Cold Steel Drop Forged Push Knife. Clip it on and train. Nobody even notices that it's there and if they do most don't even know what it is!
But why a push knife for the gym? Look, im all for "you do you". If someone wants to stuff a push knife in his drawers and bust out some squats, that's cool I guess. But what's the need for it? In the locker to carry for personal protection when leave, sure. Fartin' around with a clunky piece of steel slipping around my waist band while trying to get my swoll on? No thanks. I suppose I should take into account that my gym is locked down when I go. No one in without a key. A knife for protection is not even registering at 4am in my sleep deprived brain. Now, I totally see a need for one for biking or jogging or anything out in the elements. If you want to carry a lightweight blade for utility and defense, I can dig it. Back when I used to jog in the mornings before i joined the gym, I carried a Spyderco Endura clipped to my shorts. I ran in the dark with a head lamp, and there were more than a couple of times I could hear a local dog pick up and start running beside me in the dark. As for at the gym itself, nah. I did run into the mentioned hanging thread from my shorts on my thigh today. I was knifeless and was forced to improvise. I mustered up all my enhanced strength, took several deep breaths, wrapped the thread around my finger several times, and with a guttural yell was able to snap it cleanly off. Skipped biceps after that though.
Why a push knife at the gym? I'll tell you why. A clique of street toughs have it on their mind that I'm an undercover cop running some sort of an investigation at the gym. And there's an emotionally disturbed person that likes to creep up on me while muttering threats under his breath. Yeah I sure can attract the attention of the most deranged types where ever I go.
If I had to go armed to the gym, I would look into another gym. Then again, I once switched because I was given 5 dollars off a 3 month trial. In that situation I think I would rather carry my NAA .22 magnum Wasp in a neck holster.
Maybe in this day and age where you have unstable individuals with the same freedoms and access to public spaces that "normal" folks enjoy, and some of the "unstables" are a hair-trigger away from acting out violently, carrying some form of a knife on my person at all times is not unseemly. It could increase the odds in my favor, however minuscule, in a crapshoot.
Back in 2014 a person was murdered in the gym that I regularly used with a piece of gym equipment. It was over a woman. Luckily I wasn't there the night this incident happened. You just never know!
Alright. Y'all have beat me down. Walmart has the Spyderco Resilience clearanced from $49 to $35 and it rang up for $25 I'm going to stuff it in my waistband tomorrow before I head to the gym.
They beat you down, yet you come back for more, that is the very definition of Resilience! And now you have it in solid form!
It's only a 4.2" blade though. I'm hoping it's enough. Seriously, I'll give it shot. My guess is that it drives me nuts and I leave it in the console of my truck. On a side note, I really like this budget folder. Way more slicey than my Endura. Heckova knife for 2 Jeffersons and an Abe.
I gave it the colege try. IWB or clipped to my pocket, a knife is a no go at the gym for me. It flopped around when I jogged on the treadmill. It dug into my side when I would belly up to the preacher curl bench. It clacked against my phone in my pocket. So for me. It's a hard pass. I hope y'all enjoy yours I do wear a Leatherman Tread...homage that my wife bought me for father's day. I can see that comming in handy more than a knife for the 45 minutes I'm at the gym. The Resilience remains a fantastic knife that will get pocket time today at work. I dare say I prefer it over my Endura.
