[Closed] Why do people have knives?

Murdering people of course.

Duh!

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I have a collection of Ladybird Peter & Jane Books.
I don't [i]need[/i] them, as such.
I just like them. 😕

Same thing I guess.

How does the Valentines day rhyme go again?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Get in the van,
I've got a knife...

Cut a jammed rope/sheet....oh and to kill people!!!

when out riding i use my Opinel to: eat an apple or cake; cut cable ties; push pistons apart when changing pads; and stab badgers.

Stanley knives are the worst.

You need a knife if you are called Mack the Knife.

Mack the Rolling pin just doesnt work.

Mack the laser death ray?

Use to carry one for work but got a Leatherman now as its more useful though the knife is still in the van. Used it to cut rope, Terram, bags, clear bail twine thats been wrapped around chainsaw sprocket, clear crap of boat screws/props, cut pork pie and a host of other things.

Fishing, hunting, bushcraft and cooking all have different style of blades.... wouldnt use a flat head screwdriver in a phillips screw.... it'll work but not as well.

They are no different to any other tool. If you need to use one then you get the one that you need. If you have different uses (penknife for small cutting duties, skinning knife for dealing with game, woodcraft knife, etc.) then you will have different knives. If you don't use them, but like them you can also collect them. You can insert any other tool in to this argument (drills, axes, planes, screwdrivers, etc.), but you will always get some nutjobs who get them because they think it makes them some way better.

A friend of ours has a son who has just made his first hunting knife. He has built a forge, made the handle, crafted a leather sheath and then uses it out when he is camping. That is a great range of skills for an 11 year old and he will use that when he needs it. Parents know he does not carry it as it is with the rest of his camping kit (stove, fire lighting kit...) so they are just impressed at what he has done. Is that wrong? Not in my view, but you may be different. It takes all sorts and I would trust somebody like that with as many knives as he likes.

A collection of knives of varying sizes and shapes in my opinion doesn't make sense. Kitchen knives are different obviously. I could justify one utility knife with a serrated blade inter grated for certain careers (sea fisher, firefighter, wood surgeon etc..) but to have a collection is strange...

I have a rather battered Swiss Army Knife bought when I was a Cub and had to whittle a tent peg. Been used for a variety of tasks over the years, though mostly using the screwdriver blades.

Recently it has found use for keeping the washing machine button pressed down when we want to use it as the button won't stay down and the body of the knife is just the right size to keep it jammed in place. Given me the best use per pound spend of anything I've bought I'm sure!

My knife, with it's associated buddies, comes in quite useful for many things....

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At the risk of throwing bait under the bridge for the..........troll?

I carry a knife pretty much all the time, there's a leatherman wave in my crumpler that goes everywhere with me and a small Kershaw od-2 as below usually on the clip of my jeans pocket or apron at work - i guess i use it at least a few times an hour at work as i can hold something in one hand and flick it open with the other - very handy for me but then again i've had knives from the age of 6, and yeah...i also stay in the country.

[url= http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/Kershaw-Knives/OD-2/p-92-158-4260/ ]Kershaw OD-2[/url]

I have one pen knife and one lock knife, the latter never leaves my property as it is matter of opinion wherever there legal or not. The laws says it is okay if you have a good reason for carry them. Most people I know carry one. I do live rural and use mine fo skinning and gutting rabbits pheasant and pigeons. And if I am really lucky a bit of road kill Muntjac. Anything bigger I have call someone as I only cycle. I don't know of single rural stabbing and as I get about a bit ie I drink at more than 1 pub I assume I would have. I think in rural areas it may just be the norm, where ever you need one or not although there is always a time when you will. Saw someone stripping a wire with one once. Definetly not for stabbing people. Suggesting otherwise is a knee jerk towny/troll/middle class politically correct view!

There's 'collection' as in a variety of knives, like having a variety of screwdrivers and then there's 'collection' like some people do with stamps, or the like.
Collecting as a hobby is just like any other, there must be loads of different styles and makers to collect from around the world, or maybe making them is the hobby.
Having them as tools isn't odd if you need them. I don't do any work with timber as such so me having several different chainsaws would be odd but my arborist mates couldn't get by with just the one.
I have multitouch all over the place so I never have to hunt for one, they all have knives on them. In the van, tool box, camelbak, work harness etc.... Also have a knife in the emergency kit for the kayak, a 'rescue' knife with strap cutter and glass breaker in my other work kit. Got the skinning knife in my gun bag, and at least 3 Stanley knives in garage.
I don't carry them as such, they are there to do a job when needed.
I know I'm a bit odd, but my ownership of knives isn't the defining item in that oddness....

