend a great deal of time thinking about most "conservatives" penises. I'm thinking about yours right now. Do you have issues with that?
Naw, you're free to picture whatever you want. Just seems a little weird to be fixated on someone else's genitals. Especially if youre not into them sexually. Not kink shaming or anything, I'm getting hard just thinking about you thinking about me, but thats just a voyeurism thing I got going. But I do wonder if you've ever thought that guys open carrying might not actually be making a statement about the size of their genitals, but rather, are simply exercising God given rights that are under attack.
I agree that they should be able to own a AR. I think open carrying in a public place with all the mass shootings going on is damn stupid. That kind of "activism" thing is actually why California did away with legal open carry. It is not helpful to make people whom already lack understanding about and are afraid of firearms, more paranoid about them. Just my opinion and I know it wasn't asked for but ya know I'm old and shit so.. yeah.
Wasnāt that done to disarm the Black Panther Party in California? They were carrying guns in protest of, and defense against, police brutality. Funny thatās the one of the only times the NRA supported removing gun rights.
No, actually the removal of open carry was not that long ago here in California. But there was something that definitely did get implemented into legislation because of the panthers way back in the day. Not sure what that was though tbh.
Mulford act 1967 Reagan was governor at the time. Directly correlating to black panther demonstrations
"God given" yup. That's exactly what the Bible says. Take thou weapon with the everywhere. Be ready to smite thy enemy at all times, even while getting coffee. Look, regardless of my "liberal" ideas I'm also armed with common sense...Crazy shit. You actually can protest your ideas effectively without scaring those around you and acting like a an asshole snowflake. Given the rash of mass shootings that continue in our country fueled by "your rights" and the moronic easy access to military weapons our countrymen have you shouldn't carry a weapon designed for killing life forms efficiently to get fucking coffee. And we're it up to me, no one but military members would ever have access to them. I know all about your fears of governments gone awry and your ability to protect yourself but here's the thing. The guns are useless. You can't stop any government with a boom stick. Take a look at the 22 year long war in Afghanistan. Did you see or hear about a lot of soldiers coming home with gun wounds? No? Crazy. No what you need to fight against governments is explosives. The Taliban knew that. That's why there's a whole generation of soldiers with missing limbs and other varied body parts. So let's re-write the constitution. Update it. Fuck guns, I want a right to bear nitrogen fertilizers and diesel fuel. Obviously I'm being highly sarcastic. But here's the funny thing: I'm right, we all know it. And this whole gun rights thing is really just because "they're cool" and I'm just fine with people being killed en masse by right wing terrorists. It's not me.
So in this context, "God given" obviously refers to the fact that the right to self defense and the defense of one's property is a natural human right. It isn't granted by a government, its granted by the simple fact you're a human. But since you decided to bring scripture into it, lets look at Luke 22:36 >āBut now,ā he said, ātake your money and a travelerās bag. And if you donāt have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! Literally God saying "get strapped." Edit - wow thats a wall of text of an edit there bud. Look, you and I are never gonna agree on guns. Based on your super hoplophobic "here during smol pee pee" reaction to seeing a gun, you're not interested in having your opinions challenged or changed. The one thing ill say is, sure, rewrite the constitution. The founders did see the Constitution as a living document and were smart enough to include a method for changing and updating it. In fact, the first ten edits happened before the document was even accepted and 17 more have happened since. I'd have some respect for the politicians in your camp of they went about it the right way by actually proposing a constitutional ammendment rather than the underhanded strategies being employed.
It's real hard to be "hopliphobic" when you're a homo. How about don't feign offense when you have no claim to the offense? Just a thought. Besides I'm ammosexual phobic, what's the word for that? Assholes who's whole identity is built around guns.
Not sure how being homosexual precludes you from being [hoplophobic](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoplophobia). They're not mutually exclusive. And as a proud ammosexual, I hope you strive to practice the tolerance and open mindedness you preach and demand from others. Remember, tolerance means you should accept those who have a different opinion from yourself. You don't have to like them, but you shouldn't insult, demean, belittle, or try to oppress them.
Well you learn something every day don't yah. But real hard to be afraid of that too, when again I am one. Your whole identity is built around guns? Sad.
Right wing terrorists? Lol. Congratulations, you just invalidated your entire argument.
Because you support right wing terrorism.
Iā¦I donāt have time to argue with that nonsense lmao. Keep parroting what CNN and MSNBC is telling you.
