Folding knives

[perkinsteel22]

What are the benefits of having a folding knife?

[Pete Grey]

(11 July 2018, 07:44)perkinsteel22 Wrote: What are the benefits of having a folding knife?

As in the UK we are not allowed to legally carry a fixed blade knife, a folder is better than no knife at all, try a swiss army model as due to it having many uses, if challenged by anyone you might stand more chance of not being prosecuted.

If you are, do not accept an official caution as that is an admission of guilt.

Go to court, “you always have your knife with you, you use it all the time, at work, at home and in the garden it’s so useful, i carry it with me all the time”.

“If i wanted to use a knife as a weapon i would use a carving knife not a pen knife your honour”.

But if TSHTF it’s a different ballgame, carry what you think will need, fixed blade knife, hand axe, anything to keep safe and to build a shelter etc.

[Mortblanc]

1. It folds, that makes it shorter and hides the sharp edge.

2. You can put it in your pocket. That is so you do not look like Rambo as you go about.

3. When it is folded and in your pocket it does not scare people, make them throw up their hands and run around in circles squealing like little girls.

4. With your folding knife securely in your pocket and out of sight people do not take out their cell phones and call the police to report a terrorist in their midst.

5. Folding knives will often have more than one blade, which makes them more versatile.

In truth, folding knives have enough advantages that the adaptation to fold was one of the first changes in knife technology after the stone age ended. There are many folding knives from Roman sites and every era since that time.

Here in the US they are ubiquitous as relics, especially in Native American sites. It is difficult to imagine Indians using massive numbers of folding knives, but the relics tell that they did, starting with the first traders that brought European goods to them.

I actually expect for archaeologists to someday unearth a flint blade with a hole in one end and spend the next ten years debating the use for the hole before some ten year old explains that it was a folding knife!

I carry a folding knife daily. It is a small Case brand "Stockman" design with three blades. It would easily pass your legal requirements in GB. I find that size perfect for my daily needs, which is usually cutting string, rope, strapping or opening parcels.

I also still have the folding knife I bought at age 12 and carried daily for years. It is a "barlow" pattern and is as useful today as it was when I bought it.

I have gone through hundreds of knives since then, and own hundreds to this day, both straight blade and folding. 99.999% of the time the knife I have with me will be a folding blade no matter what the activity, from big game hunting to bushcrafting to garden work.

[Talon]

I've carried folding knives since I was 10. Though I own locking folders and have and still use them for work occasionally they do nothing a folding slip joint can't do.You just need to be aware that it's a slip joint .If I ever need something more than a slip joint then I'll use a fixed blade.
I have several but at the moment I alternate between a ukpk that I modified like a kahr Delica ,and I also carry a yellow Case hawkbill.If I ever found myself so desperately in trouble that I needed a knife to save me the case would be devastatingly effective, and it's a uk friendly knife.
I don't carry knives to use as weapons though.They are tools. Tools which I use everyday without worry from the authorities.And the case hawkbill makes an excellent peanut spreader Mort ?

[Mortblanc]

Peanut butter and apples, that is justification enough for anyone to own a good knife. Slice the apples with the knife and then use it to spread the PB. No more explanation should be needed.

As a secondary question, how often are you guys being stopped and searched?

Even without the specific "Constitutional protections" we supposedly have you folks do have a tradition of privacy as you move about, unless there is an emergency in effect.

Over here we go through metal detectors when entering security areas but everyone knows that is a danger zone, so we leave the knives and guns at home if visiting the airport, a Federal building, or courthouse.

I believe that if I were in an large gathering and there was some incident that would require search of everyone leaving I would not hesitate to drop my knife in the nearest bin or simply onto the floor and give it a good kick.

I am near 70 years old and have never been "stopped and searched" in my life. Even on traffic stops or moving through "sketchy areas". It is not something that happens daily weekly, or usually, more than once in a lifetime.

