Anybody got a Knife?

[Dr. Snubnose]

Bet you probably heard that statement more than once in your life. It is usually uttered out of the mouth of someone who does not EDC a sharpened blade. In my younger days (when I was stupid) I just use to say here....and hand over my knife....then years passed and I got older and smarter. Now I ask...."What do you need to cut?" Either I do the cutting myself with the knife I chose for the given task or It doesn't get cut with one my knives. Too many potential problems can arise when one hands over a knife, firearm or even a power tool, to a novice. Even if it's just for a visual inspection of the object. I have learned once that knife for instance has left your hands (for a visual inspection of another) then anyone else who happens to come along and join the group feels entitled to also hold and inspect that item....you may not have wanted person B to handle your knife....but....ut oh...it was a hand off......makes me not want to play show and tell. I once handed an auto mechanic in a garage an automatic OTF Switch...the mechanic was a knife nut and handled the automatic just fine, but he handed it off after re-setting the blade to another mechanic who just want to see it....and after a quick press of a button out shoots six inches of double bladed sharpness. That mechanic wrapped his whole hand around the blade and tried to push the locked blade back into the handle before I could stop him....needless to say he finished his day in the ER. Nowadays when people ask to see a knife I'm using or have clipped to my pocket I just politely say No.......Doc:)

[zacmangray]

I totally agree with you on this.

[Bloke]

Non knife people are a strange lot, no doubt! :rolleyes:

No one I work with carries a knife so by default I'm the knife guy. It's OK for a while but it wears thin after a while and I've always been weary of someone dropping my knife so if you must handle it there's a small proviso: If you drop it, you own it!

I have a little No.6 Inox Opinel in a draw at my desk I can toss at anyone who calls for a knife and that works pretty well, plus they don't struggle with the complexities of back locks etc. :)

[Evil D]

Honestly I usually just ignore the question completely unless I'm already part of the situation. I was at a party once and nobody brought anything to cut the cake and I wasn't about to hand over my knife so the pivot could get filled with icing.

[Bloke]

Honestly I usually just ignore the question completely unless I'm already part of the situation. I was at a party once and nobody brought anything to cut the cake and I wasn't about to hand over my knife so the pivot could get filled with icing.

But you got a slice of cake in the end, yeah? :)

[Evil D]

Honestly I usually just ignore the question completely unless I'm already part of the situation. I was at a party once and nobody brought anything to cut the cake and I wasn't about to hand over my knife so the pivot could get filled with icing.

But you got a slice of cake in the end, yeah? :)

I didn't come to the party for nothing :cool:

[kbuzbee]

Doesn't happen often, but once I recall.. We were on a papaya plantation tour in Hawaii. The guide wanted everyone to try some tree fresh papaya but she didn't bring any slicing tools. All I had was a UKPK but it was up to the challenge. I cut everyone a few slices. It was delicious.

Ken

[Jazz]

I agree, Doc... and they even think I'm a psyco for having one. I'll do the cutting myself. Too bad we all have to "be nice" and learn the hard way. I hate when people test my knives' edges with their dirty fingers (including my chef knives at work) and hand them back or slide them back in my chef knife sheath dirty and/or backwards. I had one guy slice like a moron right into a volume pack bag of ketchup through the box with my knife. Probably too stoned. Anyway, you're right on the money, Doc.

[Skaaphaas]

I just had the opposite the other day. My boss received a package and was trying to open it. I have a SAK in my backpack that I offered for his use.

His reaction was: "You have a knife in there?! That's a bit scary, isn't it?"

I had no response. There were bigger full-tang knives in the kitchen. But my little SAK was the scary one.

Made up my mind there that I won't be offering a knife to anyone again.

[Pinetreebbs]

Doc I agree, if it has an edge, runs on gasoline or gunpowder, the answer is always no.

One of my sons learned this lesson the hard way recently. A fellow at work asked to use is knife. He asked the fellow what he was going to cut and the response was, "Plastic." A few seconds later he heard the distinct "plink" as the tip of his knife was broken on what turned out to me steel. Needless to say he was not happy and the borrower just could understand why it was such a, "Big deal?" My son then offered to give the fellow the knife, he refused to take it and it was tossed in the trash. Another fellow watched this unfold and commented, "There are knife people and there are non knife people."

[Water Bug]

When someone asks me if they can borrow my knife, I ask what needs to be cut... if it's something that can reasonably be cut, I offer to cut it myself. If it's something that should not be cut with a knife or if the person is insistent that they're going to do the cutting, I'll decline to allow my knife to be used and move on.

Learned the hard way like many of you... back in college during a field research trip, a fellow student asked to borrow my knife. I handed the guy a SAK... when I check on what he was doing, he was using the edge tip of the main blade to tighten the screws of his glasses! :mad: And, he bent the edge tip in doing this! :eek: :mad: From that point on, NO ONE uses my knives... the ONLY exceptions to that rule would be immediate family members who know how to properly handle a knife and very trusted, knife-knowledgeable friends.

[OldHoosier62]

Learned not to loan my knives at 8 years old, my cousin wanted to borrow my Colonial 3-bladed jacknife and within 15 seconds had broken the tip from the main blade trying to pry with it....three lessons learned that day.

1) NEVER loan your knife...ever....to anyone.

2) Learning how to re-profile a broken knife blade from Grandpa is very educational...and a useful life skill.