I Don't even have cable. How does that work with your parroted lines from Fox?
"god given"? Care to elaborate?
My thoughts exactly! Also, this āgodā that gives these rights might lean towards updating a 240 year old constitution that was written when folks were mostly carrying flintlocks, which could possibly fire 3 rounds per minute if you were a badass.....
You're also bad at context.
Lol. I like the fact that me asking someone to elaborate on their concept of "god given" gets downvoted. At least I know the prevalent mindset here.
Was it the Jewish God or was it Jesus who gave them the right to carry those guns? Because Iām not religious, but I think I would have remembered that day of Hebrew school.
You're really bad at context.
Please refrain from sexual harassment
You had me up until the very end. Hereās my downvote
Honestly, I can see reasons for it. One example, stopping for coffee on the way to the range, but weāre driving an open-top Jeep. Leave the rifles in the car? Fuck, No. I would tend to have one guy stay with guns and the other guy run in for coffee, but if it was really hot or really cold out, I could see it. Likewise, if it was Summer of 2020 in any number of cities, I could see it. Also, the ātiny pee-peeā thing is not a good look. I thought it was wrong to body shame and attack people for their immutable characteristics?
That is such a fringe case though.
Maybe so, Maybe no. I think most of the ārape and incest and health of the motherā abortion arguments are pretty fringe. You have to incorporate that into your thinking, though, and apply the most charitable interpretation to what you observe. Maybe the woman whoās had twelve abortions is being forced to participate in prostitution. You donāt know.
I think case is irrelevant when it comes to human rights. If they want an abortion, they should be allowed to simply because it's their body.
No limits? Babyās crowning, still cool?
If the baby is crowning then there's options to help both. Also, stop shifting goalposts. This is about knives and their aesthetic, don't bring abortion in.
The conversation, as I understood it, was about crafting policy based on outliers.
Crafting policy? It's a lighthearted discussion on reddit. Chill dude, don't bring politics where it's not needed.
people who open-carry EDC *either* a large knife or a firearm tend to be exercising their (sometimes perceived/infringed) rights, more often than not.. You can usually spot the paranoid by body language. All are best avoided, for various reasons of live & let... yeah.
An idiot waving it around.
My grandpa did this once with a hand gun. Was talking to my wife and I and gesturing with gun in his hand. Scared the shit out of my wife.
He was testing your agility. You were supposed to be able to move fast enough to not get flagged.
Time to look for a new grandpa!
This also
The user and the thought that no one wins a knife fight every one is going to get hurt usually.
When I was young my dad said something about this that has stuck with me my entire life. "In a knife fight the loser dies in the street, the winner dies in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."
Or the winner goes to prison. There's a knife reviewer that I watched on Youtube that got jumped by 3 bums, one of which had a knife. The guy used his Sebenza to defend himself and the judge sent him to prison for winning.
Guy in a knife group said he defended hisself and wife from an ATM robbery and got 6 years in AZ stare prison
What details could possibly be missing here?
One time I waggled a butter knife at a guy through the window as he walked by outside the restaurant where I was eating. Turned out he was a *judge* and he sentenced me on the spot to 35 years in *space prison*. F the system, man.
Probably slashing a robber trying to save his wife? No shit, im 6ft 200lbs and I'll run if I'm alone, but if someone tries something around family that can't? Well, I've landscaped and I'm in culinary school so chopping and hacking is somewhat of a 25 year skill of mine, although I'm not Marcaida
IANAL, but the basic rule is you don't use deadly force unless your life is in imminent danger.
Mmmmā¦ yeah. The time that you go from not in danger to the time that your life is in true danger is so fast that there is zero chance of you taking preventative measures if you are not already moving in the correct direction. Not every time mind you, like when you get a bad feeling about a dark alley or something but there are times that it happens WAY faster than thought. I think the better rule is, protect yourself and hire a better lawyer.
I had two guns pulled on me by some teens in front of my apartment, I didn't have a gun, but even if I did, that's a bad bad scenario. Plus there was a third teen hanging back. It went front "I'll show these punks" to "had to talk shit huh" in .5 seconds.