Now keep in mind that I carry a firearm as part of my clothing. It is not sitting out on my hip in plain view, but I make no exceptional effort to keep it hidden, like tucking it into my wide fronts or duct taping it to my chest. It is on a simple holster tucked inside my belt where it is easily accessible.

Even with that going on I get no strange stares or folks running from me in panic.

Well there is a slight amount of running in panic, but that is due to the sour look on my face most of the time.

Perhaps it is the onset of age and lack of fashion sense, but no one seems to notice the little lumps and bumps that festoon my wardrobe.

We are constantly lamenting the lack of awareness of the average person, and this can be used to our benefit. People simply do not notice, and do not care. The only time anyone should really know you are carrying a knife is if you take it out and use it in front of them.

I think the real trick is choosing a medium sized, sturdy knife that will fall easily onto your pocket so no one will even notice.

That and quit wearing yoga pants, skinny jeans, speedos and such. Get yourself some pants with some room for cargo. If you are going the way of the prepper you are going to have some cargo as you walk about.

[perkinsteel22]

Most people use a pocket knife in their fishing trip.Other purposes of having a folding knife are Camping, First Aid, Peeling Fruit, Protection, Opening Canned Objects, Cutting Rope, Wire, Or Twine, Extracting Objects from Slots, Cracks and Crevices, Opening Boxes and Letters, Trim Loose Threads On Your Clothing etc.

By my point of view "A fisherman without a pocket knife isn't a fisherman".

[Skean Dhude]

I carry a folding knife with me every day and I have not been searched yet. I have gone through a few metal detectors and been refused entry because of the knife. One of my favourite stories was when I went to court as a witness and the metal detector got me. I showed them the knife. Explained it was legal but they refused me entry with it. They kindly offered to dispose of it for me but I refused and they refused to store it while I was in the building. I phoned up the lawyer and explained and they postponed the court day, on the day, so I could attend. Lawyer was furious because it cost them thousands. A few months later I arrived again without the knife and no metal detectors I just walked in. Boy did I laugh at the waste of money. The prosecution was not amused. Although they did win so I suppose it worked out for them.

[Pete Grey]

In my sock draw i’ve just found my old penknife, carbon steel by richards of sheffield, must be 50 years old if it’s a day, touch of the oil stone and as good as new.

[LAC]

(15 July 2018, 20:59)Skean Dhude Wrote: I carry a folding knife with me every day and I have not been searched yet. I have gone through a few metal detectors and been refused entry because of the knife. One of my favourite stories was when I went to court as a witness and the metal detector got me. I showed them the knife. Explained it was legal but they refused me entry with it. They kindly offered to dispose of it for me but I refused and they refused to store it while I was in the building. I phoned up the lawyer and explained and they postponed the court day, on the day, so I could attend. Lawyer was furious because it cost them thousands. A few months later I arrived again without the knife and no metal detectors I just walked in. Boy did I laugh at the waste of money. The prosecution was not amused. Although they did win so I suppose it worked out for them.

This is a classic case of bloody mindedness. The simple act of them refusing to store a legal object cost thousands in postponing the date, and it then seems that rather than modify their processes, they scrapped the whole thing (metal detectors) and now a real criminal or terrorist can smuggle a weapon through!

[Mortblanc]

I like that deal of refusing to store but offering to "dispose of" the blade. I am sure that "dispose of" means go from your pocket to their pocket!

We often have the same situation over here. Fortunately I have always been close enough to my vehicle to return and secure the items without needing to abandon them. For a decade I did turn to carrying a small SAK rather than my favored pocket knife so if I had to abandon it there would not be any great expense or concern over the blade.

I went through two of the little Classic key chain knives in that decade. Since one is like any other I barely noticed the switch.

In the past few years I returned to carrying a good quality pocket knife since I never go through any security checkpoints anyway. I have not been in the airport for almost 10 years and have avoided the court house almost as long.