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I was having lunch, (Thai) and the couple next to me was struggling to take off a wrist band the lady had. Since I was carrying a serrated Shaman, I also had a Roadie with me for PC cutting. I offered the Roadie to the lady. She opened it with ease (intuitively) cut the wrist band and closed it with ease (intuitively). I don't think the Shaman would have been the best solution to offer.

Do you have a daily experience to share?

sal

I have a number of stories like that. Once, I was at a school for kids with mental and emotional disabilities that we support. We were having a fund raising and the owner of the school was trying to saw through some food for cooking with a knife that was as dull on the edge as the spine. I proffered my Delica. The woman opened it and made a comment on how easy it cut the meat and vegetables. She was grateful and we did not miss the meal.

This is why I like to have a smaller knife on me. I don't always feel comfortable offering my knife over to someone but if I do it surely won't be a Military.

I almost always have a Manbug on me for such occasions.

I don't think the Caly 3.5 is particularly intimidating as far as folding knives go but I carry a Roadie and an Urban for occasions when civs need a knife or I need to cut something in a 'sensitive' environment.

Slip its are so simple to use so you can't go wrong with them. Most non knife people don't have experience with comp locks, liner/frame locks and cbbl's, so they always have difficulty working out how to close them. Back locks have been around for a long time so I don't see as many issues with them.

Anyway, come on Sal, make us an M390 Urban Lightweight :p :)

I have yet to hand someone a locking knife (even a back lock) and have them close it without my instruction, if at all. I guess it's easy to forget that not everyone is a knut. Heck most people don't even carry a cheap $3 knife on them. Regardless, I'm always there to offer and while I don't have the same easy experiences, I do almost always get a "wow, that's a nice knife!" The ladies at work love my Southard! :)

Even non-knife people tend to like my Titanium Chaparral, especially when they experience for themselves how beautifully it cuts. I have yet to receive a negative comment on my Chap. Just one more reason why I always have it with me, in addition to the other knives I carry. I am selective in whom I allow to use any of my knives, but my Titanium Chap always draws favorable comments.

I usually first explain how it opens and closes before I hand it to someone, and offer to close it for them when they finish using it. Opening is usually easy enough but closing the mid-lock often requires a demonstration. When I show how easy it is to open and close the knife one handed an intereting conversation is usually the result.

Dave

Lulz, ya handing someone an SE Shaman to cut off a wrist band in a restaurant seems like overkill, I figure you'd get some raised eyebrows at the least. Roadie for the win :D

I always carry a small public friendly knife. If I ever do let anyone use my knife I give them the smallest one I've got, and I always make sure to give them a friendly "it's really sharp" warning (it's amazing how many people have never owned a sharp knife and don't know how to handle them). I've have an acquaintance who won't handle my ZDP dragonfly because they've seen me cut stuff with it and they think it's too sharp. They say it scares them :rolleyes:

I agree with johnnie1801 and PayneTrain, they can get them open, but they can never figure out how to close them. When I got my Mother her Hawkbill Ladybug I had to show her how to use it more than a few times (she cut herself once trying to close it, and managed to cut a hole in her table cloth when she accidentally cut through a small package she had set on the table to cut, she said "wow that's sharp") , she had the hang of it after 3 or 4 weeks though, now she's a pro. :spyder:

While working in our small rural health clinic one of our nurses was about to attack a taped carton with scissors. I handed her my closed Dragonfly. She looked at it quizzically, opened it intuitively with her other hand, sliced the carton open, eyeballed the lock, closed it and handed it back. “Nice knife,” she said. “It’s from Spyderco, up in Golden,” I said. “Cool. I may get one of those for the ambulance,” she said.

She’s now working the county ambulance full time. I’m going to get her a Rescue.

At the first faculty meeting at my school this year the administration provides breakfast. This year it was bagels and cream cheese. The assistant principal was struggling to open the paper bag tied inside a pastic one with a real tight knot, so I took out my SE Tenatious and made quick work of it. Her eyes got real big not because of the knife but with the speed I was able to open it with. She asked me if it was a switch blade so I showed her how it was so easily opened and she was impressed.