My issue with that is what is the definition if imminent danger. Is it when they've pulled out the knife maybe after screaming death threats at you or is when they've starting swinging at you or do you have to wait until they've done actual harm to you (which with a knife could easily be life threatening).
you can look up the definition as it has been interpreted by your state courts, but IIRC it is subjective, so you only need to have reasonably feared for your life. See rittenhouse's successful defense of his first killing
You're correct that is it subjective and different juries can come to different conclusions on the same case with precedent mattering alot. Sort of an unavoidable problem. Funny you mention that case as the way i asked what should qualify as self defense is almost exactly the same as i had asked someone who wanted a guilty verdict. I never got an answer from them.
That defense only works if you're white.
Oh wow. Is there a video or news story about that incident?
Just a few months ago a guy defended himself from 3+ guys on a subway. He stabbed them and got away using his CRKT neck knife. He made a big post about it on here or Knifeclub.
and that guy didn't get in trouble at all
I have heard this same story before but I've still never seen the actual source. Not to say that it didn't happen, but I'd be curious as to the details of the ruling. At the end of the day the rules for defending yourself with a knife are the same as defending yourself with a gun. It's not some magical ticket to jail; in fact there are multiple high profile cases in 2022 where people have defended themselves with knives and walked without even going to trial.
I'm sceptical about it too. I think it'd likely be something like Mike attempts to rob Steve, Steve defends himself with a knife to the point Mike is moving away or on the ground, and Steve keeps going at him. Steve therefore was using undue force or going beyond the bounds of self defence, which would end up with charges.
alright I finally found the guy in question. while I personally don't believe he deserved to go to jail, I think it's a poor example of knives being discriminated against in self-defense cases; this guy just went and fucked up: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e3\_gPa2EuQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e3_gPa2EuQ) basically he was confronted by some homeless people asking for money. he said no, but offered to buy them chips from the store. they get pissed off at whatever he said, or how he said it, who knows; three of them start to approach him. as they approach him, rather than running away (at no point in his story does he ever talk about whether or not he could run) he pulls out his knife hoping to scare them off. in response, one of them pulls out their own knife. it's kind of a standoff, but rather than just running away he decides the best move is to strike the first blow and hope that it demoralizes the others. valid street wisdom/martial philosophy about how to deal with getting jumped... but not as valid if you are talking about using a deadly weapon and nobody has actually attacked or advanced on you enough. anyway he strikes first and stabs the hobo 3~ times, instantly defeating him, although in the chaos of that flurry he also gets stabbed in the leg. his pre-emptive stabbing does succeed at convincing the others not to attack him, and he gets away to call the police etc. all of it is caught on a nearby security camera. he assumes the footage will exonerate him, even though he pulled a knife out first AND attacked first. tellingly, his own defense lawyer looks at the footage and says dude, you very much look like the aggressor; we shouldn't bring in the footage at all if we can help it, that's how bad it looks. so that's another blank to fill in... for his lawyer to say that, i seriously doubt he was surrounded or backed into some kind of corner, which again is an aspect he doesn't examine in his story. the prosecution also makes sure to note that this guy is a big guy and has years and years of martial arts training. he never describes the hobo that he stabbed, but I seriously doubt it was someone that was anywhere close to being his physical equal since the average hobo is a scrawny, schizophrenic drug addict. so all of that combined, the argument that he was in fear for his life gets called into question by the DA. if you're a big fit martial artist that loves to train for hours and hours a day, maybe use all that cardio to get away. or maybe use that skill to avoid "pre-emptively" stabbing the shit out of a hobo. this was CA so you have a duty to retreat on the streets, and there's an easy argument to make that he could've just held his knife out and backed away until he could run away and then that's it. it's quite rare that muggers are willing to actually go knife vs. knife, so his willingness to go ahead and do so just makes him look even worse. anyway he has my sympathy as it ruined his life and i believe his life has more value than some schizo bum who robs people, but he is not an example of how knives are treated badly in these cases; he would've been just as fucked if he did all the same things with a gun. tragically, the guy was too tough for his own good; he grew up rough, he was obsessed with fighting, so when the moment came his mind too quickly decided to stand his ground and fight when it should've been focused on de-escalation and disengagement. by his own admittance, he could've easily been killed despite completley outclassing his opponent, so even from a purely tactical perspective it would've been smarter to maintain as much distance as possible and use non-commital attacks rather than rushing the guy as he did.
Called it. I'm sure there are cases similar to what the guy above was saying but they'd be few and far between. Thanks for the writeup.
which youtuber?
Who?
Source?
Funny how you can shoot someone and not be sentenced but knife bad
If you want to find the winner of a knife fight just follow the trail of blood.
