The fact that you believe (whether well founded or not) that you could get in trouble for admitting that is depressing. You absolutely should carry something for self defense (or least have the option to), and you should not need to feel fear in admitting it.

The laws in my country prohibit one from carrying any item with the intent to do bodily harm. Concealing it compounds potential criminality. Sadly the system has made it difficult for a person to defend themselves legitimately and my country has adopted the "turn the other cheek THEN call the police" mentality. I've never been in an altercation with a weapon although the police have been entirely unhelpful (and late) when I was victimized on several occasions with just bare hands. I could very well end up in jail for stabbing someone when I "could have walked away"..

 

The laws in my country prohibit one from carrying any item with the intent to do bodily harm. Concealing it compounds potential criminality. Sadly the system has made it difficult for a person to defend themselves legitimately and my country has adopted the "turn the other cheek THEN call the police" mentality. I've never been in an altercation with a weapon although the police have been entirely unhelpful (and late) when I was victimized on several occasions with just bare hands. I could very well end up in jail for stabbing someone when I "could have walked away"..

Are you in the UK?

 

The laws in my country prohibit one from carrying any item with the intent to do bodily harm.

From your location, am I to assume this is Canada?

 

I see you are pin Canada. In the UK it is similar, this video is an authoritative explanation of the laws there.

SELF-DEFENCE: Common Myths and Misunderstandings | BlackBeltBarrister

 

I see you are pin Canada. In the UK it is similar, this video is an authoritative explanation of the laws there.

I think the law of Hue and Cry is still on the books!

 

I'm in Canada. I must say though that the people here are in general well mannered and I really don't see much violence or poverty. Maybe I'm just privileged but I think the likely case is the strict laws are slowly getting rid of the bad apples as more people opt for justice than crime. Taking away defensive capabilities really is a double edged sword and the hard truth is I could have avoided every negative situation I have been in. As I like to say, "it takes two to tango", combined with my father's wisdom of "don't go down dark alleys". Unfortunately we are living in a time of increasing random senseless violence such as school shootings so I feel compelled to has at least something at my disposal.

 

The laws in my country prohibit one from carrying any item with the intent to do bodily harm. Concealing it compounds potential criminality. Sadly the system has made it difficult for a person to defend themselves legitimately and my country has adopted the "turn the other cheek THEN call the police" mentality. I've never been in an altercation with a weapon although the police have been entirely unhelpful (and late) when I was victimized on several occasions with just bare hands. I could very well end up in jail for stabbing someone when I "could have walked away"..

That is infuriating! There many things Canada does right, but this not one of them. The right to defend your life and property are basic human rights!

 

For years in my workplace I had a Buck 110C in a leather belt case. I think I got one as a gift decades ago. Over the years as I wore them out I just got another. That knife was just plain handy on the job. I carried that same knife when hunting. Well retired now with humping up and down mountains behind me I still resort to those knives.

That is infuriating! There many things Canada does right, but this not one of them. The right to defend your life and property are basic human rights!

I agree as to an individual's right to defend themselves, their family and their property. Sadly my knife has been replaced with a gun. Unlike Canada where people seem more respectful of the law things can get ugly down here in the lower 48. Crime is pretty rampant and short of divine intervention law enforcement can't be everywhere all the time. People are killed over a few dollars or carjackings so convicts can joyride. I adopted carrying my own law enforcement. Pretty sad but that is how it is. We can now resume really cool knives.

Ron

 

Growing up in Tennessee the law was "Intent to go armed" so even if you were carrying an Uzi as long as you had no "intent" to harm anyone you were OK. Pretty vague... If I remember correctly blade length was less than 6" for a pocket (concealed) knife. Never heard on anyone having a problem with a belt knife but that was long ago... The 6" law was to keep straight razors out of back pockets.

 

Growing up in Tennessee the law was "Intent to go armed" so even if you were carrying an Uzi as long as you had no "intent" to harm anyone you were OK. Pretty vague... If I remember correctly blade length was less than 6" for a pocket (concealed) knife. Never heard on anyone having a problem with a belt knife but that was long ago... The 6" law was to keep straight razors out of back pockets.

I had one of them "credit card" knives from China. Mine broke but it was otherwise a cool piece of engineering. Literally fits in your wallet.

 

I was empaneled on the Grand Jury and an elderly lady asked one of the county commissioners "If your wife called the Sherriff's Office and told them someone was breaking into the house and it took them an hour to get there what would you think"? The commissioner didn't bat an eye and told her " I think that they would be too late to save him". The elderly lady didn't understand so he expaned his statement to "by the time the deputy arrived the man breaking into his house would have been shot dead by his wife so the deputy wouldn't be able to save him from being killed". Such is the way in rural Georgia...

