The title says it all. I don't give a damn about knives. Unlike 99% of firearms enthusiasts, I really don't have any interest in knives. Not blade design, or metallurgy, or knife-fighting skills, or anything of the sort. Don't get me wrong--I never leave the house without my Gerber Paraframe clipped into my pocket. I like to have a knife because they are useful tools to have around, but I don't have any emotional attachment to them in the same way I have no attachment to my crescent wrenches that I use all the time at work. If one breaks, I'm off to Lowe's or Home Depot to get another one. All I demand from a knife is that it be handy to carry, sharp, and at least slightly durable. It doesn't need to be able to hammer nails, or pry windows open. But it does need to be able to open mail, cut boxes open at work, and occasionally cut insulation out of roof caps.
I don't think of knives as weapons, or at least not primarily as weapons. There are a million other options I'd like to try before getting into a knife fight. There are a ton of good reasons to carry a knife other than going Ninja Gaiden on a bad guy. Car accidents top my list of why to carry a knife. Seatbelts can jam, airbags can fail to deflate, and windows can refuse to roll down, all of these things conspiring to keep you trapped in a mass of twisted and possibly burning metal. Any decent knife can be used to cut the seatbelt, pop the airbag, and smash a window.
Fast forward to 2:18 to see the knife break a car window.
With the rise of tactical-ness in the last few years, there's been a new emphasis on knives along with the use of firearms. And that's fine. I'm just not into it. I'm not into knife-fighting (because I'm not into being cut), and I don't think that "trainers" should teach knife techniques under the assumption that knife-fighting is ever a good option in the same way I think "trainers" shouldn't teach house clearing techniques under the assumption that clearing your house is an individual task (if you look in the FM 7-8, you'll see room clearing under "fire team" tasks). Being a libertarian (as opposed to Libertarian), I believe in your right to spend your money however you want--even if it's on knives. I just don't "get it", and I don't think I ever will. I just don't give a damn about knives.
2 comments:
I spent more money than I wanted to on a Zero Tolerance (Kershaw sub-brand) 0200ST a while back at an NFA shoot. I brought a couple hundy to blow through ammo with and the guys were letting us shoot our own ammo, so I decided to buy something from them. Picked it up and I was hooked.
It clicks into place quite solidly when you open it thanks to the weight of the blade. Makes the CRKT Desert Cruiser feel like a cheap toy.
Gives me a smile every time I open it to cut a package open, and the "Made in the USA" laser etched on the blade isn't bad either.
But no, I'm not going to knife fight a bum with it. I'm running the hell away.
I quit carrying the DC for that reason. It was just too flimsy and enormous.
I'm not totally against knives, I just wrote this after reading about two or three "edged weapon" classes, which I find highly dubious.
I wouldn't mind getting something better than my paraframe, but I also will not be fighting any bums with it. Also, I'm very cheap and won't spend more than $50 on a knife.
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