"Can I borrow your knife?"

[Simple Man]

Yup, he keeps me on retainer.

[enduraguy]

Yeh, I don't get why people who want to borrow my knives are often reluctant to tell me what they wanna use it for.

I've known people who thought all knives qualified for such tasks as turning screws, prying jars open, cutting metals, stripping wires, cutting vinyl flooring off a cement under-surface....I always qualify their "need" nowadays. :D

[enduraguy]

You don't even use them? :confused:

What happens if you get attacked by a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? :)

Don't forget those 55 gallon drums and 3" thick manilla ropes some knife makers seem to think are everywhere waiting to attack us!

[I_like_sharp_things]

Don't forget those 55 gallon drums and 3" thick manilla ropes some knife makers seem to think are everywhere waiting to attack us!

What you did there; I see it.

[dbcad]

I always ask what needs to be cut and offer alternative tool suggestions if it's inappropriate. I have a couple of friends who respect my nuttiness for edges, and will willingly let them have use one. Folks I don't know and trust get a cheap "stanley knife" to play with.

One friend using a Lum for an unorthodox task (cutting the crud in a seam of an electronic device) asked me to look at what he was doing and whether it would damage the edge. It wouldn't and didn't, he pried it with a small screwdriver :)

[Water Bug]

NO, YOU CAN'T!!!

Well, okay, that's what I'm thinking. :)

These days if someone asks if they can borrow my knife, I ask them why they need it. If they really need to cut something, I'm more than likely to offer to cut it for them. They're not touching my :spyder: .

This all started many years ago when this one guy asked to borrow my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. I later looked over to see what he was doing and saw him using the tip of the main blade to tighten the screws on his glasses. :eek: :mad: He messed up the tip of that blade pretty bad.

[gunnut35]

There are some plp that just don't get my knifes.
I loaned a SAK to a friend and a week later i get it back and it was all gummed up and i couldn't even open it. It looked like it was covered with salt corrosion and it took a wk soaking and scrubbing in wd40 just to get it working again but it is still out of whack. The last time he asked for a knife i handed him a plastic spoon and told him to use it. Lets just say we are no longer friends.

[razorsharp]

for me its, get your own!... Il cut it! or something, cause i have seen so many people abuse knives, my dad it one of the people who borrowed my knife, he said "i need to cut something" he cut a wire then started using it as a prybar :mad: :eek: havent trusted people since

[jezabel]

With the exception of my father in law :rolleyes: , I happily lend out my knives, most of the people I associate with know there will be severe repercussions if they damage any of my tools.
My SE Millie has "wowed" everyone that I've lent it to, that knife alone is responsible for several people I know carrying folding knives which previously did not. FWIW I've given away both an old Native and a Mini Manix to well deserved new homes.

J

[Half Sack]

I volunteered my Endura 4 to a worker who was cutting the cardboard inside of a sticker roll with a snap off blade style box cutter.
Minutes later I see him sawing through the cardboard (no problem there, knives can be resharpened) and watching the blade smack off our metal desks... not impressed at all.
My loaner knives from now on will only be the snap off blade style box cutters, people just don't respect quality enough to use it.

I also got to hear about his $20 survival knife, which sounded great sitting at home not being abused like my Endura....

[Dr. Snubnose]

You know what..I'd sooner buy you a knife then let you use one of mine....My knives and cars are two things I get really anal about.....I have never let a Valet ever park my car, nor would I let one handle my knives.....or anyone else for the matter...The last time I just handed a knife to someone to look out..it was a custom Dalton Switchblade OTF with a 7" blade.....The idiot tried sliding the blade back into the handle without hitting the release button...guess what! He nearly sliced his entire hand in half....That was the last time I handed someone a knife....Never gonna happen again....I just hate cleaning blood off my blades....Doc :)

[toomzz]

Nope, it starts with 'what do you want to cut?' and ends with 'let me cut it for you' I don't carry 'extra knives' less valued for the use for NKP. Get your own or let me cut it....

T.

[v8r]

Before long Spyderco will have to put a warning on the handles of all their knives like Snapon puts on the handles of screwdrivers .....not a prybar or chisel.
I always ask what do you plan on using my knife for? ( insert stupid answer here) I usually recommend the appropriate tool to the person after they tell me the intended use.

[spydusse]

For this exact reason there is a izula 2 molled to my belt below mmy back. I work at a plant nursery and this questioned gets asked a lot. Earlier in the year I watched my 0551 get smashed into the metal rack of a rack body truck because one o my fellow workers didn't relize how easily it would go threw the twine he was cutting.from then on I carry my beater knife on my belt with my folder in pocket and the guys around here have learned how to treat knives.its also comes in handy for $hizen jobs I wouldn't want to do wiith my nice folder aswell.

[JNewell]

"No, let me cut that for you."

[JoeyB]

My girlfriend can use my knife because she is carefull with it.
Others I will help as long as I do the cutting myself.

JoeyB

[fletch]

I buy, sell, and trade a lot of knives off my table at the swap meet. Nothing cheap, all good stuff. I'm talking Randalls, customs and quality factory. Lots of folders and SAKs. I hate these guys with no blade etiquette. They snatch up a knife without asking and then try to jam it back in the sheath the wrong way or try to snap the blades open on the folders. I am constantly schooling people. Blade Etiquette 101: Always ask permission, never gob your fingerprints all over a blade, don't point the edge or tip at anyone, lay the spine across one finger to minimize contact with the steel, and never fling it down when you're done looking at it. Respect. It's probably the oldest tool in existence after the club. Civilizations rose and fell in accordance with the quality of their cutting edges. Every religion has ties of some kind to the knife, or sword. Seems over the top but I'm telling you, it's more than just a tool.

[monsterdog]

Got a drawer full of cheap pocket knives at work (some vendors will send you a crappy knife for free when you spend over a certain amount on an order), if someone asks to borrow my knife I usually just give them one from the drawer to keep.

People like wife, friends and family I tend to give good knives as presents and tell them what they're worth, which usually makes them put more thought into what they use a knife for.

[Jordan]

I carry a knife specifically for when that question is asked... a TOPS street scalpel. I tend not to keep it real sharp (relatively low grade steel + constant beating = not really worth the effort), but it is a hefty little fella and can handle a lot of punishment. It has yet to prove insufficient to a task. Plus, due to the fact that it is a FB instead of a folder... it doesn't have the alarming tendency to end up in somebody else's pocket that my folders do.

[dwong]

they usually damage the tip with prying.....now all my friends getting spyderco for their birthday

when i need to pry something, i borrow their knife :P