Fishing, hunting, bushcraft and cooking all have different style of blades.... wouldnt use a flat head screwdriver in a phillips screw.... it'll work but not as well.

A knife for bushcraft?
Things have moved on.
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PS Stanley knife is hell of a lot more dangerous than a pen knife with no point. A killer if run across the Jugular vein

there's a leatherman in my crumpler

That sounds filthy.

PS I have a mushroom knife as well.

Paté. Vital for paté.
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Always had a blunt opinel in my pocket on the farm. Used to have to be careful to remember to take it out and put it away before heading into town.

PPS used my pen knife to turn my Rohloff to remove my gear changer the other day. Didn't have any coins on me.

IanMunro - Member

A knife for bushcraft?
Things have moved on

Not sure but are remarks like this classed as Troll?

😆 at ianmunro.... I didnt mean topiary! !!

Paté. Vital for paté.

Plus 1

I'm not without my knife most days. Important for climbing and very useful for making lunch.

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Vital for paté

and saucisson.

I feel a 'what knife' thread coming on.

Interesting. There's obviously a number of jobs where a a knife is potentially essential.
TBH though when I think of knives I'm thinking more along the hunting knife type rather than a Leatherman (which is a multitool ... I have one for sailing)

I think it's a weird old person thing. Nobody I know carries a knife or multi-tool, other than the bikey kind of multi-tool.

I feel a 'what knife' thread coming on.

Petzl Spatha FTW

Saucisson?

Hell, yes!

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Well, the target isn't just going to jump in the van all by themselves now, are they?

I'm not without my knife most days. Important for climbing and very useful for making lunch.

You are Simon Yates and ICMFP.

Cheese requires a knife too.

"I think it's a weird old person thing. " exactly right I have carried a Swiss Army knife since I was 10 and am now 48 . I really can't be bothered to list all the uses it has on a daily basis but the one thing I have never used it as is a weapon.

Bought my son his Swiss army knife when he was 8 .At 24 he uses it all the time and takes it when travelling

Hang on a minute, sharkbait has a Leatherman? Has he never used the knife blade on it? I'm pretty sure they all have one.

Can't stop for a mid ride game of 'Split The Kipper' without a knife, can you?

Cheese requires a knife too.

So cut it up beforehand using one of the many knives that are usually kept in a kitchen?

So cut it up beforehand using one of the many knives that are usually kept in a kitchen?

Nah, that would spoil the magic.

Not sure Camembert or Brie slice well either.

I own several replica medieval knives.

A bollock dagger, which was the standard sidearm/utility tool of the common man.
A misericord, which was a knife designed for giving the coup-de-grace to wounded friends and foes.
A triple-edged rondel dagger, which was a type of sidearm carried exclusively by the professional military classes and designed to puncture maille armour and deliver a huge hole and a near instant kill.
Also several other general purpose medieval knives.
All are sharp, all are lethal and the three named are pretty much designed purely for killing people.

No, i don't carry them around & even when doing the medieval shows they are for demonstration purposes only. The Rondel cost me £150 to have made and is unique to me.

Who else googled "bollock dagger"

Every day's a schoolday.

the guard is shaped like a set of bollocks - medieval people had an earthy sense of humour!

I think it's a weird old person thing. Nobody I know carries a knife or multi-tool, other than the bikey kind of multi-tool.

I'd seriously like to see you buy one then try to open the packaging with your teeth!

No, I'd use a pair of scissors like a normal person.

A pair of scissors is far more practical for opening that stupid sealed packaging. Doesn't give you an erection though.

I have a bollock dagger for that DD! 🙂

I have you for that mudders 😀

I use this for a general knife in camelbak.

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For field archery a small swiss army knife and a screwdriver for prying arrows out of timber. Also just as useful for stabbing duties.