MichaelScott wrote:While working in our small rural health clinic one of our nurses was about to attack a taped carton with scissors. I handed her my closed Dragonfly. She looked at it quizzically, opened it intuitively with her other hand, sliced the carton open, eyeballed the lock, closed it and handed it back. “Nice knife,” she said. “It’s from Spyderco, up in Golden,” I said. “Cool. I may get one of those for the ambulance,” she said.

She’s now working the county ambulance full time. I’m going to get her a Rescue.

This was my wife's exact experience. She had never used a back lock, saw my Dragonfly, used two hands to open it, then, after looking a second at the lock, pushed it, closed the knife with two hands, put it in her pocket and said "Thank you." I had to buy myself another one. HaHa! :D

I was at a conference in Florida a few years ago and there was a bit of overflow of people. A few more came than we were expecting. There were some metal bed frames held together with zip ties and no one, even the men, had a knife. I heard the commotion as it was late at night, came down the hall and handed the woman my Pingo. She was looking for a knife but was shocked when I actually had one. Then, I told her, don't worry, it has no point. She said, "Oh" and proceeded to pop those ties off, and then closed it nicely and gave it back. The next day, I was the hero and my knife was used a lot after that for various things. That slip joint knife was easy to use for non knife folks and it was friendly looking. (I should have bought an orange one, too.)

Doc Dan wrote:
This was my wife's exact experience. She had never used a back lock, saw my Dragonfly, used two hands to open it, then, after looking a second at the lock, pushed it, closed the knife with two hands, put it in her pocket and said "Thank you." I had to buy myself another one. HaHa! :D

Love it. One smart woman!

When working on a government site, 3" blade limitation, I carried a Spyderco Tasman with yellow scales. One day a coworker was trying to open a box of printer paper. I took out the Tasman and cut the plastic bands. She remarked, "Those wicked teeth on the blade are scary it but cut really well. I replied, "Yes but it has such a cheery yellow handle.", to which she agreed.

I usually offer a Civilian in such instances.

At work my collegues know I am always carrying an knife. So whenever something needs to be cut they always call me. I doesn't matter how large the knife is I can flick, open and take it out in the fashion I like. Outside my own team I am a little more careful. Especially among unknown and possible no-knife people I just don't pull out my Spydie and use it. Nowadays I tend to carry 2 or more Spydies. A larger and a smaller less inpressive one. I do like Spyders with a weaker detent that you can half-open to pierce or cut something fast and put away again.

This is why I carry my K390 Urban. It's my apple-cuttin' knife, and it's sparked more good conversations than bad - all because it's tiny, slow to deploy, and truly wicked sharp.

my other EDC, usually my Southard, is for bigger tasks where a longer blade offers more cut in less time.

The best knife to offer to non-knife "civilians" is a slip-it IMO.The half-stop is a very usefull safety feature.I had people cut themselves quite bad with my SAK because it has no half stop and the spring is so strong. I allways carry a Ladyhawk on my keychain and I once offered it to a lady doctor in a dentistry cabinet to rip-open a plastic package. She cut herself to the bone of her index finger when she tried to close it although I explained and gave her a little demo on how to use the little beast.The safest spydie I would offer to a non-knife person is my K390 Urban.The back spring is so strong in both closing positions that, unless you are retard, it's very difficult to cut yourself plus it's a very friendly looking spydie.So, yes, we need another LW Urban, this time in a stainless steel with a very strong 90 dgrs half stop.M390 or Elmax regular production.Please Sal !

Recently we were having a party for my daughter who gave birth to our second grand daughter. She was having difficulty trying to open one of those tough plastic clamshell packages. My 2 1/2 year old grandson came over and asked "Grampon where is your pocket knife?" Everyone in the room had a chuckle and grin on their face. Not sure where he came up with that? Perhaps seeing his father use the Sage 1 I'd gifted him? Caly comes to the rescue. :)