People tweeting stuff. We allow tweets from anyone.
RULES:
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.
๐
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..."
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
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.
My pacifist mom brought me all the guys I wanted when I was a kid
nice
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 carried a folding pocket knife in my pocket for a really long time. Eventually, someone educated me that multi-tools (that include knives) exist. I carry this everywhere now instead of a knife. This is a lot more useful than a folding pocket knife: https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/multi-tools/all-multi-tools/suspension-nxt-black-30-001777 - You may still have plenty of uses for a fixed blade knife in addition to this, but getting some kind of multitool (I am not a fan of Leatherman), is a good upgrade to a daily carry knife.
Never carved anything into a tree; that's fucking dumb.
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.
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.
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.
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
We should only question those who don't regularly carry knives. Are they even trying to be contributing members of society at that point?
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"
I always have a pocket knife with me. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
Most of the time, it just gets used as a screwdriver. Maybe they should make pocket screwdrivers that have a secondary knife function... ๐ค
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 ~~right~~ rite 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.
This thread reminds me โ I need to get my machete sharpened.
(unrelated note โ I still think one of the funniest lines in Nacho Libre is the kid saying "This was my Grandmother's machete.")
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.
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 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!
I carry my multitool everywhere that I won't find metal detectors. Knives and pliers are possibly the two most useful tools in existence.
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.
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.
