Men, do you carry a pocket knife?

[jberryhill]

Poll question: Men, do you carry a pocket knife?

For most of my life, I usually had a swiss army knife on my keychain, and most guys I knew had a small knife, scissors, nail file thing.

Is that still normal?

[rrneck]

1. Two

Swiss Army knife and big goofy cheap lockblade for poking and scraping.

[jobycom]

2. No, just a spear....

:spank:

[Kali]

3. I'm not a man

but I usually have one.

[jberryhill]

15. I had a run-in years ago...

I was substitute teaching in a middle school and used my small swiss army knife (we're talking about a two inch blade here) to remove a staple from some papers.

Word got out among the students that "a teacher is carrying a knife!" and there was a Spanish Inquisition with the administrators.

The main thing I kept it on my keyring for was the corkscrew really. When you need a corkscrew, nothing else will do.

It struck me as odd that the men on the staff reacted with "oh, it's just a little pocket knife", while the women were shocked that I was carrying a deadly weapon.

[eShirl]

64. A sharpened pencil is a deadlier weapon.

Especially so to a vampire.

BTW, I'm a woman and I have a knock-off Swiss Army knife on my keychain. The blade has gotten the most use opening taped-up packages that come in the mail.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

75. Ahh, the corkscrew.

I have owned a pocket knife since Cub Scouts but I have always owned a Swiss Army knife with a corkscrew ever since I heard this W.C. Fields quote.

"Reminds me of the time we were on safari in the wilds of Africa. Lost our corkscrew and were forced to subsist on food and water for several days."

Just thinking about the horror of being in a similar situation made me go buy a Swiss Army Knife with a corkscrew.

[AsahinaKimi]

30. I love those little tiny

Swiss pocket knives. Comes in handy sometimes..

[av8rdave]

4. I fly for an airline

A pocketknife would really complicate things. Fortunately, there's a crash axe in the cockpit, so I'm not totally screwed when I need to cut a price tag off of something or clean my nails.

[jberryhill]

18. Price tags and clamshell plastic packaging....

That's about 90% of the utility of having a knife in your pocket.

[DainBramaged]

5. I gots me a Craftsman made in somewhere other than America rotary saw

does a MUCH better job of cutting through the bullshit.

[TK421]

6. I don't, but perhaps I should n/t

[bigwillq]

7. No (nt)

[REP]

8. Not a man, but always have a US made Buck Companion

I mention US made because I went to get another one for using on the plants, and saw they're now made in China. WTF Buck!

[Kali]

10. oh! that reminds me

I have a buck somewhere - it was my second - they used to have a replacement guarantee no matter what - I dropped my first down a well and sure as shit they sent me another when I wrote to them about it! I wonder where that knife is? hmmmm

lately I have been carrying some small knockoff leatherman because it has a little led flashlight that has come in handy a number of times - more often than the blades :rofl: oh yeah pair of pliers is handy too.

[REP]

12. And that reminds ME ...

I also carry a Leatherman Micra, which I don't think of as a "knife" since I use the pliers way more! And the ruler!

I know we're doing vastly different things with our knives (my "ranch" is a small balcony with 200+ orchids, for one:-)), but I'd still like to think 'great minds' and all! :toast:

[jberryhill]

13. AHA - my real question is answered

The NYC cabbie was attacked with a Leatherman tool, and I had a sneaking suspicion they've been replacing pocket knives.

I started carrying one around and use the pliers for everything.

[jberryhill]

17. The chinese knock offs are awful

It's a race between whether the blade or the hinge will go first, and it's something of a sprint between the two.

[REP]

20. I figured as much - no thank you

I'll go to second hand stores and get another REAL Buck!

[Sentath]

9. Leatherman

Micra

I can field strip a computer and once did a fiber-optic install with little else

[PJPhreak]

11. Yup,This one.

Love it.

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. Almost 40 years ago, I was mugged while stationed overseas...

