Men who carry Pocket knives

Forgetting it's in your pocket is the worst. I have done it a few times as well. One time was in Ethiopia with security caring AK's at the airport.

 

Yeah the last time it happened was at the Trop. I gave it up (it was a cheapo) but what I found funny is we had steak knives in our suite for the prime rib!

 

That's because the guys that did 9/11 carried pocket knives, ruined it for everyone

 

The same with my grandfather. He was a buyer for Bib and then for Kraft, out of Lakeland. Gave me one of those knives which I still have, though I don’t carry it daily. Living in Wyoming with hard winters and desolate roads, all of our vehicles have tool kits that include the aforementioned duct tape and knife.

 

lol at jj getting a 'disagree' on this post. Too funny.

 

I do think people are less handy, though not sure if that's specific to Americans.

My grandfather, uncle, father and couple others built the house I lived in until college. They built houses for each other actually. Saved them all a ton of money and they had great stories. My dad is definitely not handy but passed the exam needed to pull the permit because he was book smart. The Building Code and electrical issue are no doubt more complicated today.

My grandfather had an old Chevy truck when I was a kid that he could basically take apart and put back together again. There was nothing the man couldn't build or fix. As he got older, he didn't even attempt significant work on cars because the technology had advanced and he said it just wasn't practical. I think those technological changes are part of the reason why things aren't built to last as long these days - and why repairs make less sense for a lot of things unless someone is really skilled.

I didn't inherit the handy gene. I am proud of myself just for replacing the brake lights in my car or diagnosing very basic problems around the house. My skill comes into play when someone needs something heavy lifted or a jar opened. I guess there's a role for everyone.

 

Yeah, he's basically just lamenting the course of capitalism and its segmenting of production and labor. My grandfather built his house. Now to build a house, there is so much specialization and permitting involved its not something one person can do themselves (unless you want to build a shack of some sort). You could go to trade school and become very handy at fixing HVAC stuff, but you could be as clueless as anyone else about laying a foundation or installing a roof. Maybe you can tinker with cars, but they put in computer chips that you have to have a reader to run diagnostics with, and lots of stuff is proprietary software driven, so you cant even legally mess with stuff. There's literally a "right to repair" movement because of this.

 

I have a bunch - sorta collect them. When I worked, I almost always had at least one plus a Leatherman but now that I’m retired and around the house (where my knives are) much more - nope. I’m in transition I guess. If I need one I have plenty inside. When I’m hiking I have one in my pack.

I spent 1 summer hiking in several national parks and hitchhiking there, back, and to each park. I was glad to have a honking-big Case lockback knife about 3am on a deserted highway running through wheat fields in central Washington when 5 migrant apple pickers slowly circled us like a pack of hyenas as my partner and I stood back to back with knives in our hands as they considered the cost/benefit ratio and as I kept repeating the thought in my head “Am I really going to cut somebody over this?”

 

Yeah, I recently had a very reputable HVAC company come out and I got very complicated and expensive news. Called another company for a second opinion and saved a few thousand dollars. I sincerely don't think the first company was trying to rip me off. They were doing diagnostics and speaking with the manufacturer and I think they just got it wrong. That stuff is very technical and specialized these days.

 

Boker makes a real nice knife at the higher end. I have a Boker Damascus steel that is too pretty to use.

 

I carry one

 

Funny you say that.

I actually thought this was going to be a “men who carry around pocket knives are gay” thread. It really threw me for a loop that it was a pro pocket-knife thread.

 

I got off facebook for many reasons, but OP certainly nailed one of those reasons with the pervading chain email nonsense.

I carry one when I'm hiking or on trips where I expect to be outdoors often. I prefer to carry tools most likely to be used or needed, not because of how they contribute to my identity.

 

Its kind of sad to me, like he is just on the surface of identifying an actual problem, but it just comes out as "men just are weak and useless now." Like that's sort of true, the economy purposely made us this way! Being a jack of all trades and knowing how to fix stuff instead of buying new things isnt economically viable in advanced capitalism. But instead the culprit is just some kind of cultural argument about how libs made us all pussies, and fetishizing people who still carry knives, but are probably just as useless as anyone else in the economy.

 

I carry the Kalashnikov automatic drop point in AUS8 steel. It's a beater. Nice enough not to lose, but not too nice that I won't abuse it when needed.

Well.. I say "not to lose," but I lost my first one, bought the same one again, then found the first one and now I have two of the exact same knife, lol.

 

Yeah, I was thinking guns had replaced knives in the macho hierarchy. If someone pulled a knife on me, I'd probably have a moment like "really, man, a knife, cant afford a gun?"

 

I carried one when I was in Boy Scouts for a few years. I made it to Star scout. Then I turned 16 and got a car and started chasing girls and consequently the pocket knife and merit badge sash slipped through the cracks forever.

 

How did you ever score if you couldn't tie a sheepshank or put peanut butter on a pinecone to make a bird feeder?

 

Also, with the exceptions of economic depressions and times of war, I imagine most generations are less physically rugged and tough than previous ones. The fact that people who are still alive today survived without indoor plumbing or air conditioning seems crazy to me, but that's what they were used to. Go back further and further, and the list of conveniences just keep dropping off.

 

I have two bachelor’s degrees and 1 masters
I built our cabin, did all the plumbing, added the solar and water catchment systems, installed the septic system and did all the wiring. Rerouted the creek and made a swimming pool/swimming hole.
I enjoy learning new skills/trades/hobbies. It is still viable.
Right now I’m learning how to make a self bow.
And yes, I can turn my computer on!

I think the bigger problem is 2 fold
It is easier to hire out the work.. no doubt
And
It takes a lot of patience/time to learn a trade/skill.
We have plenty of cash (those of us that worked hard and were smart with money) and few have the time or patience.