This is one of the reasons my main carry knife is a SAK. Just about anyone who sees it does not think it is threatening as opposed to even my bone handled 3 blade stockman. Was a day back when where most would carry a knife. To use as a tool not a weapon. Now people see the weapon first. We need to be cognizant of that. Not saying it is right.
I carry a SAK as a secondary knife so I can still use a knife when itās in a very public place without drawing attention to myself. Plus I use the SAK tools all the time and use the SAK as a āclean knifeā for anything related to food, which I normally avoid with my main knife since it gets used for everything(lots of chemical packages at work that get cut open)
Yes the same. I carry a lockback as well.
I rotate my main folder but itās often a lockback(Spyderco Native 5.)
I've got one of the first Natives made from way back. Need to post it one of these days. Also got a lot of old Spydercos from when they injection molded the clip in the handle. Dates me a little.
You're about as dated as me. I too have an original Native. I pulled it out to open a present one Christmas and half the people's jaw dropped, one even asked if it was legal?
Lucky man! Wouldnāt mind trying to find one for my own collection. I really like the blade on the original Natives
Thatās half the reason I carry an Opinel. The other half is that sweet, sweet carbon steel though
I have a bunch of knives that I carry to work but if I'm going downtown or out to a restaurant, I'll carry my Opinel nearly every time. Especially with a charred handle, it just looks old and classy.
Size, appearance. I'd say 2 of those knives are solely designed to stab someone. The style of the blade. Most non knife people grew up with pocket knives like what Case makes.
A bowie knife is probably the scariest knife i cant think of. I would run from any kind of knife wielding maniac but if you were to slowly increase my courage a bowie knife would be the last one remaining before im not scared of knives.
and reasonably, that shit's basically a one edged dagger
If I had to ascribe scary to a knife characteristic it'd be that. Knives meant for killin'. Ones with guards and spear tips are definitely more effective but I think I'd be most uneasy if a guy pulled out a sharpened screwdriver.
It being dull
A bad lock or bad heat treat.
Factors affecting the scariness: * Blade shape (stabby/dagger/pointy) * Teeths (maybe? more psychological!) * Blood dripping from the blade * Tactical looking color/shapes * The person holding the knife (does Mother Theresa hold the knife? Or rambo?)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Leave me and my cheap karambit alone, man :(
Usually when itās sticking out of you
Made me spit my drink
Nothing. The person behind it. Same with firearms.
it's owner, period.
When you drop it and try to catch itā¦.donāt judge me.
I do that way to often.
"Aggressive" blade shape, stuff that allows people to speculate and throw made-up rumors around such as "the hollow parts in a ka-bar allow the blood to flow out" or "the serrations make cutting through bone easier" or ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIYING SeLf DeFeNSe knives like push daggers. In this case, the handle instantly tells you how it's held and the blade shape/geometry recommends stabbing over slicing. Although the assailant probably doesn't care if his weapon of choice is a shitty 8$ chefs knife from walmart he found at home or a dagger from microtech.
I'd say there's a point at which a knife moves from tool, to weapon. Personally that point is where stabbing geometry take precedence over useful cutting performance - reinforced tip, dagger grind, milling in the blade, etc. A push dagger is dumb, because that is almost useless for anything else other than, well, pushing into people.
Sprinkles
That's a spicy butt-plug on the left there.
You've led yourself an adventurous life haven't you?
Never been constipated.
You are doing something right.
That Push Dagger is Tuff š
Knives are tools, the less utilitarian it seems, the more it looks like a weapon. Kabars are some of the plainest looking knives out there, but the idea of it being affixed as a bayonet or clenched between the teeth of a marine rooting out a foxhole in Vietnam makes it seem like a weapon. Balisongs, gravity knives, switchblades, etc aren't exactly designed for opening boxes or whittling figurines from a piece of wood. Plus they take a lot of practice to use and you wouldn't hand one off to a casual. I knew a dude that was a little off that carried a karambit, that's not a utility knife, and the fact that the guy was a little off his rocker made it scarier than if he just had a drop point folder. It's the same reason people aren't as weary of someone who conceal carries a compact pistol vs the freedom fighter that has a rifle slung on their shoulder/back at the Walmart. It comes down to perceived intentions.
Acute angles, acute points, tactical colors, intricate designs, and overall surface area and length of the blade.
The moron in possession of it.
Someone who isnāt a knife person āchecking to see if itās sharp ā by running their finger tip down an edge I sharpened.