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...by four Americans on an Army post. I ran and fought, fought and
ran, and ended up on my back, kicking and spinning.
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It worked. They got nervous about the time it was taking and took
off. I still had my wallet and, most importantly, escaped serious
injury. They DID rip my watch right off my wrist.
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On re-entering my building and walking up the stairs, my fists
unclenched and the three quarters that I was going to use for the
midnight movie fell to the ground -- all the money I had to my name
as my pay hadn't caught up to me yet.
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YES!!!!!!!!
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Terrifying.
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Abolutely... ... ...fucking... ... ...TERRIFYING
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Talk about your PTSD. I traveled EVERYWHERE heavily armed for the
next year - a flip-blade in my pocket, a large stiletto concealed
at my waist, a smaller one in a rig between my shoulder blades...
and a survival hatchet in my boot.
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I never, ever, EVER wanted to use a survival hatchet... but decided
that if I were to face someone crazy and dangerous enough to come
at a survival hatchet... I WANTED a survival hatchet. In my opinion,
it was THE way to diffuse almost any situation before it was needed.
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Took about a year for me to heal up emotionally again. One night, I
simply left all my blades at home and never bothered with them again.
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[jberryhill]

16. Wow

I never thought of my pocket knife as much of a "weapon" so much as a useful tool to have around.

[MiddleFingerMom]

29. You may have never been that frightened before.

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And/or brought so violently face-to-face with some realities.
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To most folks, if anyone is seriously threatening to take their
life... and/or the life of someone close (say S.O. or child),
EVERYTHING is potentially a weapon.
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For me... now a knife WOULD be a tool, but I wouldn't
be blind to its other function(s) -- and I seriously doubt if
ANYONE would, whether they would use it as such or not.
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Just sayin'.
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[Ikonoklast]

19. I carry two.

A Gerber multi-tool, and a folding open frame titanium locker in my pocket.

[old mark]

21. Ever since I was a Cub Scout, back in the last century, at least 55 years ago.

Carried one to school every day, everywhere else I went. Still do.
I have a small locking single blade cheapo with a very sharp blade. If I am going out in the woods, I carry a larger, stronger one-it has become as much of a habit as carying my keys.

mark

FWIW, I'd be lost without one - I have used them for every conceivable purpose, gone through a many good ones, but I use cheap ones now - I have a few at home if it breaks or I lose it...I'd hate to lose a really good knife, and I don't have a problem with the cheap ones.

[Roon]

22. No, I never carry a pocket knife on me, even after getting stabbed by one.

I still refuse to carry a pocket knife, too much of a hassle.

[trackfan]

23. I only remove it from my pocket when I know I'll be going to a place where it won't be allowed.

Once I forgot, and carried it into the courthouse when I was going to jury duty. Of course, I was stopped at the door. I had taken the train, so I had no car to bring it back to; and they wouldn't hold it for me. I ditched it in some bushes, and recovered it on my way out.

[Redstone]

24. Yes, an electrician's knife. I've had it forever. Was my grandfather's.

And yes, there's a Swiss Army knife in my camera bag. Never leave home without it.

Redstone

[guitar man]

25. Buck 110

I also have a couple of Frost Cutlery lockblades but it's usually the old Buck I've had for 30 years. can't go wrong with the classics ;)

[cwydro]

26. Um, I voted other because I am a woman

and I always have a pocket knife.

Used to have one on my key chain, but because I fly so often I don't have that there anymore.

But I always have my tiny pocket knife.

[jberryhill]

32. Flying kind of killed it for me too

[mix]

27. yes, mostly just to cut open hay bales nt

[Kali]

40. I keep an old rasp in the barn for that damn twine.

oh how I miss baling wire! I buy it in a 100 lb roll now, but it is coated with gross oil. When we first moved here in the mid-80s we hauled off most of an attic full of old baling wire - who knew just few years later it would be a very rare commodity?

I can still get 2 "wire" bales though. Bet those won't be around much longer. :cry:

[mix]

46. I can remember how that baling wire used to dig into your fingers

when stacking hay...don't miss it one bit!

:hi:

[Kali]

51. back in the day, the truck came with a crew and they loaded/stacked

now our road is too crapped out for a semi, so we haul smaller loads in the stock trailer - and the offspring do the stacking, so I am blissfully unaware of that particular difference}(

[petronius]

28. There's usually a Swiss army knife in my bag, but I haven't put it back

since the last time I flew. I'm inordinately proud of it, since I actually bought it in Switzerland...

