... and they worry about us?

[vampyrewolf]

... so I got a complaint about my knives at work a week ago, someone saw the fixed blade on my belt and was worried that I'd "start cutting people at work" and was "fearing for their safety".

That statement shocked the **** out of my boss as he's only heard me get frustrated a couple times and I don't even raise my voice at work, never mind my hand. But he had to talk to me about it to follow the rules and we had a 20min discussion.

My offer to bring in my lawyer and a couple cops to do drug screening (which would hit positive on about 1/2 the company and shut the place down for a week) had him allow a multitool and small knife. There's nothing in the company policy about knives, had that discussion when I was in production and an overly paranoid coworker didn't get anywhere flirting with me (long story there).


Well... yesterday I was wearing a white tshirt and our smocks at work are almost see-through. So of course the moran riding IWB/rear showed. No-one on production said anything, no one in my dept said anything. I'm over in IT visiting and one of their people comes walking up behind me, see's "something" on my belt and starts feeling me up :eek:

"Is that a knife? Are you going to start stabbing people?"


... and they worry about us, that have carried a knife before even starting school... when their first thoughts on seeing a knife are cutting or stabbing people.

I think we should start worrying about everyone else when those are the first thoughts that come out.

[Lord vader]

I tried carrying a fixed blade and folks seem to be more intimidated by them.So i just quit carrying one.

[Shenmue728]

Thats bad news man. I often worry about when i will be attacked for my carrying a folder at work. It hasnt happened yet but still... Sorry to hear. Make you wonder why they even leave the safety of their own bed...

[vampyrewolf]

I'm not going to quit carrying until it's official policy (2-3 years down the road)... I'm just back to concealment again (certainly not the first time).

This latest was only a talk. I've got a single event in my record here at work (3yrs) and it was a rumor that spread from me jabbing fun at a coworker a couple times (hauled in about 5-6 months after the original comments)... I apologized for my comments but not for everyone else's and that was it.

Yesterday would have been prevented by wearing a black shirt, the black sheath and handle don't show then. I know my CKE twins don't show at all on a black shirt (small and thin).

[Lord vader]

I'm not going to quit carrying until it's official policy (2-3 years down the road)... I'm just back to concealment again (certainly not the first time).

This latest was only a talk. I've got a single event in my record here at work (3yrs) and it was a rumor that spread from me jabbing fun at a coworker a couple times (hauled in about 5-6 months after the original comments)... I apologized for my comments but not for everyone else's and that was it.

Yesterday would have been prevented by wearing a black shirt, the black sheath and handle don't show then. I know my CKE twins don't show at all on a black shirt (small and thin).

You have inspired me to start carrying my fixed blade again,Thanks :)

[raven]

Hey vw, Sorry to hear about the nonsense you have to deal with :mad: . I know what you're talking about. It's amazing what you can't do or say, but others can ..."GOTTA LOVE DOUBLE STANDARDS"!!! They complain about you carrying a knife, but it was OK for that co-worker to go up to you start "feeling you up" and they make a comment about you stabbing people :confused: :confused: :mad: !!!

I believe we have a lot to thank the Media for :mad: . Anytime there is a situation dealing with a knife ...they try to pain it a gruesome as possible and those that carry a knife are stereo-typed as being knife wielding maniacs and all of sudden the public is a paranoid mess.

Then like you mentioned ... Bad on you for carrying a knife, which is used for work and Turn the other way to those that are on drugs, which are eventually a disaster just waiting to happen, but guess what ... I'm sure your policy probably has some kind of rehab program??? Yep, give the innocent guy a talking to and a write up, but the guy on drugs ...we'll just let him skim by, not address it or say anything, let everyone else pick up the slack, because he doesn't have a clue what he's doing ...That's quite OK!!!

Sorry Bro ...RANT OFF :o . I just know and feel your frustration. I deal with it here in my department. Not as far as deputies go, but some detention staff ...IT'S LIKE BABY SITTING. VW, Take Good Care and Be Safe Always.