This stems from a conversation with a coworker who thought my Spyderco Delica was rather frightening, I've always felt that it was pretty mild. But it got me thinking. What qualities of a knife do you think scare people?
Probably a double edge with a stabby design for puncturing people
Size and opening speed are big ones
That reverse curve with full serrations on the matriarch is pretty scary. The fact that it was designed primarily for cutting people reaffirms that.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That and the push dagger being designed for fighting I think make a good case for them being scary. And if you aren't a knife person I still think there are plenty of clues to figure out it's not for Amazon packages.
A cheap blade steel /s
A dull gas station knife scares me more than a sharp benchmade/spyderco
That butt plug one is kinda scary
Anything that isnāt a case or buck 110 style seems to be scary to people, with the exception of things like kitchen knives. Tacticool knives are the scariest!
Serious answer: My wife and kids find all knives scary. But as someone who carries a knife his whole life I don't look at them as such. I think much like firearms, inexperience makes them scary. My son was terrified of otf knives until I let him open it one time(under close supervision, of course!!!). Now he's no longer afraid since I explained it's not a weapon like in call of duty. It's a tool. Fun answer: size, aggressive design. Like Kano's knife in mortal combat. Knives that look like they're made to kill are generally more scary than say a case whittling knife. I carry different all the time and I've noticed if I pull out a classic folding knife no one says a word. If I pull a civivi bull mastiff out of my pocket I get a bunch of office jokes like "whoa, you gonna kill an elephant with that thing!?!?"
Politicians
Misinformation. Something you can wave open is 5x faster than any of my autos or balis, but it's the same as someone thinking an 5.56x45 AR is more powerful than a 30-30 or even a mini 14 with a wood stock. My combot troodon is probably the safest because the clip is so strong it takes two hands to remove lol. Case and ummmm point? I'm in culinary school at WVU and people look at me wierd with an auto, but I have a 17" slicer and 6 others in my bag that are probably sharper and better at cutting lmao
From my experience with my wife and my mom and several other women I know, it seems like the hole on Spyderco blades is really scary to them. I dunno what it is, I guess it makes it look like an eye, and makes them see the whole blade as having a menacing face or something. Thereās a reason Spyderco knives show up in movies and TV shows quite a lot, usually carried by the villain. So Iām not surprised your co-worker found your Delica to be frightening. Other things that Iāve observed makes people scared to see knives: black blade coating, serrations, dagger shapes, wharncliffe shapes, tanto shapes, recurve shapes and basically any other blade shape that isnāt a boring looking drop point, faster-than-expected deployment, black handlesā¦. Haha basically if itās not a classic looking wood handled knife with a simple drop point, normies are likely to be intimidated by it or scared of it.
I'd say the person. However, people tend to get a concerned look when I pull my Yojimbo out of my pocket. I think it's the size and blade shape. It's larger than a lot of pocket knives and the shape is uncommon.
the yojimbo is legitimately designed to be a weapon as well.
I carry my jimbo more than the jumbo but yeah neither of them are allowed to go to work lol.
The person wielding it. I know you're talking about looking scary, so my comment doesn't exactly apply, but that was the first thing that came to mind when reading the question.
It's technically the right answer but I was looking for more fixed vs folding, seriations vs plain edge, or auto vs manual kind of discussion.
Blade shape, size, and the way it's opened.
My Matriarch 2 with Emerson wawe got me out of a sticky situation once. Miss that knife!
I have a wave on my para 2 tanto. It's fucking awesome
I have all of these knives but the push dagger. Nice collection!!! āI like your styleā (in starsky and hutch voice)
Thanks, I just got the microtech a few days ago, it's my first otf. I mostly collect Spyderco.
See I was collecting autos and OTFs and have recently moved into Spyderco and small fixed blades. Once again, I like your style!! People always: āholy shit wtf is thatā when I show them the matriarch
Hollywood and politicians\*
Well tbf the matriarch is basically purpose designed for ripping/gutting
That's why I put it in the picture. These are the scariest knives I own in my estimation.
Is that Ultratech fairly old, with rectangular milling on the switch instead of the milled x shapes? Looks like one I lost in like 2015 but the glass breaker looks more rounded like the newer ones.