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Does not happen that much as I never miss (drop) 😉

I used to fish a lot,and carried a Mora knife,similar to this
[img] https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaBnsqoFRctFIZiaqGH8I17Arg-u-A1xQGVgVr51293ZPUTDOo [/img]
,for cutting up bait,cutting line,and whittling,I found it very useful.

Without a knife how would i Grolloch a deer or paunch a rabbit? Punch its intestines out?

I've got 5 or 6 knives, all got various uses, opinel no.8 is usually in my pocket when I'm out around the garden or helping girlfriend or friends doing a bit of farming or buggering about. I have a skinning knife, a couple of bigger drop points I've been given, a pruning knife, plus a leatherman that I always take biking or on walking/outdoors trips. I always have a knife in the glovebox, but I'm careful not to carry one on me at work or when going out and about in town.

A (farmer's son) friend of mine spent a night in the cells in Oxford a few years ago as a result of leaving his pen knife in his pocket accidentally & a nightclub pat-down. Got a caution & they confiscated his knife, lesson learned.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/knife-making-zb0z1309ztri.aspx#axzz2n7U9Libh

For anyone who fancies a DIY go. My next projext

How has this thread gone so far without saying this

"Guns for show, knifes for a pro !"

Really !

Cos we all knew the plural of knife is knives?

Wysiwig... I did one of those, and it was great but didn't temper it properly and it eventually broke. Made a couple of nice mini throwing knives after tho....

The people I work with used to question why I had a small pocket knife almost all the time until I pointed out how often they ask to borrow it.

I'd rather use a good pocket knife than a stanly knife
And nothing beats a sitting out with the bike in the hedge cutting up lunch mid ride

sharkbait - Member

why do people have/keep/collect knives?

Food preparation and hobby. For the former I normally used Japanese/Chinese/Thai knives, while the latter I simply collect knives for maggot zombies dooms day scenario. My next buys will be Fujiwara Deba (will order from Japan soon) and Cold Steel Kukri ...

I live in the country and do lots of outside pursuits but have never felt the need to keep a knife (other than a stanley knife in my tool box), let alone knives of varying sizes.

The place where I grew up I used to carry 'parang' (machete) for outdoor pursuits and Stanley knife just won't do it an equatorial rain forest (the mosquito would laugh at you). You will be digested by the forest if you only have Stanley knife in an emergency. Now, living in GeordieLand I feel naked without a parang but then there is nothing to chop as there is no forest but some zombies ...

What do these people do with them?

The chef knives are mainly used for food preparation (just bought a chopping board yesterday from a Chinese supermarket), as I enjoy cooking with good knives. All my knives are extremely sharp so cutting up meat or veg or chop through bones are done with ease. A blunt knife can be dangerous.

As for wanting to buy a Cold Steel Kukri that's because I grew up with parang/machete (I was carrying it around when I was 9 yr old - blade length was about 24 inches) and my instinct is I want one just for emergency hacking ... I am particularly fond of the story of the Gurka using his Kukri to lop off the enemy's head off with a single swift lop. I think the enemy was sticking his head out of the window and the Gurka was already there waiting. The rest of his Gurka colleagues saw it and they had a quite laugh because they found his action rather funny.

😀

p/s: this one ...

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and this one ... a cheapo version but rather good.

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If you like knives, you've got to keep them sharp, so any advice out there? For stainless kitchen knives & carbon steel folding knives? Cheapest option best - whetstone, but never mastered a good technique, or keeping an edge long term.

Core... waterstone and a ceramic steel for chefs knives. Waterstone and diamond steel for everything else. And its all about practice to get a proper edge.

Opinel no.8, in fact I've just bought another because my wife claimed the last one. Useful on picnics and such and I would carry it daily to eat my lunch but reluctantly abide by bloody silly rules.

A couple of different grade diamond steels seem to do a reasonable job on all our knifes, chisels even finished an axe of with them.

[i]A (farmer's son) friend of mine spent a night in the cells in Oxford a few years ago as a result of leaving his pen knife in his pocket accidentally & a nightclub pat-down. Got a caution & they confiscated his knife, lesson learned.[/i]

I know of a few Young Farmers & they always go clubbing in their work clothes, or go to work in their clubbing gear, can't remember which it is.