God Bless :)


-raven :mad: -

[vampyrewolf]

You have inspired me to start carrying my fixed blade again,Thanks :)

There's a reason I usually carry inverted or IWB...

paying for a custom tanto on payday here that will sit horizontally across my back (4.5" blade, 8.5" oal, and the sheath extends about 1" beyond that on the tip for the belt loop). They won't see that one, the slots on both ends to thread my belt though should hold it tight to my body.

[Monocrom]

I'm curious. What did you say to that idiot who touched you?

I hope you threatened to sue him for putting his hands on you.

[Pete1977]

I'm lucky. I have always worked jobs that require a knife. The first day I started on a charter boat my dad gave me his SE Endura and told me I could have it. I didn't care for the hole or the se and gave it back after that first trip. funny how things change :)

I worked at my college's marina for the first two years at school and again didn't get a second glance for having a knife. The only retail job I ever worked (3 months at west marine when the fishing was bad) I carried a ce delica frn and got a lot of attention for it (the good kind :) ) Lobstering a knife was indespensible and I carried several for safety's sake. As a fisheries observer we were issued a clam knife and a 5 inch dexter russel boning knife and in my current job on the tug company policy requires us to have a folding knife with a locking blade up to four inches. Carrying and using knives is probably one of the reasons I stay working on boats.

[The Deacon]

Over the years, a few folks in the IT shop where I worked made comments about my knives. Not really surprising, government agencies here in New York attract liberals with delusions of "the perfect rainbow" like fecal matter attracts flies. We were even offered a class in "how to laugh at nothing" because most humor was based on making fun of someone or something. :rolleyes:

But I digress. What was genuinely surprising to me was that there were no repercussions. Perhaps they feared I'd show up one day with a chainsaw if they pushed the wrong button. :p What made the whole thing funny was that, on a table used by the shop's "treat club" which bought breakfast goodies every payday, sat a 10" bladed chef's knife. The table was no more than ten feet from my cubicle and the knife was on it 24 X 7 X 365. Granted, it was dull, but it was **** big and pointy. Everyone in the Agency was also issued a 6" fixed blade stiletto, cleverly disguised as a letter opener. Once again, dull, at least in "as issued" condition, but capable of taking two very nice edges. :D My Spydies were small by comparison.

[vampyrewolf]

I'm curious. What did you say to that idiot who touched you?

I hope you threatened to sue him for putting his hands on you.

Actually I turned around and grabbed his ***... he took a couple big steps away from me really quick. :D If HR says anything about it I'll just have to see if he mentioned that he was feeling me up seconds before.

[jujigatame]

... and they worry about us, that have carried a knife before even starting school... when their first thoughts on seeing a knife are cutting or stabbing people.

I think we should start worrying about everyone else when those are the first thoughts that come out.

Yeah....

You encounter one or two folks whose first thought is that a knife and/or the person possessing it are somehow predisposed towards violence and you kind of shrug it off. When it keeps happening it starts to beggar the imagination as to how many folks think in such a way. Brainwashed is perhaps too strong and pejorative a term, but that's how it seems at times. Somewhere along the line a good number of people have lost the idea of a knife as tool and only think somebody would carry one as a weapon.

At the last place I worked the overwhelming majority of my coworkers were middle aged or older women. I got on well and was friendly with just about everyone I met. One day at lunch I took a small Al Mar folder out of my pocket to open a bag of chips. One woman looked at the knife, then me, and said "Who are you going to stab with that?" I was gobsmacked. I'd known her and seen her every work day for two years, yet when she saw me with a 2.5 inch blade opening food at lunch her first reaction was to ask who I going to stab. :confused:

I took a moment and told her I thought that was a rather hurtful and rude thing to say. She seemed taken aback and wanted to pass it off by claiming she didn't really mean it. I told her I didn't appreciate it either way, that using a pocket knife was no grounds at all to make that kind of comment.