[jberryhill]

33. I was going to buy one in Switzerland...

But I am so dumb I figured I'd buy one on the way out at the airport duty free..... Duh

[Jokerman]

31. Never felt the need to carry a knife.

I always travel as light as possible, just a money clip and three keys most of the time.

I have a cell phone but I'm notorious for leaving it behind.

[jberryhill]

34. It's not so much a "need" as a habit

I realized that my kids don't, but my dad and I just always did.

[hayu_lol]

35. Didn't carry a knife to kindergarten...

70 years ago...but by 2nd grade, all the boys carried them...we used to play mumbley-peg with them at recess and lunch. Knives were not forbidden items back then. They were very useful gadgets to have at that time.

Fast forward to the current century...almost no one carries a knife.

[Capn Sunshine]

55. Me too!

Mumbledepeg. Quite a pastime.

A back to school tradition was buying a new Boy Scout pocket knife at the Boy Scout counter upstairs at JC Penneys.

Oh, and I always have a knife somewhere. Have a pearl handled small Buck that fits well in the suits.

[old mark]

60. ...except us "over 50" people.....nt

[Moondog]

36. Yes.

Don't know if it is "normal", but I do it. Size varies, depending on what I am up to, but usually a small one. I'm an old GI, and it is an old habit.

[HipChick]

37. Does a machete in my coach purse count?

just in case..I don't want any trouble

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

38. I've had a knife in my pocket my entire life.

No, before you ask, NOT the same one... By the time I was 10 my collection of pocket knives totaled over 20- I kept 'em in an old cigar box. I still have several available to me, but my fave is a one-hand opener that cost me six bucks at a yard sale. That reminds me- I should sharpen it. (Another of my many skills is the ability to hone the edge of a knife blade so it's sharp enough to shave with. When I was landscaping I charged five bucks each to sharpen the knives of the crew members. Not a BAD bit o' pocket change...)

[Common Sense Party]

39. Not on my person, but I have one in the car and in my briefcase/bag

I travel constantly, and a knife comes in handy--cutting plastic things, etc.

I just can't carry it on the airplane. Must remember to take it out of the bag.

[amerikat]

41. Don't leave home without it.

I have thousands of dollars worth of tools. The one I use everyday
is my swissey. It's a basic Swiss army knife and I have had many over the years but
it's the most useful single tool I own.

If I travel or hike a multi tool is also on my person.

[amerikat]

42. The ultimate pocket knife....I don't think so (pic)

[UTUSN]

43. Of course!1 a classic military issue CAMILLUS !1 All I use it for is to uncap beer bottles

And, of course, there is always some wingnut a-hole fellow military who says, "Navy is such a wimp," and I respond, "We use TOOLS!1 (We have opposable thumbs)"

[pokerfan]

44. Always

My grandfather's Old Timer at the minimum...



Leatherman in the briefcase or bag...

[old mark]

61. The Schrade Old Timer was a great knife - they were so well made they

literally lasted for ever, and people only bought another when they lost the first one. Schrade USA went out of business, and the name is owned by another company making knives in.....China.

Schrade was a very old US knife manufacturer in business for a century or so.

mark

[Brickbat]

45. I'm a woman and I do.

[Kaleva]

47. An AK-47 with a 30 round mag for me.

[MiddleFingerMom]

48. I carry one of those Swiss Army things in my pocket now, too.

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[tourivers83]

49. They are useful.

I have a friend who works for the Sheriff’s department that carries one for cutting seat belts in auto accidents.

[Twillig]

50. I usually carry my keychain leatherman.

Sometimes a switchblade. (Yay, Oregon knife laws!)

Sometimes my 'Benchmade model 42 Butterfly knife!'

But it's too expensive to carry around!

[Inchworm]

52. 95% of the time, yup

The remaining 5% is...
-got drunk and lost under the porch
-court dates
-incarcerated

:hi:

[GReedDiamond]

53. I don't carry it with me, but I do occasionally use it..,

...it's pretty good for manicuring small blossoms of a herbaceous nature. Miniature Swiss Army knife made for the former (Vice President?) of Rock Island Railroad (Lines), George Kelly (my dad's boss), circa 1964. I've had it since 1964:





Edited to add 2nd image.

