Decreasing FOF -- "Freak-Out Factor"

[dragonram7]

Never let the sheep choose which knives the sheep dogs use to fend off the wolves.

Translation: Don't allow the PC community choose your knives for you. Choose your knives based on utility and what fits in your hands the best. If you like small knives-great. Just don't carry a small knife wishing you had a bigger knife.

I do love the yojimbe and lava. However, I'd prefer not to allow the growing european community/new world eco politically correct genre to preclude me from carrying and using a military (or Kris).

[StangBang]

Dude, you need to take that girl out on a date, maybe marry her. :D

HAHA Well me and my girl have been together for a couple of years now, and she supports my knife hobby (luckily) In fact she's bought me 2 and is getting me a Rock Salt for Christmas :D She herself wants a Pink Native which I am getting her for Christmas But I could introduce you to the girl in my class

i think one of the interesting things about knives that attempt to decrease the FOF is that they also attract new interest to knives -- oftentimes, from people who wouldn't normally consider carrying a folder. by making knives look friendlier, you're also opening up new market possibilities.

Thats true as well. The colored knives in my collection spark more interest than my tactical ones have. Many people like how they look and if they find a knife in their favorite color, tend to want one even more!

I do love my Tactical stuff as well and I don't think it is going to die down anytime soon (which is fine with me) But the choices coming out definitely give me some variety :)

[JRSFITNESS]

I also like the names of Spyderco knives. Imagine two guys in court and the judge asks:

"Gentleman x, what knife did you have? "I was carring the widomaker your honor."

"Gentleman Y, what were you using?" "I was carriying a polywog your honor."

[Bill1170]

I think the demeanor of the person or the manner in which the knife is used or deployed can affect the FOF, too. I've seen people dispense skittish looks at classmates who used a SAK to trim threads, while the same class laughed when our prof asked for a knife to cut some tubing and I spydie-dropped my E4 and handed it to him...go figure.

They were laughing because it was funny! The big E4, the fast deployment, then the handing it to the professor to innocently cut the tubing. That, my friend, is what they call ironic juxtaposition. It is a time-honored formula in humor. Small task + big scary blade = laughter.

Bill

[clovisc]

Thats true as well. The colored knives in my collection spark more interest than my tactical ones have. Many people like how they look and if they find a knife in their favorite color, tend to want one even more!

At the same time, tactical knives have done a good job of attracting consumers and fans as well.

But the idea of making EVERYTHING ultra-tactical-digital-camo-tigerstriped makes as much sense as making everything sparkle-purple-fairy-dust.

[Freediver]

I also like the names of Spyderco knives. Imagine two guys in court and the judge asks:

"Gentleman x, what knife did you have? "I was carring the widomaker your honor."

"Gentleman Y, what were you using?" "I was carriying a polywog your honor."

Haha I never thought of it like that before. The ladybug would be the best.

[Toad310]

I agree, and wish there were more orange, yellow, pink and blue models, as they transmit a safety kind of tool, and less fear and worried attention will take place, when used, as they look far less threatening than black.

If never had a black knife again, I would be just fine with that.

This is just me, and I can understand people who like black, as it is part of the tactical part of all this.

I guess I am just tired of black, and love the colors, more for the way they look, but they do seem to have a claming effect as well to the NKP.

Best,

Toad

[freeman7]

Although I have never had a problem with FOF when carrying a knife clipped to my pocket or even a fixed blade on my belt, my EDC preference lately has been a BobT slipit free in my pocket ( I removed the clip) and a small but excellent whittler in a nylon pouch on my belt. A "gents" type slipjoint rearely causes alarm bells to go off. I also have found that a Yojimbo is not viewed as ominous by most people. Ironic because, as you all know, it is a devastating weapon.

[thebestnoobcake]

I don't think people here in Melbourne notice a pocket clip, and if they did, they wouldn't attribute it to a pocket knife. Everytime I use a knife, people will look at me weird until I explain that "Yes it is legal to carry a pocket knife" then they seem to lose interest in it (apart from the occasional "where can I get one?") Even black coated combo edges get this treatment. Quite odd.