[Axlis]

My last job had some uptight sheeple that would make sly little remarks about my knives. But guess who they always went to when they needed something cut? Yep, good old Yale, the "knife freak". :rolleyes:

I don't have to worry at my current job, the boss has an even bigger knife than I ever thought about carrying! :eek:

[Brad S.]

Up until about a week ago I worked at a coffee shop chain that I'm sure many of you go to daily... (left on good terms for those wondering, just couldnt handle corporate bull anymore....)

Anyways, So they have a no "weapons policy"... says nothing about knives, simply "weapons"... so if I can justify a gun a tool I guess I could have CCW at work (which I would have if I could) So 3 or 4 other male employee carry pocket knives, cheapo gas station junk, but none the less a knife. Well as I got to know people, and they got to know me better, it of course became known that I'm a knifemaker. So I became known as the guy with all the knives. I never carried more than one folder (visible at least) at work. But it became assumed that since I made knives, it somehow got this "weapon" rule all worked up. I was approached by corporate and asked to stop carrying a pocket knife at work. While not one of the other employees that carried a knife we spoken to.

Pissed me off to no end. So what did I do... kept carrying anyways, just carried uncliped. Still... WTF....

rant off.

[Monocrom]

Actually I turned around and grabbed his ***... he took a couple big steps away from me really quick. :D If HR says anything about it I'll just have to see if he mentioned that he was feeling me up seconds before.

Good one! :D

But be careful... some states allow sexual harassment lawsuits against same-sex co-workers and employers. (I $#^% you not).

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends,

This is one of the joys of living in VERY rural central WV. Every male over the age of ten carries a knife, at least anytime they are not in school, and no one gives it a second glance. I work IT and carry an Emerson Combat Karambit, Spyderco Cricket, and either a Spyderco CPM-D2 Para or ATR SE every single day without fail.

Something of note - in WV a knife isn't technically a "weapon" until the blade length exceeds 3.5", so anything I carry with a lesser blade length is my business regardless of corporate policy. If you are having issues with your workplace, read the employee manual and research the law - you might be surprised what you can get by with. :D

--------
Hannibal

[vampyrewolf]

Good one! :D

But be careful... some states allow sexual harassment lawsuits against same-sex co-workers and employers. (I $#^% you not).

That's why I'm waiting to see if he goes to HR... he felt me up first and I doubt HR will hear that from his side.

[WhiteWillie]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to offer the opinion of an old guy here. Do yourselves a favor and keep your knives to yourselves and concealed. It's nobody's business if you're carrying a knife or not and fighting city hall will get you nowhere. The sheeple will win out and complaints like those referenced will be detrimental to your career.

[clovisc]

Up until about a week ago I worked at a coffee shop chain that I'm sure many of you go to daily...

i worked at a coffee shop in delaware for a little while, when i was fresh out of college, and also acquired the reputation of "the guy with all the knives." it was independently owned, however, and in spite of being in an excessively nervous east coast community, my EDC was generally seen as more useful than menacing.

the only times people saw a knife and commented were the times i was using it to do something... breaking down boxes, opening bags of coffee, etc. and i always had a good reason to be using a knife... right out in front of me. :p

the next three places i lived... zambia, appalachia, and alaska... were among the most knife-friendly places on earth. :D

my work EDC up here has been my chokwe prototype, and a waved SE E4. usually when i pull one out, other folks want to check them out... :D outdoors, more knives come along... :D

[SimpleIsGood229]

Knife friendliness is definitely one of the perks of living in Texas. Even while working on condo renovation in the Houston Galleria area, I've not got a single negative comment about my Spydies. Actually, I've had one (this was way outside the city); I pulled out my Krein'd ZDP Endura to cut something, and this woman recoiled at the sight of it and called it a "machete." With a smile, I told her that the Endura is a standard-sized knife. I can only imagine what would've happened had I pulled out a Police 3! :D