Knife Pychology

[Lostification]

You know, I am quite dissapointed to see what all of us use our knives for. It doesn't seem like many of us actually use our knives for important things. Let me explain.

Envelopes? Whoopie.... It makes me wonder why we pay so much for something that completes such mundane tasks. By all means, I'm not saying that we should stop buying knives or anything, definately not so. As necessary as it is to open letters, I feel it is a spit in the face to a Spyderco IF that is the height of use. I mean, who are we kidding when we buy $$$ knives.

Here's a joke, What do you call an expensive knife that you only use to open letters? A LUXURY letter opener, not a KNIFE. It's like having a Porche but only driving it on a street and NEVER taking it on the highway. What good is having a Porche, then?

I feel that USE is what really determines value.

The point of this is that I am urging all of you to re-evaluate how you use your knives whether they be users or collectibles. I'm not persecuting those who use their knives to open letters or trim their finger nails, that's all fine and dandy. Might as well get every cents worth, right? But, let's not limit ourselves undervalue or underuse our knives. I'm refering to user knives, not collectibles.

What do you guys think about the matter? Just me? lol...

Edit: I know... I sooo spelled the title wrong.. lol whoops... How do I change it?

[The Deacon]

You know, I am quite dissapointed to see what all of us use our knives for. It doesn't seem like many of us actually use our knives for important things. Let me explain.

Envelopes? Whoopie.... It makes me wonder why we pay so much for something that completes such mundane tasks. By all means, I'm not saying that we should stop buying knives or anything, definately not so. As necessary as it is to open letters, I feel it is a spit in the face to a Spyderco IF that is the height of use. I mean, who are we kidding when we buy $$$ knives.

Here's a joke, What do you call an expensive knife that you only use to open letters? A LUXURY letter opener, not a KNIFE. It's like having a Porche but only driving it on a street and NEVER taking it on the highway. What good is having a Porche, then?

I feel that USE is what really determines value.

The point of this is that I am urging all of you to re-evaluate how you use your knives whether they be users or collectibles. I'm not persecuting those who use their knives to open letters or trim their finger nails, that's all fine and dandy. Might as well get every cents worth, right? But, let's not limit ourselves undervalue or underuse our knives. I'm refering to user knives, not collectibles.

What do you guys think about the matter? Just me? lol...

Edit: I know... I sooo spelled the title wrong.. lol whoops... How do I change it?

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Gotta to tell you kid, if your unique mixture of abysmal ignorance and chutzpah were not so **** amusing, you'd have been on my ignore list long ago.

Just for $hits and giggles, what do you consider "worthy" uses for a $50, $100, $200, or $700 knife? Would the same uses suffice for each, or do the requirements for a usage being deemed worthy by you increase with the cost of the knife?

[Spydiman]

So, since most of the time I'm not pushing my Delica/Native/Manix to its limits, I should carry a cheaper knife? :confused:

OR should I go out of my way to use my knives harder then necessary? (I need to go cut down that small tree in the back yard... I KNOW! I should grab my Manix and baton it through!

[sharkattack]

I know exactly what you mean. Letters/mail? Come on you guys. How about using our knives for what they were made to do? What are you guys, afraid to really use them as intended? I’m certainly not. ****, my Delica and newly acquired Native have been tearing through M&M bags, protein bar wrappers, a few chicken breasts (when I bring my lunch), stray threads on my Dockers, a loose string on a banner, and countless pieces of tape. I even went so far as to use my blade to totally obliterate a row of zip ties and some of that orange construction fence the other day. Boy, did it feel good to feel the steel in my hands, doing the dangerous job of removing a section of fence. I barely made it out alive. Good thing I had my trusty pieces with me when I decided to tackle the fence job.

Boy, do I feel manly after really puttin’ muh knife to through its paces. If I keep this pace up, I may have to get a Manix or a Military to keep me ready for whatever kinds of wrappers Met-RX decides to use on their protein bars, the loose threads that show up occasionally on my slacks, the rubber bands holding Autocad drawings in bundles, and most of all, those hard core foil wrappers that you find just lurking for you underneath the caps of bottles of aspirin. Yep, having the right blade-o-steel is what it’s all about gentlemen. Now go grab your blade and do something manly with it.

Or just use continue to use them as you see fit. After all, you paid for them. Use ‘em how you wish and completely ignore what you read in post #1. Enjoy your purchases in your own way. For some of us, it’s having it in your pocket whenever you need it. For others, it’s a toy to play with while you’re on the phone with purchasing, looking for your lost invoices(for example), and yet for others, it’s keeping them in their original boxes and/or in a nice display case for others to admire.