 

Growing up in Tennessee the law was "Intent to go armed" so even if you were carrying an Uzi as long as you had no "intent" to harm anyone you were OK. Pretty vague...

I realize that in the case of the US things are historically Very different from the rest of the world, and it is not my intention to open a can of worms on the issue of gun control!!!.
But I was (fortunately) originally raised in a country where personal possession of a dangerous weapon was against the law. including carrying a knife of a certain size.
Even the policeman on the beat did not carry a fire arm, and still do not to this day, and by a majority, want it to remain this way.
Unfortunately Canada being a close neighbor of the USA has acquired some of the practices, with the percentage of "personal protection" devices per capita, is second to the US, albeit, not at all as close.

 

I was just given a knife as a "thank you" gift - similar to the one in the first post. Someone at the party mentioned it was a $300+ item. Now I'm a bit sick about it. First of all, I did something that wasn't too big of a deal - certainly not a $300 effort. Second, why would I want (why would anyone want) to carry around a $300 knife as an "always in my pocket tool". Imagine carrying it everyday and then realizing you forgot to take it out of your pocket at the airport? Gone. Also, the blade is advertised as some super steel that stays super sharp - but you can't pry or tighten a tiny Phillips screw or take the back off of a watch or anything else but cut, and cut straight (no chipping or twisting/boring) because the blade might break (it is so hard and lacking ductility). Also, if you are out in the field and need to cut against steel or cut twine off of a rootball and hit a rock or whatever else you do with a knife, the blade steel is so hard (60HRC) that I'd have to buy a diamond hone to sharpen it (or pay someone to sharpen it). This "gift" will sit on my tool bench and become a conversation piece.

 

Second, why would I want (why would anyone want) to carry around a $300 knife as an "always in my pocket tool".

Some just like to brag.

 

I've always looked at knives as utilitarian tools, not artwork. Some knives are simply that, artwork not designed to be used but to be put on a shelf and ooohed and aaahed over for their beauty even though they would be a real pain in the ass to actually use for their intended purpose of cutting something.

 

I was just given a knife as a "thank you" gift - similar to the one in the first post. Someone at the party mentioned it was a $300+ item. Now I'm a bit sick about it. First of all, I did something that wasn't too big of a deal - certainly not a $300 effort. Second, why would I want (why would anyone want) to carry around a $300 knife as an "always in my pocket tool". Imagine carrying it everyday and then realizing you forgot to take it out of your pocket at the airport? Gone. Also, the blade is advertised as some super steel that stays super sharp - but you can't pry or tighten a tiny Phillips screw or take the back off of a watch or anything else but cut, and cut straight (no chipping or twisting/boring) because the blade might break (it is so hard and lacking ductility). Also, if you are out in the field and need to cut against steel or cut twine off of a rootball and hit a rock or whatever else you do with a knife, the blade steel is so hard (60HRC) that I'd have to buy a diamond hone to sharpen it (or pay someone to sharpen it). This "gift" will sit on my tool bench and become a conversation piece.

OK first I am not a knife type. I carried a Buck 110C for years as my utility knife at work and have a few average knives. Nothing in a $300 price range. Today I took my neighbor to a Gun Show which is actually a Gun and Knife show where people buy sell and trade knives and guns. There was no shortage of knife guys and some really expensive knives, really nice stuff for the knife types. Saw some knives with price tags north of $500. The sort of stuff you just buy to look at, much like some of the guns. Knives are like other things people collect where you just have a $300 or more knife that every now and then you drag out and admire I guess. Heck, I was surprised to see my Buck 110C knives with leather scabbard is going for $60 to $75 give or take. Good utility and hunting knife though.

Someone gave you a knife they obviously wanted you to have. You extend a warm thank you and put away your knife. It's a gift enjoy it and it does not have to make sense. If you want to remove tiny screws or a watch back as you mention, just use a cheap knife.

Ron

 

I've always looked at knives as utilitarian tools, not artwork. Some knives are simply that, artwork not designed to be used but to be put on a shelf and ooohed and aaahed over for their beauty even though they would be a real pain in the ass to actually use for their intended purpose of cutting something.

[This post is not a direct response to yours, @SamR. So please don't take anything in it to necessarily apply to you. If read carefully you will also see I am not criticizing anyone's choices, just defending my own from implied criticism that doesn't match my actual belief or practice.]