3) An 8yo...when properly motivated...can break the nose of his 11yo cousin for damaging his prized pocket knife. Got a butt-whoopin for breaking his nose from my dad, he got a butt-whoopin for breaking my knife from his dad....He paid much more attention to Grandads " how to properly use a knife" lessons from then on.

[SG89]

I will occasionally let a select few people hold my newest Spydie as i show them how to use whichever lock style it has or explain different features of the knife. I do not offer up my knife for them to use for any reason. Very rarely will I actually take my knife out to help someone unless I'm around people I trust.

[ChrisinHove]

Lend tools? Only to people I would be happy to borrow one from, and I only know a couple of those.

[demoncase]

Concur 100%- for me (as an auditor by trade and at heart) it's worthwhile asking a few probing question to get to the heart of the matter.

Having had a Manix 2 bearing cage snapped by a friend thinking it was 'stuck' and levering it closed with another knife (don't ask) or finding my wife using my Squeak to dig holes in a beach (I feel that one was just to teach me a lesson, frankly)- it's worthwhile asking "Why?"

The classic '5 Why Problem Solving' technique works wonders- asking 5 leading, open-ended, sequential questions will get you down to the real root cause of why someone needs something....and the reason why they aren't having my knife.

Happy to share the following exchanges:

Colleague: Do you have a knife?
Me: Why?...Don't you have one?
C: I did....C'mon Jon, you've always got one
Me: Maybe....what happened to your knife?
C: It broke
Me: It committed suicide?.....
C: Ok, I broke it
Me: Doing what?
C: Well, I was using it pry open this steel case and....
Me: ....and that's what you want my knife for?
C:........Yer going to say no again, aren't you.
Me: In one. Well done....Use your own knife it's already broken anyway. Perfect prybar.
C:....Ah....Well.....I sorta lost it too.
Me: This is why no-one lends you stuff.

On another occasion, many moons ago- in the kitchen
Mom: Can I borrow your pocket knife?
Me:.....What's wrong with your knives in the knife block?
Mom: They're no good
Me:....How so?
Mom: the points are too big to go into this screw on this here plug.
Me:....I'll go get you a Phillps screwdriver from the garage.

On the flipside of this was at airsoft and it went thus:
Fellow Airsofter: Anyone got a knife?...Just need to cut this bit of electrical tape here.
Me: *proferring my beater Tenacious* ....Here....it's a liner lock
FA: Yep, I know these....Thanks.
I turn my back. 10 seconds later
FA:.... *****ing ****!
Me: Are you OK?
FA: <string of deleted expletives> HAS ANYONE GOT A PLASTER?
Me:....Yeah, hang on....*hands over band aid*....Are you OK?
FA: *glaring at me* Your knife is TOO ****ing sharp
Me:....Eh?
FA: It didn't LOOK sharp. Ran my thumb down the edge and it's nearly cut me to the ****ing BONE!
Me:.......Err....It's a knife....it's supposed to be sharp....if it's not then it's basically a spoon, right?
FA: Have the ****ing THING back!!
Me:....Yeah, well, you're welcome and it was my pleasure

[VashHash]

I usually keep a cheaper spyderco on me for handing out but I'm cautious who i hand it to. I also usually ask what they want to cut.

[Doc Dan]

I keep a Vic Classic SD on my key ring for the purposes of letting someone cut something. Most of the time is is just a package, a plastic tag tie, or something and I do not need to give them my good knife nor let them know I have one. It is simply too dangerous to give a non-knife person (weird lot) a larger knife they can do damage with. I once saw someone loan a guy a knife who then proceeded to stab himself in the leg and we had to take him to the hospital.

[JT]

Meh,
I don't tell around that much that I carry knives, unless I know the guy and know he carries too.

I have a Spyderco honeybee on my keychain with an quick-lock (and ladybugs too, but those I don't borrow or show) , and if someone needs a knife, I just hand that over :D

[Donut]

I do usually ignore it until I determine that someone actually does need a knife.

[Water Bug]

The classic '5 Why Problem Solving' technique works wonders- asking 5 leading, open-ended, sequential questions will get you down to the real root cause of why someone needs something....and the reason why they aren't having my knife.

Classics indeed! Thank you for sharing these!

On the flipside of this was at airsoft and it went thus:
Fellow Airsofter: Anyone got a knife?...Just need to cut this bit of electrical tape here.
Me: *proferring my beater Tenacious* ....Here....it's a liner lock
FA: Yep, I know these....Thanks.
I turn my back. 10 seconds later
FA:.... *****ing ****!
Me: Are you OK?
FA: <string of deleted expletives> HAS ANYONE GOT A PLASTER?
Me:....Yeah, hang on....*hands over band aid*....Are you OK?
FA: *glaring at me* Your knife is TOO ****ing sharp
Me:....Eh?
FA: It didn't LOOK sharp. Ran my thumb down the edge and it's nearly cut me to the ****ing BONE!
Me:.......Err....It's a knife....it's supposed to be sharp....if it's not then it's basically a spoon, right?
FA: Have the ****ing THING back!!
Me:....Yeah, well, you're welcome and it was my pleasure

Had a similar experience once... I had my Buck 110 Folding Hunter strapped to my belt and a friend at a party wanted to see it. I handed it to him, warned him it was sharp, he gave me a, "Yeah, right!" look, deployed the blade with a "SNAP!" and ran his thumb down the edge. He immediately had the weirdest expression of shock and surprise in his face after doing so... fortunately, he had thumbed the edge lightly and only cut into his skin without any blood. He wasted no time in handing my knife back to me with the blade still in the opened and locked position.