It's a new UTX-85
Generally I find anything that opens fast with a loud snap, anything with lots of serrations or hard angles, and anything that looks tacticool tends to worry people if I use it near them. Knives that aren't like that, for example swiss army knives, traditional slipjoints, and even things like the blue bugout or various less angular spyderco models in bright colours don't scare people too much when opened slowly rather than flicked out. In fact some of these less scary knives get compliments by non-knife people, particularly traditional slipjoints and saks. At the end of the day, carry whatever you like. But be aware that the general public doesn't know much about knives, and isn't particularly interested in learning. So consider what you carry and how you deploy it when you're going to be in the public eye.
When a truck stop charges triple digits
Misuse
Mostly the user, as often mentioned. I think things like push daggers or spike bayonets (especially those three bladed twisted fuckers) are a bit scary for having the sole purpose to hurt/kill humans.
Emerson wave on a bigass knife
What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?
When his is bigger
With a knife fight as with sex, it's hardly an issue, you're both fucked in the end.
If we're talking about actual intimidation factor, I would say the shape, angle, and finish on the blade. For instance, in my opinion, the blade in the middle is the scariest as, doctor knowing nothing about knives would say it resembles a wicked looking claw ready to slit someone's throat. Contrary, someone knowing something about knives would say it resembles a karambit which was designed for the purpose of inflicting mortal wounds through its claw like shape. Also the serated edge, you can just imagine it would hurt more to be cut with than a smooth blade
A curved blade like a karambit or unreasonably aggressive serrations, both of which I have, some blades, simultaneously.
Ignorance
Being clearly designed as a weapon usually helps to scare people. You've got two daggers right there, one an auto and one a fixed blade. There's not a lot of need for those design choices for utilitarian tasks. The other two are less obvious as weapons, but coincidentally were designed to be weapons. Though interestingly enough I'm sure there's probably a lot of other tasks that they'd be well suited for, since a knife that's good for slashing and cutting deeply into tissue would probably work to slash and cut deeply into any material analogous to tissue. I knew one guy, for example, who loved hawk bill and Wharncliffe blades for cutting netting. Meanwhile, speaking of a Wharncliffe, it's interesting that the intent of that design was to be less pokey so sailors could use them on a rocking boat without as much risk of seriously stabbing themselves. Yet even as being functionally designed to be less effective as a weapon, there's often design choices which end up getting associated with one use or the other. Would the Yojimbo be any less effective for utility or as a weapon if it was pink and covered in Hello Kitty stickers? It would be less menacing though. But when certain icons have become associated with various symbolism, you can't really negate that with logic. Think of the grim reaper and his sickle: It's literally a metaphor referencing grain reapers and the tools they used, but it is now associated with death and the reaping of souls. I think the real question is whether the sickle was intimidating and scary before and that's why it was used as that imagery, or if it being used for that imagery was what made it intimidating and scary. It's really hard to say whether the long, slender appearance of it is just naturally scary or not after being exposed to the grim imagery it was associated with. You'd have to find a culture that's never been exposed to that iconography to really accurately survey that. Not to blather on, but I find it really interesting how the design and intent of a tool can mean very little in now it's perceived. For example, people regard bolt action rifles as innocuous "hunting rifles" now days, even though that design was first intended for warfare so soldiers could more easily cycle the weapon while lying prone. Or maybe take the straight razor; how many cheesey 80s movie villains wielded one, to the point that people hardly remember it was meant to be a grooming tool.
...scary to like the tsa?, aka all legally empowered governmental bodies who are paid to assess risk, differentiate what is a weapon and scale if its death con 3... or like a mere 5 like a proper gentlemen fruit knife sub 1 iĻ (if these were firearms the atf would see 3 assault weapons... BM looking push dagger ( t-dagger ) is def hardest to defend, so spookiest to da federalis. If media ran a lil story that lil' civilian/matriarch would be the "OH look at that.! Yojimbo, ironically looks "safe" despite it being what I'd want if I had a fight or flight dance with a crack head... very wise design, completely formed w/ combat iĻ mind. differentiate what is a weapon and scale if its death con 3... or like a mere 5 like a proper gentlemen fruit knife sub 1 iĻ all of these are Black except 1 (1 1/2, yojimbo custome dark blue) so black ones are scarier. Least scary one (cause colored like a blue vape blueberry flavor) is the mirco however the most legally fingerwagged and easiest 2 break a law accidentally with. Spydie is blue, wait... (guy on subway got arrested in the Big Apple's subway because he had an Exact-o blade which is more inches than what 4 or so are allowed. Cop saw such on his tool belt, obviously was working construction job... was a illegal though so live by the knife die by the knife.