I am active in a knife collecting community. There are people that buy knives just to have them. They literally don't use them. As I said in my first post, I don't buy knives that can't be used, that doesn't resonate with me at all. All the knives I own are working tools. They don't all do the same thing, but I carry them to be used.

For example, the 940 in my first post is beautifully made, and of top notch materials, but I also use it without hesitation any way I would use a knife of its kind That is to say I don't abuse tools but the 940 can be used to cut anything I would cut with a knife, and in a pinch, to lever things that won't break it. It is not delicate, the steel of the blade is very hard to roll or chip. The grind leaves a lot of steel behind the edge, and though it is somewhat more difficult to sharpen than cheaper steels, I do it by hand with ceramic stones I have owned for about 40 years.

I have other knives that are different tools. They are ground much thinner, making them more "slicey". They are better for long linear cuts like taking down cardboard boxes and even food preparation. Yes, this is common for better knives, Of course, you have to clean them well sometimes before and always after, but it turns out to be very convenient.

Just as I don't buy knives whose only utility is owning them, I also don't use knives beyond their design limits. I don't use them as screwdrivers because it is no good for the knife, or the screw. I don't use them as pry bars (beyond light use like separating the halves of a case or lifting something glued down) because they aren't pry bars. I don't use them in a way to goes beyond dulling them, which is expected. I won't put torque on the blade that will bend it or damage the pivot.

This is exactly the same way I would treat any other tool—within the limits of its design and construction. I don't see any reason why a pocketknife should be different than a screwdriver or pliers in this regard. Some people seem to treat tools as disposable. They use whatever they pick up for whatever they happen to need. Pliers become a hammer, a screwdriver becomes a chisel, and a knife becomes a pry bar. In each case the work is less well done and the tool suffers.

If you treat tools that way, it makes sense to buy something you don't mind replacing. There are knives I own that have replaceable blades. Those are designed so you can choose to push the to extremes if need be, There are $10 pocketknives that will cut things, and if you break it after a couple of months you just buy a new one. But, there are also knives, like the 940 that are robust and can stand up to years of "hard use" for things they are designed to do.

This makes them, to me, wonderful tools, something satisfying to own. The 940 is not cheap, but you don't ever have to but a replacement in the normal course of things. It is a lifetime knife and for me a joy to have and to use. It is clear from this thread that different folks have different ideas about what a knife is for, how to use one, and which are worth the price you have to pay, That's like everything else,

But just as I wouldn't say "it's bad to buy cheap knives buy expensive ones" I also believe that if, like me, you love tools for their function, any well made tool is a joy. And if, like me, you feel particularly attached to the things you carry everyday, then given the lifetime of a knife like the 940 it's not as expensive as it looks, I won't have to buy a replacement unless I lose it—a problem that I have trained myself to avoid after many years of losing small, expensive things.

If you don't find joy in tools, if it doesn't give you satisfaction to own, hold, and use a well made one, if you don't see beauty in something that used its function to allow the craftsmen who designed and made it constrained artistic freedom to express themselves, the you aren't like me—and that's fine.

But being like me is fine too. I am not frivolous about tool purchases, I buy tools to use and also to enjoy. That's who I am. I know I am not alone, and there is no more merit in buying cheap knives and abusing them until they need to be replaced than in buying expensive knifes and using them as intended, and having a screwdriver for screws and a pry bar for prying.

 

The knife I carry is light weight and well made and I got my hands on it for all of $9 at Walmart. It is surprisingly rugged and keeps an edge. When I purchased it, the security guard asked me if I was going to stab someone. I find it humourous he felt it prudent to ask me that.. maybe because it was the only thing I purchased that day.

 

I was just given a knife as a "thank you" gift - similar to the one in the first post. Someone at the party mentioned it was a $300+ item. Now I'm a bit sick about it. First of all, I did something that wasn't too big of a deal - certainly not a $300 effort. Second, why would I want (why would anyone want) to carry around a $300 knife as an "always in my pocket tool". Imagine carrying it everyday and then realizing you forgot to take it out of your pocket at the airport? Gone. Also, the blade is advertised as some super steel that stays super sharp - but you can't pry or tighten a tiny Phillips screw or take the back off of a watch or anything else but cut, and cut straight (no chipping or twisting/boring) because the blade might break (it is so hard and lacking ductility). Also, if you are out in the field and need to cut against steel or cut twine off of a rootball and hit a rock or whatever else you do with a knife, the blade steel is so hard (60HRC) that I'd have to buy a diamond hone to sharpen it (or pay someone to sharpen it). This "gift" will sit on my tool bench and become a conversation piece.

A True white elephant. A sure way to make king poor is to give him high-status gifts that are expensive to maintain.