Have a good one guys.

S.

[Jenner 515]

What Sharkattack says +1.

It's my $200 letter opener, there are many like it but this one is mine.

[tonydahose]

What Sharkattack says +1.

It's my $200 letter opener, there are many like it but this one is mine.

:D :D

[Blackhair]

On the one hand, I feel somewhat strange when I realize that once I get my Caly3's, my EDC will come to a total of $400 (which, I realize, is quite low compared to some of the people here :p ). On the other hand, I feel quite assured and secure in the fact that I'll have a fixed blade, SE and PE everyday users, a beater knife, and a loaner (I know for a fact that some of my friends will look at me weird when they find out I'm carrying a knife for the sole purpose of loaning it to someone who needs one).
So because of that assuredness and security, I'm happy to spend $400 on knives to carry around. To me, the assuredness and security IS where the value is at.

[FLYcrash]

Sharkattack, I won't try to compete with your sarcasm because I'll come up short.

As a Chicago apartment dweller, I'll be the first to admit that typical use of a pocketknife for me is light - letters, packages, and harvesting mint from my potted plant are among my most frequent applications.

But for me, the justification for having a nice, expensive knife is half enjoying the beauty of the knife itself and half having the potential to handle tough cutting tasks as they arise. Who knows when you'll need to deal with a ton of that awful clear plastic packaging, cut some rope, prune a gnarly plant, or cut yourself loose in an emergency? I, for one, am thankful for my Caly 3, even if in a typical day it only opens letters.

And I won't go out of my way to tear up my knives with unneeded hard use.

There are precious few things for which overkill on performance is as innocuous as it is in a knife. A Hummer to get the groceries? An Armani suit to wear in front of my inner-city high school kids? A 10-bedroom mansion to sleep in? Not for me; I find such things ostentatious and wasteful. But a nice piece of VG-10 to open my letters, no bigger than a letter opener but far more powerful, feels just right to me.

But maybe I'm just weird.

[Will V.]

I find such things ostentatious and wasteful. But a nice piece of VG-10 to open my letters, no bigger than a letter opener but far more powerful, feels just right to me.

My first post here... probably not a good idea, but here goes.

I totally agree with you. In terms of level of ostentation/conspicuous consumption, a Spyderco ranks pretty low. Besides, it never hurts to have a capable tool at the ready.

[ergoproxy]

Mail, you use a stinkin' tool to open your mail? What are you, a sissy? LOL j/k


Not mine, but this guy has better pictures that pretty much shows how I also use my Spydies


Dress chicken


Cut up fruit


Or shred some tires...LOL


***Source: http://www.knives.pl/www/artykuly/testy ... ook_3.html

[malice4you]

Ever consider that we buy the knife to use for everyday use, which for many of us can involve envelopes or zip ties, as well as to have always ready in an emergency? I remember at least 2-3 stories from the "what got you carrying a spyderco" thread that involved a person witnessing an accident and being unable to get them out in time because they didn't have a knife. Just because that doesn't happen on a daily basis, we should go out and get one of those $3 folders using un-named "stainless" steel? Is having a good knife for self-defense wrong too? I'm not attacked everyday, so I should go back to a knife that has a little slit cut from the blade do i can get a fingernail in it and after a minute, I'll have that knife open, ready to defend myself (from someone who by now has either mugged me, or is on the ground laughing at my pathetic attempt to open the knife).

Few nights ago, I was at my car in a parking lot. I was parked midway between lights, and noticed a guy out of the corner of my eye, acting strange in the shadows. I was working that night, which means I had about $10,000 in camera gear with me. I also had the Rescue 93, Tasman, and Endura 4 with me. I kept an eye on the guy and had the endura in hand, hidden from anyone's view, while I prepped for the job. He started walking toward me, and I was prepping myself even further. A large, metal monopod is always in my car, and would make a very handy baton if needed. I was ready if he decided to try something. He didn't - he walked on by. He probably had no foul intentions and it was just my mind, maybe he noticed me pull the knife and decided not to try anything...who knows? What if I'd decided I'm not doing anything important today and to carry a cheap lockback?