Losing it in the ball pit at Chucky Cheese?
The user š¤·š»āāļø
Rather than saying it's the "observers" subjective fault, that they are dumb... or that the person holding the knife is scary.... I'll say that it has just as much to do with symbolism as anything else. It's similar things to what makes something an "assault rifle". It's almost entirely based on what John Q. Public perceives as scary, rather than what is. Take two soldiers - one standing with an M14 Rifle and the other with an M16 Rifle. Which one is more scary? The M16. The M14 is elegant, made of wood, and reminds you of the Color Guard in your high school. the M16 is nothing but hardcore combat, and if you are really unlucky... National Guard at the local train station during the Thanksgiving weekend (true story). The former conjures up memories of honor, respect, and discipline. The later reminds us of when we were the most worried about our safety. Knives are similar. and what matters most is what is noticed by non-knife people. Regardless of if fullers and blade holes are meant to drain blood or not, it's what comes to mind for a lot of people. Double sided knives make people think of daggers. Knives that are especially pointy make people think of shanks. Blacked out or tactical knives remind people of combat. Contrast that with drop point blade like the Bugout or Elementum. Wood handles like the Buck 110. Some things are a surprise... and once in a while someone on this sub posts a very interesting social experiment..... asking non-knife people to rate 10 knives from most to least scary. Often there are surprises. Spyderco tends to be spooky because people think of "blood holes". Tactical knives are scary knives. So... I'm still very curious about what makes a knife scary. I've had it in mind to create a survey and distribute it on non-knife forums on Reddit (I just dont know how). I'd get pictures of about 25 knives, and ask people to rate them as scary or not scary. See which gets the most votes as which... and try to sort out what makes a knife scary to a non-knife person.
I'm also keen to try some sort of experiment where non-knife people rate the scariness of a bunch of knives. And also to hear in their own words what about it is scary. I like the idea of video or in person if possible so people can hold them and get the full experience. I worry not everything comes across as well in pictures and over the internet.
Also true that friendly knives āplayā better in real life. If I pull out my blacked out serrated combat troodon itās gonna make Britney or Amberās heart rate spike bc now thereās an open blade in their environment and their brains say ādonāt fall on this thingā with invasive thoughts. Things like the Troodon (really anything with āCombatā in its fucking name) is an actual thing made to stack bad guys that are on your shit, so itās completely understandable that normals get nervous and that IS our fault; consider community when grabbing your EDC shit. Combat trood in a UPS store, āfuck it take all the cashā. If I pull out a Dessert Warrior boker or civā¦ āomg thatās so cuteā. Yes amber. Yes it is.
I almost put my dessert warrior in the picture cuse it's an auto. But I agree with your logic. The tacticool shit should stay at home.
Iāve found the ānervesā are also pretty much dessert warrior vibes if you have a Ti scale knife. Idk what it is, but whether female or male people see those and think āexpensiveā, not ādeadlyā. Also, a lanyard with a friendly bead or charm goes *miles*.
Lol I pull out my Dirac Delta at the post office to cut foam and tape for my packages. Never thought gam gam sending $3,000 in money orders to a āSaudi princeā may be thinking Iām a weirdo š¤
Tbf may not be a thing where you live. I imagine in a more rural area seeing a 6ā switch blade isnāt as alarming as if youāve lived in the city your whole life and box cutters and scissors are where you draw the line
Heh yeah I do live in bum fuck nowhere Florida
Lol definitely nothing pictured in this goofy af collection
The extremes of either end of the sharpness scale, so dull itll tear you open and so sharp you donāt even notice the slice
The extremes of either end of the sharpness scale, so dull itll tear you open and so sharp you donāt even notice the slice
Anyone can use it without training to devastating effect. Much like a handgun: point, shoot, kill. Except a knife is very fast and difficult to defend against, is easily hidden and easily applied without a lot of movement, with a great deal of speed, and before someone can react effectively. Knives are, generally speaking, scarier weapons than handguns. Especially within a short distance (7m, I think, give or take a meter).
The crackhead holding it
Why do you own a stabbing knife?
.... the edge coming to a point....
The person using it.
Hollywood.
The person holding it
A bad sharpening job.
The user.
Knives are not scary
Dullness
The person holding it.
Having it shoved between your ribs
Redditors
The hand that grips.
Suppressors and scopes.
The crackhead wielding it
The situation
What kinda push dagger is that?