 

That's a lot of defending - and some careful wordsmithing about how you use them - which seems pretty limited. And my most common use of a knife for cutting down cardboard boxes - and you clearly say my (and your) $300 pocket knife is not good for that. When I regularly carried a pocket knife, I would use it to solve any problem in front of me if I could repair the knife with a file and a stone within a few minutes. It's a tool. The beauty of a tool is a non-issue. Claiming you are part of a "knife collecting community" pretty much explains the existance of this thread - to tell everyone you have a $300 pocketknife. The acronym EDC pocketknife is also laughable. Either it is a POCKETknife or it isn't. If it is not "every day carry" then it isn't a pocketknife. It's a show knife. Or a novelty. And I would guess, that since you started a thread about your $300 knife and claim you use your $300 knife every day (but only using it a this ultra-hard steel brittle EDC pocketknife is intended to be used), it's main use to you is to show it off, create conversation and give the appearance of exclusivity an be viewed as a leader in your knife collecting community.

[This post is not a direct response to yours, @SamR. So please don't take anything in it to necessarily apply to you. If read carefully you will also see I am not criticizing anyone's choices, just defending my own from implied criticism that doesn't match my actual belief or practice.]

I am active in a knife collecting community. There are people that buy knives just to have them. They literally don't use them. As I said in my first post, I don't buy knives that can't be used, that doesn't resonate with me at all. All the knives I own are working tools. They don't all do the same thing, but they I carry them to be used.

For example, the 940 in my first post is beautifully made, and of top notch materials, but I also use it without hesitation any way I would use a knife of its kind That is to say I don't abuse tools but the 940 can be used to cut anything I would cut with a knife, and in a pinch, to lever things that won't break it. It is not delicate, the steel of the blade is very hard to roll or chip. The grind leaves a lot of steel behind the edge, and though it is somewhat more difficult to sharpen than cheaper steels, I do it by hand with ceramic stones I have owned for about 40 years.

I have other knives that are different tools. They are ground much thinner, making them more "slicey". They are better for long linear cuts like taking down cardboard boxes and even food preparation. Yes, this is common for better knives, Of course, you have to clean them well sometimes before and always after, but it turns out to be very convenient.

Just as I don't buy knives whose only utility is owning them, I also don't use knives beyond their design limits. I don't use them as screwdrivers because it is no good for the knife, or the screw. I don't use them as pry bars (beyond light use like separating the halves of a case or lifting something glued down) because they aren't pryers. I don't use them in a way to goes beyond dulling them, which is expecting. I won't put torque on the blade that will bend it or damage the pivot.

This is exactly the same way I would treat any other tool—within the limits of its design and construction. I don't see any reason why a pocketknife should be different than a screwdriver or pliers in this regard. Some people seem to treat tools as disposable. They use whatever they pick up for whatever they happen to need. Pliers become a hammer, a screwdriver becomes a chisel, and a knife becomes a pry bar. In each case the work is less well done and the tool suffers.

If you treat tools that way, it makes sense to buy something you don't might replacing. There are knives I own that have replaceable blades. Those are designed so you can choose to push the to extremes if need be, There are $10 pocketknives that will cut things, and if you break it after a couple of months you just buy a new one. But, there are also knives, like the 940 that are robust and can stand up to years of "hard use" for things they are designed to do.

This makes them, to me, wonderful tools, something satisfying to own. The 940 is not cheap, but you don't ever have to but a replacement in the normal course of things. It is a lifetime knife and for me a joy to have and to use. It is clear from this thread that different folks have different ideas about what a knife is for, how to use one, and which are worth the price you have to pay, That's like everything else,

But just as I wouldn't say "it's bad to buy cheap knives buy expensive ones" I also believe that if, like me, you love tools for their function, any well made tool is a joy. And if, like me, you feel particularly attached to the things you carry everyday, then given the lifetime of a knife like the 940 it's not as expensive as it looks, I won't have to buy a replacement unless I lose it—a problem that I have trained myself to avoid after many years of losing small, expensive things.

If you don't find joy in tools, if it doesn't give you satisfaction to own, hold, and use a well made one, if you don't see beauty in something that used its function to allow the craftsmen who designed and made it constrained artistic freedom to express themselves, the you aren't like me—and that's fine.

But being like me is fine too. I am not frivolous about tool purchases, I buy tools to use and also to enjoy. That's who I am. I know I am not alone, and there is no more merit in buying cheap knives and abusing them until they need to be replaced than in buying expensive knifes and using them as intended, and having a screwdriver for screws and a pry bar for prying.