I wear the Cold Steel Push Knife at about 4 o' clock. It is never in the way and is out of view from somebody standing right in front of me. It is open carried as required by California law, not concealed in any way, but when my arms are hanging down you don't really notice it either! It can be clipped to a belt or directly to whatever garment I am wearing due to the Ulti-Clip. If I am doing an exercise that requires the use of a weight lifting belt I just unclip it or wear a neck knife that day. My gym membership is with 24 Hour Fitness so I can train at any sport level gym. Just type in my phone number then scan my index finger and walk in. I use different gyms for training different body parts as some have better equipment than others. I was working shoulders one night and I needed to use a machine for rear delts. Somebody had left a sweatshirt hanging from the machine. I asked if anybody was using the machine or if they knew who the sweatshirt belonged to and the answer was no. So I hung the sweatshirt on another machine and began my exercise. After 2 sets this huge roid monster and his training partner approached me and in a threatening tone he began to ask me what's going on? He was pissed. He said see that sweater, to which I replied yes. He said that's mine and we're using this machine and 3 others. I explained that I asked and nobody knew anything so that's why I moved the sweater and began using the machine. I then asked if it would be ok if I worked in with them and used this particular machine while they trained on the other 3 machines that they had claimed as their own? He agreed and the impending violence had been averted. It was at this time that I decided to wear the Cold Steel Push Knife while at the gym. Hopefully there will never be a need to use it. But when you have some juiced up asshole ready to unload on you because you had the audacity to move his sweater then I would rather be prepared then caught unaware. Up until this incident I had always left my knife or knives in the locker, never thinking there might be a need to cut something while training. On another note. There was an occasion where I was in the neighborhood and decided to unexpectedly stop at the gym. I didn't have my gym bag or lock so I trained with everything in my pockets. Wallet, keys, cell phone and yes, folding knife too. When I got home I removed everything to shower and change clothes and noticed that my knife had a sprinkling of light orange rust forming on the side of the blade that was against my thigh. I wiped it off with WD-40 but it blew me away that a knife, Cold Steel Rajah, could develop orange spots of rust so quickly. So for me a "Gym Knife" can't be in a pocket. Clipped to a belt or hung from the neck is the way to go. Plus it's quicker into action if it's needed in a hurry!
No, dont really see a point for the gym. I've been working out for over 10 years and only needed a knife once that entire time. And it wasnt that serious either, just needed to snip off a zip tie.. Funny enough I did have my spyderco dragonfly on me that day and it worked perfectly. Other than that I usually have 1 or 2 knives on me at all times, among other things. But at the gym, I feel like it's the 1 place where I wouldn't need 1 on me...I do enjoy having 1 in my backpack near by though cuz you never know haha!
Nah I think I'll just keep rolling the way I have for years and years. I don't need one more thing to keep track of. Hell, I have to go back and claim my 32 oz water bottle from lost and found at least once a month because I leave it on the treadmill while I roll up my head phones and walk out the door without it. I dont bring anything in with me to the gym that doesnt have to come with. If I need to cut something, I'll go grab the scissors off the front counter. I know the owner pretty well. He won't mind. Roided rage beasts are rare at 4am. Truthfully im the biggest guy in there at my massive 5'10 205lbs...that has to do with the fact that I'm generally the only guy in there until 5. If I NEEDED to fix something I have a whole toolbox in my truck, but I would just call the owner. If being accosted in the parking lot was a real issue, I guess I would hope for something more than harsh words. But i dont even have a wallet on me to take. Ruffians of ill repute generally don't hang put around a closed Dollar General and mattress store at that time. The 60 year old guy delivering the newspapers to the local businesses may be a bit shifty, but I think some sweet ninja kicks in the air would scare him off if it came down to it. I think a hypothetical tiny neck knife would work pretty well, but I still see zero need for said knife for my purposes at the gym.
I'm just saying the knife you chose shouldn't determine your or others opinion's. I mean, if I carried that honking brick, my beautifully crisp 15ft jumper wouldn't be so silky smooth. I've never had an issue with something linerless from the salt line. But do what works for you at the gym. Getting there and doing stuff is the most important part. I'm just a knife addict and will have one with me wherever legal. You never know when it could be handy or imperative. I've found what works well for me and what I do.
I go to 24 Hour Fitness too. Some of those big dudes are living proof that too much muscle turns off the blood supply to your brain. It pisses me off when they "claim" a machine and walk away, I don't want to tough their dank, funky gear. I'm not small, but not in their league and I have had a couple try and big ape me. I don't carry on the floor, but a casual "let's talk to management about policy" has always worked. The worst mad dog was in the locker room, though, and there is no way I am going to let a 300 pound man cripple or accidentally kill me by fighting "fair." In every case to date, snappy patter and humor has always defused conflict for me, though I do wish it wasn't necessary.
That's what I did, used snappy patter and humor. I also let him think that he had won by asking if it was ok to work in on the machine while they were using other equipment. It was better than getting in an argument that might have ended with somebody going away in an ambulance or back seat of a police car.