When I go sea fishing I carry two knives, a bait knife like the one shown above, & a Finnish made filleting knife which is as sharp as a razor with an 8" blade. So don't piss me off when I'm fishin!

I grew up in the country on a farm, I reckon mad dad has carried a knife with him at home for close to 50 years and never managed to stab anyone.

I had a couple when I was on the farm.

Now I have a couple of Opinels (one big one small) a couple of swiss army ones and a small lock knife for climbing emergencies.

The climbing knife is an essential piece of safety equipment, having had to cut a rope against a rock edge while precariously balanced halfway up a very big mountain, I never forget the knife now.
I prefer to take the opinels out when we are doing food in the outdoors as they can be locked away safely when not in use and not remove your fingers when your looking for them. Great knives, like most things it's not the knife thats the problem it's the user.

I've got to 38 years, and spent a [i]wee[/i] bit of it in the outdoors, and I've never felt the need to carry a knife. I feel so inadequate now, reading this.

I'm not against knife carrying per se, not at all, but I have never really heard an argument that justifies carrying one?

Chopping an apple or cutting cheese? Really? Do these people not have teeth?.

Educate me please.

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Chopping this up

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Nobeerinthefridge yesterday

Nobeerintheinthefridge how do you cut up your tea? When you are camping?
Or cut a cord? Suppose you split a tyre how do you cut something to size to patch it? Or indeed how do you open a bottle of beer?

Swiss Army knife (Victorinox) - lives in my work bag most of the time. Often used, though given I'm desk-bound, I do get the odd funny look.

Opinel 7 - bought in France. Some as the one I used loads as a lad.

Trevor Ablett pocket knife - bought for me by my FIL as he knew how much I liked the idea of knives still being handmade in Sheffield.

My god - I sound like a knife collector 🙄

Nobeer - I reckon that you can tell a true country boy from the way they're always looking for the perfect stick!

And thats why they've always got a knife in their pocket!

(fast forward to 10 minutes in)

Surprised nobody has linked to british blades, great site for knifemaking. I've carried a simple Swiss Army knife everyday for the past ten years or so, if I leave home without it has the same feeling like you've forgotten your mobile phone. I'm a spark so if I don't have snips I can use it to cut a bit of cable, open boxes or packaging, Put batteries into the child's Christmas toys, open a beer, remove a splinter.
I don't like using it for food prep or gutting animals as there's places for nasties to hide so I have a few fixed blade knives for that sort of thing but as someone else said they've never been used as a weapon or designed to be used as one and never hurt anything that wasn't already dead. I have a sog powerlock somewhere and it is a great multitool but a crap knife.

When I was a boy I had a Swiss Army knife. I didn't kill anyone, but then again all I used it for was sharpening sticks for pointless reasons as you do being a kid. Now I am grown up I really do not ever come across a situation where I really wish I had a knife, apart from in the kitchen. I do have a Stanley knife too for DIY stuff that stays in a tool box, and a pencil sharpener for sharpening pencils.

The only thing I use a stanly knife for these days is scoring pork skin for good crackling 🙂

It's all about the right tool for the job.
The small ones of these are great for outdoor cooking stuff, is it fine for me to carry these around?
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A ball of baling twine and a opinel knife were the first free tools giving to me on the first day of my first job.

Folding that knife after use was always something you took your time and respect with.

After using it daily for nearly 20+ years, I managed to snap the blade trying to lever a tiny washer off a tractor, was so gutted back then.

The blade was completely worn, the handle still smooth to the touch, the locking ring seized up many years before with gunk, but it was funny for the next few weeks how I went round patting my left pocket, not to feel it there, whenever I needed to use it.

I have seen farmers with pocket knives that have been passed down from their parents, treat them like their most treasured possession...

I have an opinel, which I'd take camping, just not for everyday life. Each to their own I suppose.

Does anyone have an EDC kit? Got a bag in the car with knife, MT, first aid kit and mask, couple of torches and spare batteries, paracord, fire lighter, glow sticks. Perhaps not so important in the UK but here in Oz you can be miles from anywhere and better to be prepared.

Perhaps not so important in the UK but here in Oz you can be miles from anywhere and better to be prepared.

Prepare when you need it but most will never be far enough out to.