Hey man, got a knife? Just say no.

I typically ask them what they need to cut and then cut it for them. I have had too many issues with lending things, not just knives. My dad always told me don't lend your stuff if you don't want it damaged and don't borrow from other people if you can't afford to fix or replace it if something happens. I watched a buddy take another buddies snowmobile for a rip once. He jumped on, drove 300 yards, and the crank shaft snapped. Neighbour borrowed my chainsaw, stuck it in the gravel and toasted the chain. I loaned my truck to a buddy, he backed into a concrete bird bath and dented the tail gate in. 8 years and the dent is still there.
 
Holy crap.

Yesterday.

Guy at work. "Hey man, got a knife?"
Me "sure"

I hand him my Contego (sharpened with a thin bevel) and he proceeds to crank down a loose screw with the tip. I watched in horror.

Then, later.

My mother in law "son, can I borrow your pocket knife?"

Oh sh... here we go again. But surely she wouldn't do anything stupid.

So I follow her into the bathroom where she proceeds to use the tip to try prying the stuck drain out of the sink (under 6" of water).

I'll be honest, I really like being that guy that always has a knife when you need one, but I'm either going to have to say no, or ask what needs CUTTING and do it myself.

Sheesh.

I cringed reading that...

That's why when people ask me for blades, I'll ask what they're cutting first and I'll do the cutting for them.

I had a friend borrowing my knife. Apparently he knew nothing about using knives. He was cutting plastic parts in to ceramic tiles. My right eye was twitching as I watch in horror. I've never had that many dents in a knife before... My poor Techno.
 
Once I became clear that I would protect my knives from ignorant use, the requests from the ignorant went way down in frequency. Even though they may be clueless about knife use, most people have a sense that my boundaries are solid WRT tool abuse, and they know not to ask me. I also will happily cut things that people need cut, but very few friends are allowed the outright loan of a knife.

It is like a Jedi mind trick. Inwardly I'm waving my hand and mentally broadcasting, "This is not the guy whose knife you will abuse." People just get it without needing to be told outwardly, and I'm not any kind of scary guy, just clear about boundaries.
 
Last weekend I was in the lockeroom at my son's hockey game. One of the coaches asked if I had a knife knowing I had a knife. I hand him my most non threatening skeletool CX thinking he was going to cut some tape. I turn around to see he hands it to an older kid taping his little brothers stick. He has the stick beween his knees with the blade about four inches from his face trimming some tape with the blade toward his face.

Leap and take it away or offer calm words of wisdom to carefully set the knife down? He finishes up and asks out loud "how do you close this thing?, and sets it on the bench blade up. The coach grabs it, closes it and hands it back like nothing happened. Last time i think.
'
 
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