Do you carry a knife?

c_man

Do you, or would you consider, carrying a knife for self protection? I was chatting to a girl not too long ago, and she told me how she carries one in her handbag "just in case". I told her I thought this was stupid but she wasn't listening. Just this morning I was upacking some new equipment and asked my work colleagues if anyone had a scissors, new guy reaches into his rucksack and hands me a decent sized knife (handle first). I don't know him well enough to probe the issue further.

Seems pretty stupid to me. You're not Casey Ryback, more a Mark from Peep Show when he starts carrying. What do you guys think?

Akrasia

Of course I don't

We live in one of the safest countries in the world. If you feel the need to carry a knife for protection then you must be living in a very rough area, or you attract the wrong kind of attention from the wrong kinds of people

Edit to add, when i was younger I used to carry a penknife but not for protection, I was into hiking and camping and outdoor stuff, and penknives were really really useful for getting stuff done.

Zubeneschamali

I carry a knife - a Leatherman multitool.

No, I do not plan to defend myself with it. I practice the self-defense art of Run-Fu.

Guy:Incognito

No. I'm not a scumbag.



I carry a broadsword.

beertons

I've 1 in the glove box in the car. You never know when you might need one. If you had one, you wouldn't have gone looking for a scissors.

SEPT 23 1989

usually just the crossbow

Atlantic Dawn

I knife for self protection is worthless as it requires too close contact for use and risks the attacker getting hold of it so adds a massive risk rather than reducing one, a sword on the otherhand is perfect.

donegaLroad

A Taser is your only man.

Outlaw Pete

Yeah, I do and I ain't afraid to use it either.

Dublin can be a tough place, you know what I mean.

Besides, on the other side there's a pop out flat head screwdriver / bottle opener if I need it too.

gramar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A8LyAqtaa0

gramar

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I knife for self protection is worthless as it requires too close contact for use and risks the attacker getting hold of it so adds a massive risk rather than reducing one, a sword on the otherhand is perfect.

Fair points but when you read about stabbing victims they have not normally been disarmed and stabbed with their own knife.

Flatzie_poo

That ain't a knife...

That's a spoon.

Omackeral

Flatzie_poo wrote: »

That ain't a knife...

That's a spoon.

I see you've played knifey spoony before!

Dyr

I used to carry a knife

then one day it rained soup

That taught me

Tabnabs

No and it is clearly illegal to carry a knife for "protection". I'd also be of the view that you don't pull out a weapon unless you are going to use it and are able to live with the consequences of those actions. It's a weapon, not a prop.

Winterlong

Never take a knife to a gun fight.

Collie D

Where's the option for "No, I don;t carry a knife and anyone who does and uses it should be charged for attempted or premeditated murder as they obviously had some intent"

Panthro

I'm actually a shape shifting T-1000 so I can turn my hands into knives at the drop of a box of roses.

Which reminds me, do any of you know the whereabouts of John Connor?

The_Valeyard

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

No. I'm not a scumbag.



I carry a broadsword.

Still kind of scummy.

You need a sword hidden in your cane.

riffmongous

Legal where I live

livedadream

no, im not a psycho, like another poster said, wheres the option for i dont go around carrying illegal weapons on me....

Lady is a tramp

No I don't, and to be honest I wouldn't have the balls to use it if needed. I'm far too soft, the thought of making someone else hurt and bleed is actually making me feel squeamish.

Ubbquittious

BalcombeSt4

I threw a bottle of Bulmers at someone before if that counts.

Captain Obvious

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

No. I'm not a scumbag.



I carry a broadsword.

Is this you?

Deise Vu

I remember years ago having a pint in a perfectly respectable local and seeing an English guy sitting up at the bar, chatting amiably with the barman and anyone who came near. He was dressed perfectly normal apart from the large hunting knife openly hanging from his belt. I recall wondering where in the hell did he think he was and wondering was it even legal. I couldn't get it out of my head that this guy probably stood in front of a mirror giving his hair the once over, checking his teeth, straightening his collar, then patting his knife and saying :"Yeah that'll do nicely...... time for a pint."

The world is full of fcuking loonies.

mad muffin

Noif? That's not a noif… that's a noif!

theteal

I used to. Not for protection though. I worked for a small IT company and spent quite a bit of time on the road, visiting sites. You'd never know when you'd have make up a new cat5/cat6 cable so it was just handier to keep a swiss army thingy on the keys.

I did get stopped going into grand designs/ideal homes convention back then. Didn't even consider it was a weapon.

biko

If you pull out a knife you yourself escalate a robbery/fistfight into a potentially deadly confrontation.

jimgoose

c_man wrote: »

...I was chatting to a girl not too long ago, and she told me how she carries one in her handbag "just in case"...

What the Christ-on-a-unicycle kind of óinseach is this one? What does she think she's going to do with a knife in a "situation" out on the street??

c_man

biko wrote: »

If you pull out a knife you yourself escalate a robbery/fistfight into a potentially deadly confrontation.

Yeah but you could look bad-ass.

andekwarhola

If you're carrying around one that you don't fully intend to use, you're actually putting yourself in more danger. If you just wave it at somebody for show, there's a chance it will end up being used against you.

jimgoose

gramar wrote: »

Fair points but when you read about stabbing victims they have not normally been disarmed and stabbed with their own knife.

Normal people don't carry knives. Seriously, unless you're something like a Navy SEAL or a tantōjutsu adept, pulling a blade in response to an actual street-incident will almost certainly get you cut and/or killed.

myshirt

I demand that Atari Jaguar be added as an option.

YFlyer

I'm from Carew Park, Limerick and no.

BlinkingLights

No, of course I don't. How much crime do people actually think there is here, of the type that you would need a potentially deadly weapon anyway?