[Withywindle]

54. I'm a woman who carries one. I was a Girl Scout.

??? why is this a male thing?

[Lucian]

56. I carry a SAW and it is my right according to the Second Amendment.

Damnit!

:crazy:

In all seriousness, no, I don't carry a pocket knife. I have no need for one.

[DarkTirade]

57. Other: I used to when I needed to open boxes at my job

but then that job went under and I got a job working for UPS. I would have gotten fired for opening boxes there, so I had no more need to carry one. :P And I didn't quit that job until I moved to NY, where they're a bit more stringent about carrying sharp objects, so its still packed away in a box somewhere.

[Iggo]

70. Interesting.

I think I stopped carrying when I moved from the warehouse to the office.

Hadn't really thought about it before.

[krispos42]

58. Two

A smallish pocket-folding knife with a quick-open blade and a Swiss army knife.

Sometimes you just need a screwdriver, a little scissors, or a sharp blade.



I also have a Leatherman that I used to carry at work but don't anymore 'cuz I'm not employed right now, and a Benchmade switchblade that I can't legally own, much less carry. So I keep it next to the bed. If I ever need it, a misdemeanor fine will be the least of my worries.



Shhh... don't tell the fuzz about that last one... ;-)

[HEyHEY]

59. A switchblad in case I running into one of the Jets, fuckin' squares

[old mark]

62. I always wanted one of those stilettos when I was a kid, especially when

adults used to really get upset by them. I have 2 of them now, but I can't carry them because they are illegal where I live. I really believe the laws against them wre made for political gain and not for any real purpose, but they are serious about enforcing them anyway, bullshit or not.

mark

[baldguy]

63. About a year ago I went camping.

When I came back I tossed my knife & compass in the pack and put the pack in my closet.

The next time I used the pack was on a trip to NYC earlier this year. Forgot about the stuff that was already in it. The TSA guy noticed the compass - even commented on it when he saw it on the xray - but said nothing about the 4-in knife folded up next to it.

[PassingFair]

65. Here's mine:

Not a man, but my little knife is always
in my purse.

Came in handy for cutting up fruit for my kids.

[realisticphish]

66. I used to

but my current "job" (student practicum) doesn't allow weapons on site. I've kind of gotten out of the habit.

[Iggo]

67. Likely as not there's one in my backpack.

But I don't make a conscious decision like "I'm carrying a knife today."

EDIT: So I guess my answer is No.

[Dogtown]

68. You might find me "sans culottes",

but you'll never catch me without a knife.

[unpossibles]

69. I often have one (sometimes two) in my shoulder bag

What's funny is, more than once when someone has made fun of me for it/them, one of them has come in handy. The reason for two: one is a simple but relatively sharp knife, handy for cutting fruit, rope/twine, etc., and the other is a broken swiss army knife which is pretty much just a portable wine opener or a hole punch.

I also carry a flashlight and a compass (and sometimes needle nose pliers) despite living in the city - the Boy Scout in me has problems letting go sometimes, but again, all of those items have come in handy more than once.

[Old Troop]

71. I used to, but I travel by air a lot and am not bright enough to remember

to take it out of my pocket and into my luggage before going through security.

[Kat45]

72. I'm a woman and I always carried a Swiss Army knife when I was younger,

in college and for several years after. And I think I used everything on it at one time or another, even the awl.

[Vidar]

73. Yes, one of those combination knife, pliers, scissors things. The blade's

just over an inch long.

[Rhythm]

74. Not a gent, but i have carried a pocket knife since i was a teen

You just never know when it may come in handy.

This is the style (but not color) of my current one: A Buck "Tempest" which i literally found a few years ago.


The blade is a little over 3" long, it's razor sharp, and able to be easily opened one-handed.
Mine in particular is a shiny silver frame with a dulled pewter-tone blade.

[Speck Tater]

76. I was a Boy Scout. It's been trained into me. nt

[charlie and algernon]

77. just whenever I go hiking, thanks to the Boy Scouts

Never leave on a hike without it. Always Be Prepared, haha!