I carry my knives on me almost al the time. I can pull out a knife and cut something a lot faster than walking to find scissors or an exacto. If I need to defend myself, you better believe I will if I need to. My typical use might only be light household uses, but I've got knives made to do almost anything I'd ask of them. They work well, they are safe, they feel great in my hands, and I'll keep using them how I do now, adding more expensive models to my bunch of user knives.


and speaking of knives, I just got some new ones in the mail. Time to get a knife out to open the packages :D

[FLYcrash]

My first post here... probably not a good idea, but here goes.

I totally agree with you. In terms of level of ostentation/conspicuous consumption, a Spyderco ranks pretty low. Besides, it never hurts to have a capable tool at the ready.

Thank you for the kind words, and welcome!

[Will V.]

and speaking of knives, I just got some new ones in the mail. Time to get a knife out to open the packages :D

Yes, but how would one go about opening that very *first* package? ;-)

[Lostification]

Great responses guys. I like yours sharkattack, lol. :D

Gotta to tell you kid, if your unique mixture of abysmal ignorance and chutzpah were not so **** amusing, you'd have been on my ignore list long ago.

Just for $hits and giggles, what do you consider "worthy" uses for a $50, $100, $200, or $700 knife? Would the same uses suffice for each, or do the requirements for a usage being deemed worthy by you increase with the cost of the knife?

Deacon, I had to use a dictionary to decipher your first sentence, lol... Any use is worthy I figure, but there is always more potential which sometimes does not depend on price.


Anywho, after re-reading my post now, several hours later after breakfast, I have determined that I was on crack or something, lol... I don't even know what point I was trying to make, WTF, lol.....

Originally, I don't think I was trying to make a statement, rather, I was trying to ask a question. But I believe that we value the knives themselves far more than just there ability to cut, no doubt. Fine instruments these are. :D Then there is the cool factor, the just-in-case factor, and many others as you all would agree.


In case you guys were wondering, this was in response to the thread asking everybody what they use their knives for.

[KaliGman]

Lostification,

It is about quality. A $30 Timex and a $3,000 Breitling both tell time. One is a very pricey and quality instrument, and one is not. Is it worth the difference in price--it depends on the user and the joy that he or she receives from having and using nice things.

As for knives--I hate to do it, as I am really sick of hearing the word, but--here goes:

Once upon a time I was one of the black clad government "operators" so beloved of knife, self defense, and gun advertising moguls. I also am a martial artist of rank in a system that is based on knife, stick and empty hand combat. This makes me one of the poster boys for advertising schmucks everywhere when it comes to "tactical" crap. Do you want to know what I mainly use my knives for: drumroll------about the same stuff that the Deacon uses his for, except he does a lot more food prep (I am a lousy cook--but I did buy my wife Spyderco and other high quality kitchen cutlery and I do keep them sharp for her).

I have had to use my knives for a lot more "cutting edge" tasks (forgive me, I couldn't resist the pun) when in SWAT and when I was a uniformed street cop. Nowadays, I know that I don't use even half the capability of my knives most of the time. The quality, pride of ownership, and above all, rock solid reliability should I need to use them in a life threatening or other emergency situation are reasons that I carry Spyderco knives.

As for your Porsche analogy--If you get a chance to drive one and you like to drive, you will find it a lot more fun taking the back roads in Hawaii rather than H-1. Any moron can crank a good sports car up to speed on a straight (and then crash and burn spectacularly since they don't know what they are doing), but a skilled driver will have more fun on the curves. Taking a driver's car through the correct line on a curve at a far faster pace than most people are comortable with is a good time, as long as it is done responsibly. Of course, my wife tells me I can't play too much when she rides with me in my current daily driver (Subaru WRX)--she theatens to throw up on me :eek: .

[Lostification]

Well I'm glad someone found some sense in my post.

[bell]

With a few exceptions such as KaliG and Epoxy and workingmen such as butchers and fishboat crew et.al., the highest number of real knife users are women in the kitchen. Most of them never heard of Spyderco or Al Mar but you know in your heart they outnumber all of us.

[Alteran]

Men cook too...

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I use my stretch and street beat to butcher chickens but mostly I carry my spydies for self-protection and since I try to avoid violent conflicts I carry them much more than I do use them. In the same vein I really only use my pistols to shoot holes in paper, same as I push cut paper with my spydies. Fun stuff, good times. :spyder:

[zozo]

I think I see where Lostification is going with this. Since the ultimate prey for hunting is man (at least according to various movies), to show respect for my high-end steel, I really should be cutting people instead of envelopes.

He makes a good argument. I'll have to mull it over a little--after all, my most expensive knife is a mere G10 caly3.