It's pretty stupid anyway in the sense that if you did try to defend yourself with a knife I would suspect about 99% of the time you'd end up falling on it or getting badly injured.

c_man wrote: »

I was chatting to a girl not too long ago, and she told me how she carries one in her handbag "just in case". ?

What does she propose to do?

"Hold on there a minute, I have a knife somewhere in my bag! Two mins there. Nope, that's a phone... f**k that's the car keys"

Clearly hasn't thought this one through at all.

Gravelly

A knife for self protection is pretty much useless unless you have advanced training in close quarters combat, and even then, it's unlikely to do you much good. For normal people, any issue where they are going to be attacked is likely to be long over before they even think about getting their knife out, not to mention the fact that it's going to be worse than useless.

I do carry a knife, but I carry it because I'm into outdoorsy stuff where a knife comes in handy, and also because I have a friend who once had to cut a guy down off a stairway where he'd hung himself, using a car key, and after hearing his story, if I am ever in the same situation, I want to be able to do it in enough time that the person may still be alive when I'm finished.

jimgoose

The correct response to interference from a blade-carrying footpad is of course, to carry a pair of beautiful red oak bokken underneath one of those shiny dressing-gowns you get in Penneys. The weapons are drawn as one and raised high above the head, in the Ni Ten or "Two Heavens" style, and you then proceed to run full-pelt at the opponent, screaming something Japanse-y like SonyMitsubishiKawasakiHAI!!, going into a spin as you approach such that one bokken strikes just behind the right ear, knocking him out, and the other just to the right of the sternum, breaking several ribs and puncturing both lungs. He'll be dead before he hits the ground.

ectoraige

I carry a Leatherman Wave, the only thing it protects me from are well packaged boxes and broken fingernails.

tabby aspreme

Deise Vu wrote: »

I remember years ago having a pint in a perfectly respectable local and seeing an English guy sitting up at the bar, chatting amiably with the barman and anyone who came near. He was dressed perfectly normal apart from the large hunting knife openly hanging from his belt. I recall wondering where in the hell did he think he was and wondering was it even legal. I couldn't get it out of my head that this guy probably stood in front of a mirror giving his hair the once over, checking his teeth, straightening his collar, then patting his knife and saying :"Yeah that'll do nicely...... time for a pint."

The world is full of fcuking loonies.

He could have been a Sikh, a knife /kirpan is one of the five religious items they have to carry , and is allowed in the UK

Neon_Lights

Flatzie_poo wrote: »

That ain't a knife...

That's a spoon.

Alright alright I see you've played knifey spooney before

osarusan

My razor sharp wit is my defence.

Deise Vu

tabby aspreme wrote: »

He could have been a Sikh, a knife /kirpan is one of the five religious items they have to carry , and is allowed in the UK

If he was he was a convert and he forgot his turban.

Sleepy

I often have a swiss army knife on me but it's for DIY purposes as a 3 inch blade would be pretty ****ing useless for self-defence!

Graham

BlinkingLights wrote: »

What does she propose to do?

"Hold on there a minute, I have a knife somewhere in my bag! Two mins there. Nope, that's a phone... f**k that's the car keys"

Clearly hasn't thought this one through at all.

+1

Most street altercations wouldn't be proceeded by 2 minutes of rummaging time.

OU812

I have one of these on my keyring. Used to get a load of packages every day in work & it was handy for opening them. Useless in a fight unless I put between my fingers & punch. I've travelled internationally with it and it's never been picked up by airport security.

BTW, Have you seen my signature?

Sleeper12

You only carry a weapon if you plan to use it. Use it & you've brought a weapon to a fight. Harder to prove selfie defence when you brought the weapon.

There plenty of young men in jail which are sorry that they carried all knife

Widdershins

It's entirely possible to carry a knife hoping you never have to use it and unsure whether you ever would even if it came down to it. I carry an Opinel knife (a folding knife) and when I don't have a pocket, I put it into my boot. It's a useful item. I used to abseil, pothole and still go walking alone and at night so it's nice to know it's there for all kinds of reasons. I often use it to take slips from plants I find growing wild and transplant them to my own garden.
I've never thought carefully about whether I could use a knife in self defense, I don't want to think about it and I hope I never need to find out.

Gravelly

Widdershins wrote: »

It's entirely possible to carry a knife hoping you never have to use it and unsure whether you ever would even if it came down to it. I carry an Opinel knife (a folding knife) and when I don't have a pocket, I put it into my boot. It's a useful item. I used to abseil, pothole and still go walking alone and at night so it's nice to know it's there for all kinds of reasons. I often use it to take slips from plants I find growing wild and transplant them to my own garden.
I've never thought carefully about whether I could use a knife in self defense, I don't want to think about it and I hope I never need to find out.

The Opinel must be one of the greatest pocket knives ever (as long as it doesn't get wet).

Stigura

I carried an Opinel for over forty years ~ not the same one, obviously. The blades can break, wear away to nothing, or ye can just lose them.

Year or two ago, I splashed out and treated myself to this (Pen's for scale):

Hand crafted. Damascus steel blade. Lovely piece of work Living in the middle of nowhere, and keeping live stock, it's always coming in handy. Cutting bailer twine or slicing through electric fence tape. It's just a tool.

Obviously, I'd never dream of reaching for it, in a combat situation. It's always on my belt though. Under my jacket. Just behind the Sig Sauer P938

AllForIt

Horrific knife crime going on in London especially. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/24/teenager-among-three-people-killed-by-knives-in-london-over-weekend

Carrying a knife in your car as some ppl do for reasons other than wishing to use it to attack someone is fine, but carrying a knife on your person should be completely outlawed imo, even if the person claims they do so for self defense reasons.